Reston Transportation Funding Plan Meeting Set for Thursday in Herndon

The next community meeting for the Reston Transportation Funding Plan will be Thursday at 7 p.m. in the cafeteria of Coates Elementary School (2480 River Birch Road, Herndon). The Fairfax County Department of Transportation and Dranesville District Supervisor John Foust will host the meeting.

“It will be a great opportunity for residents who have not been able to attend a previous meeting to learn more about the funding plan,” said Jenny Kaplan, a staff aide in Foust’s office.

The presentation will focus only on the funding plan, Kaplan said. The agenda will not include discussion of the network analysis.

According to the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors:

“The proposed Reston Transportation Funding Plan addresses the $2.27 billion (in 2016 dollars) need for infrastructure improvements to support the recommendations in the Reston Phase I Comprehensive Plan Amendment. The proposed plan allocates roughly $1.2 billion of the improvements over 40 years from public funds — federal, state, local, and regional funds that are anticipated for countywide transportation projects. Approximately $1.07 billion of the improvement costs will be raised from private funds — sources of revenue that are generated within the Reston TSAs and used exclusively for transportation projects in the Reston TSAs; this will require creation of a service district fund and County road fund project for management of revenues. It is anticipated that a fund for the service district will be created in FY 2018, and a new project will be created in Fund 30040 (Contributed Roadway Improvements) for the management of these Reston road fund contributions.”

The transit areas are expected to see the greatest level of development — and will need the most street grid upgrades, lane additions and traffic signals, among other improvements — as Reston grows over the coming decades.

The cost of the improvements is expected to be a public/private split, roughly 50/50. In this framework, Reston roadway projects would be paid for with public revenue, while intersections and the grid would be covered by private funding. A significant portion of the private funding is expected to be paid for through in-kind contributions to the grid from developers as redevelopment occurs, the Reston Network Analysis Advisory Group says.

Reston Association CEO Cate Fulkerson is encouraging RA members to be “educated and engaged” regarding the plan, according to information provided in the RA Board of Directors’ agenda packet for their own meeting Thursday. However, because it is a county tax and revenue matter, the board is not being recommended to take a position.

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors plans to hold a public hearing on the plan Feb. 28.

Map of Reston Transportation Service Area and chart showing cost breakdown via Fairfax County