HomeMy WebLinkAbout2006-08-25
August 25, 2006 (Special Called Session)
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A special meeting of the Board of Supervisors of Albemarle County, Virginia, was held on August
25,2006, at 1:45 p.m., in Room 235 of the County Office Building on Mcintire Road, Charlottesville,
Virginia. (Notice of this special session was hand delivered to the Board members on August 18, 2006.)
PRESENT: Mr. Ken C. Boyd, Mr. Lindsay G. Dorrier, Jr., Mr. Dennis S. Rooker, Mr. David Slutzky
(arrived at 2:55 p.m.), and Mr. David C. Wyant.
ABSENT: Ms. Sally H. Thomas.
OFFICERS PRESENT: County Executive, Robert W. Tucker, Jr., Deputy County Attorney, Greg
Kamptner, and, Clerk, Ella W. Carey.
Agenda Item No.1. The meeting was called to order at 1 :50 p.m., by the Chairman, Mr. Rooker.
Agenda Item No.2. Meeting with County Legislators to discuss transportation issues.
Present at this time were: Senator Emmett W. Hanger, Jr., 24th State Senate District; Senator R.
Creigh Deeds, 25th Senate District; Delegate R. Steven Landes, House of Delegates 25th District; Delegate
Robert B. Bell, III, House of Delegates 58th District; Delegate David Toscano, House of Delegates 57th
District; and, Mr. John J. (Butch) Davies, III, Culpeper District representative on the Commonwealth
Transportation Board.
Item 2a. Legislative Priority: Transportation Funding.
Item 2c. Transportation Funding and the Meadow Creek Parkway.
Mr. Rooker explained the situation with Albemarle's Secondary Road funds allocation and the
County's expanding population. He said that in 1996, the County received almost $3.0 million, but, in 2006
that allocation was down to $2.142 million. During that ten-year period of time, the cost of transportation
projects increased about 300 percent. He said it is an acute problem, and without sufficient transportation
funds the economy and quality of life in Albemarle will be impacted.
Mr. Rooker said everyone had been given a handout dealing with the Meadow Creek Parkway. For
many years the County has put aside funds for construction of the Parkway and now needs only $3.09
million more to start construction. He said the County's share of this project is being funded entirely with
Secondary Road Funds; the project is 60 percent in the County and 40 percent in the City, so it is a joint
jurisdiction project. The City of Charlottesville still needs $4.5 million of their share for this project. That is a
total of $7.63 million which will not be funded in the most current Six-Year Improvement Plan and this
project is scheduled to be advertised in June, 2008. He read from a memo from Mr. Jim Utterback,
Resident Engineer, in which Mr. Utterback says "As you know, maintaining the June, 2008 advertisement
date is contingent upon the identification of additional money for construction of this project."
Mr. Rooker said in order the make the Meadow Creek Parkway a good functioning project, and to
continue Route 250 as a good functioning road, it was determined that an interchange would be needed
where the Meadow Creek Parkway comes into Route 250. The City, the County, the business community,
members of the community and the Legislators spent time working together on a presentation which was
taken to Senator John Warner's office to convince him the interchange project was necessary. Thereafter
the area received an earmark of $27.0 million for the project, with the matching component being provided
by the State. So there is money for the interchange, but there is not the money needed for the Parkway
itself.
Mr. Rooker said one problem with delaying projects is the inflation aspect. The inflation factor on
the Parkway last year was about $4.0 million. The total allocation of Secondary Road funds last year was
$2.1 million. He thinks Albemarle is just an example of other communities in the State that have significant
growth and were there are transportation systems that are not adequate to handle the needs of the
community. Today the Board wants to emphasize the importance of doing something in the upcoming
Legislative session to ease this problem. He said neighboring states seem to be doing a better job of
improving transportation facilities than Virginia does at this time. He then asked for comments from those
present.
Mr. Bell asked about the chart comparing the 1996 year to the 2006 year. He asked if the 2006
figure is from the budget just passed by the General Assembly.
Mr. Rooker said the current budget might give the County over $3.0 million if money from the "Auto
Premium Funds" is added. He said beginning in 1996 the County's funds gradually increased to almost
$4.5 million at one time.
Mr. Davies said the shrinkage will still be there in Secondary and Urban funding even with the auto
funds. It is just not as dramatic.
Mr. Bell said a certain amount of money was set aside by the General Assembly, and it might be
used for transportation. He asked Mr. Davies if he knew how those funds might "trickle down."
Mr. Davies said those funds might possibly get the allocations back to where they were last year.
Part of what has happened is that the cost of maintenance has soared so it is literally absorbing most of that
money.
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Mr. Rooker said the Charlottesville Resident Engineer has said the budget for this residency has
been cut from $17.0 million to 12.0 million over the last three years and a lot of that is in maintenance
moneys.
Mr. Landes said he finds the figures given today helpful, but the Legislature also needs to know
how maintenance figures have risen for this residency. This same thing is happening all over the country
which is the global economy effect. A lot of money is being spent on transportation but a lot of it is in
maintenance costs. He said citizens do not necessarily understand that.
Mr. Rooker said Albemarle County does not receive an allocation for maintenance in the same way
as it receives an allocation for secondary road construction.
Mr. Landes said he would like to see the figures for the entire district he represents. There will
have to be strategies to deal with that. For the State, they have to look at the whole picture and not just
what is not being built. Maintenance is as much of a problem as the lack of money for new construction.
Senator Hanger said all need to be more aware of the dynamic, both from the national and the
state perspective. The maintenance area is not growing just because the State has decided to maintain its
highways in a certain fashion. Virginia is accepting into the State System about 300 additional lane miles
per year. Existing roads need to be maintained before taking on the additions. Also Virginia probably does
not have the extent of problems other states have. Most of the Transportation Trust Funds, both at the
Federal and State level, are predicated on a per gallon tax for revenue, and that formula has not been
adjusted since 1986. The fuel efficiency of vehicles has increased during that time so lane miles traveled is
increasing significantly, but on the other hand revenue to maintain those lanes is not keeping pace. The
problem will be further compounded as cars switch to different fuels. Sooner or later the Legislature will
have to find a method to maintain an adequate revenue stream into the Transportation Trust Fund. He
thinks the Legislature will debate over the next two years whether VDOT is wasting money and how the
taxpayers can get good value for their dollar. It will be debating an appropriate mass transit policy. As
suggested, in the meantime, inflation will eat up some ability to build new projects.
Mr. Landes said localities have control of the new roads the State takes over responsibility for. That
is where there needs to be more of a relationship between local governments and VDOT in the way of
regional planning. When there is a new subdivision the private developer builds the road and then VDOT
becomes responsibility for that road. He does not know that VDOT and the localities plan as well as they
should. He knows Albemarle has supported things related to the impact developments have on the locality,
not only in the way of transportation, but in the cost of education and other services. He is not in favor of
VDOT dictating to the localities where roads should be located. That is not VDOT's main purpose, but
there must be a state and local connection to solve these problems. He is concerned there will be pressure
from areas that are not urban but which want to change the funding formulas for transportation. He said
Northern Virginia and the Tidewater area might push to get more transportation dollars allocated to their
areas. Whatever happens, he feels it has to be fair and equitable while still working within existing
transportation districts.
Mr. Rooker said there was a bill passed in the last Session to encourage better coordination and
planning between VDOT and localities. He said this area has done several studies along Route 29
combining land use planning and transportation planning. Albemarle is involved in master planning for
areas along Route 29 North and on Pantops along Route 250 East. VDOT is a full partner in that process.
The County is trying to make sure its planning takes places in a way which will minimize the impact on
transportation facilities. To account for the impact of development, this Board has requested for many
years legislation regarding impact fees and adequate public facilities. The Board has no authority to not
approve a subdivision based on the fact that the roads leading to it are inadequate. He thinks that is a basic
point, but because of political reasons, this request never seems to move forward. If the Board had that
authority it could deal with the immediate impacts of development on Albemarle. Today, the Board cannot
turn down a development because facilities are inadequate, and has no authority to require a developer to
pay a contribution toward infrastructure. Finally, if the State does not want to take on increasing
transportation funding on a statewide basis, the Board would welcome local authority to either impose a gas
tax or an additional sales tax both subject to a public referendum. He said that a long time ago it was
decided that the localities would build schools and the State would take care of transportation. Localities
are still building schools, and now are beginning to take on transportation projects also. The only revenue
source localities can control is the property tax. If the state is unable to provide adequate funds for
transportation, he asked that the legislators look at giving localities the ability to raise revenues in a
reasonable way.
Senator Deeds said if that were done, there would be 134 different transportation districts. This is a
Commonwealth, and a statewide plan is needed.
Mr. Rooker said localities could be allowed to raise money for Secondary Road projects, leaving
Primary Roads to be funded by the State. He said there is an acute local problem and if the State is not
going to help solve it with revenues, it could at least give the authority to deal with it locally.
Senator Deeds said the state needs to step up and accept its responsibility as it has been
historically defined. A local plan makes sense in Hampton Roads and Northern Virginia where the needs
are greater and a statewide plan will not adequately address their needs. This past winter the Senate
considered a statewide plan in conjunction with a plan to allow some self-help in Hampton Roads and
Northern Virginia.
Mr. Dorrier said he thought the state already had a plan, but it just was not being funded.
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Senator Deeds said the funding formula was last changed in 1986. It works well for everything
south of the Occoquan and everything in the rural areas. He said the rural areas of Virginia no longer
control the Legislature. If something is not done now with transportation, the people who control the
Legislature will change that formula. It is time to cease the opportunity to do something or the localities will
ultimately be so far behind "the eight ball" that dirt roads will look good.
Mr. Toscano said the statewide plan has a lot of elements. People have talked about privatizing
opportunities and tolling. After discussing all of these things, in the end there has to be a long-term source
of revenue. There are some things on the margin that would help the local area. There is a revenue-
sharing plan in the Commonwealth, and there was legislation in the last Session that would have "pumped
up" the amount of money in that plan. The plan allows localities to access State moneys if they match
them with local moneys. That figure was decreased to about $30.0 million and that makes it less likely that
localities can access the money for anything fundamental.
Mr. Rooker said the County will get less money this year under that program than it did four or five
years ago.
Mr. Toscano said it allows leveraging of state dollars for local projects. He would like to find a way
to increase the money in that program, and also see if legislation can be changed to incorporate a priority
for jurisdictions that work together. An example is the Meadow Creek Parkway. If Charlottesville and
Albemarle contributed local dollars, he thinks they should be in the queue in front of individual localities.
That has the effect of more regionalizing the transportation dollars spent. He has worked on the Meadow
Creek Parkway project for 15 years, and when he looks at the figures shown today, it "gives him heartburn."
Mr. Boyd said he is curious as to the value of the upcoming state "transportation summit."
Senator Hanger said the Governor is very optimistic about the outcome of the Special Session.
From Senator Hanger's perspective, the Senate has no reason to go into Special Session until it gets
something back from the House. The Senate passed several bills and sent them to the House yet they
linger in committee.
Mr. Landes said the House has sent bills to the Senate and they have lingered, or not even been
heard. In the state poll that was done, the public wanted something done without raising their gas tax. The
gas tax is problematic long-term as a sustainable source of revenue. A transportation tax based on road
miles traveled has been discussed, but it would take a long time to work out a formula for that tax. Also, for
the short-term in Northern Virginia, there is the thought of looking at tolls and graduating them in order to
get a better traffic flow. The public poll showed that 85 percent of the public agreed with an abuser fee, but
the Senate does not seem to like that idea. He said there are ideas on both sides, but he does not think a
long-term solution will happen in just one session.
Mr. Boyd said in this community there are three main projects the Board would like to see funded;
the Meadow Creek Parkway, Hillsdale Drive Extended, and the interchange at Route 29 and the Route 250
Bypass. These projects are on the books. The Board is trying to plan for them but is "running into a brick
wall" not knowing what the State will do, or if funds will be available. He asked if there is anything the
legislators can offer that will help.
Mr. Landes said he thinks there will be some short-term additional funds. Anything he just
mentioned could raise additional funds. He said to get over the hump until there is a long-term funding
solution the issue of bonding is a possibility. This might be used during two bienniums to get some projects
started.
Senator Deeds noted that Senator Hanger said something in the press a couple of months ago to
the effect that he and Mr. Toscano were basically irrelevant in this discussion; it is a debate among the other
three legislators. He said maybe it is, but he would like to comment. He said they are not elected to govern
by poll. They are elected to provide leadership for the Commonwealth of Virginia. The abuser fee that
came out of the House of Delegates would classify the abuser as a person with a reckless driving record.
Most people he knows who have bad driving records lose their licenses because they can't pay their fines.
This would put an additional fee on people who do not drive or don't take a car to work because they can't
pay their fines; this would put an additional uncollectible fee on these people. If the program worked, they
would be better drivers so that would not be a long-term source of revenue, or even a short-term source of
revenue. It is a political ploy.
Mr. Toscano said it also does not involve a lot of money. The estimate in the Senate was $50.0
million and in the House it was $210.0 million.
Senator Deeds said the Senate's approach to the fee was different. Essentially, in the House it
would be a reckless driving ticket. The Senate would require more points for a reckless driving ticket, plus
one other ticket. He wonders if a person who collects a ticket each year is an abusive driver. He said that
back in 1993 or 1994 when he was a member of the House they argued about using bonds to build roads.
He said Delegate Andy Guess stood on the floor of the House and said it makes no sense to borrow money
to build roads that will have to be resurfaced before paying off their debt. When he came to the Legislature
in 1992, the State was using one percent of the transportation budget to service the debt on highways. Now
it is about 14 percent. The State is already relying too much on short-term debt for transportation.
Mr. Landes said the Constitution allows up to five percent. It is two percent of the total budget
which is being used for bonding capacity. There was an argument in 2004 about saving the State's Triple
"A" bond rating, and then the Commonwealth of Virginia and some others decided to not even look at
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utilizing that. He is not looking at that as a permanent solution. To get over the hump to get projects like
the Meadow Creek Parkway built, he thinks Albemarle would agree to do it for the projects on this list.
Senator Deeds said if there is no compromise among the parties, nothing will happen.
Mr. Landes agreed.
Senator Deeds said it is not the time to put off a long-term solution because the polls say people do
not want to pay more. He said the problem with the House of Delegates is that it is never more than one
year from an election. That is never going to change. The politics are never going to change. They are
never going to get better; they are never going to get worse. People starve for leadership on this issue.
Now is the time for the Legislature to stand up and say they are prepared to plan for the next 50 years.
Mr. Dorrier said that Governor Baliles, during his administration, made great progress in this area,
and he wondered if that could be used as a model.
Senator Hanger said circumstances were different politically in 1986. Now, the issue of bonded
indebtedness could be used as long as it were coupled with new or increased dedicated funding sources to
service that debt. Just relying on the state's capacity to borrow, would just be digging a hole for itself. If a
dedicated revenue source could be identified which is additional to the present revenue flow recognizing
inflationary pressures, doing a limited amount of bonding might be appropriate. The same goals could be
accomplished with the authorities proposed for Northern Virginia and the Hampton Roads area, and that
might be extended to areas such as Charlottesville and Albemarle also giving the ability to levy tolls. He
would support that. In other areas, he is not sure which authorities would be granted.
Mr. Rooker said the problem with tolls is that they only work on certain kinds of road facilities. In
this area, he cannot think of a single project that would be an appropriate toll project. He said the Board's
preference is to have the state fund transportation in the traditional way. In the absence of doing that, if the
Legislature is to look at giving localities authority to raise money for projects they feel are imperative to
accelerate, the Board asks them to go beyond Northern Virginia, Tidewater and Richmond and extend it to
communities that are high growth communities.
Senator Hanger said former Gov. Baliles floated a document over a year ago that is an aggressive
statewide policy for the interstates, with numerous collection points for modest tolls. That could create
revenue flow. The mindset now is that the state can't tax anybody for anything, but it is okay to put on user
fees. He said some of that is good and some is not. The elections for next year have already begun. A
considerable faction that is not unique to Virginia is being led to believe they can have whatever they want
and do not have to pay for it. Some of that is legitimate, but because that mentality is prevalent, someone
has to go out and make their case. He thinks the Legislature will come up with something this fall that will
be a step in the right direction, although not totally popular. There is no appetite for just saying "we need
more money." He does not support user fees because on paper it appears there is money, but the fee is
put on people who probably do not have the ability to pay. He does not think the local climate is there to do
much of anything in September. It is not because there are not good people in both the House and the
Senate, but there is a genuine difference of opinion. Some of that was manifested during the debate this
past year when there was an attempt to use some General Fund money. He has some ideas in the way of
additional General Fund moneys that could come through more equitable taxes; income tax and sales tax.
That might free up another half penny from the General Fund that could be dedicated to transportation.
With belt tightening in certain areas, he thinks the general public would accept that better than just having
Charlottesville and Albemarle raise its gasoline tax or sales tax. He thinks Virginia needs to embrace the
streamlined sales tax project which would lead to Virginia into being able to collect sales tax on remote
sales, particularly the Internet. He said there is uncollected money in that area now in the range of $300.0
to $500.0 million. That is something that could be put on the table as part of the total solution without
hurting anybody.
Mr. Toscano asked if a penny on the sales tax is $500.0 million.
Senator Hanger said each penny is about a billion dollars, so the one half cent is about $500.0
million. He thinks that could be absorbed without "causing any heartburn."
Mr. Davies said he would like to go back to something Mr. Boyd mentioned. He said the local
leadership in this community has been instrumental in pulling together innovative approaches to try and get
some of its projects funded. When referring to the strip of Route 29 between Hydraulic Road and the Route
250 Bypass, one of the issues the Legislature had to deal with was the punitive legislation that was
generated in Lynchburg and Danville focusing on the Culpeper District. The portion of the road talked
about being upgraded by adding a lane southbound actually lies in the City. The County is talking to the
Albemarle Place developer about using a County proffer for improvements of a road in the County and
letting it go to the City to improve the road in the City because they don't have access to urban funding.
VDOT has been trying to find funds to upgrade the ramp that is next to BestBuy so it is an innovative,
cooperative effort. One thing that has not been recognized is that VDOT provided $1.8 million in technology
money for an upgraded signalization system in the Route 29 corridor. It is astounding to come into this City
in the morning and find green light after green light and in the afternoon going north to encounter the same
process. That investment significantly increased the peak capacity travel time on Route 29. It was
extremely beneficial and was done with a small amount of money. He said everyone seems to be arguing
for long-term solutions calling for big dollars in revenue. Someway has to be found to approach localities
that have situations like the one with the Meadow Creek Parkway. That is a 38-year old road project where
the funding has been in place to build it a number of times and it has not been done. Now, thanks to
Senator John Warner and community leadership, there is now the money needed to build the interchange
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and not the money needed to build the road. A way must be found to get that done. That road would take
about 15,000 cars per day in local traffic off of Route 29 so would benefit the 29 corridor. He said the other
project is the Hillsdale Drive extension. In the City they brought together developers with County and City
leadership. The total cost for that project is just a little over $22.0 million. It would be a parallel road to
Route 29 running from Rio Road through a shopping center, through a four-plex theatre and come out on
Hydraulic Road. It opens up the triangular piece in the City between Route 250, Hydraulic Road and Route
29 for development which is important in terms of tax revenue. He said developers have come to the table
and are offering to put $12.5 million of the $17.0 million into right-of-way to get the project done, but the
state does not have the resources to make that happen. There has to be some way to create the revenue
when there are private individuals who are willing to step up to the plate and when there are local
governments who are trying to provide that leadership. There is a responsibility on the state to step up and
fulfill that responsibility. He said the CTB has tried to address some of the maintenance issues. At their last
meeting they approved a contract for $10.0 million for the next three years to maintain a significant segment
of Interstate 64. It is supposed to save the state significant money; it includes snow removal, general
maintenance, but does not include construction. He said the state has to try some of these innovative
projects. At the same time, they have to rely on the Legislature to fund a pool of money which will allow
innovative things to be done in the localities.
Mr. Davies said he spoke with Mr. Wally Covington recently. He talked about the Route 29 corridor
in Charlottesville, but everyone needs to look at the traffic problems at the northern end of the corridor
going through Gainesville where it took him an hour and forty-five minutes to go six miles. He said that area
has a huge problem and they are looking at local bond issues because of the failure of VDOT to fulfill their
local needs. He said Fairfax County is already doing it, and Loudoun County is looking at it. It is a
frustration for him on the CTB because he has been a member for four years and he thought at least one of
the three projects in Charlottesville would get done. The only projects getting done are those that are
developer-financed through proffers. In the Route 29 corridor it is the County that has held the developers'
feet to the fire to make those projects happen. He said the frustration is real and it is growing. There has to
be some solution that rewards those who are innovative and work together. He has spent most of his time
as a CTB member going to localities trying to put together money. A major frustration this year was the
revenue sharing program. Revenue sharing at $50.0 million would have done 50 projects in 50 jurisdictions
at $1.0 million each. Last year there were $65.0 million in requests in projects all over the district. This year
that money was reduced to $15.0 million and put in a three-tier system where the locality would get credit
for how much money it put in. There is not a jurisdiction in the Culpeper District that will be able to match
the money that a Loudoun, a Prince William, a Stafford or a Fairfax can put in. He said the tiered system
may have worked at $50.0 million, but it does not work equitably at $15.0 million. It sends all the money to
jurisdictions that have bond revenue that can access $1.0 million. He gave the Legislature credit for the
$50.0 million which generated another $50.0 million from the jurisdictions so there was $100.0 million for
the projects, but after one year they pulled it after he had gone to the localities and sold the program to
them for road construction.
Mr. Rooker said there were few projects that could be done in their entirety out of the matching pool
of money. He said the County anticipates getting no funds this year, or at the most, $250,000. Last year
the cap was $1.0 million but because there were so many applications filed, the County got about
$750,000. In earlier years it was $500,000 and there was no cap. He preferred that way of doing it
because the County could built that into its budget.
Mr. Davies said he liked the multiplier effect. He said there was a turning lane being constructed in
the town of Warrenton, a turning lane being constructed in the town of Orange because the state and the
town were putting up 50 percent. Now, all of a sudden, the money is gone. He said it is part of the
frustration with the system. Until there is consistency, communities will still be frustrated especially local
government people who feel there should be some assurance that they can rely on state funding.
Mr. Dorrier asked if the state could offer proffers to the localities like the developers do to address
regional problems.
Mr. Boyd said he appreciates the description of the local problems which has been put forth this
afternoon. He said the Board is working with land use issues in Albemarle, but a key element of that plan is
the transportation piece. The Board has been trying to channel growth into certain areas in order to
preserve rural spaces, but those people are now getting high density type neighborhoods and they want
some infrastructure and transportation is part of that and that is the piece that is falling apart. In Albemarle
County, this Board is doing its part to combine land use and transportation but it is "missing a leg on our
stool."
Mr. Bell asked the upshot of the punitive bill that was passed focusing closely on Charlottesville and
Albemarle.
Mr. Davies said it is his understanding that if there is a loss of revenue from the $40.0 million that
was expended on the right-of-way acquisition for the Western Route 29 Bypass, it is to come out of the
Culpeper District budget. He said he went to Mr. Whit Clement when he was appointed and said because
of the increase in value he would like to sell that right-of-way and use that money in the Route 29 corridor.
The Federal Highway Administration said they would allow that as long as the money was used in the 29
corridor. However, the political reality was that it could not be done because it would appear to the
communities lying south of Charlottesville like an abandonment of some of their economic development
efforts. They stepped back from that idea and agreed to try and keep projects going in the 29 corridor
without those funds and that right-of-way would continue to sit there. He said there were only two "no" votes
against that location for the 29 bypass, and one of those was from Mark Warner when he was a member of
the CTB. Mr. Warner had said they were planning a road which development would outstrip and when it
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was ready to be built it would be found that it was not a bypass at all. It would just be an interim road. That
is exactly what has happened because Hollymead Towncenter, North Pointe, and all the development in
Greene County is all north of the proposed terminus of that road. In order to have a bypass now, it would
have to start in Ruckersville. That road would cost a quarter of a billion dollars for a six-mile road. In
reality, it is a waste of money and the road should not be built. He does understand the political realities in
dealing with the issue.
Mr. Bell said at this point none of the money has been taken back out.
Mr. Davies said it was suggested that it was a political mistake to raise the issue, and he should just
be quiet, so he just shut up.
Mr. Rooker said some of the money is invested in an appreciating asset, real estate.
Mr. Davies said the houses in Squirrel Ridge are worth a whole lot more than VDOT paid for them.
Item 2b. Legislative Priority: Use of Primary Funding on Urban Construction Projects.
Mr. Rooker said there is a handout dealing with a proposed piece of legislation the Board would like
for the Legislators to consider supporting. This would allow Primary Road funding to be spent on a primary
road that is within an urban jurisdiction if that road is part of the National Highway System. (Note: Senator
Deeds left the meeting at this time.) The most clogged transportation artery in the County is probably the
section of Route 29 from Hydraulic Road to the Route 250 Bypass. That section lies in the City. There are
some significant transportation proffers from Albemarle Place and the County is looking to get some of
those allocated from the developer to improve this stretch of road. State funds will be needed, especially
for widening the ramps in front of BestBuy by one lane. He said transportation modeling indicates that will
significantly improve traffic flow in the entire 29 corridor. This bill would enable the state to use some
primary road funds on a primary road in an urban area if it is part of the National Highway System. There
may be some other localities that would also benefit from this bill. Hopefully, this is not something that
would have a lot of opposition. It would enable Albemarle to possibly get a project funded that is extremely
important to the area.
Mr. Bell said he had been looking around the table, and he may be the only one that lives on the
north side of town except for Mr. Boyd. He said he gets a lot of requests for various improvements and of
all of those, he has never heard about this one. He asked if the Board has decided that of all the priorities it
has, this is the main one.
Mr. Rooker said traffic models have been run throughout the area, and various scenarios have
been tested. Transportation dollars are allocated locally based on an analysis of the transportation
improvements that can be achieved for the dollar spent. There are two things concerning Route 29 on the
road itself in addition to the parallel roads. One is to add the lanes on 29 north of the South Fork Rivanna
River in order to complete the gap up to Hollymead Towncenter. The most clogged part of Route 29 is
from Hydraulic Road to the Route 250 Bypass. He gets more comments about that stretch of road than
anywhere else in the corridor. Looking at the traffic modeling, that will do more to move traffic in the
corridor than any single improvement for the dollar spent.
Mr. Bell said this would not affect a lot of people, but it would affect the people driving through
Charlottesville.
Mr. Rooker said the traffic numbers for Route 29 in front of Forest Lakes South is about 30,000
vehicles per day. On Route 29 at Hydraulic Road, that number is about 60,000 vehicles per day. We are
trying to get that gap filled in the area in front of Forest Lakes South, but there is actually twice as much
traffic between Hydraulic Road and the Route 250 Bypass.
Mr. Bell asked if these are people coming into town to work at the University.
Mr. Rooker said there are a lot of people who go downtown. He said that the traffic in the 29
corridor is 90 percent local, ten percent through traffic. Looking at the traffic numbers, they are doubled in
that stretch from what they are at Forest Lakes South. The traffic actually backs up from the 250 Bypass
out Route 29 through the red light at Hydraulic and Route 29.
Mr. Toscano said there are people from Crozet going north to shop, people from the University,
people going to Barracks Road Shopping Center, and truck traffic going to Lynchburg using that strip.
Tremendous numbers of people use it for all kinds of reasons. (Note: Mr. Slutzky arrived at the meeting at
2:55 p.m.)
Mr. Rooker said the strategy is to get rid of two things in the Route 29 corridor in order to create a
good network of local connector roads on the east and west. Local traffic could then move where it wanted
to go without getting onto Route 29. Second, the flow on 29 for through traffic has to be reasonable. He
said all the traffic modeling shows it is extremely important to improve this piece of road.
Mr. Bell asked if there is some way to prioritize the five road projects so when there are the funds
one project can be built.
Mr. Rooker said since he has been on the Board the number of projects has been reduced.
Mr. Harrison Rue, Executive Director of the T J Planning District Commission, said he was the
project director and this was the top priority of the 29-250H Study. Everybody involved agreed that this
Approved by the
Board of County
Supervisors
Date:: 10104/2006
Initials: EWe
August 25, 2006 (Special Called Session)
(Page 7)
project would provide the most improvement on Route 29 including the downtown community. When this
was run through the public process, this was again the top priority. This is the only time he has seen the
Chamber of Commerce, environmental groups, transit riders, commuters, all agree that this one project
would unclog the road. The modeling was reviewed by the VDOT Central Office and all said this is the one
project that will work.
Mr. Rooker said this meeting has taken longer than expected. He asked if there were further
comments. He thanked the Legislators for coming, and said the Board hopes the upcoming legislative
session is successful and there is some improvement in transportation funding.
Agenda Item No.3. Adjourn. At 2:58 p.m., with no further business to come before the Board, the
meeting was adjourned.
Chairman