City of Alexandria, Virginia
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MEMORANDUM
DATE: MARCH 4, 2020
TO: THE HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL
FROM: MARK B. JINKS, CITY MANAGER /s/
DOCKET TITLE:
TITLE
Consideration of a Resolution to Support Grant Applications to the Virginia Department of Transportation and Department of Rail and Public Transportation for FY 2026 to FY 2027 SMART SCALE projects. [ROLL-CALL VOTE]
BODY
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ISSUE: Consider approval of a resolution to support Grant Applications to the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation for FY 2026 to FY 2027 SMART SCALE projects.
RECOMMENDATION: That City Council:
1. Authorize the submission of up to $143.5 million in SMART SCALE applications; and
2. Authorize the City Manager to execute all necessary documents that may be required.
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 project scoring attributes: Safety, Congestion mitigation, Accessibility, Land use, Environmental and Economic Development. The State law assigns different weights to factors based on a project's location within a region of the State. In 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%. The goal of SMART SCALE is to ensure the State invests limited tax dollars into projects that meet critical transportation needs. The State will make awards in June 2021 for projects scheduled for implementation in FY 2026 to FY 2027.
DISCUSSION: The City has developed a list of five projects based on the guidelines and criteria outlined in the SMART SCALE process. Because the timeline for submissions of pre-applications is significantly sooner than the application deadline in pr...
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