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Meetings coming up on I-95 HOT lanes Date published: 7/25/2007
KEEP YOUR SUITS on, com- Those officials are hosting public-information meetings on the Interstate 95 High Occupancy Toll lanes project. The Thursday night meeting is at the Wingate Inn in southern Stafford County beginning at 7. The Monday meeting is also at 7 p.m. at the Spotsylvania County School Administrative Services Building across from Massaponax High School. What's in it for you? Information and the chance to let government nabobs know that the public cares about transportation-improvement projects--and how tax dollars are being spent. The I-95 project is a public-private partnership between the Virginia Department of Transportation and Fluor-Transurban, a private firm. Originally, the idea was to improve the entire stretch of I-95 between the 14th Street Bridge in Washington and Massaponax. Now, however, the project has been split into halves. The northern segment will convert the existing HOV lanes into HOT lanes, essentially re-striping asphalt to add one more lane. The southern stretch will extent two HOT lanes all the way down to Massaponax. George Mason University estimates that traffic congestion costs the Northern Virginia economy $5.5 billion a year in lost productivity, obstructed deliveries, excess fuel usage, and so on. That doesn't even include the loss of quality of life suffered by travelers stuck in abysmal congestion. The price tag put on the 55-mile improvement project--$1 billion--is high, but something must be done to get our major artery flowing again. The HOT lanes, which would be free to buses and carpools of three or more, would feature variable pricing, allowing toll-lane operators to offer incentives for off-peak travel. Shuffling more cars into the HOT lanes would help regular-lane drivers, and toll revenue will add to state transportation coffers. In 2006, the eyebrows of local officials were raised when a VDOT manager declined to guarantee that the southern part of the project would, indeed, be built. After all, the northern part But without the southern part of the project, one local official quipped, the HOT lanes would be only lukewarm. Fredericksburg-area commuters need the lower section to relieve congestion in this area. Now's the time to speak up--because state transportation officials are ready to listen.
if you must establish a toll. establish a toll collection point at the end of hov 95 south. as the hov lanes are extended, the single toll collection point follows. the toll collected is not to exceed .50 cents, regardless of entry or exit point. the toll that is collected cannot be allocated to any other use, and must be used to fund the hov extension.
the toll collected permits use by all vehicles licensed for use on virginia highways, roadways, streets, and any other motorized vehicle pathway.
why do we (read taxpayers) need to pay more when we aren't permitted to fully utilize the currently expended services. (read paid for by all tax payers)? sorry, about the soapbox, but sometimes i just have a hard time understanding. just open the lanes to everyone. use the same schedule to 'turn them around', everything stays the same but no restrictions on occupancy. the limited number of ingress and egress will dictate the usage, however, the end ponts still need to be addressed.
why do they need more lanes? too move traffic? open up the lanes to all taxpayers. traffic congestion will be eased a bit while more permanent solutin is analyzed.
a higher gas tax is also the only way to get cars off the road. HOT lanes just encourage MORE driving. Can't raise gas taxes tho w/o moving to develop rapid mass transit - bus and rail.
First the CRF, now the HOT, what moronic thing will my party do next. We elected our politicians to possibly make our lives better, & we get stabbed in the back with "HARASSMENT DRIVER FEES", & then they give I95 to a private company so we can be privately taxed to drive on our "FREEWAY". The only fair way to raise funds for the road dilemma is a gas tax, it's that simple! This makes me ashamed to be a republican. SIC SEMPER TYRANNIS
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