The National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board (TPB) approved $19.5 million in federal Transportation Alternatives Set-Aside (TA Set-Aside) Program funding for 15 non-highway transportation projects in Virginia. The program provides funding for small-scale projects, such as pedestrian and bicycle facilities, trails, and safe routes to school (SRTS) projects that are considered "alternatives" to traditional highway construction.

Under federal law, the TPB is responsible for selecting projects in the National Capital Region using portions of each state’s TA Set-Aside funding. Staff told the planning board that the program secured additional funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIIJA) and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), thanks to the federal government's reaffirmed support for the program.

Funded projects include:

Safe Routes to School Curb Extensions, Alexandria
$870,935 (additional $1,000,000 provided through other TA Set-Aside funding)
In a city where a significant number of children walk to school, this project will fund a variety of small improvements to improve crossings at six intersections near four schools. The project will build curb extensions, median refuge areas, accessible curb ramps, and high-visibility crosswalk markings to improve safety and comfort for students.

Chain Bridge Road Shared Use Path, City of Fairfax
$2,098,314
This project will provide a safer and higher quality bike and pedestrian facility along Chain Bridge Road, a busy arterial that feeds into I-66. The project will build a shared-use path between existing trails, including a connection to the National Capital Trail Network’s Custis/I-66 Trail. The project serves an Equity Emphasis area.

Fern Street Neighborhood Connection, City of Fairfax
$285,119
Utilizing city property, this project will connect commercial and residential areas lacking a paved ADA-accessible pathway. The project prioritizes bikes and pedestrians by building a trail instead of a road extension and supports small area plan recommendations by initiating a pedestrian priority corridor and providing links to potential mixed-use redevelopments.

Shrevewood Elementary School SRTS, Fairfax County
$140,000 (additional $1,000,000 provided through other TA Set-Aside funding)
In addition to making it safer to walk or bike to school, this project will expand safe access for kids to the W&OD Trail, a key link in the National Capital Trail Network. The project will add three new crosswalks with sidewalk or shared use path connections serving Shrevewood Elementary School and the W&OD Trail. The project sits on the edge of an Equity Emphasis Area and will directly serve children in that community. This grant will complete a project started through a previous TPB TAP award.

FCPS Non-Infrastructure SRTS Program, Fairfax County
$276,000
Funding an existing program serving 38,853 students in 42 schools, this grant will be used to educate students from K-12 on safe walking and biking and will encourage active transportation for getting to school. The project will develop maps with suggested safe routes, safety education, bike rodeos, walk and bike to school days, monthly challenges with rewards, build a bike give a bike programs, and the development of park and walk programs for students who live beyond the walking zone.

Lake Braddock SRTS, Fairfax County
$356,425
In front of the largest public school in all of Virginia, this project will improve pedestrian safety and connectivity across a major road and the school entrance. The grant will build ADA ramps, new marked crosswalks, and new pedestrian refuge islands.

Central Elden Walkability Improvements, Herndon
$2,500,000
This project will improve the safety, accessibility, and walkability of Herndon’s main through-street by constructing ADA ramps and crosswalks, a widened sidewalk that moves around existing pole barriers, and a grass buffer. The site is adjacent to the Herndon Regional Activity Center, an Equity Emphasis Area, two schools, and the W&OD Trail.

North Berlin Pike Shared Use Path, Lovettsville
$2,500,000
A key piece of the National Capital Trail Network, this project will construct an ADA-compliant 10-foot-wide shared use path with an 8-foot grass buffer, improving pedestrian and bicyclist safety and comfort where no facilities currently exist. The project will provide an active transportation facility between housing developments and Lovettsville Town Square. The project will also improve bike access to Brunswick, Maryland, with its MARC station, which is just two and a half miles north of the project’s northern terminus.

East Broad Way Sidewalk, Lovettsville
$187,390
Part of a comprehensive package of planned pedestrian and bicycle improvements throughout the town of Lovettsville, this project will construct a short gap in sidewalk along East Broad Way and crosswalks to connect across the street to existing sidewalks. The project will improve connectivity to Lovettsville Town Square.

Manassas Drive Sidewalk Improvements, Manassas Park
$378,251 (additional $1,000,000 provided through other TA Set-Aside funding)
Following up on a study funded through the TPB’s TLC Program, this project will build a crucial sidewalk link across a rail line, connecting higher-density communities on both sides of the tracks.The project will significantly improve pedestrian connectivity between Park Central (recent mixed-use development) and the Manassas Park VRE Station. In addition, it will provide a new ADA-accessible connection to the train station.

Graham Park Road Sidewalk, Prince William County
$2,500,000
This project will fill a 1,624 foot missing gap of sidewalk on Graham Park Road and will include crosswalks and ADA curb ramps along the front of Graham Park Middle School. The project will serve students walking to and from school, as well as residents of garden apartments across the street. The project, which is in an Equity Emphasis Area, supports and implements the sidewalk portion of the Graham Park Road Diet, an RRSP study funded by the TPB in 2021.

Lions Field Road Sidewalk, Prince William County
$2,500,000
Addressing strong local desire for kids to walk to school, this project will construct a 1,729-foot sidewalk to create a safe route to Triangle Elementary School. It will be built along a steep and curving road prone to high vehicle speeds that currently has ditches on either side preventing a walking path beside the road.

Colchester Road Sidewalk, Prince William County
$2,500,000
This grant will improve safety and visibility in an Equity Emphasis Area by funding construction of a sidewalk along an area of desire paths with demonstrated foot traffic. Perhaps most significantly, it will add two crosswalk legs and new ramps to create a four-leg ADA compliant crossing at the intersection of two major roads. The project provides connections between retail and higher density townhomes, as well as schools.

G Street Sidewalk Improvements, Purcellville
$1,085,487 (additional $400,000 provided through other TA Set-Aside funding)
Building a missing link of sidewalk on the route to Blue Ridge Middle School, this grant will complete a project that was funded in a previous TAP cycle. The project will construct pedestrian facilities along a road identified as a high priority connection for the Town. In addition to a new sidewalk, the project will construct ADA ramps.

Locust St Trail Improvement, Vienna
$1,322,079
This project will replace existing sections of sidewalk with a 10-foot wide shared-use path and will alleviate drainage problems that frequently make the existing path unusable for extended periods.The trail provides direct access to the W&OD Trail, a key facility in the National Capital Trail Network.

The projects support key TPB priorities such as prioritizing Equity Emphasis Areas (EEAs) or locations with high concentrations of traditionally underserved communities, and providing access to the National Capital Trail Network, an approximately 1,500-mile system of trails that will connect the entire region when completed.