Ok Virginia 2 outta 3 ain't bad, but......

Having lived in Northern Virginia for a while, I am truly aware of the problems with commuting and traffic congestion. Being a nurse working in a hospital setting for many years I was able to work a night schedule, make more money through shift differential, and avoid the traffic congestion. Recently though that has changed as I have decided I want to be a "normal" person, have time with the family, sleep in a bed not a coffin, etc (I am still a nurse and will draw blood but...). So with these changes in my life came another big change, the D.C. commute!

Luckily, Virginia had done something innovative along the I-95 corridor, that others have told me is unique for the entire country, and guess what, kinda earth friendly! Everyone is familiar with HOV (High Occupancy Vehicle) lanes, the are used nation wide. It is usually an additional lane reserved for car poolers, vans, buses, motorcycles and in some areas hybrid cars. These lanes are opened for travel and limited to the afore mentioned cars during "rush hour". The one draw back though is that these lanes parallel existing lanes so other vehicles either disregard the lane restrictions or dart in and out trying to get ahead, and as a result the HOV lane(s) become as congested as the other lanes. As a result the incentive to pool and reduce carbon emissions declines as well.

Virginia though did something unique. When it built it's HOV lanes along I-95 it segregated the lanes down the center, seperate from I-95, with separate entrance ramps at interstate exits and enteances. In the mornings heading into D.C. the lanes run north, in the evenings the lanes run south. Ok, so what you say. The design prohibits cars from weaving in and out of the lanes, as a result when driving north in the morning a 1-2 hour drive is 20-30 minutes. The other thing Virginia does is enforcement. Try getting on one of those HOV enterance ramp in your single passenger SUV, the State Police are sitting there and it is an expensive ticket, along with points against your license which has other implications and expenses.

People are being creative, and in the process being green as well. Because the volume of traffic is so great that the commute between Fredricksburg Virginia and the DC Metro area is now considered the worst in the nation people in Virginia wanting the convience of the HOV lane came up with a unique program called "<a href="http://www.slug-lines.com/">Slugging</a>". You have your commuter lots where people can pick up buses to the various Federal work sites. In addition, for those who need or wish to drive there are the "slug" lines where riders wait for commuters going to their location (i.e. the Pentagon, State Department, etc.). Cars must have three occupants to use the HOV lane so it is possible still to car pool with one regular person (or none) and pick up 1 to 2 riders to give you HOV access. The pick up and drop off sites are set (you can view them from the proceeding link). To my knowledge riding with other sluggers this is the only citizen commuter program in the country like this.

Why here not else where? Very simply the design and regulation of the HOV lanes. Los Angelos and New York two cities that could greatly benefit from such a program failed to design their HOV lanes in such a manner, instead leaving it up to individual drivers to be honorable and good (you know how well that works when your 20 minutes late to a meeting with your boss). So yeah Virginia you done good, until now.

Recently, Virginia law makers have gone off their psychotropic medications and decided to prostitute themselves, in the process ruin a good idea. In a greedy push to supplement state coffers and destroy a unique innovative citizen project, the Commonwealth has decided to "privatize" the HOV lanes turning them into <a href="http://www.virginiahotlanes.com/overview/index.html">High Occupancy Toll (HOT)</a> lanes claiming this will ease the commute and improve traffic congestion. How do we know this is a lie (I am refraining from expletives here)? Yesterday, law makers publicly acknowledged they were worried car poolers and bus riders would turn away from the HOV idea because those lanes would become crowded with single passenger cars, and the incentive to pool would disappear. Their great idea to help resolve this issue..........(truly folks these people are either psychotic of their medications, or taking hallucinogens), spend $37 million dollars from the projected tolls received from allowing single passenger cars to crowd the HOV lanes (potentially scaring away the bus car poolers) to build more commuter parking lots with the <a href="http://www.wtopnews.com/?nid=30&amp;sid=1332989"><em><strong>idea it will attract more car poolers and bus riders!</strong></em></a> This according to the <a href="http://www.examiner.com/dc"><em>Washington Examiner</em> </a>and reported on <em><a href="http://www.wtopnews.com/">WTOP radio</a></em>.

Does anyone else see the double negative here? Car poolers quit car pooling because their HOV lanes have been sold to the highest bidder, so to attract them back the Commonwealth will build more commuter parking lots to attract them back. News flash won't need to waste the money as the HOV lanes will turn into the same parking lot experianced on the I-95 rush hour commute.

With the rising cost of fuel, our national security threatened because of our dependence and waste of middle eastern oil, not to mention the threat to life on the planet from pollutants this is Virginia Legislation at it's finest. Here's a suggestion for all you Virginians who read this. Look up your State Representative, then check their business back ground. Might be surprised to find out how many made their money operating gas stations. The idea here is to reward those citizens who are responsible, and care for the ecosystem of Virginia, not expand the congestion. There are too many competing financial interests here selling this horse manure. At the same time the "family values" party who won't raise taxes to pay for mass transit projects sell out their children's future to ease their commute (this idea was initially implimented in the Republican controlled legislature), but it has gained enough Democratic support now to question the Virginia Democratic party's commitment to a greener Virginia. Time to hold the village idiots accountable.

Cross posted from idealthoughts

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