What the... - Tolls Going up again! Waxpool?

For those of you that take Waxpool to 28, how is traffic around 8:45 to 9am?

How about 7:30am?

 

not too bad. by then most of it is cleared out, but it can be a bit heavy on poor weather days.

 

ohmy!!! The toll will now be $2.70 each way plus the $.50 for the toll road = $3.20 - now I know the toll road is more than that. Do they collect .50 at the beginning and then another .75 at the end? So total would be $1.25. Hmmm that's $3.95 each way if my math serves me or $7.90 round trip for one car, so $15.80 a day for two cars since myself and husband both take the toll road (I go in early - he drops child off, I get home early and pick up child, he comes home late). $72.00 a week, Roughly $220 a month! $2640 a year! And that's if we only both use it once day AND NOW THE KICKER -

We had been getting the discount because I hit the Greedway before 6 and he hits it after 9am. NO MORE. They are doing away with the discount for traveling at off peak hours. They are also doing away with the discount for frequent use using their speedpass and paying electronically. And it will go up again next year to $3.00 and the Dulles toll road is going to be making up 25% of the cost of the new metro rail so that rate will increase also over the next five years. I should have figured this into my salary grrrr....

 

And that's why it's call the "Greedway"....

 

hberg - agree it gets expensive.

btw - my calculation came up with the following:
$3.95/each way/car - total $7.90
$7.90 X two (my wife and I commute seperate too)= $15.80
$15.80 X 5 = $79/week
$79 X 47 weeks - ~$3,700/year (assumes you have 4 weeks vacation each and an extra week off each for misc (holidays,etc)

Thats a nice all-inclusive vacation.

 

Don't forget to figure in communiting time.

I used to drive it to work in Reston every day. I left home at 6:30 got there at 6:45/6:50. 15/20 minutes.

Coming home, left at 4:15 pm arrived home 4:35 pm. About 20 minutes, surface roads: 35/45 minutes, a savings of 15/25 minutes there

I was getting paid $45 an hour. I figure that I saved at least, 30 minutes on the road, that's $22.50 of my time DAILY. I looked at the toll road at that time, as worth the cost (and the savings in gas).

Of course, alot has to do with the times you're scheduled for work, and the times you leave for work. I was lucky, I had a workplace that allowed flex time, I came in a 7, left at 4ish.

Now, I just write it off my business, as it saves me about 10/15 minutes heading to Purcellville. Now, time is money for me !!

I don't have kids, but if I did, I'd look at it this way:

Money saved at gas station (less fill ups), $35; Time saved on road, 2.5 hours; being home in time for the kids: priceless



Neil Z.
Resident since 1999

 

I like the last paragraph Neil. You are watching too much commercials.

 

Horrors! I was never good at math. Neil is right about time away from my 3 year old is priceless - I can't wait to the day I can find a decent job closer to home and then the Greedway can suck it.

 

I hope you all have enrolled in the VIP miles rebate. Not that it is much consolation, but a daily driver can get 5% or 7% back every year...

I was surprised the other day when I left the house "late"--after 7--and there was a back up over 28 for no apparent reason. Does this happen often? I don't see any plans to add lanes there (it would take too much coordination w/ VDOT I'm sure). Maybe they could extend the lane lines to assist in the merge... I hate having to guess where the lanes start after the toll, esp. Westbound.

Pam D.

 

The Greedway may be the way of the future for northern Virginia. Are you aware that there are numerous private road companies salivating over the opportunity to "buy" the roads in this area? They promise all kinds of improvements, but do not mention the funding mechanism. Can you guess what that mechanism would be? Think hard now, you only get one guess.

 

Don't forget Gov-elect Kaine is holding a town hall meeting at the Leesburg Airport today at 3:45. If anyone has time, go on up and give your opinions on transportation because that's why he's there.

Barbara Munsey, from South Riding.

 

Since its a private road the Greedway owners should deny the VA State police permission to authorize violations. Make it an autoban of sorts for Loudoun. Yeah yeah, speed kills, most of the traffic is doing 80mph anyway when not crawling at 5mph.

They could close down the Greedway on weekends and have trackevents for the Ferrari and Viper owners. Families could line-up along the hills and watch the car race down the road.

Another use could be on ice & snow, driver education for all of us, Oh the possibilites for a private road.

On second thought maybe the state should own the road.

 

yeah they are doing away with the VIP miles rebate - just read their website....

 

I just called the Greenway HQ/888-707-8870. They say the VIP program will continue.

 

Well, it'll be more Waxpool->28->606 for me to Herndon. $7+ a day is real money. Now that the flyover from northbound 28 onto westbound Waxpool is done, the ride back is not so bad. All in all it takes me about 20-30 minutes more a day to avoid the Greedway. However when the Greedway backs up, Waxpool 28 is about the same time for me. Eastbound I take Shellhorn past Home Depot to get to Loundon County Pkwy and Waxpool. Now that site work has begun on the Retail/Entertainment complex behind the Depot, Shellhorns dirt section has actually improved (less potholes). Now if they would just simply put in a 2 lane right turn from Loundon County Pkwy onto eastbound Waxpool.

 

kholbert, you just made your new route to work known to the public and just extended your commute by 30 minutes each way for letting the Shellhorne secret out. No matter it will be a zillion years for another alternative to waxpool or the greenway so both routes are going to just get worse for the near and most likely the long term.

The good news the rising home prices here have virtually stopped home sales, so hopefully roads and schools will catch up in the interm. The real buzz in the homebuilding business is, we could see 5 years before we see the real bottom in home prices. the big builders are now retracting their optimistic statements of a few months ago about 2006. That in itself is big news, because statements like that do effect their stock prices negatively. Even mister Toll himself has said publicly on the news he was overly optimistic of his rosey outlook for 2006 of only a month ago.

All I can say is I am glad I don't have to commute any further then from my bedroom to my Library most days at least during rush hours.

Lee J Buividas