3g1ghtguC If a mugger took my wlaelt at gunpoint and stole all my credit cards and the $200 of cash I had in my wlaelt, that would be bad. If that same mugger then had some pity on me and gave me a $5 back from my own wlaelt for bus fare, he'd still be a mugger.The HOT lanes supported by Richmond allow me to pay for something that is taxpayer funded virtually everywhere else in the state. Some years ago, there was a plan to put tolls on Rt 81. Presumably, those tolls would have paid to make the endless death trap known as Rt 81 a bit more modern and a bit more safe. Never happened. The Clown Show caved to trucking interests.Bob McDonnell is a rare ray of sunshine in Richmond. Of course, he grew up in Mt Vernon and is not a Descendant of Pocohontas. Gov. McDonnell and, to an extent, Sean Connaughton, have bulldozed the General Assembly and the local anti-growth NIMBYs across the state.If, and I do emphasize if, the truck climbing lane on Rt 81, the Coalfields Expressway and the Rt 295 interchange in Chesterfield are user pays with driving tolls, I will be very impressed. That will be a great start on user pays across the state rather than just in NoVa and Tidewater. There will still be much to do. For example, adding HOT lanes and per mile tolls around the traffic disaster that is Fredricksburg. You see, LarryG, as long as you're paying to drive just like the people in NoVa pay to drive I am happy. Ditto for Bacon. Short Pump in Henrico is another traffic disaster that should be fixed with tolls to fund road improvements. We'll see how Jim Bacon's love of user fees lasts as he's being dinged by automatic gantries every time he gets in his car to run out for a loaf of bread.And, speaking of Bacon, I love this Virginia Department of Transportation officials expect that trips will run around 11 miles for a $4 charge on average, although the toll will change continually, depending upon demand, and could be considerably higher or lower. .When MWAA wants to raise the tolls on the Dulles Toll Rd there is a huge cry of indignation from Jim Bacon and his ilk. The cost to drive on the Toll Rd is painted in the worst possible terms years into the future. But when the Clown Show wants to do the same thing it's all lovey dovey. No inflated future toll rates. And the always helpful, could be considerably higher or lower . Like, when the main roadway is crowded and you actually need to use the HOT lanes . maybe it will cost $8 to drive 11 miles. Which makes a round trip at rush hour $16. And, over time and after inflation, that round trip might cost $20 or more? You know, about the same per mile cost as the evil, labor union loving MWAA wants to charge?Jim Bacon is doing a good job of reporting on transportation issues in Virginia. However, he has the imperial DNA of Richmond running through his cells. The Clown Show spends 25 years crating a transportation fiasco. Then, one governor in his one (consecutive) four year term backhands the Clown Show and makes progress. He passes a tax increase by borrowing money that will have to be repaid by a state treasury which is very unlikely to be able to repay those loans at the current tax rate. He goes around the Clown Show and does the right thing.But he'll soon be gone, either at the end of his term or next summer when he ascends the stage at the Republican Convention as the Vice Presidential nominee.All of which leaves us, in 2014 or sooner, with a return to politics as usual in Virginia. Bill Bolling? Seriously, Bill Bolling? Or Benito Cuccinelli?Maybe we'll get a chance to vote for a Sean Connaughton a guy who gets things done. Or Terry McAuliffe another guy who gets things done. Or, somebody else from Northern Virginia or Tidewater. You know, places that aren't trying to remain stuck in the 1950s.Or, we'll get Bill Bolling. Or this year's version of Creigh Deeds. People without the courage of a Bob McDonnell in running around the Clown Show in Richmond.

06 de Agosto de 2013 a las 06:55