ARLINGTON COUNTY, VIRGINIA. County Board Agenda Item Meeting of July 14, 2018

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1 ARLINGTON COUNTY, VIRGINIA County Board Agenda Item Meeting of July 14, 2018 DATE: July 5, 2018 SUBJECT: Approval to Submit Applications to the Commonwealth of Virginia for the 2018 SMART SCALE Program C. M. RECOMMENDATION: Adopt the attached resolution authorizing Arlington County s participation in the Commonwealth of Virginia s 2018 SMART SCALE program. ISSUE: County Board approval is required to participate in certain transportation grant programs managed by the Commonwealth of Virginia. In addition, all SMART SCALE applications require a resolution of support from the relevant governing body. No issue has been identified at the date of this report. SUMMARY: The attached resolution (Attachment A) authorizes and directs that grant applications be submitted to the Commonwealth of Virginia for the 2018 SMART SCALE program. Staff proposes applying to this program and seeking up to $88.7 million in funding for four projects. BACKGROUND: Legislation passed in 2014 and 2015 resulted in a redistribution of transportation funding in the Commonwealth of Virginia, as well as a new quantifiable and competitive method of prioritizing projects for state transportation funding. The first round of funding for SMART SCALE projects (previously called House Bill 2 after the enabling legislation) was completed in June 2016, with funding for Fiscal Year (FY) approved by the Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB). Arlington was successful in this first round, taking advantage of this new allocation method and receiving $15 million in SMART SCALE funding for all projects submitted: ART Service Expansion between Ballston and Shirlington ($4.5 million), construction funding for the Ballston-MU Metrorail Station West Entrance ($10 million), and purchase of a Mobile Commuter Store to service the I-66 Corridor ($500,000). The second round of funding was completed in June 2017, with funding for FY 2022 and FY 2023 approved by the CTB. Arlington was also successful in the second round, receiving $6.6 in SMART SCALE funding for all projects submitted: Columbia Pike Smart Corridor County Manager: ##### County Attorney: ***** 41. Staff: Dan Malouff, Department of Environmental Services

2 (transportation demand management [TDM] improvements along Columbia Pike, $1 million), and expanded bus service and protected bike lanes in the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor ($5.6 million). DISCUSSION: The SMART SCALE method of scoring projects is based on an objective, outcome-based process defined by House Bill 2 (2014) that is transparent to the public and allows the CTB to be held accountable to taxpayers. SMART SCALE stands for System for the Management and Allocation of Resources for Transportation and that System s metrics: improvements to Safety, Congestion reduction, Accessibility, Land use, Economic development and the Environment. House Bill 2 (HB 2) directed the CTB to develop and use a prioritization process to select transportation projects to be funded in the state s Six-Year Improvement Program (SYIP). The funding included in the SYIP was recently redistributed through a process outlined in House Bill 1887 (2015). This legislation replaced the previous state transportation funding allocation formula with a new formula. Under the old formula, the CTB controlled a $500 million annual allocation and used a roadway allocation formula that distributed any remaining money to the state s primary, secondary, and urban highways. Arlington received little to no funding under the old formula. The new formula allocates 45 percent of funding to a newly established state of good repair fund, 27.5 percent to a newly established High-Priority Projects Program (HPPP), and 27.5 percent to highway construction district grant programs (DGP). Both the HPPP and DGP are subject to SMART SCALE. Arlington received $21.6 million through the first two rounds of SMART SCALE allocations for two transit projects, one transit and protected bike lanes project, and two Transportation Demand Management (TDM) projects. The call for projects for the 2018 SMART SCALE process will allocate funding for FY in the FY SYIP. There is flexibility in terms of which fiscal year funding a project is assigned upon approval, both based on the availability of funding related to currently funded projects that may be delayed and require funding in later years, as well as the ability to shift funding from a previously funded Arlington project to a project under consideration for this round of funding. Unlike the previous two rounds, the Commonwealth separated the current SMART SCALE process into pre-application and application phases. Pre-applications, which require a minimal level of information and are used largely to establish placeholders in the on-line Smart Portal where all information must be submitted, were initially due June 1. Due to bugs in the Smart Portal, the pre-application deadline was extended until June 8. Arlington submitted 11 preapplications. Two of those projects received their full regional funding request from the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority (NVTA) in its FY2018-FY2023 Six Year Program, adopted by the Authority on June 14. With the approved NVTA funding leveraged with other sources, those two projects (ART Facilities and the Pentagon City Multimodal Connections and Transitway Extension) will be fully funded in the proposed County FY2019-FY2028 Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) and no longer need to seek SMART SCALE funds. Of the remaining nine pre-applications, staff has conducted an internal review of each project, its current funding status within the proposed CIP, and an assessment of its competitiveness within the evaluation criteria of the SMART SCALE program. The results of that review eliminated five additional pre-applications from consideration, and left four projects that are proposed for full applications, - 2 -

3 due August 1. A final funding decision is anticipated from the CTB in June 2019 with the adoption of the SYIP. Roughly $850 million is available statewide for FY 2024 and FY 2025, about half of which ($425 million) is allocated to the HPPP and the other half allocated to the VDOT highway construction districts for the DGP, with a very preliminary estimate of between 25 and 30 percent of that portion expected to be identified specifically for projects in the Northern Virginia construction district. DGP candidate projects and strategies from localities within a highway construction district are scored against projects and strategies within the same highway construction district. For HPPP projects competing statewide, a project is scored against all projects and strategies competing for statewide funding. A jurisdiction may choose to submit a project to compete statewide (HPPP), within the construction district (DGP), or at both levels; eligible Arlington projects will be entered for consideration at both levels. Due to the action of the 2018 Virginia General Assembly to allocate $154 million in annual dedicated capital funding for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) under House Bill 1539 / Senate Bill 856, which diverted hundreds of millions of dollars in future anticipated regional funds away from the NVTA, there is increased competition for SMART SCALE funds in this round from Northern Virginia jurisdictions both state-wide and within the highway construction district. One of Arlington s proposed SMART SCALE applications is for a project that did not receive its full funding request from the NVTA: the Crystal City Metrorail Station East Entrance. The project selection criteria and scoring for these programs are outlined in the SMART SCALE Technical Guide, updated and adopted by the CTB in November Candidate projects will be scored based on the factors and weights identified below relative to other projects submitted for evaluation, the cost of the project, and based on information included in the project application. Projects will be scored along the six factors required by the HB 2 legislation (Virginia State Code ). Weights for each of the factors fall into one of four categories (A, B, C, and D) depending on the project s location within the State. Northern Virginia, Hampton Roads, and the Fredericksburg Area are considered Category A, which means congestion mitigation receives the highest weight of the six factors. The six factors, their weights, component measures, and measure weights are outlined below: Congestion Mitigation (C measures, weighted 45 percent): Based on person throughput (C.1, 50 percent) and person hours of delay (C.2, 50 percent). Land Use (L measures, weighted 20 percent): Based on metrics associated with transportation efficient land use (L.1, 70 percent) and increase in transportation efficient land use (L.2, 30 percent). Accessibility (A measures, weighted 15 percent): Based on access to jobs (A.1, 60 percent), access to jobs for disadvantaged populations (A.2, 20 percent), and access to multimodal choices (A.3, 20 percent). Economic Development (ED measures, weighted 5 percent): Based on project support for economic development (ED.1, 60 percent), intermodal access and efficiency (ED.2, 20 percenter), and travel time reliability (ED.3, 20 percent)

4 Environmental Quality (weighted 10 percent): Based on air quality and energy environmental effect (E.1, 50 percent) and impact to natural and cultural resources (E.2, 50 percent) Safety (weighted 5 percent): Based on the equivalent property damage only (EPDO) number (S.1, 100 percent for transit and TDM projects, 50 percent for all other projects) and rate (S.2, excluded for transit and TDM projects, 50 percent for all other projects) of fatal and injury crashes. The state will analyze the data for each factor and calculate a score according to the weightings listed above. SMART SCALE requires that the prioritization process be based on the factors relative to the cost of the project. Staff proposes seeking up to $88.7 million in funding for four projects from the 2018 SMART SCALE solicitation: 1. Crystal City Metrorail Station East Entrance ($77.9 million) 2. Transit Technology and Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Improvements ($2.3 million) 3. Crystal City / Potomac Yard Transitway Southern Extension ($2.4 million) 4. Performance Parking Deployment in Commercial Corridors ($6.1 million) PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT: The Transportation Commission reviewed this item at its meeting on June 28 and voted 7 to 1 to endorse the staff recommendation to submit applications for SMART SCALE. The recommendation endorsed by the Transportation Commission included five projects for a total request of $102.7 million. New cost estimate information received from VDOT following the Transportation Commission action increased the cost of the fifth project, the Route 110 Trail, from $15 million to $21 million, after having been increased from $5.5 million to $15 million (based on VDOT cost estimates) immediately prior to the Transportation Commission review. In light of the rapidly escalating cost estimates for the Route 110 Trail project and concerns regarding the overall size of the grant request, staff elected to remove the Route 110 Trail from the application package and retain the four above projects, reducing the total grant request from $102.7 million to $88.7 million.. In addition, all Arlington projects have been reviewed by the National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board (TPB), and were endorsed for submittal on June 20 (Resolution TPB R ). Finally, under the SMART SCALE guidelines, three of the four Arlington projects required endorsement by the NVTA, and were endorsed unanimously on June 14 (Resolution 18-02). FISCAL IMPACT: Projects applying for SMART SCALE must be federally-eligible in the event that the Commonwealth assigns any state funds that carry federal restrictions to the projects. A jurisdiction applying for SMART SCALE must anticipate the potential of receiving this federally-restricted funding due to the composition of Commonwealth transportation sources and the high demand and limited supply for non-federal state funding. The project packages developed for the SMART SCALE application were selected due to the ability of the components to receive funding that carries federal restrictions, if necessary

5 A brief description of each of the five projects and their funding status in the County Manager s proposed FY2019-FY2028 CIP is included below: 1. Crystal City Metrorail Station East Entrance ($77.9 million) This project will design and construct a second entrance to the Crystal City Metrorail Station at the northwest corner of the intersection of Crystal Drive and 18th Street South. The new entrance will be located to the east of the existing entrance, which is located on south Bell Street at 18th Street South, and will provide access to the east side of the train platform. The new entrance will include two street-level elevators and stairs connecting to the fare payment area and an underground passageway and new mezzanine with stairs and elevators to the train platform. The total cost of this project is $91 million. $13.1 million in new and existing funding sources, including $5 million in new NVTA Regional funds approved by the Authority on June 14, and $6 million in TIF funds proposed to be shifted from street lighting and street projects in Crystal City to this project will be used to advance and complete design in coordination with WMATA. The balance of $77.9 million for construction funding is the basis of the SMART SCALE application. The County Manager s proposed CIP anticipated NVTA Regional funding for construction with a project completion in FY2024; the revised funding plan shown above and discussed during the County Board s Transportation CIP work session on June 26 is in response to the NVTA s partial funding award and has a nominal anticipated impact on the project schedule. There are no projected operating cost impacts for this project. 2. Transit Technology and Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Improvements ($2.3 million) This project will improve bus operations and efficiency of ART Arlington Transit and other bus services in Arlington's Premium Transit Network (PrTN). This project includes the integration of Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) / Automatic Vehicle Location (CAD/AVL) and control computers, procurement of a business intelligence solution to consolidate disparate data sources into a single dashboard for operational and planning purposes, an intelligent bus management solution, and a text based system for passengers which will provide real time bus arrival information on mobile phones. This project will also fund deployment of the latest e-reader technology for real-time bus information at the 100 busiest bus stops in the County. This project falls under the PrTN: Transit ITS and Security Program in the CIP. This program is currently funded in the CIP primarily using NVTA Local revenues; if the SMART SCALE application is successful, the overall revenue allocation for the project will be revisited during the preparation of the FY2021-FY2030 CIP. Projected operating cost impacts are covered in the CIP. 3. Crystal City / Potomac Yard Transitway Southern Extension ($2.4 million) This project is to plan, design, and construct the southern portion of the Crystal City Potomac Yard Transitway, "Segment C" between South Glebe Road in Arlington County to the - 5 -

6 Arlington County / City of Alexandria Line at Four Mile Run, a length of approximately 600 feet. This project is part of the PrTN and has a total cost of $2.4 million. This project is currently funded using a combination of state transit capital grants, TIF, and C&I funds; if the SMART SCALE application is successful, the overall revenue allocation for the project will be revisited during the preparation of the FY2021-FY2030 CIP. There is no projected operating cost impact for this project. 4. Performance Parking Deployment in Commercial Corridors ($6.1 million) This project will install equipment and software to support demand-based pricing of on-street meters and improved public information about parking availability. On-street parking is limited by the finite length of curb on County streets and competing curb uses while offstreet parking is very expensive to build. Given these limitations, it is critical that the parking supply is managed effectively. Modern parking technology enables a much more efficient management of the system. County policy, as stated in the Master Transportation Plan's Parking and Curb Space Management Element, supports the use of multi-space meters and other high performing technologies. The project will support the installation of hardware and software to monitor and display occupancy, turnover, and parked duration information from the curbside metered spaces and County owned and operated off-street facilities in order to support demand-based pricing of on-street meters and improved public information about parking availability. The total cost of this project is $6.4 million; the CIP anticipates $6.1 million in state funding (SMART SCALE) and the balance of the cost is funded through PAYGO. Projected operating cost impacts are covered in the CIP

7 Attachment A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING APPLICATION TO THE COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA FOR THE 2018 SMART SCALE PROGRAM WHEREAS, the County Board of Arlington County, Virginia ( County Board ) desires to submit an application to the Commonwealth of Virginia for an allocation of up to $88.7 million in funding from the 2018 SMART SCALE program. WHEREAS, $77.9 million of these funds will be requested for the Crystal City Metrorail Station East Entrance; and WHEREAS, $2.3 million of these funds will be requested for Transit Technology and ITS Improvements; and WHEREAS, $2.4 million of these funds will be requested for the Crystal City / Potomac Yard Transitway Southern Extension; and WHEREAS, $6.1 million of these funds will be requested for Performance Parking Deployment in Commercial Corridors; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT the County Board hereby supports the making of an application and authorizes and directs the County Manager to make an application to the Commonwealth of Virginia for up to $88.7 million of 2018 SMART SCALE program funding for the above described projects. ADOPTED this 14 th day of July,