SD35 - Transportation Improvements for the Reston Area


Executive Summary:
Reston is the second largest employment center in the Commonwealth of Virginia with an estimated 2,800 firms providing 50,000 jobs. It is also recognized worldwide as one of America's most successful planned residential communities. There are now 62,000 people who call Reston home.

The 1999 General Assembly agreed on two identical resolutions, Senate Joint Resolution (SJR) 335 and House Joint Resolution (HJR) 542 (Appendix A), patroned respectively by Senators Janet Howell and William Mims and Delegate Kenneth R. Plum. The purpose of both SJR 335 and HJR 542 was to identify needed highway and transit improvements for the Reston area in order to facilitate the movement of large volumes of people and products within the immediate Reston area and between Reston and external origins and destinations. The resolutions also specified completing this study in time for the Secretary to submit her findings and recommendations to the Governor and the 2000 General Assembly session.

Following a discussion between the resolution patrons and the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) staff, a steering committee of local Reston residents and business representatives was established under the chairmanship of Mr. Karl Ingebritsen. Mr. Ingebritsen is the Director of LINK, a local transportation management association that serves the Reston area. The patrons agreed that this study effort should be a community led effort to obtain maximum citizen input and community support.

The actual study process included several committee meetings at which a lengthy list of possible improvements was discussed, pared down, and organized into two priority lists. As a final step in the process, a public hearing was held at the Reston Community Center on September 28, 1999, to present the committee's recommendations and receive public comments. Following that hearing, the proposed list of transportation needs was refined by the chairman based on citizen comments.

The final list of recommended short term and long term transportation needs is presented in this study report for consideration by the 2000 session of the General Assembly. This recommended project list includes pedestrian and safety needs in addition to transit and highway projects. As stipulated in the resolutions, cost estimates have been prepared for the suggested projects. Because a defined scope of work has not been developed for many of these projects, the cost estimates given are only approximations based upon costs for similar types of work that have occurred in VDOT's Northern Virginia District. Additionally, some of the recommendations suggest more detailed study by VDOT or the Fairfax County Department of Transportation (FCDOT) transportation staff to determine the feasibility of implementing specific transportation improvements. Detailed cost estimates are not provided for recommendations requiring additional study.

The priority lists for short term and long term multi-modal transportation improvements are summarized in Table 1, "Short-Term List of Recommendations" and Table 2, Long-Term List of Recommendations".

A more detailed discussion of each improvement is contained in the chapter on study recommendations. For the purposes of this study the steering committee considered "short term" to mean a project that can be implemented now, or within a year or two, if needed funding is provided.

It must be recognized that there is a limit to funding for transportation improvements throughout the Commonwealth; the improvements recommended by the steering committee must successfully compete in established project selection processes to be funded and implemented either by FCDOT or VDOT. The "possible sources" of funding listed in this study report are sources that initially appear appropriate. However, no commitment has been made for any funds from these sources beyond those amounts contained in the Commonwealth's approved Six Year Improvement Program.

This study report is intended to present the suggested Reston area improvements determined by a steering committee of local residents and business representatives to be their most critical transportation needs. This report does not imply any commitment on the part of FCDOT or VDOT to implement the recommended projects without more detailed evaluation and selection for funding.