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Politics & Government

The Solution to Commuting

There may be more than one answer to every question, especially when it concerns transportation.

I loved the idea of Metro coming to Woodbridge twenty years ago. Today, I still like the idea of Metro coming to Woodbridge. My dilemma now is even if we began a feasibility study tomorrow, it would take at least another twenty years for Metro to become operational. That means the Metro idea I loved would be forty years old…is that going to work for us then?

Congressman Gerry Connolly recently hosted a Metrorail forum, to determine if Metro is viable as a long term solution. The Congressman’s message was this: Extension of Metrorail to Prince William County is a transit solution we should study and consider. As Prince William continues to grow at incredible speeds, it is essential to consider long term infrastructure investments. A feasibility study will allow us to determine if Metrorail is a viable transportation solution for the future of the region.

Connolly did not define Metro as the only solution, but as a possible solution. He wants citizens to help make that decision.

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On Oct. 3, Governor McDonnell proposed the “Supernova” transit study. This study is to identify new centers of employment and development.

My friend, Al Alborn and I had the same immediate reaction. We don’t need to send people to new places; we need to figure out how to keep people at home to work. Al and I have been touting telework for over a year to anyone that will listen. (You can read Al’s latest on the subject.)

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Ms. Lizzie Johnson made a trip to the Board of County Supervisors meeting in September to request assistance in getting weekend buses to run. She presented the supervisors with a packet of information and an amazing 1600 signatures to back up her request. If our criterion for transportation relief comes down to dollars and cents, that’s probably one of the least expensive ways to provide mass transit. Chairman Stewart requested PRTC staff get in touch with Ms. Johnson and I hope that not only will buses be available on weekends, I hope new routes, different hours and anything else that may encourage ridership for commuting will be explored.

Last week in this column, we talked about the HOT lanes. Car pools and van pools lower the number of vehicles on the road. We want to consider rail; VRE, high speed, light rail…which one is better? We have slug lines and an entire culture built around that concept. Riding  your bike to work is another solution. There are lots of sites with information about promoting cycling.

So, with all these options and all these ideas, all these people telling us what to do, what to think, what will work, what is the best answer? Well, there is none. There is no best answer. All ideas have merit, some as temporary measures and some as long term measures.

Here’s one thing to keep in mind: our infrastructure is crumbling. All the roads and bridges we’ve built are aging. How are we going to continue to keep up with repairs and continue to build more roads and bridges at the same time? We absolutely cannot build our way out of congestion with roads. We continue to pave over everything green with concrete and even if you do not believe in global warming, you must agree there is no life–refreshing energy in concrete.

In my column last week, I submitted a clip that is more in line with understanding the past, acknowledging the present, and envisioning the future. I think we have to embrace all the possibilities, not just the ones we’re familiar with, but the possibilities that are just around the corner.

Maybe the price of $100,000, water powered jet pack is daunting, but perhaps in 20 years, folks will commute to DC right alongside the ferry Mr. Principi is promoting. We already have cars on the market that park themselves. Imagine how much more efficient traffic will be when commuters can finally read the paper, put on makeup and eat breakfast without a steering wheel in the way!

I hope we’ll all follow the footsteps of Steve Jobs who said, “You can’t just ask customers what they want and then try to give that to them. By the time you get it built, they’ll want something new.”

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