Responses to Supervisors Questions
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COUNTY OF LOUDOUN, VIRGINIA TRANSMITTAL MEMORANDUM DATE: April 26, 2012 TO: Board of Supervisors FROM: Andrew Beacher, Director, Transportation Services Mark Adams, Director, Management & Financial Services RE: Responses to Supervisor Delgaudio’s Metrorail Questions Submitted 3/5/12 CC: Tim Hemstreet, Linda Neri, Charles Yudd, John Sandy, Leslie Hansbarger, Julie Grandfield, Danny Davis, Ben Mays, Anna Nissinen 1. What are the population and employment densities of planned Loudoun County Metro station areas? Provide current and projected one mile, three mile, five mile radius data in 5 year increments to year 2040. Tables showing population and employment as of 2010, and forecasted through 2040, are attached (Attachment 1). Both total figures and density per square mile are provided for one, three, and five mile radii of the three stations that would be located within Loudoun County (Route 772, Route 606, and Dulles Airport), and for the Route 28 station, which would be located in Fairfax County near the Loudoun County border. Population, employment, and associated densities are only for the areas within Loudoun County. Data for the county as a whole are also provided, for comparison purposes. The attached map shows the location of the one, three, and five mile radii. The buffered areas encircling each station overlap, but population and employment are not double counted in these instances. To illustrate forecasted development in the vicinity of each station, tables for the one mile radius around individual stations (Route 772, Route 606, and Route 28) are also provided. Since the one mile radius around the Dulles Airport station encompasses only airport property, a table is not provided for this station. Forecasts are based on Loudoun County’s latest data, submitted to the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG) in February 2012 as part of the region’s Round 8.1 cooperative forecasts. Round 8.1 is scheduled for final approval in July 2012. No changes are expected to Loudoun’s forecasts. The Robert Charles Lesser & Co. (RCLCO) report, Market and Fiscal Impact Analysis of the Phase 2 Metrorail Extension to Loudoun County (April 2012), also provides forecasts for the areas surrounding the proposed metrorail stations. These forecasts are based on grouping parcels, rather than applying strict radii, and reflect RCLCO’s view of likely future development. Exhibits I-23 through I-28 show the parcels RCLCO included as part of each station area. Page 1 of 14 COUNTY OF LOUDOUN, VIRGINIA TRANSMITTAL MEMORANDUM Section V exhibits show forecasted development and fiscal impacts for each station area, with and without inflation, for Phase 2 metrorail to Loudoun and also with Phase 1 only. 2. Have Dulles Rail ridership projections from the 2004 Environmental Impact Statement (which did not show the projection assumptions made) been updated? If not, why not? Please provide. No, the Federal Transit Administration did not update the ridership projections from the 2004 Final Environmental Impact Statement; however, DESMAN Associates, the author of the Metrorail Parking Demand Study commissioned by Loudoun County, examined existing population and land use forecasts models to determine the number of daily boardings at the two stations in Loudoun County (refer to page 6 of the DESMAN Study): Figure 1. DESMAN’s Forecasted Daily Boardings 2018 2020 2025 2030 2035 2040 Rte 606 3,932 4,114 4,391 4,572 4,713 4,791 Rte 772 6,103 6,386 6,814 7,097 7,314 7,437 12,053 12,52013,230 13,699 14,062 14,268 *Source: Refer to pages 9 and 10 of DESMAN Associate’s Metrorail Parking Demand Study. 3. Why does the Federal Transit Administration only project 10,000 new riders for Dulles Rail and indicate most projected riders are presently bus passengers? According to the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS), released in 2004, the Federal Transit Administration states, “The full LPA is projected to attract 41,600 new average weekday trips to the regional transit system in its opening year (2015) while the Wiehle Avenue Extension would attract 29,100 in its opening year (2011). In 2025, the full LPA would attract nearly 47,800 new average weekday trips to the regional transit system while the Wiehle Avenue Extension would attract 34,300 new trips (38 percent fewer new trips)” (Chapter 6, page 6-8). There is no indication from the FEIS that most projected riders are presently bus passengers. The Loudoun County Office of Transportation Services has published a Transit Development Plan (TDP), in which they conducted a market analysis to examine current and future (year 2030) conditions. The TDP indicates that only 2% of bus ridership will be lost to Metrorail ridership. 4. What is the current and projected commuting modal travel split for Loudoun County residents? Show shares of single passenger auto, carpool, bus transit, taxi, commuter rail., walk, work at home? See figure below. Page 2 of 14 COUNTY OF LOUDOUN, VIRGINIA TRANSMITTAL MEMORANDUM Means of Transportation to Work Public Transportation Worked at home 2.5% 6.5% Carpooled 9.7% Bicycle Walked 0.2% 1.6% Other means 0.8% Drove Alone Other Motorcycle 78.6% 0.3% 0.1% Taxicab 0.1% Sourced from the 2010 U.S. Census American Community Survey (ACS) estimates accessed using American Fact Finder. 5. What are current and projected rail ridership totals by zip code origin and destination for Loudoun residents who work in Loudoun County and each other jurisdiction accounting for the projected 5% of the total commuter traffic? Answer is included in response to answer to question #6. 6. What are current and projected rail ridership totals by zip code origin and destination for non- Loudoun County residents who work in Loudoun County? Current Ridership Data showing origin and destination is available from the 2007 Metrorail Passenger Survey, conducted by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA). This data Page 3 of 14 COUNTY OF LOUDOUN, VIRGINIA TRANSMITTAL MEMORANDUM provides information on metrorail riders in 2007. As WMATA has mentioned, a new survey will be done in 2012. This data describes current, rather than forecasted, ridership. Using the 2007 data, the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG) has tabulated data for Loudoun County riders, and examined data for the Shady Grove and Rockville stations as well. This data is shown in COG’s paper, Characteristics of Existing Metrorail Usage by Loudoun County Residents and Metrorail Riders at the Shady Grove and Rockville Stations (Attachment 2). See pages 1 through 6 for data on Loudoun County riders, pages 7 through 9 for data on boardings at stations located at or beyond the capital beltway, and pages 9 through 16 for data on the Shady Grove and Rockville stations. Based on the survey data, COG was able to estimate that there were 4,685 weekday riders on metrorail from Loudoun, based on a sample of 435 survey responses. Almost all of these riders started their trip from home. For these home based trips, COG was able to show where riders lived and the stations where they got on the metrorail system (Figure 1 on page 3). Although COG was not able to use zip codes, they did show how many riders came from four areas of the county (Figure 2 on page 4). The destinations of non-Loudoun County residents using Metrorail to get to work in Loudoun could not be determined from the 2007 Metrorail Passenger Survey, since this survey did not collect the destination address of metrorail trips. Forecasted Ridership Both the DESMAN parking demand study and the FEIS addressed forecasted ridership. According to DESMAN, an estimated 12,053 in daily boardings will occur at the two Loudoun stations in year 2018. By year 2025, DESMAN forecasts 13,230 in daily boardings. By 2040, there will be an estimated 14,268 daily boardings. Figure 1: DESMAN’s Forecasted Daily Boardings 2018 2020 2025 2030 2035 2040 Rte 606 3,932 4,114 4,391 4,572 4,713 4,791 Rte 772 6,103 6,386 6,814 7,097 7,314 7,437 12,053 12,52013,230 13,699 14,062 14,268 The FEIS did not forecast daily boardings for year 2018, however by year 2025, it estimates a total daily boarding of 11,446 (Table 6.1-4, as shown below). For comparison, DESMAN estimates 13,230 riders, a difference of 1,784. The difference between the two studies is that DESMAN took into consideration recent land use changes that would affect Loudoun. The FEIS does not consider such changes, as it was published in calendar year 2004. Page 4 of 14 COUNTY OF LOUDOUN, VIRGINIA TRANSMITTAL MEMORANDUM Table 6.1-4: Forecast Daily Station Boardings in Dulles Corridor No Build Locally Preferred Alternative Alternative Wiehle Avenue Extension Wiehle Avenue Extension Full LPA (2011) (2025) (2025) Corridor Corridor Metrorail Express Bus Metrorail Express Bus Metrorail Tysons East n.a. 3,803 n.a. 3,920 n.a. 4,092 Tysons Central 123 n.a. 5,209 n.a. 5,726 n.a. 6,067 Tysons Central 7 n.a. 3,306 n.a. 3,595 n.a. 3,838 Tysons West n.a. 4,002 n.a. 4,391 n.a. 4,627 Wiehle Avenue n.a. 8,244 n.a. 9,697 n.a. 6,498 Reston Parkway n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. 4,708 Reston Town Center n.a. n.a. 1,546 n.a. 1,534 n.a. Herndon-Monroe n.a. n.a. 4,746 n.a. 5,531 8,775 Route 28 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. 1,226 Dulles Airport n.a. n.a.