POSITION:

The Northern Virginia Association of Realtors® (NVAR) supports efforts to ensure a strong, efficient regional transportation network. These efforts include specific projects focusing on reducing congestion and travel time and increasing network reliability.

DISCUSSION / BACKGROUND:

NVAR has long considered transportation one of our top priorities and improving our regional transportation network as essential for sustained regional prosperity and continued growth of the real estate market. Support for long-term regional and statewide transportation funding has also been a long-standing priority of NVAR and Realtor® Associations throughout the region, having supported the transportation funding packages in 2013, 2018 and 2020.

As Realtors®, we talk to people moving to and within Northern Virginia every day. One of their primary concerns is congestion and travel time throughout the region. People want to be able to get to work, to shopping, or to their children's activities without sitting in gridlock. They do not care about local and state boundaries; they desire a highly functional regional transportation network.

Therefore, we support solutions to transportation challenges that require a big picture perspective – regionally (DC, MD, No.VA), as well as statewide. Transportation funds should be primarily focused and leveraged, where appropriate, with federal, state, and private funds on projects of large-scale regional significance. These projects include:

• Fixing the American Legion Bridge—much needed repairs along with adding new express/managed lanes in each direction in coordination with Maryland.
• Adding a new Potomac River crossing—constructed northwest of the American Legion Bridge to allow better access between Maryland and Virginia and to pull traffic away from the Beltway and the American Legion Bridge.
• Planning and building the Bi-County Parkway—connecting Route 234 in Prince William County with US Route 50 in Loudoun County to create a North-South route through the region.
• Widening projects on the Fairfax County Parkway, Route 1, Braddock Road, Evergreen Mills Road, and Belmont Ridge Road.
• Constructing the Route 28 Bypass.
• Continuing progress on Metro—a well-maintained, safe, reliable and fiscally sustainable Metrorail system is essential to the Commonwealth’s economic competitiveness.

RECOMMENDATION:

NVAR supports legislation aimed at reducing congestion and improving the regional transportation network through specific projects with the greatest regional significance.

STATUS:

HB 1414 (Filler-Corn) and SB 890 (Saslaw) restores transportation monies diverted from Northern Virginia regional projects during the 2018 legislative session. This Administration, like the previous one, proposed a 10 cent increase in the grantor’s tax along with a couple other taxes, to help restore the money Northern Virginia had lost. NVAR lobbied to have the grantor’s tax reduced to 5 cents per $100 – the amount NVAR, the Dulles Association and the Prince William Association had agreed to in 2018 after successfully lobbying to have it reduced. The Regional Congestion Fee will go up 5 cents per $100 for the period of July 1, 2020 through April 30, 2021. At that time, the Regional Congestion Fee will go to 10 cents per $100 while the Northern Virginia Regional Transportation Fee (WMATA capital fee) will be reduced to 10 cents per $100. The net effect of the legislation is a 5-cent increase in the grantor’s tax to go to much needed transportation projects in the region.