Fwd: Anti-Park-Trail Advocacy Associated with the TransAction Update
Allen Muchnick
Click here to see information about "TransAction" and its current public comment period. The NVTA is holding this public comment period from August 1 to 11:59 p.m. on September 18, 2022. The public comment period includes opportunities for speaking in person or by phone at a public hearing and for submitting written comments on an on-line comment form.
Public hearing
The NVTA will hold a public hearing on "TransAction" on Thursday, September 8, 2022 beginning at 7:00 p.m. Register to speak at the hearing by one of the following three methods.
1. Click here to access the on-line registration form to speak at the public hearing.
3. Register in person before the Thursday, September 8, 2022 meeting at NVTA’s Offices (3040 Williams Drive, Suite 200, Fairfax, VA 22031). Sign-in from 6:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. ET.
Written Comments
To provide written comments, click here to access the TransAction on-line comment form. The NVTA will accept written comments on TransAction through September 18, 2022 at 11:59 p.m.
Environmentally Harmful Projects
If the NVTA provides funding through TransAction, two of the proposed projects (Projects Nos. ID#72 and ID#406) will destroy natural areas and increase stormwater runoff in Arlington County and other Northern Virginia jurisdictions by increasing the widths of paved bike/pedestrian trails within local, regional and national parks.
The NVTA rates and ranks projects according to their congestion relief:cost ratio.Bike/pedestrian trail projects usually receive high priorities for NVTA funding because they cost much less than do competing highway and transit projects. The NVTA does not consider environmental impacts when rating and ranking projects for funding.
The Arlington County government is sponsoring TransAction Project ID#72 (Arlington Regional Trail Network). The Bicycle Element of the County’s Master Transportation Plan recommends each of the projects that are within ID#72.
If you would not like to see the adverse environmental impacts that Projects ID#72 and ID#406 will create in Arlington’s parks, be sure to express your concerns in Box 5 on the Comment Form and register to speak at the NVTA’s public hearing on Thursday, September 8, 2022.
Click here to read the NVTA’s descriptions of Projects ID#72 (on page 10) and ID#406 (on page 44). I have copied these descriptions below.
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TransAction Project ID #72:
Project Name: Arlington Regional Trail Network
Project Description: Provide dedicated bicycle facilities, bikesharing and key sidewalk improvements on multiple corridors in Arlington. Example corridors includes Carlin Springs Road, Walter Reed Drive/ Fillmore Street, Harrison Street, Washington Boulevard, Route 110, and others. Network also includes:
a. Trail parallel to Washington Boulevard between Arlington Boulevard and Columbia Pike;
b. Rehab of Custis Trail to current VDOT shared used path design and construction specifications in Rosslyn;
c. Extension of Custis Trail north of I-66 between North Kennebec Street and North Quantico Street;
d. Long Bridge Park Esplanade extension to Mount Vernon Trail;
e. Arlington Boulevard trail;
f. Theodore Roosevelt Bridge connection to Mount Vernon Trail and Marine Corps War Memorial;
g. Dedicated cycling facility along the Route 50 service road (southside), between North Rhodes Street and North Meade Street;
h. Expansion of Arlington bicycle commuter routes: Bluemont Junction Trail, Custis Trail, Four Mile Run Trail, Mount Vernon Trail, W&OD Trail;
i. Improve connections between the County trail network and activity centers, as well as inter-jurisdictional connections.
Project sponsor: Arlington County
Cost: $80 million
Project Name: W&OD Regional Trail Capacity and Connectivity Enhancements.
Project Description: This multi-jurisdiction project will improve trail capacity at multiple sites along the Washington & Old Dominion (W&OD) Railroad Regional Park. It will build on the models established in Falls Church and Arlington with previous NVTA funding. Treatments will include parallel trails for multiple modes of transportation, wider trails to accommodate increased use, grade separation, crossing/intersection improvements, last-mile connectivity to transit, and/or enhanced connectivity to other regional trails, as appropriate to each site. Potential sites include but are not limited to locations within Town of Vienna, Arlington County, Fairfax County, Reston, Herndon, Loudoun County, and Town of Leesburg.
Project Sponsor: NOVA Parks
Cost: $60 million
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Bernie Berne