City of Alexandria, Virginia
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MEMORANDUM
DATE: APRIL 6, 2016
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 the City of Alexandria’s Transit Development Plan FY 2017 to FY 2022. [ROLL-CALL VOTE]
BODY
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ISSUE: Consideration of a Resolution to support the City of Alexandria’s Transit Development Plan FY 2017 to FY 2022.
RECOMMENDATION: That City Council adopt a resolution (Attachment 1) supporting the City of Alexandria’s Transit Development Plan and authorize the City Manager to submit it to the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation.
BACKGROUND: The Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT) requires that any transit agency or municipality in Virginia providing transit service develop a six-year Transit Development Plan (TDP) as a prerequisite for receiving capital and operating assistance from the Commonwealth. This is a new requirement by DRPT, and it requires a City Council resolution supporting a plan. The plan provides both a fiscally constrained scenario, as well as a fiscally unconstrained scenario for planning purposes only.
The TDP includes planning for all transit services that operate in the City, including DASH, Metrobus, Metrorail, MetroAccess, DOT Paratransit, Fairfax Connector, Virginia Railway Express (VRE), and Amtrak. DRPT led, funded, and managed the project consultant team provided to develop the TDP. All project team members (City staff, DASH, and WMATA) participated by providing data and feedback and reviewing project deliverables. At the June and July Transportation Commission meetings, City staff provided an overview of the recommendations in the draft TDP. The Commission held a public hearing, and following the public hearing, endorsed the TDP and provided some policy guidance regarding the implementation of the plan (Attachment 2). The project team addressed the comments of the Transportation Commission by revising the draft plan to include responses to the comments made by the Transportation Commission.
DISCUSSION: The TDP consolidates many recommendations for transit services across the City, including the West End Transitway, station area projects at King Street and Eisenhower Avenue Metro stations, DASH service enhancements, and the pedestrian tunnel connecting King Street Metro station to Alexandria Union Station. Regardless of project sources, each project included in the TDP was developed within the framework of the City’s Transportation Master Plan, DASH Comprehensive Operational Analysis, DASH Transit Development Program, WMATA Priority Corridor Network Study, and the Landmark Van Dorn Corridor Plan. An executive summary for the TDP can be found in Attachment 3, and a link to the full TDP is here Transit Development Plan <https://www.alexandriava.gov/uploadedFiles/tes/info/City%20of%20Alexandria%20Transit%20Development%20Plan%20(TDP).pdf>. The TDP is a six-year plan for all transit within the City and should not be confused with Transit Development Plan DASH’s annual Transit Development program. However, DASH’s annual transit development program fits within the overall policy guidance of the TDP.
FISCAL IMPACT: The TDP includes several six-year funding scenarios for both capital and operating costs with identified potential funding sources such as the City’s Transportation Improvement Program (TIP), Northern Virginia Transportation Authority (NVTA) funds, federal grant funds, formula funds, and the City’s General Fund. As detailed in Chapter 7 of the plan, projected revenue estimates from the TIP and other funding sources, general inflation rates, cost per revenue hour, and annual growth in operating expenses for transit are all factors that are taken into consideration for both the constrained and unconstrained funding scenarios.
A table summarizing funding scenarios presented in the plan for all transit operating costs is shown in Attachment 5. A table summarizing funding scenarios presented in the plan for all transit capital costs is shown in Attachment 6. Because the Transit Development Plan was developed prior to the completion and release of the FY 2017 proposed CIP, the funding scenarios are consistent with the FY 2016 adopted CIP. However, there are no material differences.
Consideration for implementation of all of the capital and operating proposals included in the TDP will be considered through the City’s annual budget process.
ATTACHMENTS:
Attachment 1: Proposed City Council Resolution
Attachment 2: Transportation Commission Letter of Endorsement
Attachment 3: Transit Development Plan Executive Summary
Attachment 4: Operating Summary
Attachment 5: Capital Summary
Attachment 6: Presentation
STAFF:
Emily A. Baker, Deputy City Manager
Yon Lambert, Director, T&ES
Carrie Sanders, Acting Deputy Director, T&ES/Transportation
Ramond Robinson, Division Chief, T&ES/Transit Services