HJ603: U.S. Route 1 Corridor; joint subcommittee to study creation of Corridor.
WHEREAS, United States Route 1 is also known as the Richmond Highway, Jefferson Davis Highway, Cambridge Street, Washington Highway, Brook Road, Chamberlayne Avenue, Richmond-Petersburg Highway, and Boynton Plank Road; and
WHEREAS, U.S. Route 1 is one of the oldest roads in the Commonwealth, one of the longest highways in the United States of America, and stretches from Fort Kent, Maine, to Key West, Florida, and was one of the first paved highways in the Commonwealth; and
WHEREAS, U.S. Route 1's predecessor was the Atlantic Highway which was designed in 1911 as the Quebec-Miami Highway, renamed the Atlantic Highway in 1915, and officially designated as U.S. Route 1 in 1926; and
WHEREAS, U.S. Route 1 traverses 17 cities and counties in the Commonwealth: the cities of Alexandria, Colonial Heights, Fredericksburg, Petersburg, and Richmond, and the counties of Arlington, Brunswick, Caroline, Chesterfield, Dinwiddie, Fairfax, Hanover, Henrico, Mecklenburg, Prince William, Spotsylvania, and Stafford; and
WHEREAS, early investment in U.S. Route 1 created some of the earliest business development and commercial corridors in the Commonwealth; and
WHEREAS, due to the construction of I-95 and I-85, large sections of U.S. Route 1 have not received substantial investment in the last 50 years, are in need of economic development, and are blighted; and
WHEREAS, the U.S. Route 1 corridor also contains some of the largest concentrations of economically disadvantaged communities in the jurisdictions along its route; and
WHEREAS, portions of U.S. Route 1 surrounding major jurisdictions are severely congested, inhibiting economic development, growth and jobs; and
WHEREAS, portions of U.S. Route 1 would substantially benefit by further investment in mass transit facilities such as heavy and light rail and dedicated bus lanes in addition to the highway itself; and
WHEREAS, portions of U.S. Route 1 have some of the highest percentages of pedestrians killed per mile and are the deadliest roads for pedestrians in the Commonwealth; and
WHEREAS, U.S. Route 1 is a travel alternative to Interstate 95, which is severely congested, and removing local traffic from Interstate 95 would improve transportation flow in the Commonwealth; and
WHEREAS, U.S. Route 1 is a primary route of access to major tourist attractions in the Commonwealth including Arlington Cemetery, Old Town Alexandria, Mount Vernon, Woodlawn, Pohick Church, Gunston Hall, Ferry Farm, Scotchtown, Guinea Station, Historic Fredericksburg, Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Battlefield, the National Museum of the Marine Corps, the United States Army Museum, Kings Dominion, Meadow Farm, Petersburg National Battlefield, Merchant's Hope Church, Yellow Tavern, the Falling Creek Iron Works, Drewry's Bluff, Hollywood Cemetery, and the Capitol of Virginia; and
WHEREAS, U.S. Route 1's historic character was recognized by the Commonwealth in 2010 when the General Assembly and Governor McDonnell designated all of U.S. Route 1 to be known as "Historic Route 1" (HB 530, 2010); and
WHEREAS, investments in roads and transit in the Commonwealth have proved to generate substantial jobs, increase tourism, promote economic development, increase property values, and improve the tax base; and
WHEREAS, the Commonwealth has previously established special transportation districts and authorities to collect dedicated funds and focus investments along priority corridors in the Commonwealth, such as U.S. Route 58 from Norfolk to Abingdon; and
WHEREAS, highly congested portions of U.S. Route 1 are expected to receive significant traffic impacts due to actions taken by the federal government?s Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission in 2010; and
WHEREAS, U.S. Route 1 is a national security priority in that it is a primary access route to numerous national defense facilities such as Fort Myer, the Pentagon, Fort Belvoir, Quantico Marine Base, and Fort Lee; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That a joint subcommittee be established to study the creation of a U.S. Route 1 Corridor. The joint subcommittee shall have a total membership of 10 members as follows: six members of the House of Delegates to be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Delegates in accordance with the principles of proportional representation contained in the Rules of the House of Delegates and four members of the Senate to be appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules. The joint subcommittee shall elect a chairman and vice-chairman from among its membership.
In conducting its study, the joint subcommittee shall study the desirability and feasibility of creating a special transportation district for the U.S. Route 1 Corridor to fund multimodal transportation improvements in the corridor including road, rail, transit, pedestrian, and bicycle improvements, to be funded by state highway and/or nonhighway revenues, in order to improve transportation infrastructure.
Administrative staff support shall be provided by the Office of the Clerk of the House of Delegates. Legal, research, policy analysis, and other services as requested by the joint subcommittee shall be provided by the Division of Legislative Services. All agencies of the Commonwealth shall provide assistance to the joint subcommittee for this study, upon request.
The joint subcommittee shall be limited to four meetings for the 2011 interim, and the direct costs of this study shall not exceed $18,800 without approval as set out in this resolution. Approval for unbudgeted nonmember-related expenses shall require the written authorization of the chairman of the joint subcommittee and the respective Clerk. If a companion joint resolution of the other chamber is agreed to, written authorization of both Clerks shall be required.
No recommendation of the joint subcommittee shall be adopted if a majority of the House members or a majority of the Senate members appointed to the joint subcommittee (i) vote against the recommendation and (ii) vote for the recommendation to fail notwithstanding the majority vote of the joint subcommittee.
The joint subcommittee shall complete its meetings by November 30, 2011, and the chairman shall submit to the Division of Legislative Automated Systems an executive summary of its findings and recommendations no later than the first day of the 2012 Regular Session of the General Assembly. The executive summary shall state whether the joint subcommittee intends to submit to the General Assembly and the Governor a report of its findings and recommendations for publication as a House or Senate document. The executive summary and the report shall be submitted as provided in the procedures of the Division of Legislative Automated Systems for the processing of legislative documents and reports and shall be posted on the General Assembly's website.
Implementation of this resolution is subject to subsequent approval and certification by the Joint Rules Committee. The Committee may approve or disapprove expenditures for this study, extend or delay the period for the conduct of the study, or authorize additional meetings during the 2011 interim.