ANYONE WHO drives on Interstate 95 may beg to differ, but an aerial survey of Washington area highways has found that vehicle miles traveled fell 3.1 percent from 2005 to 2008. It is the first time since 1993 that number has gone down.
The effect is that the region's highways have time-warped back to 2002. That is the last time traffic volumes were at a similar level, according to the aerial survey done by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments.
Amid the good news there were pockets of "severe congestion." One of them is the stretch of I-95 from Woodbridge through the Springfield Interchange, especially in the mornings.
This week I'm leaving my car at home and getting around the Fredericksburg area using nothing but public transit and walking. My home is a 20-minute drive from The Free Lance-Star newsroom in downtown Fredericksburg, so I'm going to become familiar with the Fredericksburg Regional Transit bus schedule fast.
I hope to interview area residents who've somehow found a way
I'll be blogging about my experience on
Dear Kelly: I would like to know if there will be a sign posted at the traffic signal at Garrisonville Road (State Route 610) and U.S. 1 stating that right turns can be made on green arrows only. People do not understand that there are a lot of cars coming in different directions, and you need to decide when it is the right time to turn.
People either beep at you or get out of the car to tell you why aren't you turning fast enough.
--Anna Victoria Reich, Stafford
You can turn right at this traffic signal when there is a green arrow or a solid green ball. When the green arrow is lit, traffic in your lane can make free-flowing right turns from U.S. 1 north onto Garrisonville Road.
When the solid green ball is lit, traffic turning right must yield to oncoming traffic before turning, said Tina Bundy, Virginia Department of Transportation spokeswoman. That is a chaotic intersection most of the time, so I'll bet traffic is almost always oncoming. But you can turn right on a solid green ball, assuming the way is clear. That may be why some drivers are honking--they might've been trying to tell you that you do have the option of turning right on a solid ball.
Or, they might've been unhappy when you failed to squeeze yourself into any available gap in traffic.
I think drivers' interpretations of "yield" are the problem. Some drivers want a spacious distance between cars, and others accept greater risk.
VDOT will assess whether a sign reminding drivers to yield on a solid green ball would eliminate confusion--and honking.
I get flustered in these situations, too. I drive a compact car, and sometimes I just cannot see around larger trucks or vans. The person behind me often CAN see, and gets angry.
There's nothing to be done. You have to go when you know the road is clear. If you pull out in haste and get injured or killed, do you think the person who was honking will feel great remorse and take responsibility for having hustled you out in the road? Um, no. They'll say something like "I couldn't believe it, she just pulled right out in front of that car." Ignore the honkers and use your best judgment.
Dear Kelly: I live a half-mile from Lake Anna State Park. This weekend, large groups of bicyclists rode through the park and the surrounding area. They littered many of the local highways with plastic water bottles. My question is, "Why, if you can ride a bike, can't you walk back to pick up your water bottle? Or why not leave all the water bottles in a few locations, making it easier to pick them up at the end?" I don't think it's right. Plastic stays there forever.
--Charles Williams, Spotsylvania
Littering does seem to contradict an activity as eco-friendly as cycling. I'm sure most cyclists would be embarrassed at this group's behavior. I did check with this reader to make sure the cyclists weren't just pre-positioning their water along the route to pick up later, but the reader said the bottles were still there days later.
Virginia has littering laws and fines. If you litter from a motor vehicle, or dispose of litter improperly that was transported in a motor vehicle, you can be fined $250 to $2,500. You may also face a jail sentence or community service doing "litter abatement activities," according to state law. If you litter in a state park, you can be fined an extra $250.
The next time you witness someone littering and want to report it, contact your local law enforcement office. Keep in mind a littering tip is probably not a priority call. (Call the non-emergency number, not 911.)
If you want to pick up the litter yourself, you have a few options:
Contact the Virginia Department of Transportation's Adopt-A-Highway program. Volunteers, individuals and groups in this program agree to remove trash and debris from a stretch of road four times
VDOT provides safety vests and litter-collection bags and will pick them up when you're done. You also get your name on a sign! The local coordinator for most of our area is Regina Myers at VDOT, and she can be contacted at 540/899-4300.
Contact your county or city government. Many local governments in the Fredericksburg area operate their own version of adopt-a-spot programs, where you agree to beautify a specific location.
Unable to pick up litter yourself? Get this section of road on the George Washington Regional Commission's Assign-A-Highway list of Fredericksburg-area roads in need of improvement. Individuals pick up litter to fulfill probation requirements. Caroline, King George, Stafford, Spotsylvania and Fredericksburg are participating. Laurel Hammig, regional litter control program coordinator at the Commission, can filter road suggestions to the appropriate county staff. E-mail her at
Email: hammig@gwregion.org.
Kelly Hannon is The Free Lance-Star's transportation reporter. If you have questions, send them to Getting There, c/o The Free Lance-Star, 616 Amelia St., Fredericksburg, Va. 22401; or you may fill out the Getting There form on the Web at fredericksburg.com.