[{"_1":2,"_100":-5,"_101":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76,88],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6341091,"mediaKeyId","2258161-db77ac9ff48912981284fe3a298f4c9d","parentId",2258161,"title","Subcommittee approves NVTA-directed study on Northern Virginia bike and pedestrian funding after wide discussion","audioSeconds",1205,"startMs",1271000,"endMs",2476000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2258161-db77ac9ff48912981284fe3a298f4c9d&start=1271&end=2476","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2258161-db77ac9ff48912981284fe3a298f4c9d/thumbnail_1271000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6341091/Virginia/Subcommittee-approves-NVTA-directed-study-on-Northern-Virginia-bike-and-pedestrian-funding-after-wide-discussion","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6341091-b410e94e78680982c75742ab0a89544c/orig.mp4?Expires=1771163483&Signature=DJH5cdJhLG5LBSHu3j3UzsYVjGRp7yPKWTBzsUHRYAQlhSPQfAEKpRs-cMoLPW0BbgsXdLb8WgzPVj-DvTjhKMl2crNPiS2AyUAUbjU7Kww-Bhlnc3Z0crtFL7cIhq5Mwi8YFSc8hEn27x3FmfMdM6MrzHcmjlhbGfzkH3lLlZeCpZMhaf-idLSm366WFDGmhFp8DZ0qfxmxm1PRbny0759bJXQ-mvneIMG2Xbb4dClHRMzY~Uec3g5VpTCHnRsI8L350MTQi7Y~9ynKhmu159BdpNIZV6g1ladJjzLjPY3zOGkMuIAtLfWKOvcb8tgKgeZK96hs7GmOwpAuXTbA3A__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Virginia Legislature","date","2025-02-11T00:00:00Z","article","Senate Bill 1007, presented by Senator Servill, would direct the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority (NVTA) to work with Northern Virginia localities to study and recommend funding options dedicated to bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure in Planning District 8.

Servill described the bill as the latest phase of a multiyear effort to identify a dedicated funding stream for bike and pedestrian retrofits in Northern Virginia. He summarized prior efforts — including attempts to tax parking and prior study requests — and said a recent VDOT study estimates \"there's between 9 and $19,000,000,000 of unfunded bike and pedestrian infrastructure in Northern Virginia, plan District 8.\" He said projects do not compete well under existing NVTA or SmartScale scoring and that dedicated funding or a different scoring approach is needed.

Members pressed several operational and scope questions. Delegate Reid and others asked whether existing local tools (proffers, local NVTA allocation of 30 percent) and SmartScale funding might already cover needs; Servill and other members explained that much of Northern Virginia was built mid-20th century and requires expensive retrofits (right-of-way acquisition, moving utilities) that do not score well against congestion-focused projects. Delegates and the sponsor discussed that NVTA's 70 percent regional fund is tightly focused on congestion mitigation and that a separate statutory directive or funding mechanism may be necessary. Members also raised timing concerns for NVTA to complete the study within statutory deadlines.

Several organizations and local officials testified in support: Kanitra Pollard of the Southern Environmental Center described regional needs for targeted funding; Fatima Kamara (Virginia Conservation Network) and Noel Dominguez (Fairfax County) also expressed support for a regional study and additional resources. Committee members emphasized the need for a distinct scoring matrix for bike/ped projects and for ensuring any enforcement or revenue streams be paired with appropriate guardrails.

Delegate Austin noted concerns about the state's overall transportation funding shortfall and said a 10-year delayed enactment in the bill could limit near-term effect. Multiple members said the study could identify options, including statutory changes to scoring, new revenue sources, or redirected local revenues, but no concrete revenue method was included in the bill text.

After discussion, the subcommittee voted to report SB 1007 favorably; the clerk recorded the result as 6 to 2.

","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Transportation Infrastructure and Funding Subcommittee Tuesday, Feb 11, 2025 9:16 AM - 9:58 AM","oneSentenceSummary","Senate Bill 1007 would direct the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority to work with localities in Planning District 8 and produce a plan for a dedicated funding stream for bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure, sponsor Senator Servill told the transportation subcommittee.","taxTitle","2025 Legislature VA, Virginia","taxId",77687,"location","Virginia","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6341101,"Bill would ask Planning District 8 counties to consider 'discontinuing' rural roads rather than abandoning them",567,364000,931000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2258161-db77ac9ff48912981284fe3a298f4c9d&start=364&end=931","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2258161-db77ac9ff48912981284fe3a298f4c9d/thumbnail_364000.jpg","/articles/6341101/Virginia/Bill-would-ask-Planning-District-8-counties-to-consider-discontinuing-rural-roads-rather-than-abandoning-them","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6341101-8e4df4141f8c8c98d1e02eadc3a230d6/orig.mp4?Expires=1771163483&Signature=XRGMKsw-3fzsSJqMtdKcd9qoswFbT6RC3kZHyvzS0vhhcJCa-DVGntwQJvG~a5EVyP2yQMPtPlVIHt2a1dOsBgODKrOUDtRE9sEcf8lcEzjTLXGhjJjgQOLP6U8yABtKxkLFc0fny~4Mz25D0VR78mz~Nl964EVJE60eRDSEaeoNO9pgu4xjznp1YmrGrXcNBUh~6AcHgrsnmcCzaEMoGaUo8UZkWrUGLTvb6QC3eEzjUxIcoD~8tIFDvKiLeZvyoh16wA-sfOxEFpvW3aMMyg1jEVbP7bkjXjhtSW79nmn9kw5aePSmla1taAoG7vBAQJeSxrCyOgDeHMgMBwGAtQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The House Committee on Transportation, Infrastructure and Funding Subcommittee on Friday heard Senate Bill 1131, introduced by Senator Perry, a bill that would ask local governments in Planning District 8 to consider discontinuing instead of abandoning certain non-primary, non-secondary rural roads.

\"All this bill does is ask that local governments consider discontinuing instead of abandoning a road when that process comes up,\" Senator Perry said, adding that discontinuing would allow a road to \"remain a public right away\" and could allow incorporation into trail systems or green space for \"bikers, walkers, and questions.\" She told the committee she represents parts of Loudoun and Fauquier counties and said constituents value more than \"over 250 miles of unpaved rural roads.\"

The bill does not require localities to discontinue roads and applies only to Planning District 8, Perry said.

Joanne Baxeville, speaking for Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) staff, told the committee the central legal and operational distinction: \"When a road is discontinued as opposed to abandoned, when it's abandoned, no public use, there's no maintenance responsibility, etcetera, and it's no longer used for the public. When a road is discontinued... the road will still exist for public use but VDOT would not maintain it.\" Ms. Baxeville said discontinuance reflects a VDOT finding that there is not sufficient public need for continued VDOT maintenance.

Committee members asked several clarifying questions about maintenance, liability and ownership. Delegate Reed asked whether discontinuance would remove the road from VDOT's maintenance responsibility; Ms. Baxeville and other VDOT staff answered that both abandonment and discontinuance generally would end VDOT maintenance, but discontinuance preserves public access. Questions about liability for failing bridges or washed-out sections were raised; the record shows no definitive answer about which party would assume long-term liability after discontinuance.

The committee also discussed implications for right of way. VDOT staff summarized: for prescriptive right of way tied strictly to road use, \"if the road ... is no longer used for a road, I'm not sure that it would necessarily remain in the public domain\"; when fee ownership exists, it typically reverts to the owning governmental entity (county or VDOT) depending on whether the road was primary or secondary. Committee members and VDOT staff clarified that the bill's language is drawn to existing statutes that govern abandonment of primary and secondary roads and that municipal (city) streets generally are not covered by the bill as drafted.

No members of the public registered opposition; no amendments were recorded. The subcommittee moved to report the bill, and the clerk announced the report vote as 8 to 0 in favor.

The measure as presented does not change maintenance obligations, does not mandate discontinuance, and applies only to counties in Planning District 8. Further legal questions — including long-term liability for bridges and other structures after discontinuance — were discussed but left unresolved in the hearing record.

SB 1131 now moves from the subcommittee with a favorable report to the next House committee for additional consideration.

","The House Committee on Transportation, Infrastructure and Funding Subcommittee on Friday heard Senate Bill 1131, introduced by Senator Perry, a bill that would ask local governments in Planning District 8 to consider discontinuing instead of abandoning certain non-primary, rural roads.",{"_33":89,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":90,"_41":91,"_43":92,"_45":93,"_47":94,"_49":95,"_51":96,"_53":97,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":98,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":99,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6341096,"Panel backs making PRTC commuter service authority permanent to continue OmniRide expansion",239,935000,1174000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2258161-db77ac9ff48912981284fe3a298f4c9d&start=935&end=1174","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2258161-db77ac9ff48912981284fe3a298f4c9d/thumbnail_935000.jpg","/articles/6341096/Virginia/Panel-backs-making-PRTC-commuter-service-authority-permanent-to-continue-OmniRide-expansion","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6341096-7ab708913729c449d5f11bf53d788e33/orig.mp4?Expires=1771163483&Signature=huzsdFRRpcTxmrl~AfjCNoVWnLDYwkgVUwhhLhjsDqQPgb3~GdnVgRpFu2iuhsoS7-vwwD4Vfr3wm0DcJ5IdA8J7W~agEEZ7vWbTXJmrz7blFFtEOLY78zJi6JYt3IZTZWdhhFhh08UglHJ~XW-f4yXAb~sTQTh8ZDp2IPttToR7hwYjpgi33qz8YT123IBdidfXFs2q5~2I9d~70KavqIH5Oc4bvhbDiI3k3Y6Fnw-KhPw-uCkKlW4eZLJSj8JfwzFnS~ok4TD2bMALaBxfve82-PFzCZ~FUXdEwaptUJGXaxt2Y6DWRRtv3Y3czZRIR97EanaIgPSgoPwI0tghfw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Senate Bill 1317, introduced by Senator McPike, was presented to the House Committee on Transportation, Infrastructure and Funding Subcommittee as a measure to codify the Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Commission's (PRTC) authority to operate and expand its OmniRide commuter-bus service beyond a prior biennial budget authorization.

\"This legislation was about expansion of PRTC's highly successful Omni... commuter bus service,\" Senator McPike said, describing demand along I-66 and Route 29 corridors and planned service extensions into Warrenton and Front Royal to connect commuters to park-and-ride lots and regional transit destinations.

Fatima Kamara of the Virginia Conservation Network and Bob Schneider, executive director of PRTC's commuter service, testified in favor. Schneider said the service began an authorized pilot in December 2024 connecting riders to Gainesville and onward to destinations such as the Pentagon and Navy Yard, and he asked the committee to codify the authority so the service need not rely on temporary budget language. \"The legislation before you would codify this authority and allow the service to continue beyond the light and the biennial budget, and there is no fiscal impact,\" Schneider said.

No opposition testimony was recorded. The subcommittee moved to report the bill and the clerk announced the roll call result as 8 to 0 in favor.

With the favorable report, SB 1317 advances to the next committee in the House.

","Senator McPike told the subcommittee SB 1317 would codify authority for the Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Commission (PRTC) to operate and expand its OmniRide commuter service beyond a temporary budget authorization; PRTC and conservation groups testified in support and the subcommittee reported the bill 8-0.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Subcommittee approves NVTA-directed study on Northern Virginia bike and pedestrian funding after wide discussion

Bill would ask Planning District 8 counties to consider 'discontinuing' rural roads rather than abandoning them

Panel backs making PRTC commuter service authority permanent to continue OmniRide expansion