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Participate in an opportunity that comes once every five years.

Northern Virginia, August 1, 2022 – The Northern Virginia Transportation Authority (NVTA) is seeking public input on Northern Virginia’s long-range transportation plan, TransAction, with goals to enhance mobility, increase accessibility and improve resiliency by planning for an equitable, sustainable and safe multimodal transportation network. The draft TransAction Plan, which is updated every five years, addresses regional transportation needs through 2045, by which the population in Northern Virginia is projected to grow by 23% and employment by 33%. The TransAction Plan, comprised of 429 candidate transportation projects totaling more than $75 billion, identifies potential investments to meet the growing needs for travel throughout the region, expanding beyond Northern Virginia.

Now is the public’s opportunity to provide NVTA with feedback on the region’s transportation future, including a proposed regional Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) network, a range of technologies including progress towards vehicle electrification, and programs to encourage alternative modes of transportation, to name a few. TransAction recognizes Northern Virginians and others in the region regularly travel across jurisdictional boundaries to reach their destinations, including southern parts of Virginia, Washington, D.C. and Maryland. Feedback from the public who travel in the region is an important part of this TransAction update process.

The TransAction Public Comment Period begins on Monday, August 1, 2022, ending at 11:59 p.m. ET on Sunday, September 18, 2022. During this time, NVTA will host a TransAction Public Hearing on Thursday, September 8, 2022 at 7 p.m. ET, just prior to the Authority’s regularly scheduled business meeting.

The draft TransAction Plan document summarizing travel conditions, challenges and opportunities through 2045, and a draft TransAction Project List, are available for public comment at nvtatransaction.org/participate. To view materials in person, please contact NVTA at 703-642-4652 to set up an appointment with NVTA staff. The TransAction draft plan and online comment form are available in three languages: English, Spanish and Korean.

The public is invited to provide one comment submission per person via one of the following mediums:

• Online form: nvtatransaction.org/participate
• Voicemail: 571-354-0065
• Mail: Northern Virginia Transportation Authority, 3040 Williams Drive, Suite 200, Fairfax, VA 22031
• Public Hearing: Remote via Zoom, or NVTA’s Offices, 3040 Williams Drive, Suite 200, Fairfax, VA 22031, on September 8, 2022 at 7 p.m. ET

*When providing comment, the public is asked to provide their first and last name, email address, zip code and feedback on the TransAction Plan. If also commenting on the project list, please provide the project ID and/or project name.

During the TransAction Public Hearing, both remote and in-person opportunities will be offered for the public to provide comment. Due to pandemic concerns, it is strongly encouraged for testimony to be provided remotely or comments submitted in advance via the online comment form, available at nvtatransaction.org/participate.

The public must sign up in advance to provide live testimony during the Public Hearing on September 8, 2022, in one of the following three ways:

• Registration form: Fill out this forms.gle/sgp33RyRcGtTxFRn7. – Pre-Registration Deadline: September 6, 2022 at 5 p.m. ET
• Phone: 703-642-4652 – Pre-Registration Deadline: September 6, 2022 at 5 p.m. ET
• In-person Walk-Ins: NVTA’s Offices on September 8, 2022, Sign-in from 6:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. ET: 3040 Williams Drive, Suite 200, Fairfax, VA 22031
  *Advanced registration by September 6th preferred

The NVTA was created by the General Assembly on July 1, 2002, to offer a common voice for Northern Virginia on transportation issues confronting the region. The Authority is made up of nine jurisdictions including: the counties of Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William; as well as the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Manassas and Manassas Park. The Authority is responsible for updating Northern Virginia’s long-range transportation plan, TransAction, and since 2014 manages approximately $365 million annually in public funds for transportation projects designed to provide congestion relief throughout Northern Virginia. For more information visit thenovaauthority.org.

The latest Northern Virginia Transportation Authority survey of Northern Virginia (NoVA) residents shows that the proportion of those who have ever worked from home shot up to 78 percent, from 61 percent before the COVID-19 pandemic, indicating the significant impact that the pandemic has had on travel in the region. These and other trends were captured in the fourth NVTA Transportation Perception Survey of more than 600 NoVA residents presented at the March 10th NVTA meeting. While the pandemic may have shifted results from past surveys, the findings continue to help capture residents’ attitudes and behaviors, and inform future analyses, public engagement efforts, and impacts from other potential disruptions. A summary of key findings from the survey is provided in Blog Series: TransAction At-a-Glance (Post #4).

The February 13, 2020 Authority business meeting kicked off with Keith Jasper, Principal, Transportation Planning and Programming, NVTA, and Dee Allsop, Ph.D., Founding Partner, Heart+Mind Strategies, presenting the results of NVTA’s 2019 Transportation Perception Survey, which tracks changes in transportation attitudes and priorities in the DMV region. The 616 survey respondents were age 18+ and residents of Northern Virginia, but employment locations included Virginia, Maryland and the District.

This latest survey builds upon previous surveys of transportation-related public perceptions/awareness conducted in 2015 and 2016, as part of NVTA’s long-range transportation plan, TransAction, update.

Findings include:

• Concern about traffic congestion on quality of life decreases to 26% (vs. 33% in 2016), and the focus turns to areas like housing. Although, reducing traffic congestion and improving transportation options to improve quality of life, still ranked the highest.
• Traffic congestion is also less influential when choosing where to live (17%) vs. where to work (42%).
  • Residents focus on essentials like safety, affordability, opportunity and ease of commuting when considering where to live or work. Social opportunities and walkable communities are secondary.
• Residents report their normal commute time is 3 minutes faster (since 2016); slight decline in number of residents who drive to work (62% in 2016 vs. 59% in 2019)
  • 30 minutes a normal commute for survey takers; fastest commute 21.7 minutes; max acceptable 36.8 minutes
• A majority now say the region is doing a mostly “good job” on key transportation priorities impacting quality of life (56% 2019; 51% 2016; 43% 2015)
• Among potential projects, new/extended Metro rail lines top the list for those surveyed. When asked how they’d prioritize investments, residents distribute most funds to roads and rail/transit.
• Residents describe self-driving cars as “scary,” “unsafe” or “dangerous,” with a smaller group also categorizing them as “good.”

The survey was conducted on NVTA’s behalf by an independent research company, Heart+Mind Strategies, in December 2019. The full results can be viewed here.