proposed toll increase on the Greenway

Why is it that these threads don't stay on topic? I opened this hoping to find some more discussion on the greenway toll increase. But nooooo...I get promise keepers, fundalmentalist right wingers and sex ed in our schools. Perhaps Chris needs his/her own soapbox forum.

Now, with that said, does anyone have any furter information on the greenway toll?

 

I am against an increase in the toll.

How was that?

 

I don't like the high tolls any more than anyone else but why are you commuting three hours a day?

That's why you should either (a) find a job closer to where you live or (b) move closer to your job.

 

First of all, parents ought to be teaching their kids about sex education, the same as they ought to be teaching their kids not to run around in restaurants underneath the feet of the waitstaff and they ought to be teaching their kids basic manners and to treat their teachers with respect. If parents took some responsibility, sex education wouldn't have to be taught in the schools.

Since parents aren't doing their jobs, sex ed needs to be in the schools. Since there's still teenagers getting pregnant and welfare moms with five kids then it seems like the schools aren't doing a good job either.

Second, it's the suburban housewife's own fault if she's saddled with five kids she can't afford while the husband runs off with his secretary. If the husband runs off, she's got a pretty good case in court to have the deadbeat pay child support (and the gas and electric bills). Besides that, it's just plain stupid for a woman to have no skills whatsoever to support herself should the husband run off or get killed while crossing the street by the new Safeway. I have no sympathy for someone who has that little self-respect for herself that she would allow herself to end up in the situation of having to raise 5 kids on a minimum wage job.

 

SarasMom: To get this back on topic... I would GLADLY pay twice the toll if the Toll Road were owned and operated by the Commonwealth. Also, I would like to see some understanding and compassion for those less fortunate. A sliding scale toll would be a fine addition.

Finally, I am sorry that my coming to the defense of hard working women when smythla attacked them offended you. I've got a lot of girlfriends who are "domestic goddesses," and I think that it is shame how they have been attached here. If that's being on a soap box, I'll get down now and let smythla and GCyr continue unchecked. However, I sincerely hope that "Sara" gets to grow up in a world that respects her and her generation more than the one her "mom" lives in.

 

Amen! People saying that kids are going to be killed if the stop light isn't installed (!!!) and if people are allowed to legally park on the streets need a dose of reality...take some responsibility and raise your kids better. These modern day parents look towards towards anything they can blame for whatever their kids are doing/have done wrong. Far too often people use the 'WHAT ABOUT THE CHILDREN!' excuse to make their personal agenda more appealing to the weaker minded of us. Like you, I'm tired of going to restaurants only to have some couple's out of control children ransacking the place with no reprimand from either of them.

And I fail to have any sympathy towards any single mother/welfare family with 5 kids as well. The more kids they have, the more money they recieve in subsidies from the government, so for most of them it's not like they just fell into that predicament by bad luck. In my teenage years, I used to work somewhere where I had to deal with welfare families on a daily basis (and more on the 1st and 3rd of the month), and while you'd think such a job would make one more compassionate towards these people, it just made me realize how they're completely content with their lot in life and they're just milking the system. </rant>

Anyhow, to stay on topic...down with the toll increase!

 

Perhaps if there were a clinic.... no, a full-service hospital, say....right near that horrific intersection. The husband could well be saved and his wife would not have to worry about working, and instead continue scrapbooking, but I hope she doesn't go to the scrapbooking store right near that intersection... this could turn into a deadly cycle!

Just my 0.02 =)

P.S. must ... pro-rate.... toll road

 

Chris,

If we waited for the state to build the Greenway, we would still be waiting for it. Right or wrong, a corporation built it instead. Yes, it's expensive and yes, I'm against the rate increase, and I believe the tolls should be metered based on distance traveled. It isn't a welfare road, so if someone wants to use it, they have to pay their own way.

This shouldn't be a new concept to you, since it's in use on all toll roads that I know of. What toll road do you know of has graduated rates based on a person's income?

 

Ericlva-
Regarding your comment " Besides bigger tax payments by businesses to the county leave room for bigger residential tax breaks."

Boy! That's a joke! Our illustrious Board of Supervisors just gave Hughes a tax exemption on their facility they are building on Janelia Farm. This is one of the most valuable pieces of real estate in Loudoun County and now they don't have to pay taxes on it. This is to the tune of $6,000,000 annually!! Hughes is worth 11,000,000,000 dollars (that's 11 BILLION), and we just put the burden of the $6,000,000 they won't pay in taxes on the backs of residential property owners!
Now this really pi**es me off!!

 

smythla - That is pretty judgemental! Gee what a novel idea-finding a job closer to home- In case you haven't noticed, the economy isn't doing all that well right now. Who are you to judge me? In fact, who are you to judge all the other people who commute in to DC? I doubt any of them likes paying $2 for being on a road for 5-minutes. The bus I take is packed every</u> day</u>. I guess I am not the only unfortunate one to have to work in the city. If it were that easy to get a job down the street, I guess the bus wouldn't be so crowded. In fact, it wouldn't be around at all.

As far as moving closer, I like living in a house with a yard. Move to a small little condo for the same price? I don't think so.

Too bad I am not as forunate as you so that I too can pass judgement on those with unfortunate circumstances.

 

It's no one's fault but your own if you don't have marketable skills to work closer to home. There are numerous nearby companies including AOL and MCI.

There are plenty of houses in Arlington, Bethesda and even in the District that have yards. You chose to live an hour and a half from your job so you ought not complain about the commute and the expenses associated with it. You're simply contributing to pollution and congestion.

 

Farscape, no offense but we do get to choose where we live. If you moved here while working in DC then I do beleive you shouldn't be complaining about your commute since you knew what you were getting in to. If you had to take a job AFTER living here then I feel your pain.

smythla - AOL and MCI hiring???? You MUST be kidding?!?!?

SAY NO TO THE TOLL INCREASE!

 

Cliff, are you equally pi**ed off that every church in Lo. Co. also qualifies for a tax exemption? If you add up all that property, there would be a lot more revenue than what you'd suck out of a philantropic organization like Hughes.

 

You have no idea what tripe you are spewing! Do you have a clue at all? Do you see all of the people commuting from as far away as West VA to DC? Not everyone is a computer professional who can work wherever they want! Not everyone can afford the McMansions off of Lawyers rd. Why don't you think before you post again!

 

That's not the issue. The issue is that this area's traffic is woefully mismanaged. Where do you think the people who work in Manhattan live? Alot commute from upstate NY, and NJ. How do they get there? By TRAIN! For a major city and what's supposed to be the capital of the free world this is a ridiculous situation. If people don't step up then you can just wallow in the traffic nightmare to come.

 

If you want to see a ridiculous traffic situation, check out Atlanta...and they have that MARTA train thats absoloutly useless.

 

Chris-
If the county government had the choice of taxing churches for their property, then yes, I would like to see them taxed. If they can afford to buy the property and, in some cases, build multi-million dollar facilities, they should pay taxes. Although there probably aren't many churches worth 11 billion dollars like Hughes. The difference here is that with churches, the county does not have a choice.

 

Actually, I take a bus. I mentioned this in the previous post. That bus would be there whether I am there or not. I am not contributing to the pollution and congestion.

You seem to miss the point, there are over 400 people who commute in the city using the Loudoun bus alone. If it was so easy to find a job as you say, then they wouldn't commute. My job is very specific and I am currently adding to my other degrees so that I CAN move closer to home. I prefer to work a high skilled job, so easily getting an appropriate job around here is not as easy as you think. The job I need is just not there right now.

My spouse works close to home, so moving to Arlington in Springlfield just makes it a long comomute for them. Either way, someone is commuting. Given the choice, we would rather have a nice house in a nice community (although sometimes I wonder with some of the posters on here). Do some research-the houses where you mentioned are vey expensive because EVERYONE who works in DC would like to live there. MCI & AOL? Yeah right! You obviously don't know much about this area.

In any major city, such as New York, people live far away and commute into the city. Ask anyone who works in New York or Boston, 2 places that are very expensive to live. A lot of people live in NJ and commute in, thats why there was such commotion when 9/11 happened because no one could go home.

 

If less people took the bus, the bus would not be running because there wouldn't be a need for it.

No, they (and you) have chosen to commute. By adding to your skill set, you are making a choice to try and improve yourself in order to find a job closer to home. Those other people could do that too. There are jobs in Loudoun and Fairfax Counties. It's not as if everyone commutes into DC who lives here.

Again, if you lived closer to the District, your spouse could find a job closer to the District too.

Me too.

You don't. You said you want to live here.

Both companies are hiring and both are in Loudoun County. I know someone who is starting at AOL in January.

And in both areas, there are plenty of jobs that are not in the city proper. No one is forcing anyone to commute. It is a choice that each person makes individually and if you've chosen to commute, then you shouldn't complain about the traffic or cost.

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Smythla, You are just plain wrong and pretty judgemental to boot. You need some growing up to do.