AGENDA DATE: 8/9/2017
TITLE:
Title
Transportation Priorities and 2017 Grant Applications
BODY
SUBJECT/PROPOSAL/REQUEST: Review and recommendations on Albemarle Transportation Priorities and Grant Requests
ITEM TYPE: Regular Action Item
STAFF CONTACT(S): Walker, Kamptner, Graham, Russel, Gast-Bray, McDermott
PRESENTER (S): Kevin McDermott
LEGAL REVIEW: Yes
REVIEWED BY: Douglas C. Walker
BACKGROUND: This workshop is intended to present information to assist the Board in decision making regarding transportation priorities and the submission of grant requests for funding. With the Board’s guidance provided at this work session, staff will return in October for final approval and necessary resolutions related to this year’s transportation grant requests for the fall application cycle. This work session builds on the information presented at the June Work Session on Transportation Priorities. The endorsement of the County’s Transportation Priorities List will also serve to guide staff in the development of the Capital Needs submissions for the FY20 Capital Improvement Plan.
STRATEGIC PLAN: Infrastructure Investment: Prioritize, plan, and invest in critical infrastructure that responds to past and future changes and improves the capacity to serve community needs
DISCUSSION: The focus of today’s discussion will be on transportation funding obtained through Virginia’s Six-Year Improvement Program (SYIP). The SYIP is the document through which Virginia allocates the majority of state transportation funding. SYIP projects are measured through Virginia’s Smart Scale process, developed to achieve the goals described in House Bill 2 (HB2 signed into law in 2014). This process requires the Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB) to develop and use a scoring process for transportation project funding selection as part of the annual review of the SYIP. The prioritization process evaluates projects using the following criteria: congestion mitigation, economic development, accessibility, safety, environmental quality, and land use coordination.
In addition to the Smart Scale program, the state also makes funding available through Transportation Alternatives grants which focus on bicycle and pedestrian projects; the Highway Safety Improvement Program, which accepts applications for safety related improvements; and the Revenue Sharing program, which can fund any type of transportation project but requires a 50-50 match of funds between the State and the locality.
At the June 2017 Board Meeting, the Supervisors were presented with an update on transportation projects and funding opportunities. Also proposed was a methodology for prioritizing all county transportation projects through a qualitative assessment based on factors similar to the State’s Smart Scale Process but also accounting for other County Strategic Goals. The Board was presented with the previously approved Transportation Priorities List from 2016 and initial recommendations to break up the projects into 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Tiers. Staff took the feedback and information presented at that meeting and further developed the qualitative assessment of projects to arrive at the proposed Tier 1 Transportation Priorities List attached. The assessment evaluated a total of 50 projects previously identified through the Master, Comprehensive, and Long Range Planning processes.
The prioritization process rated projects based on each of the five factors as described below:
• Safety - Based on the VDOT Culpeper District’s Potential for Safety Improvements (PSI) rankings on intersections and road segments to determine if a project would improve safety. Additionally accounted for local reports of safety issues if not identified in the PSI rankings and concerns related to emergency access from Albemarle County Fire and Rescue;
• Congestion - Based on Level of Service measures from VDOT State Planning System (SPS) data, local reports of congestion issues, results of previous impact assessments and other planning studies projects. These were rated on their ability to improve throughput or reduce delay on a congested corridor;
• Economic Development - Based on the location of a project and the relative level of ongoing or future economic development in the vicinity, or the projects ability to enhance access to freight intensive industries, intermodal facilities, or its location on a freight route. Locations of target development sites nearby were also considered as are a projects ability to attract new economic development;
• Accessibility - Based on an assessment of employment density using the US Census LEHD data, existing congestion levels, density of disadvantaged populations with accessibility needs and the ability of a project to improve accessibility. Projects that included transit or other multi-modal features were rated high in this measure;
• Land Use - Assesses projects ability to promote multi-modal or infill development, support ongoing residential development, or supporting development located within a special planning area
Each project was ranked from Low to High for each of these factors and then all projects were ranked in priority based on those qualitative assessments.
Attachment A - FY 18 Tier 1 County Transportation Priorities displays the projects qualitative score in each of the categories and the overall rank of the top 20 projects that make up the 1st Tier of projects in the County. Further, the list provides a recommendation on advancing the project using the most applicable grant or other funding type. The following projects are recommended for grant funding for the application period in the Fall of 2017:
• #7: Sunset Road Improvements from Country Green Road to Yellowstone Drive - 2017 Revenue Sharing.
• #9: Berkmar Drive Bicycle and Pedestrian Improvements from US 29 to Hilton Heights Road - 2017 Revenue Sharing.
• #10: Commonwealth Dr/Dominion Dr Pedestrian Improvements from Commonwealth Circle to Dominion Dr and from Commonwealth Dr to US 29 - 2017 Revenue Sharing.
• #12: Eastern Avenue from US 250 across Lickinghole Creek - Fund Design and Engineering Study
• #13: Greer Jouett Bike/Ped Improvements from Hydraulic Rd to Greer Jouett Schools - 2017 Transportation Alternatives.
• #14: Cale ES Pedestrian Improvements at Avon St Extended - 2017 Transportation Alternatives.
The remaining projects in Tier 1 are recommended for advancement through future grant applications, CIP funds, or Planning Studies as described in the attached. Attachment B - FY 18 Tier 2 County Transportation Priorities Lists the Tier 2 projects in order for the Board’s information.
BUDGET IMPACT: The Board is being requested to endorse staff’s recommendations to make use of County CIP funds to leverage against State funds in an attempt to advance the priority transportation projects to completion. The funding requested has been previously approved through the FY 17-21 Adopted Multi-Year CIP and the FY 18-22 Recommended Multi-Year CIP Expenditures Summary under the CIP Revenue Sharing program. The specific amount will not be known until the grant requests are finalized but will not exceed the approved amounts for the FY 17-19 period. Additional funds may be discussed to advance projects in other manners but any approval to increase funding or identify new funding will be made separately.
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
Staff recommends the Board endorse the recommended transportation priorities and the proposed FY18-19 grant requests. Staff is also requesting that the Board provide additional direction on the priorities in order to guide future applications for funding through grants, CIP needs, or other identified funding sources.
ATTACHMENTS:
A - FY 18 Tier 1 County Transportation Priorities List
B - FY 18 Tier 2 County Transportation Priorities List