The pending toll increases on the Dulles Toll Road are an enormous threat to quality of life for your constituents, and they realize it. When tolls double, up to 50,000 cars/day will be diverted off of the DTR, with most of them diverted onto Rt. 7, Rt. 193, and neighborhood roads that go straight through neighborhoods in your district. For reference, Rt. 7 handled approximately 60,000 cars/day between the Loudoun County line and the beltway, and Georgetown Pike runs 20,000 between Rt. 7 and the Beltway (VDOT's 2010 AADT report). These roads are already congested and cannot safely absorb this influx of additional traffic.
Your constituents understand the devastating impacts Tollmageddon will bring to their communities, and are looking to you for leadership. The first step in reigning in the toll increases is for Virginia to revoke the Dulles Toll Road Permit and Operating Agreement, and rescue our toll road from the waste and corruption of MWAA. Secretary Connaughton, days after receiving a notice from MWAA that they wanted to extend their substantial completion deadline for the Dulles Metrorail project, said
"We are actively evaluating whether we can take the project over," Connaughton said. "These guys [MWAA] are a disaster. ... We're at the point, quite honestly, where we think we could potentially do it better, cheaper, faster."A recent OpEd in the Washington Examiner and another in Fairfax News started a discussion on this issue of retaking the toll road. The citizens of Northern Virginia will not allow this corrupt MWAA board to destroy our communities and way of life. Hundreds of local residents have signed our petition to say NO TOLL INCREASE! Please read the some of the comments from your constituents we have selected and posted under the petition. We have removed the zip codes for privacy reasons, but a large number of these are from your district, and they are looking to you for leadership. "Reforming" MWAA will not fix the problem, as they will still be an independent body that is not accountable to voters, and have no real incentive to lower costs. Retaking the Dulles Toll Road is the best road forward, and your constituents know this.
What will you do to protect your constituents from Tollmageddon? More appropriation from the Commonwealth is not an acceptable option, as taking funding from desperately needed road improvement projects to feed the MWAA monster's greedy appetite merely wastes those funds on MWAA's insane 6%+ interest rates. A retake of the Toll Road is the best way forward. Are you willing to work for your constituents on this? We are working this issue hard, and will be glad to let them know if/when you start leading on this.
Daniel Davies
Operations Manager
www.NoTollIncrease.org
540-751-8082
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As you know, the pending toll increases on the Dulles Toll Road are an enormous threat to quality of life for your constituents, and they realize it. Soon, when tolls double, up to 50,000 cars/day will be diverted off of the DTR, with most of them diverted onto Rt. 7 and neighborhood roads. For reference, Rt. 7 handled approximately 60,000 cars/day between the Loudoun County line and the beltway, (VDOT's 2010 AADT report). These roads are already congested and cannot safely absorb this influx of additional traffic. The air pollution caused by thousands of cars and trucks stuck in traffic will be enormous. This reduced mobility will cause Loudoun County to become isolated from the Washington DC area.
Your constituents do not like toll increases, hate traffic, and are learning about the devastating impacts Tollmageddon will bring to their communities. They are looking to you for leadership. The first step in reining in the toll increases is for Virginia to revoke the Dulles Toll Road Permit and Operating Agreement, and rescue our toll road from the waste and corruption of MWAA. Secretary Connaughton, days after receiving a notice from MWAA that they wanted to extend their substantial completion deadline for the Dulles Metrorail project, said
"We are actively evaluating whether we can take the project over," Connaughton said. "These guys [MWAA] are a disaster. ... We're at the point, quite honestly, where we think we could potentially do it better, cheaper, faster."A recent OpEd in the Washington Examiner and another in Fairfax News started a public discussion on this issue of retaking the toll road. The citizens of Northern Virginia will not allow this corrupt MWAA board to destroy our communities and way of life and to squander our hard-earned money. Hundreds of local residents have signed our petition to say NO TOLL INCREASE!
Please read the comments posted under the petition. We have removed the zip codes for privacy reasons, but a large number of these are from your district, and they are looking to you for solutions and that will only come from decisive leadership. MWAA is a corrupt organization, and I hope Virginia will not continue to hand money to them. "Reforming" MWAA will not fix the problem, as they will still be an independent body that is not accountable to voters and have no real incentive to lower costs.
Retaking the Dulles Toll Road is the best road forward, and your constituents know this. Senator Richard Black wrote a letter to Gov. McDonnell outlining how and why the Governor should take our road back. Will you join this effort to protect your constituents from Tollmageddon?
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