City of Alexandria, Virginia
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MEMORANDUM
DATE: SEPTEMBER 30, 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 a Funding Request for $4.5 million in FY 2027 Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) and Regional Surface Transportation Program (RSTP) Funds. [ROLL-CALL VOTE]
BODY
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ISSUE: Consideration of the FY 2027 Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program (CMAQ) and Regional Surface Transportation Program (RSTP) project funding requests.
RECOMMENDATION: That City Council:
1. Approve the attached resolution (Attachment 1) supporting the $4.5 million in FY 2027 CMAQ/RSTP funding request; and
2. Authorize the City Manager to submit this funding request to the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority (NVTA) and enter into necessary agreements with the Commonwealth to accept these grants.
DISCUSSION: Since 1993, the Commonwealth of Virginia has allocated CMAQ and RSTP funding to the Northern Virginia region. CMAQ funded projects must meet three eligibility requirements: 1) have a transportation focus, 2) reduce air emissions, and 3) be located in or benefit a nonattainment or maintenance area.
RSTP funds are flexible funds that may be used for a variety of regional transportation activities, including but not limited to pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure, transit capital projects, and transportation or transit studies.
The City of Alexandria must submit the FY 2027 CMAQ/RSTP funding request to the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority (NVTA) by December 2020. A combined table showing CMAQ/RSTP funding for FY 2022 to FY 2026 as well as the FY 2027 proposed funding can be found in Attachment 2. The City’s funding request for FY 2027 is $4.5M and includes the following projects.
FY27 CMAQ/RSTP Proposed Program
Project Name FY 2017
Duke Street Transitway Operations $3,5000,000
Smart Mobility Implementation $1,000,000
Total $4,500,000
Duke Street Transitway Operations
The City of Alexandria anticipates operations on the Duke Street Transitway to begin around FY 2027 and will most likely require additional funding for operations (similar to the West End Transitway). City staff will begin the planning process in early 2021 for the Transitway, coordinated with some of the City’s other projects along the corridor, including transit signal priority, Traffic Adaptive Signal Control and improvements at the intersection of Duke Street at West Taylor Run Parkway. Regardless of the outcome of the planning process, transit enhancements, including additional service, will require these additional operating funds. To date, the City of Alexandria has received a total of $87 million in NVTA 70% funding for design, right-of-way, construction and buses for the Duke Street Transitway project.
Proposed Funding: $3,500,000
Smart Mobility Implementation
The Smart Mobility Program continues the work from the Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) Integration project, which installs the infrastructure needed to enable the City to connect to future technology and vehicles. This includes the installation of underground conduit and fiber optic cable, connections to the City’s traffic signal network and Dedicated Short Range Communication (DSRC) at intersections. The projects within the Smart Mobility Program enable the City of Alexandria to better manage traffic and the transportation network. The FY 2027 funds will fund several potential Smart Mobility projects either as continuations of previous projects or as new projects to improve travel along key corridors, better manage parking through technology, and install recommended technology from the Smart Mobility Framework Plan and Alexandria Mobility Plan.
Proposed Funding: $1,000,000
The Transportation Commission reviewed these recommendations at its meeting on September 16, 2020. Following discussion, the Transportation Commission approved the recommendation for the FY 2027 funding request, as indicated in Attachment 3.
FISCAL IMPACT: Since the Commonwealth of Virginia provides the local match for both RSTP and CMAQ funds, there will be no fiscal impact to the City from accepting these funds.
ATTACHMENTS:
Attachment 1: Resolution
Attachment 2: FY 2022 to FY 2026 CMAQ/RSTP Approved and FY 2027 Proposed Funding
Attachment 3: Transportation Commission Endorsement Letter
Attachment 4: Presentation
STAFF:
Emily A. Baker, Deputy City Manager
Yon Lambert, Director, T&ES
Hillary Orr, Deputy Director of Transportation, T&ES
Christopher Ziemann, Division Chief, Transportation Planning, T&ES
Tarrence Moore, Division Chief, Strategic Management Services