VDOT I-66 Inside the Beltway Eastbound Widening Environmental Assessment. Staff Recommendations

Transcription

1 VDOT I-66 Inside the Beltway Eastbound Widening Environmental Assessment Staff Recommendations Department of Environmental Services Transportation January 28, 2017

2 Timeline of Transform66 June 2012: I-66 Multimodal Study Inside the Beltway November 2015: County Board took action on I-66 Express Lanes, VDOT s proposal to implement peak period tolling February 2016: Governor McAuliffe announced bipartisan agreement to widen I-66 eastbound June/July 2016: CTB/NVTC approval of multimodal components November 2016: VDOT released the draft Environmental Assessment (EA) for the eastbound widening January 28, 2017: County Board review of staff comments on the draft EA and adoption of a Resolution to be provided as part of the public record for the federal NEPA process January 30, 2017: Environmental Assessment public comment period deadline 2

3 Issues Staff identified four issue areas in its review of the Environmental Assessment documentation for the eastbound widening of I-66 from the Dulles Connector to Fairfax Drive: 1. Impacts from the widening on right-of-way (ROW) and other resources 2. Traffic analysis and impacts to Arlington streets Additional data on future traffic conditions 3. Impacts to the regional trail network Additional analysis of W&OD Trail crossing at Lee Highway 4. Noise mitigation 3

4 Issue 1 Impacts to ROW The project requires a total of 4.9 acres of temporary or permanent property easements/acquisitions. Of that, 0.16 acres are permanent: Proposed permanent easement west of N Harrison Street (County) Proposed ROW acquisition adjacent to Lee Highway (Dominion Power) Proposed minimal ROW acquisition at Bon Air Park (County) There are moderate impacts to natural resources given the increase of impervious surface resulting from the project: Staff requests several revisions to the Draft Environmental Assessment to better account for environmental impacts Staff requests future inspections and maintenance of stormwater facilities There are no impacts to cultural resources 4

5 Issue 2 Traffic Impacts (1 of 2) Staff requests that several items related to traffic analysis in the draft EA be revisited before VDOT finalizes the documentation: Impacts on multimodal travel cannot be assessed from the traffic model analysis used for the draft EA Impacts of on- and off-boarding of transit vehicles cannot be accounted for as transit routes / stops were not included in the model The model does not account for bike lanes, pedestrian and bicycle movements, and potential pedestrian / bicycle conflicts and impacts on network operations Discrepancies between some model outputs and observed conditions Intersections located within the I-66 Analysis Study Area omitted from the VISSIM analysis (see map) 5

6 Issue 2 Traffic Impacts (2 of 2) Staff also identified several impacts on Arlington streets: second increase in delay at Lee Highway and Fairfax Drive / Washington Boulevard during AM Peak second increase in delay at Fairfax Drive and N Wakefield Street and N Glebe Road during PM Peak 90 second increase in delay at Lee Highway and N Westmoreland Street This delay could be mitigated by incorporating into the widening project the County s proposal for two left-turn lanes onto Washington Boulevard from the Lee Highway overpass of I-66 Staff will continue to work with VDOT to: Monitor and mitigate impacts related to increases in delay and/or concerns about safety at the following locations: Washington Boulevard from Lee Highway to N Sycamore Street Fairfax Drive approaching Lee Highway at I-66 off-ramp Westmoreland Street at I-66 off-ramp N Glebe Road and Fairfax Drive 6

7 Issue 3 Trail Network (1 of 5) Custis Trail realignment at Bon Air Park: VDOT has proposed to realign the trail at Bon Air Park to accommodate the widening of I-66 immediately adjacent to/above the trail (minimal staff concerns) Washington & Old Dominion (W&OD) Trail: VDOT has proposed to construct a grade-separated crossing of the trail at Lee Highway to provide for functional traffic operations related to off-ramp movements at the intersection with Fairfax Drive (moderate staff concerns) Staff has outlined the following areas for continued coordination: Assurance that VDOT will implement a context-sensitive design that is consistent with plans developed for East Falls Church Intersection safety at Fairfax Drive and Lee Highway Site plan conditions/fire access for the Crescent Falls Church apartments Assurance that VDOT will work with the surrounding community to mitigate any potential negative impacts from the bridge 7

8 Issue 3 Trail Network (2 of 5) Consistency with plans: A grade-separated crossing of the W&OD Trail is consistent with the following planning documents: The County s East Falls Church Area Plan (April 2011) outlines a number of possible trail connections in the vicinity, including a recommendation to explore possible grade separation of the W&OD Trail The Plan also calls for a gateway mixed use center at Lee Highway and Fairfax Drive, and to enhance pedestrian connectivity and multimodal facilities Metro s East Falls Church Station Vision Plan (July 2011) introduces a western entrance to the Metrorail Station (at right) The County included this expanded transit facility in its FY CIP The Bicycle Element of the County s Master Transportation Plan (July 2008) includes a recommendation to examine alternative crossings at Lee Highway N 8

9 Issue 3 Trail Network (3 of 5) Safety at Lee Highway and Fairfax Drive/Washington Boulevard: Safety for all modes is critical to support the future vision for East Falls Church and the regional trail network Since 2011, there have been eight (8) reported collisions at these intersections involving bicycles or pedestrians The draft EA states that the intersection of Fairfax Drive and the eastbound I-66 off-ramp shows the highest predicted crash frequency from the analysis of future safety conditions The County s East Falls Church Area Plan calls for improvements to bicycle and pedestrian safety and connectivity The Plan also includes a number of recommendations to improve connectively across Lee Highway Staff is working with VDOT to improve pedestrian conditions on the Lee Highway overpass of I-66 9

10 Issue 3 Trail Network (4 of 5) Fire access for the Crescent Falls Church apartments: The site plan approved for the Crescent relied on the abandoned N Fairfax Drive ROW to provide fire service to the north face of the development 20 feet of ROW is constructed with weight-bearing substructure and is to be kept clear in order to service the building in the event of an emergency The County Fire Marshal conducted a site visit and recommends that this fire access be maintained The abandoned ROW serves as open space per site plan conditions VDOT has committed to redesigning the bridge to maintain fire access and retain as much open space as possible 10

11 Issue 3 Trail Network (5 of 5) Summary of stakeholder engagement on the W&OD Trail bridge: County Commission/Committee discussions related to the W&OD Trail bridge: January 9 Bicycle Advisory Committee (County staff briefing) January 11 Pedestrian Advisory Committee (County staff update) January 12 Transportation Commission briefing on I-66 widening The Commission expressed conditional support for the W&OD Trail bridge The Arlington-East Falls Church Civic Association hosted a meeting with VDOT on with bridge on January 4 The NOVA Parks Board unanimously voted on January 19 to support gradeseparation of the W&OD Trail at Lee Highway The City of Falls Church is actively participating in design discussions Staff assessment: The W&OD Trail bridge at Lee Highway improves safety on the regional trail network Request that VDOT revise the design to be context-sensitive, consistent with the East Falls Church Area Plan, and least impactful to the immediate community 11

12 Issue 4 Noise Mitigation Both east- and westbound I-66 qualify for noise mitigation The corridor contains a patchwork of noise barriers; the Preliminary Noise Analysis recommends a variety of treatments based on existing conditions The impacts from noise mitigation will not be understood entirely until after final design of noise barriers It is imperative that VDOT communicate the noise mitigation process to residents along the corridor Trade-offs between mitigation and cultural/natural resources Voting process and possible segmentation of noise barriers 12

13 C.M. Recommendation Staff recommends adopting the proposed Resolution The Transportation Commission met on January 12 and voted to support the proposed Resolution, noting it is comprehensive and captures where the County stands Staff will submit all County comments prior to the close of VDOT s public comment period on January 30 13