preparation and approval of transit development program

preparation and approval of transit development program Sec. 204. The Agency— (a) Shall prepare, and may from time to time revise, a Transit Development Program. The Transit Development Program shall consist of a plan or plans indicating the general location of facilities in which the Agency will participate for the transportation of persons within the National Capital region, a timetable for the provision of such facilities and comprehensive financial reports including costs, revenues, and benefits. The Transit Development Program may indicate (1) the routes of surface, subsurface, and elevated carriers, including bus and other motor vehicle carriers, rail carriers, waterborne carriers, air carriers, and other carriers, and (2) the location and extent of terminals, stations, platforms, motor vehicle parking facilities for transit users, extra-wide median strips and other rights-of-way, docks, rails or tracks or other similar facilities, bridges, tunnels, buildings or structures, powerplants, repair shops, yards, garages, and other necessary facilities relating to the transportation of persons. The Transit Development Program shall, to the extent practicable, conform to the general plan for the development of the National Capital region and to the comprehensive plan for the National Capital within the meaning of sections 3, 4, and 5 of the National Capital Planning Act of 1952 (66 Stat. 781), except as may lie determined by the President. (b) Shall, in the preparation of the Transit Development Program, give special consideration to: (1) Expanded use of existing facilities and services, including expanded use and development of existing railroad lines into the District of Columbia, and coordinated and efficient transit service across jurisdictional boundaries and between areas served by different companies: Provided, That the Public Utilities Commission of the District of Columbia, before granting its approval to any further 74 Stat. 540conversion by the D.C. Transit System, Inc., of street railway operations to bus operations as provided in section 7 of the Act of July 24, 1956 (70 Stat. 598), shall consult with the Agency on the possible use of street railway facilities and equipment in the Transit Development Program. The Commission may withhold its approval of such conversion and require the preservation of equipment and facilities already withdrawn from service if it finds that there is a substantial possibility that the Transit Development Program will provide for the continued use of street railway facilities and equipment. (2) Early development of a subway from Union Station capable of rapid dispersal of passengers from the railhead to the principal employment centers in the District of Columbia and its immediate environs, and capable of being extended to serve other parts of the region: Provided, That no freeway, or new parkway more than two lanes in width, shall be built within the District of Columbia west of Twelfth Street, Northwest, and north of either the north or west legs of the proposed Inner Loop Freeway, the proposed Potomac River Expressway, or the proposed Palisades Parkway, before July 1, 1965; and the Agency shall not later than January 10, 1965, submit to the President, for transmittal to Congress, its recommendation as to whether any such freeway or parkway should thereafter be built. (3) Acquisition and development of rights-of-way and related facilities for providing express transit lines in conjunction with major highways and bridges. (c) Shall prepare proposals for implementing each part of the Transit Development Program, including preliminary engineering plans, descriptions of the character of services to be rendered, estimates of costs and revenues, arrangements for financing and organization, and other information setting forth the manner in which the program is to be carried out: Provided, That no part of the Transit Development Program shall be carried out by the Agency until a report containing a full and complete description of that part of the program has been transmitted to the Congress, and the execution of that part of the program has been expressly authorized by legislation thereafter enacted by the Congress. (d) In order to facilitate the transition from a Federal agency to an interstate proprietary agency and to further coordination within the National Capital region, shall submit the Transit Development Program and any revision thereof: (1) to the governing bodies of the District of Columbia, Montgomery and Prince Georges Counties in the State of Maryland, and Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun, and Prince William Counties and the cities of Alexandria and Falls Church in the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the transit regulatory bodies having jurisdiction in the National Capital region for review and comment; (2) to such organizations or government agencies or officials concerned with the solution of the community development problems of the National Capital region on a unified metropolitan basis as are now in existence or as may be created by agreement, law, or compact for review and comment; (3) to the Commission of Fine Arts for review and comment; (4) to private companies transporting persons in the National Capital region and to unions representing the employees of such companies for review and comment; and (5) to the Governors of Maryland and Virginia or such government agencies as they may designate for approval of the location and extent of proposed Agency facilities and the timetable for the provision of such facilities within Maryland and Virginia, respectively; and except as provided in subsection (e) of this section, the Agency shall not acquire, construct, or operate property, rights-of-way, or facilities indicated in the Transit Development Program or a revision thereof within the State 74 Stat. 541 in which such property, rights-of-way, or facilities are located unless prior thereto the Governor of the State involved or such government agency as he may designate shall have approved the Transit Development Program or the pertinent revision thereof. (e) Until the Transit Development Program has been approved by the Governor of Maryland or Virginia as provided in subsection (d) of this section, shall, when it proposes to acquire, construct, or operate property, rights-of-way, or facilities located in Virginia or Maryland, first submit plans and other information showing in detail the purposes for which such property, rights-of-way, or facilities are to be used to the Governor or the State in which the property, rights-of- way, or facilities are to be located, or to such government agency as may be designated by the Governor. In implementing programs approved by the Congress in accordance with subsection (c) of this section, the Agency may acquire, construct, or operate such property, rights-of-way, or facilities, as the case may be, in the State upon approval of the Governor thereof, or of the designated government agency. (f) Shall conduct research, surveys, experimentation, evaluation, design and development, in cooperation with other Government agencies and private organizations when appropriate, on the needs of the region tor transportation; on facilities, equipment, and services to meet those needs; on organization and financial arrangements for regional transportation; and on other matters relating to the movement of persons in the region. The Agency’s studies shall include a continuation of the work begun in the mass transportation survey conducted by the National Capital Planning Commission and the National Capital Regional Planning Council, pursuant to the Second Supplemental Appropriations Act of 1955 (69 Stat 33), and shall include further studies as may be necessitated by changed conditions, the availability of new techniques, and the response of Government agencies and the public to the transportation plan adopted by the Commission and Council. The Agency’s studies shall also include evaluations of the transportation system recommended in the transportation plan, and of alternative facilities and kinds of services. (g) Shall submit to the President for transmittal to Congress, not later than November 1, 1962, recommendations for organization and financial arrangements for transportation in the National Capital region. The Agency shall consider the following organizational alternatives, among others: a Federal corporation, an organization established by interstate compact, and continuation or modification of the organization established by this Act. In preparing its recommendations the Agency shall consult with the governments of the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia, the local governments of the National Capital region, and the Federal agencies having an interest in transportation in the National Capital region: Provided, That any recommendations submitted by the Agency shall provide as far as possible for the payment of all costs by persons using or benefiting from regional transportation facilities and services, and shall provide for the equitable sharing of any remaining costs among the Federal, State, and local governments.