loading . . . A key Tysons leader is working to ensure state leaders provide dedicated new funding for transit that she says will help the region thrive.
“Transit in Northern Virginia is cool again,” said Katie Cristol, CEO of the Tysons Community Alliance.
“Northern Virginia transit riders are starting to take pride once again in how we get around,” said Cristol, who served as the keynote speaker during a legislative forum held in Arlington on Dec. 15 by the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission (NVTC) and Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Commission (PRTC).
In her remarks, Cristol touted plans proposed by a General Assembly subcommittee to provide an additional $400 million in annual funding to support Metro, the Virginia Railway Express and Northern Virginia’s bus networks, including Fairfax Connector and the City of Fairfax’s CUE.
The funding proposal “provides a blueprint for the future we want,” said Cristol.
The Northern Virginia Growing Needs of Public Transit Joint Subcommittee’s proposed funding package will be among key topics considered by the General Assembly when it convenes Jan. 14.
Despite Democratic, and presumably pro-transit, majorities in both chambers, there is no guarantee that funds will be allocated and revenue options established during the 60-day legislative session.
“We really need to figure out how to tell this story,” Board of Supervisors Chair Jeff McKay said while participating on the same panel.
Cristol, who was tapped in 2023 to head the Tysons community development organization, said the message to non-Northern Virginia lawmakers needs to be what is good for the urban center is good for the commonwealth.
“Tysons is in the middle of a transformation, all built around four Silver Line transit stations, [and] Tysons’ story is emblematic of a story that is repeated throughout our region,” Cristol said.
Fairfax County Board Chair Jeff McKay (screenshot via Northern Virginia Transportation Commission)
Referencing Arlington — where she served for nearly eight years on the County Board — Cristol said transit-oriented development is a key way to avoid sprawl.
Arlington’s metro corridors “comprise only 11% of the county’s land but half of its tax base,” she said.
“People want to be near other people,” Cristol said.
When in elected office, Cristol served on both the NVTC and PRTC boards. Her views are worth listening to, said David Snyder, a member of the Falls Church City Council and current NVTC chair.
“She’s one of those unique people who brings new ideas, energy and hard work to what she does,” Snyder said.
For months, local officials have been gearing up to make the case in Richmond, but Del. Mark Sickles’s resignation (D-17) to become Virginia’s next secretary of finance leaves a void in working to secure passage of transit-funding measures in the 2026 General Assembly session.
Sickles was among participants in one of the roundtable discussions at the Dec. 15 forum. Approximately a week later, he was tapped by Spanberger to join her cabinet.
Sickles had planned to introduce legislation to boost transit funding in the House of Delegates, with state Sen. Adam Ebbin (D-39) taking up the cause in the state Senate. With Sickles’s departure, other delegates who could fill his shoes may include Del. Adele McClure (D-2).
Representing part of Arlington, McClure sits on the House Committee on Transportation and was a member of the legislative subcommittee tasked with developing recommendations for funding Metro and other transit systems.
“This dedicated funding would mean improvements in reliability, in service,” McClure said at the Dec. 15 forum. “We need to make sure we are dedicating the resources necessary.”
Noting that the audience was composed of transit advocates, planners and elected officials, she acknowledged they didn’t need to be won over.
“I feel like I’m preaching to the choir,” she said.
Del. Adele McClure, D-2 (screenshot via Northern Virginia Transportation Authority)
To score success in Richmond, Northern Virginia transit proponents will need to appeal to downstate legislators, who may have other budget priorities on their minds.
McKay said the past year of work to develop plans for dedicated transit funding represented a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for those in the audience.
“There are so many ways this helps our region,” he said of the proposals, which were endorsed by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors.
The projected $400 million in additional Northern Virginia spending needed to support transit through options like an increased sales tax is “a doable number,” McKay said.
Randy Clarke, CEO and general manager of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, said efforts to reinvent the transit agency “never, ever ends,” and the decision on moving forward with dedicated funding represents a key fork in the road for the region.
“We’re very good,” Clarke said of Metro, adding that new funding would help the system further improve, but without it, service will revert back to times when performance was more spotty.
McKay was quick to point out that, when making the case in Richmond, the focus must be on the needs of the entire region, not just Metro.
“Whatever solution we come up with in Richmond, we need to talk of it as a transit solution, not a Metro solution,” he said. https://www.ffxnow.com/2026/01/02/n-va-officials-prepare-to-make-statewide-appeal-for-dedicated-transit-funding-in-2026/
