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Public hearing on George Washington Toll Road Authority draws one speaker Date published: 3/10/2010
By KELLY HANNON Only one person turned out at a public hearing last night before Fredericksburg City Council on the launch of a regional toll road authority--and he lives outside the city. Spotsylvania resident Rupert Farley told council members that he objects to the project the George Washington Toll Road Authority would aim to build. As presented to the board, the project would be a $250 million new Interstate 95 interchange near the Virginia Welcome Center that would connect to a toll road bypassing the most congested section of State Route 3, linking up again at Gordon Road in Spotsylvania. "I'm not against tolls," Farley said. But he expressed a desire to see more funding directed at transit, and said building a new interchange will encourage more driving. "You can't pave your way out of congestion," Farley said. Fredericksburg Councilman Matt Kelly addressed Farley's points after the hearing closed. Kelly said a regional long-range transportation plan for the Fredericksburg area had done ample planning for public transit, trains and trails, but new interchanges are needed along one of the busiest stretches of I-95 on the East Coast. "We do need to address that," Kelly said. The four-lane toll road, as proposed, would have bicycle and pedestrian paths on both sides and lead to the Gordon Road commuter lot. Council members voted unanimously to accept a first reading of the ordinance that would implement the George Washington Toll Road Authority. A previous vote to table the first reading failed 6-1, with Councilman George Solley voting to table. Solley said unanswered questions remained on the project, and he wanted to give the public more opportunity to comment. "I simply don't feel a need to hurry up and vote on that," Solley said. Councilman Hashmel Turner said he supported the project, and Councilman Brad Ellis said he had no objections moving ahead with the first reading. "We're simply beginning what will undoubtedly be a lengthy process," Ellis said. The George Washington Toll Road Authority was created in a bill passed by the Virginia General Assembly in 2009, but the law leaves the decision to assemble the group up to elected officials in Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania, where the authority would have power to build highways near Route 3 and charge tolls to use them.
This whole thing is nuts, and will not do much to solve the problem. Amazingly, the 15 mile stretch or so from Stafford Airport across the river, Rt. 3, and down to Massaponax, is a nightmare in it's entirety.
A western bypass would solve the problem for thousands of us who live west of 95 through this corridor. Similar to Powhite Pkwy in Richmond,, a toll western bypass is the sensible solution, but there-in lies the prooblem. It makes too much sense for bureauocrats to understand.
of transportation facilities we should invest in, what they
would cost and how we would go about funding them.
I think we should not be building more roads to serve twice
daily solo-car commuting to NoVa but instead a robust
commuter bus/van/car/rail - yes VRE rail network.
I don't think we should punish solo commuting - that is a
choice but we ought to be incentivizing car/bus/van/rail
pooling for the majority of people who can and are willing
to do that a majority of the time.
FRED + the carpool lots
I would like to see FAMPO hold some community meetings
- meet and greet the citizens and to make themselves
available for questions and if some questions don't have
answers right now then just say so.
VDOT has, in my view, always had ..choosing my words
carefully here .. an uncomfortable relationship with citizens
on some projects... they tend to circle their wagons a bit.
I have been wishing aloud that FAMPO has an opportunity
to better connect with citizens on regional transportation
planning.
that this toll road/I-95 exit issue seems unable to withstand some relatively simple questions. Our elected representatives/development power brokers seem to have suddenly gone mute. Am I pis***? Most certainly! I guess our questions are unworthy of answers. After all, we are only a bunch of "nut-case" bloggers! P.S. we are also a few of the most reasonable tax payers and voters around.
is if it can stand alone as a toll road I'm okay with it but if it
cannot make it as a toll road then I have lots of questions
not the least of which is - if somehow our region got $250
million additional dollars - is this what we'd spend it on as a
non-toll road?
The likelihood that this will be a near-term PPTA toll road
is virtually zero. The HOT lanes have the same problem.
Trying to figure out how much folks will pay in tolls is a risky
deal now days and potential investors are spooked.
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