WASHINGTON — It could soon get easier to drive around the DMV. The Northern Virginia Transportation Authority is asking for public feedback on several dozen transportation projects submitted by jurisdictions across Northern Virginia, including Fairfax, Arlington, Loudoun and Prince William counties.
With a combined request of more than $1.2 billion, the projects being considered cover various modes of transportation, including railway, Bus Rapid Transit, roadways, pedestrian/bicycle pathways and transportation technologies.
“Here in Northern Virginia we have various modes of transportation which is always a critical point because we know that living here and working here in this region, there is no single mode that’s going to solve the transportation problems that we experience. We are truly multi-mode, we look at roadways, we look at transit, we look at bike/pedestrian facilities and we look at electric vehicles,” said Monica Backmon the Chief Executive Officer for Northern Virginia Transportation Authority.
Right now, you can learn more about the different projects and share your feedback on the six-year program.
“Because of the way the funding bill that we utilize is structured, every project we fund with our revenues must be in the region’s long range transportation plan. The project has to be in that plan, which means it is already undergoing a high-level evaluation. Then you have the localities and agencies that go into that plan and look at their own needs and say here are some projects we have that we are ready to stand behind and push forward at this particular time. And that’s how the applications come forward,” said Backmon.
On Wednesday evening, NVTA will host an open house prior to the Annual Northern Virginia Joint Transportation Meeting. During the meeting, the public will be able to meet one-on-one with NVTA staff and jurisdictions who submitted projects for funding consideration.
The meeting will take place from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. in the Potomac Conference Room at VDOT’s NOVA District Offices at 4975 Alliance Drive in Fairfax Virginia.
“We are going to have an open house at 5:30 p.m. at the VDOT NOVA office so people can come down talk to us and talk to the project sponsors about the project if they want more information before they submit their written comments. We try to make sure we provide various opportunities to hear feedback from the public,” said Backmon.
“We really want to hear from the public. All of this, what we do on our end and the technical evaluations, reviewing projects, we need to hear from the public. You are the users of this system, of this whole infrastructure and we want to hear from you. What can we do to improve your quality of life, reduce congestion and get you to where you need to be a little quicker,” said Backmon.
A public hearing is scheduled for May 12th at 7 o’clock p.m. at 3040 Williams Drive, Suite 200 in Fairfax Virginia. You can also participate virtually.
The public comment period started on April 15th and ends on May 22nd at midnight. The form with opportunities to give feedback can be found here.