Active Prince William

Advancing active mobility in greater Prince William, Virginia

Tag: National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board

Our Comments for the National Capital Trail Network Update in Greater Prince William

October 31, 2023 /

October 2023 draft update of the National Capital Trail Network in greater Prince William.  The green lines are supposed to depict existing trail segments, whereas the purple lines are supposed to depict “planned” trail segments.

The National Capital Trail Network (NCTN) is a 1,400-mile, continuous network of long-distance, off-street trails, serving the entire [metropolitan Washington] region and consisting of both existing and planned segments.  The network was approved by the National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board (TPB) in July 2020 and endorsed by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments Board of Directors in August 2020.

As described by TPB staff:  The National Capital Trail Network is intended to be a network of long-distance, off-street facilities. It will be accessible for people of all ages and abilities, designed for non-motorized use, and suitable for both transportation and recreation.  Off-street path width minimums are 10 feet for new construction, 8 feet for existing paths. Paths must be paved or firm surface. On-street facilities must be protected from moving traffic (i.e. parked cars, curbs, or flexposts). All facilities must be directly connected to the network. Short on-street connections on low-volume, low speed streets are permitted to maintain network continuity. Facilities can be existing or planned, but they must be in an approved agency plan.

In June 2022, the TPB adopted a resolution (R18-2022) that called for completing the TPB’s National Capital Trail Network by 2030, as one of seven priority strategies for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from surface transportation in the Washington region.

For at least several months, the TPB staff have sought to engage the region’s localities to submit updates and corrections to the NCTN map.  The main purpose of this update is to measure progress, in miles built, toward the completion of the National Capital Trail Network since its adoption in 2020. Other purposes include adjusting routes where the existing route has proven infeasible or undesirable, addition of new routes where a new plan or new development justifies it, and correction of errors or omissions in the network [emphasis added].

To facilitate this update, Active Prince William submitted the comments below on October 30, 2023.

Comments on the Draft Update to the National Capital Trail Network Map for Prince William County and the City of Manassas
by Allen Muchnick, Co-Chair Active Prince William

1) Nonexistent/”Planned” Trail Segments Erroneously Labeled As “Existing”:  The following segments on the NCTN map should be relabeled as “planned” because they do not currently exist.

  • Nokesville Rd/Rte 28 between the Fauquier County Line and Fitzwater Dr in Nokesville. The segment of Rte 28 west of Fitzwater Dr in Nokesville has not been widened.  It’s still a two-lane road without any bicycle or pedestrian facilities.
  • Minnieville Rd, between Old Bridge Rd and Dumfries Rd, is depicted as having an existing shared use path along it except for the segment (TIP_ID BP11611) between Fowke Ln and Cardinal Drive. However, the NCTN update map erroneously shows this planned segment with a southwest terminus at Smoketown Rd, rather than at Cardinal Dr.  The segment of Minnieville Rd that currently lacks any bicycle facilities is much longer than shown on the NCTN update map.

2) NCTN Segments Currently Labeled As Planned That Have Recently Been Completed:  The following NCTN segments should now be relabeled as “existing”.

  • Nokesville Rd/Rte 28 Shared-Use Path, between Godwin Dr and the PWC Line, in the City of Manassas (TIP_ID 11606).
  • Godwin Dr Shared-Use Path (south), between Wellington Rd and the Winters Branch Trail, in the City of Manassas (TIP_ID BP11604). Note: TIP_ID BP7624 appears to be a duplicate path, possibly on the PWC side of Godwin Dr, which is probably not actually planned and, if so, should be deleted from the map.
  • US-1 Shared-Use Path in North Woodbridge (southern segment of TIP_ID BP7634): The segment between Annapolis Way and Gordon Blvd is complete.
  • Blackburn Rd Shared-Use Path near Neabsco Creek (the bulk of TIP_ID BP7641): The segment between Rippon Blvd and Good Shepherd Lutheran Church is complete.
  • Wellington Rd Shared-Use Path (the western end of TIP_ID 7632): The segment between Linton Hall Rd and University Blvd near Gainesville/Virginia Gateway is complete.
  • VA 234/Dumfries Rd Shared-Use Path (TIP_ID BP7639): This former gap segment between Country Club Dr and Exeter Dr near Montclair is complete.

3) Planned NCTN Segments Depicted On An Erroneous Alignment:

4) Planned NCTN Segments That Should Be Updated: 

  • Manassas Dr east of Signal View Dr in Manassas Park (TIP-ID BP7643): The new Manassas Park Active Transportation Plan identifies an even larger segment of eastern Manassas Dr (between Railroad Dr and Blooms Park) as a candidate for bicycle lanes implemented with a road diet (Project B-10). The NCTN map currently labels the segment of Manassas Dr east of Signal View Dr as planned for a shared-use path.

5) Nationally Significant Long-Distance Trails That Should Be Added to the NCTN Map As “Planned NCTN Segments”:

  • US Bicycle Route 1: At present, a considerable portion of US Bicycle Route 1 through Prince William County is quite hostile to bicycling, even by experienced cyclists.  However, the segments of this route along Fleetwood Dr (Fauquier County Line to Aden Rd), Aden Rd (Fleetwood Dr to Bristow Rd), Bristow Rd (Aden Rd to Independent Hill Dr), Independent Hill Rd (Bristow Rd to Route 234), all of Hoadly Rd, Minnieville Rd (the segment missing a shared-use path from Prince William Pkwy to Fowke Ln), and Old Bridge Rd (Minnieville Rd to Tanyard Hill Rd) are all identified for future shared-use paths in Prince William County’s December 2022 Comprehensive Plan and therefore should be depicted as Planned NCTN segments on the updated NCTN map.
  • East Coast Greenway and Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail: Except to depict existing or planned sidepaths along Route 1, the current NCTN map does not depict most of the planned ultimate route(s) for the East Coast Greenway and the paved, shared-use segments of the Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail through Prince William County.  The updated NCTN map should depict those planned routes.

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Will Prince William’s Road Expansions Bust Our Region’s Climate Goals?

April 5, 2022 /

To lessen catastrophic climate change from the burning of fossil fuels, the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (MWCOG) has collectively pledged to substantially reduce our region’s emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) from the level that existed in 2005–by 50% by 2030 and by 80% by 2050.

The major sources of our region’s greenhouse gas emissions.  Transportation (yellow bars) is now the largest single source of our greenhouse gas emissions, comprising at least 40% of the total.

Prince William County and all other localities in the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (MWCOG)–and the associated National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board (TPB)–have committed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 50% of the 2005 level by 2030.  In the County, the transportation sector–cars and trucks, primarily–is the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions.   By 2030, there will be more electric vehicles (and a somewhat cleaner electric grid), but most vehicles will still be powered by fossil fuels and emit carbon dioxide from tailpipes.

The County’s traditional business-as-usual transportation planning–expanding highways for drive-alone commutes–would sabotage efforts to meet the 2030 target.  In particular, the proposed Route 28 Bypass would not increase local jobs but would increase solo auto commutes and greenhouse gas emissions.  Spending well over $200 million in County tax revenue on the Route 28 Bypass would subsidize housing and jobs in other localities, while sabotaging efforts to meet our region’s 2030 greenhouse gas target to lessen our global climate crisis.

Instead of building the Route 28 Bypass, the eight members on the Board of County Supervisors (BOCS) could plan to meet our region’s 2030 climate target and invest the savings to upgrade local infrastructure to better access local jobs.  What makes the most sense to you?

Below is our recent email exchange with BOCS Chair (and TPB Member) Ann Wheeler.   Active Prince William sent similar messages to Neabsco District Supervisor Victor Angry, Manassas Vice Mayor Pamela Sebesky, and Manassas Park Mayor Jeanette Rishell who also serve on the National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board (TPB).

From: Active Prince William <[email protected]>
Sent: Thursday, March 31, 2022 6:46 PM
To: Wheeler, Ann <[email protected]>; Angry, Victor S. <[email protected]>
Cc: Belita, Paolo J. <[email protected]>; Canizales, Ricardo <[email protected]>
Subject: Metropolitan Washington 2030 Climate and Energy Action Plan

Dear Chair Wheeler and Supervisor Angry:

As members of the Transportation Planning Board (TPB), you have an especially important role in sustainability planning and advancing the Metropolitan Washington 2030 Climate and Energy Action Plan.  

Without action by TPB to adopt climate change mitigation goals and strategies, the region will not meet the 2030 and 2050 targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.  

Technological changes will not be sufficient; we need policy changes that reduce regional VMT and VMT per capita as well.  Fundamentally, the TPB must adopt targets and policies to reduce carbon emissions from the transportation sector.  The impact of new projects in Northern Virginia’s long-range multimodal transportation plan, TransAction, need to be quantified.  Otherwise, how can the 24 jurisdictions in MWCOG meet their 2030 and 2050 targets?

Similarly, each jurisdiction needs to “do the math” regarding planned land use changes.  Transit-Oriented Development can minimize the greenhouse gas emissions that will be increased by population growth.  Those increases must be offset in order to meet the 2030 and 2050 targets, and the impact of changes in land use planning must be quantified. Otherwise, how can the 24 jurisdictions in MWCOG meet their 2030 and 2050 targets?

As noted by the Coalition for Smarter Growth, the 2030 target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 50% below 2005 levels is essential for keeping our planet in the safety zone.  We cannot afford to ignore the cumulative impacts of emissions between now and 2030 and focus only on the 2050 target.

From: Wheeler, Ann <[email protected]>
Date: Mon, Apr 4, 2022 at 1:12 PM
Subject: RE: Metropolitan Washington 2030 Climate and Energy Action Plan
To: Active Prince William <active.princewilliam@gmail.com>, Angry, Victor S. <[email protected]>
Cc: Belita, Paolo J. <[email protected]>, Canizales, Ricardo <[email protected]>

Good afternoon-

Thank you for reaching out to our office.  I have attached the MWCOG plan for achieving GHG reductions.  As you can see on page 11 there will have to be various ways to address this issue and I know both MWCOG and TPB have discussed these at length.  Prince William County is a still growing outer jurisdiction, without Metro, which makes discussion of some of the items you brought up more difficult.  It is my belief that as an outer jurisdiction, with a current heavy reliance on automobiles, we should have a much, much greater focus on electrification of our County-owned fleet as well as encouragement of conversion to EVs through a robust charging infrastructure for our residents.  Even looking at the major activity or transit centers in the west where the housing growth will come from (Broad Run Station, the commuter lot on Route  29 and the commuter lot at Groveton) it will be difficult to get very high density around these three locations for various reasons.   I believe one of the strongest ways to ultimately reduce vehicle miles traveled is to expand our commercial base in Prince William County so people don’t have to commute to their job locations and that is what I am focusing on.  I am sure you will agree that ultimately this is a goal everyone can get behind.

Thank you for you comments as we continue evaluating our land-use and mobility plans to assure our future for the next twenty years.

In service,

Ann Wheeler

From: Active Prince William <active.princewilliam@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, Apr 4, 2022 at 6:31 PM
Subject: Re: Metropolitan Washington 2030 Climate and Energy Action Plan
To: Wheeler, Ann <[email protected]>
Cc: Angry, Victor S. <[email protected]>, Belita, Paolo J. <[email protected]>, Canizales, Ricardo <[email protected]><

Chair Wheeler,

Thank you for your response to our message regarding the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector.  We certainly agree that “one of the strongest ways to ultimately reduce vehicle miles traveled is to expand our commercial base in Prince William County so people don’t have to commute to their job locations.”

That perspective should shape the county’s investments in new transportation infrastructure.  We should prioritize building new capacity that maximizes mobility while minimizing Vehicle Miles Traveled.  The 2040 Comprehensive Plan should focus on creating walkable communities to accommodate the expanding population.  The County priority for new mobility infrastructure should be expansion of local Omniride and shuttle/trolley services, plus bike/pedestrian connections that anticipate increasing use of e-bikes.

To expand our commercial base and increase local jobs, we should stop funding construction of new lane miles designed for Prince William commuters to leave the county–and for auto commuters who live to our west and south to commute through Prince William County–for jobs in other jurisdictions.  In particular, the county’s $200 million subsidy for the Route 28 Bypass is inconsistent with a priority to expand our commercial base in Prince William County so people don’t have to commute to their job locations.

That project, especially when the destruction of houses in an Equity Emphasis Area is viewed through an equity lens, should be cancelled.  The funding earmarked to repay the $200 million in county bonds, should be re-purposed in a joint venture with the school system to fund the Sustainability Action Plan that the Sustainability Commission will complete in the next year.

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APW Urges Its TPB Members to Ensure New Transportation Plans Meet Climate and Equity Goals

June 24, 2021 /

 

On June 15, 2021–in advance of the June 16 meeting of the National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board (TPB) at which the project submissions for updating Visualize 2045, the region’s long-range transportation plan, were scheduled for adoption –Active Prince William sent the following message to Prince William County’s two representatives on that regional transportation planning body–Prince William Board of County Supervisors Chairman Ann Wheeler and Neabsco District Supervisor Victor Angry.   We also sent similar messages to the TPB members who represent the Cities of Manassas and Manassas Park–Manassas Vice Mayor Pamela Sebesky and Manassas Park Mayor Jeanette Rishell.

Here’s a summary of the contentious June 16, 2021 TPB meeting, at which a proposal to craft a climate-friendly regional transportation plan for adoption  by 2024 was agreed to

The National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board (TPB) will be taking up a resolution at their June 16th meeting regarding a Visualize 2045 Alternative Build Scenario that would aim to achieve TPB climate and equity goals through the use of transportation demand management, transit, and land use strategies consistent with regional policy goals, a modified regional project list that reduces the number and scale of road capacity expansion projects in accordance with anticipated reduced travel demand, and with particular focus on public transportation and pedestrian/bicycle improvements needed to serve mobility disadvantaged populations.  This is being brought forward because the recently submitted project updates to Visualize 2045 will not meet the TPB climate and equity goals.

Due to the time and resource constraints at this point in the Visualize 2045 update process, Active Prince William recommends Prince William County support the following action plan to support meeting TPB climate and equity goals:

1)    Commit to completing the TPB Climate Change Mitigation Study and review it thoroughly at the regional and jurisdictional levels through the first quarter of 2022.

2)    Formally commit to assisting the TPB to develop a set of transportation policies and projects, by the end of 2022, which would be implementable at the jurisdictional and regional levels, consistent with the recommendations of the Climate Change Mitigation Study, that, when fully implemented will assure the region will meet its climate change mitigation goals

3)    Commit to take actions to officially adopt the projects and policies developed to attain the region’s climate goals within the transportation sector, and advance these projects into the region’s LRTP for a mid-term update to be completed in 2024

As voting members of the TPB, this is an opportunity for Prince William County to be a transportation planning leader as it relates to climate and equity in the region.   Supporting this initiative aligns with PWC BOCS Resolution 20-773: Regional Climate Mitigation and Resiliency Goals and the Prince William County Equity and Inclusion Policy.

The updated mobility chapter of the comprehensive plan should be aligned with this action plan.  Prince William County should also advocate these measures be included as the starting point for the next NVTA Transaction Plan.  To support this the Prince William County should advocate that the General Assembly act to modify the NVTA statute to align with your climate and equity goals.

The climate is not waiting. The time to act is now.

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