Fairfax County supervisors voted to prepare a resolution honoring the 60th anniversary of the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission (NVTC) and its contributions to Fairfax County and the region, which will be presented in July the board’s July 19 meeting.
“Throughout NVTC’s 60 years of leadership and transit-system development, expansion and funding, current and former board members and staff have played an integral role in building and operating the transit network that sustains our regional economy,” said Supervisor Dalia Palchik (D-Providence), who moved for the resolution’s creation.
The General Assembly created NVTC in 1964 as an initial district of 11 elected officials from five jurisdictions – Arlington and Fairfax counties and the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax and Falls Church – plus the State Highway Commission chairman, she said.
NVTC’s membership since has grown to include Loudoun County and now has 21 commissioners, including two state senators, four House of Delegates members and soon will include six General Assembly members and a designee of the Virginia Secretary of Transportation. The commission, which also includes five alternates, currently is chaired by Arlington County Board member Matt de Ferranti.
The NVTC’s district now covers 1,000 square miles with a population of about 2 million people “connected by a robust transit network providing residents with 1.5 million transit trips each week,” Palchik said. That transit network generates more than $1.5 billion annually in revenues for the state, she added.
NVTC on Sept. 5 from 6 to 9:30 p.m. will celebrate its 60th anniversary at Marymount University’s Ballston Auditorium in Arlington and showcase the premiere a documentary featuring comments from current and past board members.
In addition, the group will hold a Transit Innovation Summit on June 14 from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at George Mason University’s Schar School/Van Metre Hall in Arlington.
