1 The Authority is keenly focused on regionalism and collaboration. - - PDF document

Greetings! My name is Marty Nohe and I am the Chairman of the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority. Thank you for joining us tonight at our Public Hearing on the Authority’s DRAFT FY2015‐ 16 Two Year Program. As you are well aware, one of the most critical issues facing Northern Virginia today is

• transportation. As the Authority’s Chairman, I am committed to providing information

and engaging Northern Virginians in our planning and project selection process. This current process creates a list of regional projects that we will fund for the next two years.

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The Authority is keenly focused on regionalism and collaboration. We are committed to funding projects that relieve congestion, improve the economy and enhance the quality of life for all who live, travel and work in our region. Our primary goal is to advance projects as quickly as possible to help achieve real congestion relief in Northern Virginia. With sound planning and financial management, I am confident that we will see significant progress toward transportation improvements in the coming years. This evening, I will provide you with a brief background of the Authority and then outline the Authority’s planning and funding process. Finally I will introduce the you to the Draft Two Year Program, outline our next steps and tell you how you can stay involved in this process as we move forward.

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The Authority localities include 4 counties and 5 cities:

• the counties of Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William;
• the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Manassas and Manassas Park.

The Northern Virginia Transportation Authority has seventeen members.

• The chief elected official, or their designees, of the nine cities and counties that are

members of the Authority;

• two members of the House of Delegates appointed by the Speaker of the House;
• ne member of the Senate appointed by the Senate Committee on Privileges and

Elections; and

• two citizens who reside in counties and cities embraced by the Authority, appointed

by the Governor. In addition, the Director of the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation, or his designee; the Commonwealth Transportation Commissioner, or his designee; and the chief elected officer of one town in a county which the Authority embraces, serve as non‐ voting members of the Authority.

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The Authority, as a regional body, is focused on delivering real transportation solutions and value for Northern Virginia’s dollars. The Authority is responsible for programming approximately $300 million annually in new transportation dollars with the primary focus of reducing congestion through regional project investments. With the passage of Virginia’s landmark transportation bill, HB 2313 in April 2013, a dedicated, sustainable funding stream for transportation in Northern Virginia was established, allowing the Authority to begin fulfilling its mission to address our regional transportation challenges.

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NVTA funding is divided into two categories: 70% (Regional Revenue funds) and 30% (Local Distribution funds). Regional Revenue Funds are disbursed to the NVTA and utilized for Regional projects included in TransAction 2040 that have been evaluated by VDOT for congestion mitigation or emergency evacuation (HB 599); or Mass transit capital projects that increase capacity. 30% Local Distribution Funds are distributed to the individual localities and utilized for their transportation needs. Each year we are required to provide a detailed report of the funds spent on projects to the General Assembly’s Joint Commission on Transportation Accountability (JCTA). This provides additional oversight and accountability of the NVTA. The Authority also produces an Annual Report detailing the expenditure of revenues.

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For the FY2015‐16 Two Year Program, projects must be in TransAction 2040 and be rated as part of the HB 599 process, or mass transit capital project that increase capacity. In addition to the 32 highway projects the NVTA submitted for the HB 599 process, as part of the development of the Two Year Program, the Commonwealth Transportation Board added five projects to be rated as part of the HB 599 process. However, only projects that are TransAction AND have been rated as part of the HB 599 process are eligible for HB2313 Regional Revenues. The Authority has been and will continue to be completely transparent in all of our processes.

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So, how do we manage this? It starts with a PLAN. The NVTA manages transportation project planning, prioritization and funding for the Northern Virginia region. Our current long range plan, TransAction 2040, is the basis for ALL of the projects that are selected for NVTA funding. TransAction 2040 includes new regionally significant projects that were not included in the Transportation Planning Board’s 2010 Constrained Long Range Plan but are contained in comprehensive and regionally approved jurisdiction and agency plans. TransAction also includes an evaluation and prioritization process of all projects with a cost‐benefit analysis.

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Once a project is included in the plan, it has to be programmed and we need to identify the sources of funding that will be used to pay for the project. Over the past few years there has been a lot of discussion about how the Authority selects and funds its projects. So let’s address that. First, the money we receive is divided into two funding streams: Regional Revenue Funds and 30% Local Distribution Funds. The 30% Local Distribution Funds are distributed directly to localities. Second, when deciding on which projects to fund with Regional Revenue, the Authority gives priority to projects that are expected to provide the greatest level of congestion reduction relative to the cost of the project. This chart briefly outlines the funding process. Projects that can be funded with Regional Revenue Funding are:

• submitted by jurisdictions and agencies for funding consideration;
• submitted to VDOT for rating and evaluation (HB 599);
• evaluated by the NVTA based on agreed criteria that include congestion relief, project

readiness and cost‐sharing;

• scored by evaluation criteria and incorporating VDOT’s HB 599 scoring;
• approved for funding based on score and funding available;
• added to the Draft Program for Public Review and Comment; and finally
• the Authority approves the project list and the project is funded.

Looking ahead to the Authority’s next call for projects in FY2017, all recommended projects must be in TransAction – and undergo the HB 599 rating and evaluation process as required by law.

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You are here tonight to provide your input on a set of projects we have identified through a rigorous selection process. Your input on the FY2015‐16 Two Year Program will provide the Authority with much needed guidance.

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Here’s the timeline and the steps we’ve taken thus far to produce the DRAFT Two Year Program for FY2015‐16. I want to emphasize that public input is very important to the Authority as it helps us make better decisions about which projects we will fund.

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A total of 33 Highway and 19 Mass Transit Projects, totaling nearly $770 million, were submitted to the Authority for consideration in the Two Year Program. There is roughly $351 million available to fund the FY2015‐16 proposed projects, so as you can see, they will not all be funded. However, 8 projects have been deemed ineligible or removed from the original

• submission. They were deemed ineligible because they were not in TransAction 2040 or

the 2010 CLRP. One project was eliminated because it did not reduce congestion per the HB 599 rating. Resulting in 44 remaining projects for your consideration.

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It is important to note that several factors are taken into account when we develop our Two Year Program. The NVTA’s approach to developing the FY2015‐16 Two Year Program blends our own analysis with the HB 599 ratings that were developed by VDOT independently of the

• NVTA. VDOT presented the final HB 599 ratings to the NVTA in January 2015. HB 599

ratings were only calculated for highway projects. In the future we will use HB 599 ratings for both highway and mass transit projects. The NVTA’s Project Implementation Working Group developed a project selection process last year that will be addressed in more detail on subsequent slides. This process embraced the HB 599 ratings as the most important selection criterion. However, I must point out the HB 599 ratings are only one of the NVTA’s eleven project selection criteria. Having completed this analysis we are now taking this opportunity to invite public input before the Project Implementation Working Group makes its final recommendation to the Authority for a Two Year Program in April.

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The Authority approved an overall approach (including project selection criteria) to aid in decision‐making and to determine which projects will receive NVTA funding in the FY2015‐16 Two Year Program. This approach uses three types of screening.

• Preliminary Screening: this is a pass/fail filter. Each project must pass all applicable

criteria to be considered for funding.

• Detailed Screening: projects that pass Preliminary Screening are then evaluated in

more detail using a combination of quantitative and qualitative criteria in parallel:

• For the Quantitative Score: a composite score is calculated for each project,

using weighted selection criteria.

• 11 selection criteria are used, based on criteria from the TransAction

2040 long range transportation plan; the FY2014 project selection methodology, and (for highway projects only) the legislatively required HB 599 (2012) Evaluation and Rating Study.

• Qualitative Considerations: projects are assessed using qualitative factors and

considerations that do not lend themselves to be scored quantitatively.

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NVTA staff calculated a quantitative score for each project using 11 selection criteria. For the most part, the score for each individual criterion is based on analysis conducted for TransAction 2040, updated as necessary to reflect current circumstances. The most important of these eleven criteria is congestion reduction, with an overall weighting of 35%. For highway projects, the congestion reduction criterion used the HB 599 rating. For transit projects, the congestion reduction criterion is based on analysis conducted for TransAction 2040. Consequently, the quantitative scores for highway and transit projects are not directly comparable. Project readiness is very important to the NVTA. There are 2 criterion related to project readiness, with a combined weighting of 25%. One of these criterion is project phase, e.g. study, design, construction. The more advanced a project is, the higher its

• score. The second project readiness criterion reflects how quickly it can be implemented

and fully operational. The faster the project can be implemented, the higher its score. The remaining 8 selection criteria are equally weighted at 5% each.

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As mentioned before there are 44 projects to be considered. 34 of these projects are highlighted on the next two slides. There is only $351 million available for the Two Year Program. The highlighted projects generally have the highest NVTA score. Those that are not highlighted are also there for your consideration and comment but there are not enough funds available to fund every project on the list.

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In order to form the DRAFT project list, these proposed projects were analyzed using the 11 NVTA project selection criteria, as well as evaluated and rated as part of the HB 599

• process. Congestion reduction is 35% of the weighting.

There are 27 Highway Projects are for your consideration. The detailed rankings for each project can be found on the NVTA’s website.

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As a region, we must consider a balance of transportation investments, ensuring that we minimize congestion and maximize the travel options for residents, commuters and visitors alike. There are 17 Mass Transit Projects for your consideration. The total share of funding for Highway is 61.9% vs. 38.1% for Transit Projects. I want to take a moment to draw your attention to the two garages on this list, specifically for PRTC and Fairfax County. People generally understand that purchasing more buses increases capacity. But the average citizen might ask, “how does a garage increase capacity”? Keep in mind that when you purchase more buses, those buses need a place to be maintained and housed. This requires garage expansion. In the case of PRTC, they are bursting at the seams and can barely maintain the level of service that they provide because their garage facilities are way too small and outdated. Projects that are rated in HB 599, but not included in TransAction, are eligible for funding by the Commonwealth Transportation Board.

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As I’ve said several times this evening, your input is important. We’ve outlined all of the steps we’ve taken to formulate the DRAFT Two Year Plan. Our next steps include gathering additional public input and comments via e‐mail and Town Hall meetings through April 12. Currently, the Authority is scheduled to approve the FY2015‐16 Two Year Program on April 23, 2015.

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We want you to stay involved in this process not just for the Two Year Program but for subsequent planning and funding efforts. These are just a few of the ways you can do that. On behalf of the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority, thank you for joining us this evening. We look forward to hearing your comments on the Two Year Program.

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