Route 1 Multimodal Alternative Analysis Status Update

1. County of Fairfax, Virginia
Route1
Multimodal Alternatives Analysis
Status Update
Fairfax County Board of Supervisors
Transportation Committee
June 10, 2014

2. County of Fairfax, Virginia
• Purpose of Presentation
– Provide update of study activities
– Present Vehicular, Pedestrian and Bicycle
Recommendations
– Present Refined Transit Alternatives
– Show Land Use Analysis
– Prepare for discussion of preferred transit
alternative in Fall 2014

3. County of Fairfax, Virginia
Study Area
• 14 mile section of Route 1
• Extends from I-95/I-495
Beltway, through Fairfax
County, to Route 123 at
Woodbridge in Prince William
County
• Funded with $2 million from the
Commonwealth
• Conducted by Department of
Rail and Public Transportation

4. County of Fairfax, Virginia
Study Overview
• Define the key mobility issues and establish a “needs statement”
• Consider a range of multimodal transportation solutions to address the needs
• Conduct transportation analysis for the alternatives
• Conduct land use analysis to support the alternatives
• Perform financial analysis to test viability of the alternatives
• Recommend a Locally Preferred Alternative (LPA) and determine required
level of environmental documentation

5. County of Fairfax, Virginia
Public Meetings Topics
October 2013 • Purpose and need, goals and
objectives
• Initial set of alternatives
March 2014 • Refined alternatives
• Ridership Forecasts
• Land use assessment
October 2014 • Financial analysis
• Evaluation of alternatives
• Recommendation for Locally Preferred
Alternative

6. County of Fairfax, Virginia
Purpose and Need
Needs:
• Attractive and competitive transit service
• Safe and accessible pedestrian and
bicycle access
• Appropriate level of vehicle
accommodation
• Support and accommodate more robust
land development
Purpose:
Provide improved performance for transit, bicycle and pedestrian,
and vehicular conditions and facilities along the Route 1 corridor
that support long-term growth and economic development.

7. County of Fairfax, Virginia
Project Goals
GOAL 1: Expand attractive multimodal travel options to
improve local and regional mobility
GOAL 2: Improve safety; increase accessibility
GOAL 3: Increase economic viability and vitality of the corridor
GOAL 4: Support community health and minimize impacts on
community resources

8. County of Fairfax, Virginia
Outcome of the Current Study
• A recommended multimodal transportation plan for
implementation in the Route 1 corridor
• The recommended plan will have three elements:
– Transit: Mode and alignment
– Vehicular: Number of automobile travel lanes
– Bike/Ped: Facilities and location
Vehicular Travel
Lanes
Bike/ped
Transit Vehicular Travel
Lanes
Bike/ped

9. County of Fairfax, Virginia
Public Meeting #2: What Participants Said
• Promote additional mixed use development in the proposed station areas
75% of survey respondents say it would be worthwhile to have additional mixed-use development at the proposed
stations to support a high quality transit investment.
• Create new street and sidewalk connections within the proposed station areas
74% of survey respondents say it would be worthwhile to create new street and sidewalk connections in the
proposed stations areas to support a high quality transit investment.
• Improve traffic flow
Residents and travelers in the corridor consistently cite traffic congestion as a major concern.
• Sense of urgency for improvements
Need for safer, more connected pedestrian and bicycling environment.
• Interest in a future Metrorail investment
55% of respondents favored the Metrorail/BRT Hybrid, Alternative 4.
Note: Survey responses came from the public meeting and from an on-line version made available after the meeting.
The survey is not intended to be statistically valid.

10. County of Fairfax, Virginia
Step 1: Identify the best transportation options
Range of
Alternatives
Initial
Alternatives
Refined
Alternatives

11. County of Fairfax, Virginia
Step 2: Combine options into multimodal alternatives
Complete Technical Analysis +
Evaluate Alternatives against
Goals and Objectives

12. County of Fairfax, Virginia
Existing Lanes: Varies from 4 to 6 lanes
Expanded Lanes:
Three or four lanes, depending on location along the
corridor
Converted Lanes
Consistent Lanes

13. County of Fairfax, Virginia
Vehicular Lanes Recommendation
Consistent, 6 vehicular lanes along the entire corridor
1. Recommendation from prior studies and plans
(VDOT and Fairfax County Comprehensive Plan)
2. Technical evaluation based on traffic and right-of-way
analysis
3. Confirmed findings with VDOT

14. 14
Bicycle and Pedestrian Alternatives
Sidewalk + bike lane Sidewalk + bus/bike lane
General
Purpose Lane
or Dedicated
Transit Lane
General
Purpose Lane
or Dedicated
Transit Lane
General
Purpose Lane
or Dedicated
Transit Lane
General
Purpose Lane
or Dedicated
Transit Lane
Sidewalk + buffered
bike lane
Multiuse path
(bike and ped)
Key Evaluation factors:
• Safety and comfort for
cyclists of all abilities
• ROW impacts
Measures and factors:
• Bicycle compatibility index
and Bicycle Level of Service
• Possible to implement
incrementally / flexible over
time
8’

15. County of Fairfax, Virginia
Bicycle and Pedestrian Recommendation
10-foot Multiuse Path (both sides of street)
1. Technical evaluation based on trade-offs among
accessibility, safety, and required right-of-way
2. Note: implementation of recommended section varies
along corridor

16. County of Fairfax, Virginia
Initial Transit
Alternatives
Four Initial Transit
Alternatives:
• Enhanced Bus
• Bus Rapid Transit (BRT)
• Light Rail Transit (LRT)
• Metrorail
Enhanced Bus
BRT
LRT
Metrorail
Proposed Park &
Ride
Huntington
Beacon Hill
Woodbridge VRE
Hybla Valley
Penn Daw
Lockheed Blvd

17. County of Fairfax, Virginia
Four Refined Alternatives
for Further Evaluation
1. Bus Rapid Transit 1-
Curbside
2. Bus Rapid Transit 2-
Median
3. Light Rail Transit
4. Metrorail- BRT Hybrid
Huntington
Penn Daw
Beacon Hill
Lockheed Blvd
Hybla Valley
Woodbridge VRE
Proposed P&R
Metrorail (Underground)
LRT in Dedicated Lanes
BRT in Dedicated Lanes
BRT in Mixed Traffic
Proposed Park & Ride

18. Alternative 1:
Bus Rapid Transit 1 – Curbside
BRT operates in dedicated curbside lanes
from Huntington to Pohick Road North
Huntington
Penn Daw
Beacon Hill
Lockheed Blvd
Hybla Valley
Woodbridge VRE
BRT in Dedicated Lanes
BRT in Mixed Traffic
Proposed Park & Ride

19. Alternative 1:
Bus Rapid Transit 1 – Curbside
BRT operates in mixed traffic
between Pohick Road North
and Woodbridge
Huntington
Penn Daw
Beacon Hill
Lockheed Blvd
Hybla Valley
Woodbridge VRE
BRT in Dedicated L
BRT in Mixed Traffic
Proposed Park & Rid

20. Alternative 2:
Bus Rapid Transit 2 - Median
BRT operates in median in dedicated
lanes in Fairfax County; transitions
to mixed traffic in Prince William
County
Huntington
Penn Daw
Beacon Hill
Lockheed Blvd
Hybla Valley
Woodbridge VRE
BRT in Dedicated Lanes
BRT in Mixed Traffic
Proposed Park & Ride

21. Alternative 3:
Light Rail Transit (Median)
Light Rail operates in median in
dedicated lanes for entire corridor
LRT in Dedicated Lanes
Huntington
Penn Daw
Beacon Hill
Lockheed Blvd
Hybla Valley
Woodbridge VRE
Proposed Park & Ride

22. Alternative 4:
Metrorail- BRT Hybrid
Metrorail operates underground from
Huntington to Hybla Valley;
Transfer to BRT service at Hybla Valley to
Woodbridge
Huntington
Beacon Hill
Hybla Valley
Woodbridge VRE
BRT in Dedicated Lanes
BRT in Mixed Traffic
Metrorail (Underground)
Proposed Park & Ride

23. 23
4. Land Use Analysis
How does land use relate to
the alternatives?

24. County of Fairfax, Virginia
Scenario 1:
“Base Land Use Scenario” =
2035 MWCOG regional
forecast
Scenario 2:
What is a reasonable growth
expectation for a corridor that
invests in high-quality transit
(BRT or LRT)?
Scenario 3:
How much do population and
employment need to increase
to achieve density levels
typically supportive of
Metrorail?
+25% over
2035 regional
forecast
+15%
+25%
+246%
+531%
+202%
+169% over
2035 regional
forecast
Source: DRPT Multimodal Design Guidelines
(2013)
Large Town/Suburban Center (Express Bus)
Medium Town/Suburban Center (Fixed Route Bus)
Urban Center (BRT/ LRT)
Source: DRPT Multimodal Design Guidelines (2013)
Urban Core (Rail)

25. County of Fairfax, Virginia
Beacon Hill: Land Use Scenario One
(2035 COG Projection)

26. County of Fairfax, Virginia
Beacon Hill: Land Use Scenario Two

27. County of Fairfax, Virginia
Beacon Hill: Current County Comprehensive Plan
(Envisioned “build-out” level of development)

28. County of Fairfax, Virginia
Beacon Hill Station Scenario Three
Growth and Development that would support Metrorail

29. County of Fairfax, Virginia
Arriving at a Preferred Alternative
Evaluate the Alternatives based on Project Goals
and Objectives and Implementation Factors
Example Measures:
• Ridership
• Traffic Impacts
• Travel time
• Safe bike/ped facilities
• Capital and operating
costs
• Cost effectiveness
• Ability to spur economic
development
• Impacts on right-of-way
and environmental
resources
• Decrease in vehicle miles
traveled

30. County of Fairfax, Virginia
Funding Options
• Currently Evaluating All Funding Options
– Federal (FTA, TIGER, Formula)
– State
– Regional
– Local
– Private/Developer
– Other
• Board 6-Year Transportation Funding Priorities have
transit set aside of $199 m to advance transit
projects once preferred option has been determined

31. County of Fairfax, Virginia
• Recommendations for a program of road, bike and
pedestrian improvements, and a high-quality transit
alternative to be carried forward for implementation
• Consideration of project funding options
• Determination of the appropriate level of
environmental documentation
• Ultimately, consideration of revisions to County
Comprehensive Plan to balance future land use with
future transportation
Study Products

32. County of Fairfax, Virginia
Upcoming Schedule
• June to August – Complete Analysis;
Make Recommendation
• September - Technical Advisory Committee
Executive Steering Committee
Community Involvement Committee
• October - Public Meeting
• December - Board Consideration of Locally
Preferred Alternative

33. County of Fairfax, Virginia
• Questions