Alexandria will be the next stop for leaders of the “DMVMoves” initiative as they work to gain unanimous support for more regional transit funding.
Proponents of DMVMoves are scheduled to make a presentation to City Council members next Wednesday during a legislative meeting. They intend to detail the proposal in hopes of winning support from city leaders.
Next Wednesday’s meeting is one of two dozen stops being made on behalf of the initiative, which was forged through a partnership between the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) and Washington Metropolitan Council of Governments (COG), which Mayor Alyia Gaskins is vice-chairing this year.
The initiative plans to visit “all 24 jurisdictions” that comprise the metro area, COG Deputy Executive Director Kanti Srikanth said yesterday (Wednesday) during a meeting of the region’s Transportation Planning Board.
That body voted unanimously to endorse DMVMoves. It joins those that previously have signed on, including Arlington, Fairfax and Loudoun counties, the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission and the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority.
The day before Alexandria’s legislative meeting, its proponents are expected to give a presentation before the Fairfax City Council. Next month, they intend to visit Falls Church City Council on Feb. 9.
The 49-page DMVMoves plan calls for an additional $460 million annually, starting before fiscal 2029, to be split among Virginia, Maryland and D.C., on Metro service.
Each of the three jurisdictions has the power to decide how to raise the funding. Whether, and how, to pay Virginia’s share is currently being considered by the General Assembly.
The proposal also calls for a network of bus-rapid-transit lines across the metro area, as well as new funding for commuter-rail operations and local bus services, including DASH.
Among the localities that already heard the DMVMoves presentation was the College Park City Council. Councilmember Denise Mitchell, a member of the TPB board of directors, said staff members from COG came prepared and were responsive to concerns and suggestions.
“They did an excellent presentation and received a lot of positive comments from our residents,” she said.
Mitchell said she was eager to start “getting this to the finish line.”
Next Wednesday’s City Council meeting will be held at 5:30 p.m. at the Del Pepper Community Resource Center (4850 Mark Center Drive).
