Public comments wanted June 20 on first group of transpo projects

Beginning July 1, 2013 roughly $270 million in new monies will flow in the region to fund transportation improvements. 

Northern Virginia Transportation Authority (NVTA) will hold an Open House followed by a Public Hearing and an official NVTA meeting on June 20, 2013 at the Council Chambers at City Hall in the City of Fairfax, 10455 Armstrong Street, Fairfax, VA to gather public input and share information on a proposed list of projects to be funded with the new revenues. 

The schedule for the evening is as follows:

5:30 – 6:30 pm - Open House with Maps and Information Stations (key staff will be on hand to answer questions about projects one-on-one with attendees)
6:30 – 7:00 pm -  Presentation and Overview of NVTA with Chairman Marty Nohe
7:00 pm                     Public Hearing begins
NVTA meeting to immediately follow Public Hearing

The presentation and public hearing portion of the meeting will be broadcast on City Screen Channel 12 (Cox and Verizon) beginning at 6:30pm and concluding with the completion of the Public Hearing.
 
The June 20 meeting follows a series of local meetings that were held throughout the region in Alexandria, Loudoun County, Prince William County (including cities of Manassas and Manassas Park) and the city of Falls Church.  At these meetings residents heard about projects directly affecting those jurisdictions and provided public comment.  Comments from those meetings as well as comments received by e-mail will be shared at the June 20 meeting.

Two additional meetings are planned for Fairfax County on June 26 and Arlington County on June 27.  Go to the Authority web site at http://www.TheNoVaAuthority.org for more information about those meetings.

The Authority urges the public to attend on June 20 and get involved by learning about and commenting on the proposed first fiscal year FY2014 (July 1, 2013 to June 30, 2014) transportation project list which can be found on the Authority’s web site at: http://www.TheNoVaAuthority.org In ad.dition to attending the local meetings and the June 20 Open House and Public Hearing the public may email their comments on the projects to: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or use the interactive comment form posted on the Authority website.

In addition to the June 20, 2013 Open House and Public Hearing a second Public Hearing will be held in late July, 2013. Additional details will be provided after June 20, 2013.

“Our goal is to jumpstart those congestion relief projects in the region that give us the most bang for our buck. The Authority wants to hear what the public thinks about these projects,” said Martin Nohe, NVTA chairman. “However, this is only the first wave of projects. In the coming years The Authority will implement dozens of transit, rail and highway projects, all with the same basic goal: Getting Northern Virginia residents home from work faster. Through increased connectivity these projects will improve the ease of getting around the area and allow for greater opportunity for economic development.”


BACKGROUND OF HB2313 AND TRANSACTION 2040

HB2313 established a new transportation revenue source for Northern Virginia, which is estimated to be $1.9 billion over the next six years. It will be allocated through the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority Fund and Northern Virginia localities.
Seventy percent of revenues collected will go to The Authority to be used on regional projects that are included within the TransAction 2040 regional transportation plan or mass transit capital projects that increase capacity. Thirty percent of funds will be distributed to localities to be spent on urban or secondary road construction, capital improvements that reduce congestion, other projects that have been approved in the regional transportation plan, or for public transportation purposes.

TransAction 2040 is an update of the Northern Virginia 2030 Transportation Plan. While incorporating recent changes in our transportation network, TransAction 2040 prioritizes all of the transportation solutions presented in the 2030 Plan and includes a cost-benefit analysis. The 2030 plan itself was created as an answer to the growing problems with congestion in the Northern Virginia region. During the development of TransAction 2030 and TransAction 2040, citizens and advisory groups aided Northern Virginia’s transportation planners to map out a plan for making the vision a reality for the region’s transportation future.

For information and regular updates Northern Virginians are encouraged to visit The Authority web site at http://www.TheNoVaAuthority.org  In a.ddition, The Authority will provide status updates and information periodically on its Facebook page.

NORTHERN VIRGINIA TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY

NVTA was created by the General Assembly on July 1, 2002, to offer a common voice for Northern Virginia on transportation and other issues that confront the region. The Authority is made up of nine jurisdictions including: the counties of Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William; as well as the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Manassas and Manassas Park. As the entity responsible for long-range transportation planning for regional projects in Northern Virginia, The Authority recently completed TransAction 2040, its regional transportation plan.


NVTA Who’s Who
The voting members of the Authority include:

Hon. Martin Nohe, NVTA Chairman; Prince William County
Hon. William D. Euille. NVTA Vice Chairman; City of Alexandria
Hon. R. Scott Silverthorne, City of Fairfax
Hon. Sharon Bulova, Fairfax County
Hon. Harry J. “Hal” Parrish II, City of Manassas
Hon. Bryan Polk, City of Manassas Park
Hon. David Snyder, City of Falls Church
Hon. Scott York, Loudoun County
Hon. Christopher Zimmerman, Arlington County
Hon. Adam Ebbin, Virginia Senate
Hon. Joe T. May, Virginia House of Delegates
Hon. Thomas Davis Rust, Virginia House of Delegates
Sandy Bushue, Governors Appointee
Gary Garczynski, Governors Appointee, CTB Member

Non-voting members of the Authority include:

Helen Cuervo, VDOT
Kevin Page, VDRPT
Gerald “Jerry” Foreman, Town of Dumfries