Your NVTA Update - August 2021 Edition

NVTA Update

August 2021

Get Involved in Northern Virginia’s Transportation Future
The next TransAction update is underway and we want to hear from you!

TransAction is Northern Virginia’s long-range multimodal transportation plan. It serves as a roadmap for planning, programming and funding a forward-thinking regional transportation network that reduces congestion and promotes economic vitality and quality of life for NoVA residents. Public input is a key part of this process and your feedback will be used to help us understand current transportation needs, as well as prioritize projects and investments that will ensure a safe, equitable and sustainable transportation system for many years to come.

Connect with us today and invest in the future of your community! Here’s how:

Take our survey in English, Spanish or Korean

Provide your comments through our online comment form

Connect with us via social media: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn ... and now Instagram

Send us an email at TransAction@thenovaauthority.org

Live chat with the NVTA team (coming soon!)

Catch us at an in-person pop-up event (coming soon!)

Keep an eye on the TransAction website for updates

On July 15th, NVTA Executive Director Monica Backmon participated once again in a rail-focused panel discussion hosted by LEADVA. The event was held at JBG Smith's Arlington offices in National Landing. Ms. Backmon joined featured panelists, Dallas Richards, Chief Engineer, Virginia Railway Express (VRE), and Katherine Youngbluth, Manager, Northern Virginia Rail Projects, Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT). Panelists weighed in on railway investments impacting the region, including Long Bridge and the VRE Crystal City Station. Ms. Backmon also spoke about NVTA’s investments in National Landing and provided background on NVTA’s origins.

On July 20th, Phyllis J. Randall, Chair, Authority and Loudoun County Board of Supervisors; David Snyder, Vice Chair of the Authority and Council Member, City of Falls Church; and Monica Backmon, were invited to speak at the University of Virginia Sorensen Institute's 22nd Century Scholars Program, which works with students on developing effective leadership, promoting quality governance, and building public policy skills. The focus of the session was on regional transportation planning and programming, the Transform I-66 Project, and the regional collaboration it takes to keep Northern Virginians moving.

On July 21st, Monica Backmon participated in the Northern Virginia Transportation Alliance's Policymakers Webinar, "Intersection of Smart Tech and Transportation," where she joined fellow panelists, Senator Dave Marsden, Chairman of the Virginia Senate Transportation Committee, and Audi Director of Government Relations Brad Stertz, who discussed how transportation technologies will impact Virginia and the entire region in the coming years. Ms. Backmon discussed the new NVTA Transportation Technology Strategic Plan, while keeping equity, sustainability and safety top of mind. She emphasized the need for collaboration and flexibility as various transportation technology initiatives are being explored. Missed the webinar? No problem, you can view it, here.

On July 26th, Monica Backmon was invited to speak at Loudoun County's public information meeting on the NVTA-funded Shellhorn Road Extended project. The Authority invested $16 million on this regionally significant project. A recording of the event can be viewed, here.

On July 28th, Monica Backmon and Mackenzie Love, NVTA Regional Transportation Planner, provided the Virginia Municipal League Transportation Policy Committee a presentation on the new NVTA Transportation Technology Strategic Plan. Authority members serving on the VML Transportation Policy Committee in attendance included David Snyder, who also chairs the NVTA Executive Director's Transportation Technology Committee, and Jennifer Mitchell, Director, DRPT, who presented on transit activities around the region.