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1999 SESSION


SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 406
Requesting the Secretary of Transportation to study improvement of transportation affecting the Crystal City and Potomac Yard Areas of Arlington County and the City of Alexandria.

Agreed to by the Senate, February 4, 1999
Agreed to by the House of Delegates, February 15, 1999

WHEREAS, the Crystal City and Potomac Yard areas of Arlington and Alexandria are, and will continue to be, major regional centers of business and commercial activity for the Washington metropolitan area; and

WHEREAS, there is currently a need to move large volumes of people and products both within the immediate Crystal City and Potomac Yard areas and between this area and origins and destinations outside the area and throughout the region; and

WHEREAS, plans for long-term developments of a major scale in Potomac Yard are being proposed by Commonwealth Atlantic Properties for consideration by Arlington and Alexandria; and

WHEREAS, the portion of U.S. Route 1 that traverses Old Town Alexandria, Potomac Yard, and Crystal City, and which was not included as part of the recent U.S. Route 1 Study conducted by the Virginia Department of Transportation, will be the major road accessing this area; and

WHEREAS, Metrorail stations at Crystal City and Braddock Road and the Virginia Railway Express stations at Crystal City and King Street are too distant to provide sufficient access to public transportation in this area; and

WHEREAS, development of this scale will create traffic implications for the residential neighborhoods that form the western border of the Crystal City and Potomac Yard areas; and

WHEREAS, future plans for the Crystal City and Potomac Yard areas should accommodate the transportation planning vision of the Transportation Planning Board of the National Capital Area for hub and web travel patterns to enhance access to and from the region; and

WHEREAS, the development of transportation solutions in this area must, by nature of their interests and proximate locations, include a number of local, state and federal agencies, and private corporations, including the National Park Service, Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, U.S. Department of Transportation, CSX Railway Corporation, Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, Virginia Department of Transportation, Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation, and the two local governments; and

WHEREAS, Commonwealth Atlantic Properties has a unique interest, with regard to addressing transportation concerns in this area, due to the extent of their land holdings, standards and designs applied to their development, implementation of site plan, and control over the phasing and pace of the anticipated build-out; and

WHEREAS, there is a crucial need to identify highway and transit improvements that will accommodate current and future development and will improve circulation within the Crystal City and Potomac Yard areas; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the Senate, the House of Delegates concurring, That the Secretary of Transportation, with the assistance and cooperation of the Commonwealth Transportation Board, the Virginia Department of Transportation, the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation, the County of Arlington, the City of Alexandria, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission, and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority be requested to study and develop a plan that recommends short-term and long-term transportation improvements affecting this area; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the maximum opportunity for input and coordination in the development of this plan be afforded other local, regional, state and federal agencies, Commonwealth Atlantic Properties and other private corporations, and community-based organizations that may have an interest in this area; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That this plan identify the costs associated with implementing the plan and funding options; and, be it

RESOLVED FINALLY, That the Secretary complete the work in time to submit her findings and recommendations to the Governor and the 2000 Session of the General Assembly as provided in the procedures of the Division of Legislative Automated Systems for the processing of legislative documents.