Northern Virginia Transportation Coalition Urges Focus on Performance-Based Transportation Investments
With the recent start of the 2019 Virginia General Assembly Session, the Northern Virginia Transportation Coalition – a partnership consisting of the Alliance and 20 other organizations representing the vast majority of Northern Virginia’s private sector businesses and employees – has issued a position paper calling on Virginia legislators to pass performance-based transportation legislation to strengthen our regional transportation network.
The Coalition’s policy statement calls for regional, state, local and private sector funds to be invested in highway and transit improvements and intelligent transportation systems that will move the most people through our region, reduce congestion and travel time delays, increase network reliability, promote regional economic development and growth, and enhance national security.
Specific priorities include:
- Replacing regional transportation funds diverted from the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority during the 2018 Session
- Prioritizing regionally significant projects in key corridors that do the most to relieve congestion and reduce travel time delays
- Securing adequate transportation funding to make necessary improvements and expand the capacity of our transportation network
- Ensuring Metro is well-maintained, safe, reliable, and fiscally sustainable as a core statewide asset that is essential to Northern Virginia’s economic competitiveness
- Establishing a sustainable long term solution to the Commonwealth’s transit capital funding
“Northern Virginia’s business community is united in the conviction that focusing transportation investments on policies and projects that reduce congestion and travel delays and ensure network reliability is essential to improving regional mobility, prosperity and quality of life,” says Alliance Chairman Evan Pritchard. “And it is committed to working with our elected officials to advance such investments.”
The Coalition has shared its policy priorities with Northern Virginia’s local, state and federal elected officials and will continue advocating throughout the year to build a 21st century transportation network in Northern Virginia.