Articles

Originally published in: Patch

Funding for community projects in Falls Church was included in the federal omnibus government funding bill.

Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA), who represents Falls Church in Virginia's 8th congressional district, requested funding for community projects in his district in the federal spending bill. Funding could be requested by state and local government, public institutions and nonprofits. The major spending package providing federal funding through much of 2023 was passed by the U.S. Senate Thursday, and the U.S. House will vote on the bill Friday.

"I am proud to announce that bipartisan legislation which will soon pass into law includes funding I secured for worthy projects in Arlington, Alexandria, Falls Church, and Fairfax County," said Beyer in a statement. "This project funding will make our community healthier, support clean energy, boost our transportation infrastructure, support affordable housing, feed the hungry, and help improve law enforcement transparency."

In Falls Church, funded community projects include a green vehicle feet upgrade and replacement and multimodal transportation improvements. There was also funding for Envision Route 7 Bus Rapid Transit, a project that would run through Falls Church.

The $600,000 for green vehicle upgrades and replacements would support purchases of electric and hybrid vehicles for public works. The effort is part of the City of Falls Church's effort to transition to a greener fleet of vehicles to reduce energy costs and greenhouse gas emissions. Along with vehicles for public works, the funding would support chargers at the Robert L. Goff Property Yard located at 7100 Gordon Road.

The $1.5 million for multimodal transportation will support repairs or construction of facilities such as bridges, sidewalks, crosswalks, pedestrian signals, bicycle signs and signals, bicycle lanes, traffic calming measures, multimodal projects like Capital Bikeshare and trails. Potential projects will seek to boost safety, particularly for transit users, pedestrians and bicyclists.

The $2 million for Envision Route 7 Bus Rapid Transit was requested by the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission for this project. The funding is intended for environmental analysis ahead of the design and construction phases. The Bus Rapid Transit will provide 14 miles of enhanced bus service connecting the Mark Center in Alexandria and Tysons in Fairfax County through Bailey's Crossroads, Seven Corners and Falls Church.