NOVA is strangled by traffic congestion

Northern Virginia is being strangled by traffic congestion and some of the highest taxes in America. In 2007, Governor Tim Kaine gave away your Dulles Toll Road (DTR) so it could be the cash cow for Dulles Rail. If DTR tolls start soaring to pay for the Dulles Rail Bailout, beginning January 1, 2013, 35,000 more cars per day will be forced onto already-congested local roads, causing increased gridlock to the region. Can you afford another $1,125 in tolls per year? Do you want to spend more time idling in traffic, wasting $4.00/gal. gas? Say No Toll Increase!"

Dulles Rail triggers more, not less, traffic congestion

Read the full article here

Dulles Rail doesn’t remedy traffic congestion and, indeed, triggers more development that, in turn, increases traffic congestion and causes a need for more road and non-rail transit improvements that will cost taxpayers billions of dollars more.
The Final Environmental Impact Statement for Phase 1, which was prepared by former Gov. Mark Warner’s administration in its waning days, shows (Table 6-2.2) that with the single exception of the Dulles Airport Access Road, no major travel route studied experiences an improvement in Level of Service because of Dulles Rail.
The additional traffic occurs despite the arrival of Dulles Rail; the construction of high-quality, mixed-use development at the four Tysons rail stations; the imposition of extremely aggressive Traffic Demand Management measures by the county and Tysons landowners to reduce volumes; and the availability of substantially more bus service serving Tysons. Yet, after 2030, the road network serving Tysons fails because of more automobiles and trucks. Therefore, between 2030 and 2051 — the end of the planning horizon — every new automobile trip to Tysons must be canceled by a new transit or pedestrian trip.

Comment from Reston Patch:

The Analyst2:26 pm on Saturday, July 28, 2012CC Mojo Wrote:
"We get better jobs, better commute, better living "
This comment epitomizes absolutely everything that's wrong with this Country. A collection of special interests, primarily developers and commercial realtors, presents a collection of unassociated prospects, ties them all together, presents them to the public, and the public believes them - not because there's a basis in fact, but rather because it's nice to believe it's true.
Rail has ->nothing<- to do with jobs. Companies are not going to spend millions of dollars relocating an office within the county to be near a rail station. Out of state companies will not relocate here at a cost of perhaps 10's of millions of dollars just because there's rail.
We heard similar arguments in the dot-com boom. "If we build it, they will come, because N.Va. is the self declared head of the dot-com industry." They built it - no one came, except some companies that were so poorly managed (stupid) they all went bankrupt. Many of the buildings are **still** empty.
I'm afraid we need some new leaders, and leaders that represent the people, not special interests. If you look into the backgrounds of  the board of supervisors members, I think you will come to realize that some, if not most of them, have no business or even qualifications for making decisions of such scope. Special interests must surely find these people an easy target.
If the jobs don't happen, or worse yet they start leaving, don't say I didn't warn you. 

How to Pay For Metro -- "..install large vacuum cleaners"

If you don't think anybody gets what is going on with the Dulles Toll Road/Silverline scam, reading some of these comments to the article might convince you otherwise.

Keep in mind VDOT could retake control of the Dulles Toll Road and restore order by cutting MWAA out of the process. That would require that leaders exert the political will and act on behalf of the people instead of the many special interests who would resist that action.

How? Go here to see the operating permit

The MWAA waste factor, read it and weep:

click on the title to go to the article

Dulles toll could double by 2015

We should install large vacuum cleaners to automatically suck out our wallets as we pass notable raodway landmarks, then ticket people for not having their wallets. When will this nonsense end!


This is one of the  most avoidable premeditated mistakes of all time


You're not "in" traffic. You are traffic.


A good road ruined by a government boondoggle. The silver line is correctly named. It will line the pockets of lots of inside the beltway thugs with silver.


This is really just a revenue grab wrapped in whatever rationalization makes you feel better. At the end of the day, $4.50 for tolls will probably be less than the fare card for the same trip. Someone did the math and realized that without the toll increase, there would be a disincentive to use the Metro line to Dulles.

What Do Metro and the Redskins Have in Common?

Just Another Day at the Office Focusing
 on Core Government Functions

Judge for yourself but it seems like the money and favors are flowing pretty freely between a tight group of players in both the Metro deal and with this Redskin deal. 

When did Redskin game tickets, tours of facilities, and visits by Skins personnel become a part of Loudoun County government? Scott York is one to ask about that.

I don't buy the idea that if Bob McDonnell or Scott York say something is good for business then our tax dollars should go out the window knowing it has absolutely nothing to do with what  we pay taxes for. 

The day after the big Metro vote, Chairman York wore his #13 Loudoun Hounds jersey to work.

Suzanne Volpe & the Purple Amoeba

DEMAND THESE 20 cent cap on the Purple Amoeba is UNACCEPTABLE Purple Amoeba should pay for roads around the stations People want to know where we stand on Metro. I think this picture is worth a thousand words. Can we rethink this Metro thing PLEASE? Future of Loudoun is riding on the Purple Amoeba  Now that the Future of Loudoun is tied to the Brilliant Purple Amoeba Thing (PA), keep a few things in mind. The proposal is to cap it at $0.20 per $100. Holy moley Batman! What if that PA does not produce enough $$$, or what if, when Loudoun gets around to hiring a new real estate assessor, they juggle some PA property valuations? Taxpayers would be right back there as the backstop for the Metro BAILOUT. That big $$$$ gap brings to mind the Janet Clarke question of where the money is coming from for roads around the stations. That was never answered. So we had better start screaming that the roads need to be paid for with the Metro Bucks from the Purple Amoeba. Remember, that pesky 20 cent cap is UNACCEPTABLE. In a Channel 8 interview on 7/5, Kenedict Arnold Reid (kudos KK) said he would like Opt Out people to support the PA. Well, since we at Opt Out like to negotiate terms before we sign, see the suggestions above. DEMAND THIS: Suzanne Volpe - don’t block a Referendum Suzanne Volpe, tell us why you blocked the Higgins/Clarke/Reid Initiative. Supervisor Suzanne Volpe, known as a major Loudoun County/ 10th Congressional District Republican power broker, made some interesting votes in the last few weeks. First, she voted with Supervisors Buona, Williams and Letourneau to adjourn the June 18th Dulles Rail Finance work-session before the “Opt-In Considerations” document by Higgins, Clarke, and Reid could be discussed. Then, during the Opt-In vote sequence July 3rd, she was the deciding vote against Sup. Delgaudio’s motionto put the record-high debt expenditure for the Rail Project before Loudoun County voters in a ballot referendum this November. We wonder why Suzanne voted against common sense in these procedural votes. Was she afraid to let the Higgins/Clarke/Reid considerations out of the bag, exposing the project as a huge blank check written to corrupt organizations, and possibly killing the project? Is she really a closet rail supporter, hiding behind Sup. Reid’s flip, which allowed her to vote against rail and protect her conservative street cred? Why would she vote against the referendum? We had a referendum last November for $169 million to build/renovate five schools. Why shouldn’t we have one for this $1.6 billion developer bailout? The answer provided by the pro-rail votes that Volpe sided with (York, Buona, Williams, Letourneau) was that a referendum would open things up to county-wide tax increases instead of using the tax district to pay for the cost of Rail. County staff said this was not the case; the tax district revenue could be used whether the referendum passed or not. With or without a referendum, the county’s general revenue is where the funding will have to come from when/if the tax district fails to raise sufficient revenue. Supervisor Volpe has given the appearance of trying to play both sides of this issue. Unfortunately, her maneuvering has left Loudoun taxpayers on the hook without an opportunity to vote against the Metro in a referendum. Suzanne can make this right by requesting the Board reconsider the referendum at the next business meeting on July 17th. We will see if she votes with the taxpayers or the rent-seeking developers this time … stay tuned!  David LaRock Loudoun Opt Out Group

METRO - THE AMOEBA - WHAT TO WATCH

Before

I believe we at Opt Out had the pro-Metro people scrambling right down to the wire and that whatever they had to offer Ken Reid was huge. A year ago their expectation was that this BAILOUT would sail through, and with a little flim flamery most of the questions would never be asked, the taxpayers would be appointed the cash cows, and the business community would keep buying the cooperation they need with campaign donations.

Well people are not thrilled with what they are seeing even before the cold Metro reality hits. Here are a few things to watch for. Knowing a little allows you to spot the tricks. We will keep updating the list. 

Costs will escalate 

Shinyline to Loudoun Academy Awards

Don't miss the next episode of the, PLA / Non-union penalty mini-series, 

"Now you see it, now you don't, now you see it..."

Metro Shinyline to Loudoun Academy Awards

The stars were out Monday night at the Board of Supervisors' Metro Public Input Session in Leesburg and they were having fun as they talked about the pros and cons of the shiny train. Lots of local activists were there but more than a few sat this event out for some reason we just don’t know.

The We Love Rail and We Want it NOW group, were out in force, coming from Fairfax, Arlington, and even a few from Loudoun, many with hopes and concerns about a spending bonanza and the hype of riding the Metro Shinyline train to Loudoun.

Here’s a rundown of who took home the awards from the star-studded evening.

WARNING: Metro = Never Ending Debt and TAXES

WARNING

Note: The information below represents costs generated by Loudoun which are grossly understated, many costs categories are omitted, and forecast revenue is exaggerated.  


Note: There is no guarantee tax districts will ever be formed or that they could come close to generating enough revenue to protect citizens from being permanent  Metro cash cows.


Note: The fact that NONE of the elaborate and complex preparation to establish tax districts has even begun proves that the offer to do this timed at the last minute, is a cheap attempt to defraud the public.


The ONLY safe course is to first OPT OUT to protect the 99.99% of the people of Loudoun who will see no benefit whatsoever  from Rail. 

________________________________________________________________________

Metro to Loudoun At Any Cost? You Will Pay!

Proposed Metro Taxation Scheme

Cost to bring Metrorail two miles past Dulles Airport = $1.5 billion

A combination of these options is being considered by the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors: 

Commercial & Industrial (C&I) Tax

$0.10- $0.17 (8%-13.7% increase over $1.235 base rate)

1-Mile Rail District

$0.09- $0.20 (7.2%-16% increase over $1.235 base rate)

2-Mile Rail District

$0.09- $0.21 (7.2%-17% increase over $1.235 base rate)

Countywide Real Property Tax Increase

$0.035 across-the-board property tax increase

Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce on May 23 passed a resolution endorsing the lower-end C&I tax for the County, and the higher-end 1-mile Rail tax district rates. Partial text of their resolution is:

The Most Senseless Transportation Project Ever?

...but Dulles Rail is the sweetest of real estate deals for a few influential land owners. When too much money gets in the hands of a few powerful elected people, the taxpayers get fleeced.


A little more history. Rail to Dulles was always contemplated. A wide median was left in the middle of the Airport Access Road (AAR) to accommodate rail. The original plan was to build rail solely in that median, with various stops along the way, including one at Tysons. There was concern the area to be served by rail was not dense enough to support heavy rail. To address that issue and also to enrich Tysons landowners, the plan was modified to run rail through Tysons with three stations being built. (Then chairman of the Fairfax County BoS and SAIC employee, Gerry Connolly, had the plan modified to add a 4th station stop in front of SAIC’s Tysons building.) But this left the "Who will pay for it?" unresolved.

Loudoun Supervisors Vote to Raise Tax Rate to $1.40

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"I thought Metro was free!"

Sorry if this articles subject line is annoying, but that is what our Supervisors will need to do if they Opt In to Metro because it is not free. I hope that by the time you finish reading this, that annoying feeling is ten times worse.


We have 9 self-proclaimed conservative supervisors currently on the Board. Some understand Metrorail completely, while others are waiting for the final numbers on the most unbelievably expensive scam in the history of Loudoun.


There is no need to wait because the real cost numbers have already been delivered to the last Board of Supervisors on April 15, 2011, in the RCLCO Study that removed any doubt as to how bad  Metrorail is for Loudoun. The study estimates lifecycle costs; that means how much we would pay over time for being Metro's cash cows.

Update...$100 million per year, FOREVER

Update If you are driving in Fairfax or Loudoun and see the signs popping up asking for lower tolls and more state money, this is astroturfing. It is done by big organizations like unions or even possibly MWAA operating through unions, trying to look like grassroots activism. They are promoting a taxpayer funded bailout to pay for the Metro/Dulles Corridor business stimulus. As usual, they think the fix is more gov’t spending to support a project that cannot support itself. Move over Solyndra.

There are some Rail to Dulles cost numbers flying around that are really quite shocking. A recent Purcellville Gazette ad said Loudoun County would pay $100 million per year, FOREVER. Could this possibly be true? Yes it can, it is, and you can see the numbers here.

Does Loudoun County really have that kind of money on hand and ready to spend on this project? Let’s step back and take a look at how little is really known about this rail project.

$100 million per year, forever is an estimate based on the best cost information available, and it is a conservative estimate. No doubt it will be refuted, but if you hear someone question the accuracy, ask for a better estimate of the cost and ask where it came from and please share it with me. Cross my heart and hope to die, there are no real cost summaries out there, because rail's promoters know that if there were, this project would be deader than a proverbial doornail, period.

There is a drama going on of epic proportions, and few people in Loudoun even know about it, or care. Hopefully that will be changing in the weeks ahead. In just a few weeks, Loudoun’s brand new Board of Supervisors will finalize the single largest financial decision in Loudoun’s history; or I should say, they will decide whether or not to let stand a decision that has already been made.