City of Alexandria, Virginia
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MEMORANDUM
DATE: JANUARY 3, 2018
TO: THE HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL
FROM: MARK B. JINKS, CITY MANAGER /s/
DOCKET TITLE:
TITLE
Consideration of a Resolution for City of Alexandria applications for the FY 2018 to FY 2023 Northern Virginia Transportation Authority 70% Regional Funding Six Year Program and Resolutions of Support for Arlington County and Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Applications. [ROLL-CALL VOTE]
BODY
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ISSUE: Consideration of a Resolution for City of Alexandria applications for the FY 2018 to FY 2023 Northern Virginia Transportation Authority (NVTA) 70% Regional Funding Six Year Program (SYP) and Resolutions of Support for Arlington County and Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) Applications
RECOMMENDATION: That the City Council:
1) Readopt a resolution (Attachment 1) detailing the City of Alexandria’s application for the FY 2018 to FY 2023 NVTA 70% Regional Funding SYP;
2) Adopt the resolution (Attachment 2) to support Arlington County applications for the FY 2018 to FY 2023 NVTA 70% Regional Funding SYP; and
3) Adopt the resolution (Attachment 3) to support WMATA applications for the FY 2018 to FY 2023 NVTA 70% Regional Funding SYP.
BACKGROUND: In April 2013, House Bill 2313 was signed into law, levying additional taxes and a fee in Planning Districts that meet population, motor vehicle registration, and transit ridership criteria. The additional revenues generated in Northern Virginia through these taxes and fees are deposited into a fund managed by the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority (NVTA). Thirty (30) percent of the funds are distributed directly to member localities for use on transportation projects; the remaining seventy (70) percent of the funds are distributed by NVTA and used for regional transportation projects. Projects seeking NVTA 70% regional transportation funds must be included in NVTA’s long range transportation plan, TransAction, and must include resolutions from the governing body.
DISCUSSION: At the November 28, 2017 Legislative Meeting, City Council adopted a program of projects for NVTA 70% regional funding. After the docket resolution had been issued, NVTA provided staff additional guidance regarding resolutions from governing bodies. As part of the FY 2018 to FY 2023 NVTA 70% funding application process, jurisdictions requesting funding must now include a resolution from the governing body that includes the TransAction ID number, TransAction Project Title, and the dollar amount requested for each project. The resolution (Attachment 1) is due to NVTA on January 19, 2018.
Since Council’s November 28, 2017 action to approve the NVTA program, Staff completed and submitted the applications to NVTA by the December 15, 2017 deadline.
Projects that benefit multiple jurisdictions may submit Resolutions of Support for other applications. On December 16, 2017, the Arlington County Board adopted a Resolution of Support (Attachment 4) for the City of Alexandria’s application for the ‘West End Transitway - Northern Segment’. Arlington County and WMATA have requested resolutions of support from City Council for the projects below:
• Arlington County is requesting $28 million 1) to extend the Crystal City - Potomac Yard Transitway in Pentagon City and 2) to improve multimodal access to the Transitway, Metrorail station, and regional destinations through a Complete Streets project on Army Navy Drive. Improvements to the Crystal City - Potomac Yard Transitway and related complete street investments will benefit Metroway service riders in both Alexandria and Arlington by providing safe, multimodal access to the Transitway and support continued ridership growth on Metroway, the region’s first BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) service.
• WMATA is requesting 1) $2.0 million to conduct an Alternatives Analysis study for Blue/Orange/Silver Corridor Capacity and Reliability Improvements (New Blue Line) in order to address “bottleneck” capacity issues at Rosslyn station and related approach tunnels and Potomac River Crossing and reliability issues throughout the corridor and 2) $94.57 million to implement comprehensive upgrades and replacement of all ATC power and wayside communication equipment necessary to ensure safe and reliable operation of 8-car trains on the Blue and Orange lines. This project builds upon the traction power upgrades previously funded by NVTA, will increase Metrorail capacity in Alexandria along the Blue Line, and support ongoing efforts to improve overall Metrorail reliability.
In addition, the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission (NVTC) is planning to endorse the City’s applications at the January 4, 2018 Commission meeting. How the Governor’s recently proposed use of NVTA funds (along with a package of dedicated taxes) to help create a stable and reliable dedicated long-term funding plan for WMATA’s Capital Program will impact NVTA funding plans is not known at this time. Given the time and uncertainty in regard to the Governor’s proposals, it is recommended that Council proceed and adopt these three resolutions.
FISCAL IMPACT: The adoption of these resolutions has no fiscal impact.
ATTACHMENTS:
Attachment 1 - City of Alexandria NVTA SYP Resolution
Attachment 2 - Resolution in Support of Arlington County NVTA SYP Applications
Attachment 3 - Resolution in Support of WMATA NVTA SYP Applications
Attachment 4 - Arlington County Resolution for West End Transitway
STAFF:
Emily A. Baker, Deputy City Manager
Yon Lambert, Director, Transportation & Environmental Services
Hillary Orr, Deputy Director of Transportation & Transit, T&ES
Allan Fye, Division Chief, Transit Services