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Fairfax County outlines how it will prioritize $100 million for active-transportation projects
Summary
FCDOT staff explained a four-step scoring process that narrowed roughly 3,000 candidate active-transportation projects to shortlists of about 14–16 per supervisor district and invited residents to comment via district surveys and an interactive map; the Board is expected to decide by mid-2026.
Fairfax County Department of Transportation staff on a virtual public meeting explained how they will prioritize projects for a $100 million commitment the Board of Supervisors made in 2021 and invited public comment through district surveys and an interactive map.
"Hoy compartiremos con ustedes información sobre cómo el personal del condado prioriza los proyectos de seguridad y exceso del transporte activo," said Nejí Salvad, a transportation planner in FCDOT’s Capital Projects section and the meeting moderator. "En esta presentación vamos a compartir con ustedes un poco de información sobre el proceso, proporcionar una visión general de cómo prioricemos los proyectos para financiamiento y compartir con ustedes las oportunidades disponibles para aprender más y proporcionar comentarios." (translated from Spanish).
Why it matters: The program aims to invest $100 million over six years to improve safety and access for pedestrians, bicyclists and other users of active transportation. FCDOT staff said the Board has already allocated $56.7 million of that total and approved an additional $25.4 million that has not yet been assigned to specific projects; the remaining portion is expected to be approved later based on the prioritization process.
How the process works: Staff described a four-step prioritization. Step one compiled the unfinanced project list (about 3,000 projects) and applied two spatial analyses—need (demographic indicators such as race, income, disability, age, housing-cost burden and education) and demand (concentrations of destinations such as schools, parks, hospitals and transit stops). Step two used those scores to create lists of roughly 30 candidate projects per supervisor district, which were reviewed with supervisors and adjusted as needed. Step three ran three reviews—pedestrian generators within set distances, local connectivity benefits and regional connectivity to designated trails—and assigned high/medium/low ratings that are converted to numeric scores. Step four develops rough cost estimates, flags potential property and environmental impacts, assesses feasibility and shares preselected lists with the public for comment.
Status and uses of funds: Staff said that of the $56.7 million already allocated, roughly $44.4 million will fund 78 new capital projects, about $4.8 million supports maintenance of existing active-transportation infrastructure, and other uses have included speed-feedback signs for the county police, park-trail maintenance and local matching funds for external grants. Of the 77 projects chosen to date, staff reported 31 in project initiation, 27 in design, 4 in right-of-way acquisition, 2 in construction, 11 complete and 2 canceled.
Public input and timeline: FCDOT said preselected project lists are being shared with the public through two virtual meetings and an online survey for each supervisor district; residents may complete multiple district surveys. Staff demonstrated an interactive map showing project locations, descriptions and scores, and provided multiple comment channels: the online surveys (linked on the project website and by QR code), email, phone at 703-890-5898 and a mailing address for written comments. Staff said survey responses must be received by 4:30 p.m. on March 31, 2026. Final project recommendations are expected to go to the Board of Supervisors by mid-2026 for funding decisions.
What staff asked of residents: Staff urged residents to use the district-specific survey and the interactive map to indicate whether they believe each project would provide safety benefits and to provide any additional comments in the survey text box. Materials and the meeting recording will be posted on the project web page.
The meeting closed with staff offering to answer chat questions aloud and calling on phone participants who used the raise-hand feature; staff reiterated the March 31 survey deadline and said the record of chat submissions will be part of the public record.
