City of Alexandria, Virginia
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MEMORANDUM
DATE: SEPTEMBER 7, 2016
TO: THE HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL
FROM: MARK B. JINKS, CITY MANAGER /s/
DOCKET TITLE:
TITLE
Consideration of Grant Applications to the Virginia Department of Transportation and Department of Rail and Public Transportation for Transportation Projects Eligible under SMART SCALE.
BODY
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ISSUE: Consideration of Grant Applications to the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) and Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT) for Transportation Projects Eligible under SMART SCALE Grant Funding.
RECOMMENDATION: That the City Council:
1. Authorize the submission of $42.6 million in SMART SCALE transportation applications to VDOT and DRPT for the following projects (projects would be submitted individually and prioritized in the following order):
a) West End Transitway: $10,640,000
b) DASH Bus and Facility Expansion: $11,134,000
c) Traffic Adaptive Signal Control Technology: $7,000,000
d) Backlick Run Trail: $3,882,000
e) Eisenhower West Multi-modal Bridge: $10,000,000
2. Authorize the City Manager to execute all necessary documents that may be required under this program
BACKGROUND: In 2014, HB2 was signed into law, and in June 2016, the program was renamed SMART SCALE. SMART stands for System Management Allocation of Resources for Transportation and SCALE stands for Safety, Congestion mitigation, Accessibility, Land use, Environmental and Economic development.
The goal of SMART SCALE is to ensure the state invests limited tax dollars into projects that meet critical transportation needs. For FY 2022 to FY 2023, an estimated $40 to $80 million will be available for the Northern Virginia District and an additional to be determined amount will also be available for high priority projects statewide. The application period for SMART SCALE began August 1, 2016 and applications are due September 30, 2016.
The following factors will be used to score submitted projects: congestion mitigation, economic
development, accessibility, safety, environmental quality, and land use. Different weights will be
assigned to such factors based on a project’s location within a region of the state. Within Northern Virginia, congestion mitigation is the highest weighted factor at 45%; land use at 20%; accessibility at 15%; environmental quality at 10%; economic development at 5%; and safety at 5%.
DISCUSSION: Staff has developed the following list of projects, in order of priority, based on the guidelines and criteria outlined in the SMART SCALE process. At its July 20, 2016 meeting, the Transportation Commission endorsed (Attachment 1) the following prioritized project list, and staff informed Commission that project cost estimates would be refined, and two have been (West End Transitway and DASH Bus Facility Expansion), as shown below:
• West End Transitway: $10,640,000 - Project will construct two Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) West End Transitway stations, two local streets through Southern Towers that will provide a permanent alignment for transit service and support redevelopment efforts, and a consolidated transit center for local buses that will be located between the two towers that front Seminary Road, between I-395 and Mark Center Drive. The West End Transitway project, as approved by Council on March 29, 2016, is funded in the FY 2017 CIP at $143 million with a combination of NVTA 70 percent funds, State and federal grants, and private contributions. This aspect of the project would provide additional infrastructure to enhance the project and provide funding to construct new local streets to serve the transitway.
• DASH Bus Facility Expansion: $11,134,000 - Project will complete design and construction of an expansion of the existing DASH facility. The expansion would increase facility capacity from 86 buses to 135 buses, furthering the goals of the City of Alexandria Transit Development Plan (TDP), and would allow for the implementation of new routes and improved service on existing routes. This project is currently unfunded.
• Traffic Adaptive Signal Control Technology: $7,000,000 - Project will improve traffic flow through the City of Alexandria by further implementing adaptive traffic signal control that facilitates a traffic signal system that can optimize traffic signal operation based on the actual traffic flow in real-time. Since these State grant funds, if awarded, will not be available for five or six years, the actual technology changes (fiber, wireless, hardware, software, and etc.) are not known at this time. However, what is known is that the technology in this area is quickly evolving so that the technology in place today will likely substantially change in a five to six year period. This project is partially funded in the FY 2017 CIP at $15.6 million.
• Backlick Run Trail: $3,882,000 - Project will extend the existing Backlick Run Trail to the west along the north side of Backlick Run to the Alexandria and Fairfax County border. This project is recommended in the Eisenhower West Small Area Plan, and is also a priority trail project in the Pedestrian and Bicycle chapter of the Transportation Master Plan. This project is partially funded in the City’s FY 2017 budget at $2.1 million.
• Van Dorn Metro Multi-Modal Bridge: $10,000,000 - This project is for a bridge connection between the Van Dorn Metrorail station and S. Pickett Street. The bridge will accommodate bicycles, pedestrians, high capacity transit (as part of the future West End Transitway), and potentially motor vehicles. This project was initially identified in the Landmark / Van Dorn Corridor Plan, and further studied and recommended in the Eisenhower West Small Area Plan, and is minimally funded in the City’s FY 2017 budget at $200,000 and in FY 2018 at $300,000. The requested grant would be used for initial design, engineering, and right-of-way acquisition.
After applications are submitted by September 30, 2016, staff from VDOT and DRPT will screen candidate projects to determine if they qualify to be scored. Selected projects will be scored in the fall and winter 2016. In January 2017, a list of all submitted projects and their scores will be submitted to the Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB) and will be posted on-line. In April or May 2017, the draft Six Year Plan, to include SMART SCALE projects, will be released by the CTB, followed by public hearings and a public comment period to gather input. The CTB is expected to make its final decision on which projects to fund through SMART SCALE in June 2017.
FISCAL IMPACT: The funding provided through SMART SCALE does not require any City matching funds. Projects proposed for submission must be for either unfunded or under-funded expansion projects, which will be considered as part of the review criteria. With exception to the DASH Bus Facility Expansion, which is unfunded, the other four projects have related funding in the current City 10-year CIP (albeit the multi-modal bridge funding is a small fraction of what the cost of the bridge will eventually be).
ATTACHMENTS:
1. July 21, 2016 Transportation Commission Letter
2. Powerpoint Presentation
STAFF:
Emily A. Baker, Deputy City Manager
Yon Lambert, Director, T&ES
Carrie Sanders, Deputy Director, T&ES, Transportation,
Allan Fye, Acting Division Chief, Transit Services