I applaud Congress for starting this conversation. I understand that many people cringe at the thought of new taxes. But the fact is that right now, we pay less than half of what we paid in transportation taxes 40 years ago, when inflation is accounted for. All this at a time when we need more transportation infrastructure and options than ever before. I've heard people from everywhere on the political spectrum, including some of the most conservative Republicans I know, say that transportation is one thing that should be managed by the government. If we are going to have it managed in a central fashion, we might as well adequately fund it.

The gasoline tax cannot continue to be a viable source of funding for our transportation system. First off, some users pay twice as much in use taxes as others, just by nature of the vehicle they drive. Is it really fair for a Civic driver to pay half as much as a Suburban driver, even though they use up essentially the same amount of road space and cause the same amount of wear and tear on our highways? What about those who use hybrids? They take up the same amount of road space too. How about alternative fuel or electric vehicles? How do we charge them their fair share?

But of course a major part of the problem is not just funding. There are a few other very important issues, like environmental reviews. I am a huge fan of environmental reviews of transportation projects with plenty of documentation, and then reaching a compromise where we can serve the humans and still protect the animals, plants, and neighborhoods from destruction. But at the same time, the frivolous appeals have gotten way out of control. The ICC is a perfect example of how the process is not supposed to work.

And while we're dealing with this sort of stuff, we need to convince people that building whatever we want, wherever we want, whenever we want, putting in a huge parking lot, demanding that everyone arrive and depart only by auto, and then not upgrading the roads or providing any transportation alternatives has been a collossal disaster. I'm not saying we have to embrace "Smart Growth" and turn everything into Manhattan, but would it hurt to have some "smarter growth"? Such as having retail nearby so when we plop down 5,000 new houses they don't have to drive 7 miles on 2-lane roads to get to a grocery store? How about ensuring that roads are upgraded, schools are built, etc. at the same time the development occurs instead of 10 years later? How about ensuring that housing and jobs grow at the same rate in smaller areas, so you don't have "lets create tons of jobs and they will live somewhere else" (Arlington, Fairfax), and "lets build tons of houses and send them all up I-95 to go to work everyday" (Stafford, Fredericksburg)? How about coordinating large, regional growth with upgrades to major roadways in the area?

How about we get over our fear of mass transit? I've heard plenty of, "I don't feel like using it, therefore I don't think anyone should have any." It's one thing to say "I'm going to do whatever I want" when you are out in the country, or even in a small city where your impact on society as a whole is small. But when you have a metro area with millions of people, and we encourage everyone to do what they want, what is best for them, instead of what is best for society as a whole, then we will be doomed. Too many people, too many differing ideas, too much conflict. You can already see it today.

And lastly, lets get with the program when it comes to telecommuting. There is no reason why a civilized nation like us still requires all but a negligible percentage of workers to come to an office everyday when much of their work can be completed at home using a simple broadband connection to the company server.

Sorry for the long post.

I won't pay taxes and it can't be in my neighborhood! I want everything paid for by my neighbors and "the rich" and built somewhere else.

"Is it really fair for a Civic driver to pay half as much as a Suburban driver, even though they use up essentially the same amount of road space and cause the same amount of wear and tear on our highways?"

A 7000 lb Suburban certainly causes more wear and tear than a 2600 lb Civic. I agree that the gas tax is not the right way to fund road improvements as there is no assurance that purchases gas is even consumed on public roads. However, any new usage fee should somehow distinguish vehicles better than a simple commercial/non-commercial classification.

"A 7000 lb Suburban certainly causes more wear and tear than a 2600 lb Civic. "

True, but not much more. The relationship between wear and tear and vehicle weight is exponential, meaning light vehicles like Civics and SUV's don't really show a measurable difference in wear and tear. But a 75,000 pound truck causes significantly more than 10 times the amount of wear and tear than a 7,500 pound SUV causes.

"-- As thousands of drivers and transit riders in the Washington region rediscover on a daily basis, whatever we're doing now isn't working. It's taking more and more time and it's more and more stressful to reach our destinations."

And the reason is quite simple: This region long-ago bought the bill of goods that building Metro made building the planned highway system unnecessary. Too many people thought that we could just keep canceling needed roads as long as we built out Metro as planned.

And too many still buy into this failed strategy. Why else are we throwing billions at the so-called Silver Line and spending millions to "study" every little pet project rail transit advocates can conjure up while we continue with over 50 years of indulging opponents of the ICC?

As a result, we have the nation's second-worst traffic and after over 30 years of the proven-wrong rail-only plan, otherwise intelligent people are still talking about "alternatives" (read: anything but a new road) whenever the subject of congestion is raised.

Our so-called "leaders" and "planners" have been listening to the wrong people for 2 generations. And the chickens are home to roost.

I don't know why anyone would buy a Civic if it gets the same mileage as a Suburban.

ceefer66, you need to dream more. If we had no roads, there wouldn't be cars. And then there could be more bikes. And more of your coworkers would start out the day smelling of BO.

Civic vs Suburban

A tax is a tax. We aren't whining that a person who spends $100 on a steak dinner with wine pays more tax than someone at McDonalds. It's just how it is - you spend more, you pay more.

I understand that from the standpoint of roadway maintenance, this may seem unfair, but think for a second how the pricing would be structured if this were the case. We could drastically increase the cost of diesel since trucks are responsible for beating up our highways. Never mind that diesel engines are far more efficient and provide greater economic benefit per gallon. Since people are paying based on road usage, and Suburbans tend to have larger tanks than a Civic, the tax rate on the first 8 gallons of gasoline would be double. Considering that we're talking about a dwindling resource on the eve of an explosion in demand - remember 1 BILLION people in India are eying those cheap, non-hybrid $2500 cars - this is an asinine position to take to encourage conservation.

Unfortunately, gasoline tax is always linked to transportation issues, rather than the actual cost to the nation. Think of the transportation projects that could be built for what we've spent politically and militarily securing our petroleum resources. For that matter, how much would we pay at the pump if we had to fund the Iraq war through gasoline taxes?

"ceefer66, you need to dream more. If we had no roads, there wouldn't be cars. And then there could be more bikes. And more of your coworkers would start out the day smelling of BO."

Interesting point. And considering that the new NOVA transportation authority is spending about $35 million on bike paths and sidewalks the BO situation just might come to pass.

Interesting, how supposedly intelligent people want to take us backward to the 19th century - on foot, bikes, and trolleys.

"ceefer66, you need to dream more. If we had no roads, there wouldn't be cars. And then there could be more bikes. And more of your coworkers would start out the day smelling of BO."

Good point.

And considering that Arlington and NOVA's transportation authority want to spend millions on bike trails, sidewalks, and trolleys, those who want to take us backwards to the nineteenth cenurty might get their wish.

Like I said, the "leaders" and "planners" are listening to the wrong people.

Good point.

And considering that Arlington and NOVA's transportation authority want to spend millions on bike trails, sidewalks, and trolleys, those who want to take us backwards to the nineteenth cenurty might get their wish.

Like I said, the "leaders" and "planners" are listening to the wrong people.

we need horse lanes, horses are organic

just make the bike and horse lanes large enough for my car and I'll be happy

Fewer cars and roads doesn't necessarily mean more bicycles and more BO. It might mean more bandwidth and more telecommuting, also. And maybe more long-distance rail freight rather than diesel trucks, reserving diesel trucks more for the short haul, more flexible, final destination deliveries. And that's just for starters. We don't necessarily need to dream more, but maybe we need to dream DIFFERENTLY?

excellent, I had no idea that having fewer roads would make it ok for me to bring classified information home with me, that is very helpful

we need to be honest as a region and say what everyone believes: we don't want development, we don't want jobs, we certainly don't want commerce. If having no roads encourages companies to locate elsewhere, that's mission accomplished!

"excellent, I had no idea that having fewer roads would make it ok for me to bring classified information home with me, that is very helpful"

well you're allowed to have classified info at your jobsite, right? And if mandatory telecommuting meant one day your jobsite was at home, then what's the problem? The alternative is that those who deal with classified information are denied the opportunity to telecommute like everyone else, and can sit in traffic more then everyone else. Hey, you chose your career path...

"we need to be honest as a region and say what everyone believes: we don't want development, we don't want jobs, we certainly don't want commerce. If having no roads encourages companies to locate elsewhere, that's mission accomplished!"

Who says we need to be growing? Can't we be a successful region with what we already have, and allow other regions with more room to have all this growth? And who says you need roads to attract jobs? NYC has no problem attracting jobs, and well over 80% of workers in Manhattan don't use cars to get to work...

the region needs to stop attracting jobs, jobs bring people and people bring cars and kids and pets and CO2 emissions, being more like detroit is the answer, they have much better housing prices

in Manhattan, they're allowed to build new buildings more than 2 stories tall

"the region needs to stop attracting jobs, jobs bring people and people bring cars and kids and pets and CO2 emissions, being more like detroit is the answer, they have much better housing prices"

Are you kidding or are you just stupid?

Detroit is a DYING city. Keep up with your opposition to roads, growth and progress and you just might get your wish. Then you and your bike will have the streets all to yourself.

What an idiot!

CEEAF, you finally understand what we environmentalists and NIMCs are looking for

Care consulting health management news

Care consulting health management news

Hello! Good Site! Thanks you! http://byjjzcbjrvrwc.com

Big spender lyrics

Moms big tits

Torin big red

Indian boys

Nude boy forum

Rage boy

California cpa

California dreamin

California nose surgery

California realtors

I like this work! New york city male blepharoplasty nmzdw

I like your site! Newcastle city council ykysf

I like your wishes! Ford focus road test qjcel

I like this wishes! Ford motor credit co ctjez

Good wishes! Friendship ford ocmfi

Nice site! Servicing ac for 1989 ford truck hhrbg

Best portal! Free mobile unlock codes uvyhn

I like your portal! Morse code letters niivt

Beautiful site! Old navy promo code nqczs

Good wishes! Penal code 175.10 kvmez

I like this portal! Troe unlock code rnqjy

Best wishes! Custom wheels mercedes thxsl

Great work! Gibson les paul custom mgvfs

Good work! Florida charter fishing elcfd

Nice wishes! Florida marine accident attorney aefrs

I like this site! Florida offshore fishing charter iwjjk

I like your portal! Spinal fluid loss symptoms xqjhl

Nice work! Symptoms of blood clot in leg myhfk

Great site! Symptoms of gestational diabetes dfcyf

Great work! Symptoms of ptsd bvled

I like your wishes! Weird symptoms of perimenopause rjxtd

Wow, cool man, big thanks! http://ktbetpqqrwotk.com

http://nerkepp.info/index10.html

Best site! Youngest models bbs zncok

Good wishes! Model plan afaceri omgal

Best work! Models naked wqvhb

Good site! Sweet heidi model fylio

Nice wishes! Young russian model txjcu

Best wishes! Crocs on sale jmuvn

I like this portal! Destin florida condos for sale gssvx

Best work! East tn land for sale zelfq

Nice site! Goldwing for sale viliz

Best portal! Hudson car for sale classic rmylv

Best site! Glassing a wood boat ltlyr

Nice portal! Olympic boats vywpf

Beautiful portal! Ranger boat decals cqwjk

Beautiful work! Vietnamese boat people awmwj

Good site! Custom print 50 oz wgows

Best portal! Custom tube bending dcwlc

Best wishes! Custom wheels mercedes bjdar

Best portal! Gibson les paul custom hfpqi

Nice work! Dog yeast infection hrbde

I like your work! Electronic dog fence lqpbz

I like your site! xcmgq

Good portal! Is milk good for dogs wshan

I like your wishes! California nose surgery lurpd

Beautiful wishes! Naturistmusings march ufuiw

Good wishes! Randall march ixjbj

I like your wishes! Hand applique society zxbzl

Beautiful work! Lighthouse society qtizz

Beautiful wishes! Catman cohen myspace vwtos

I like your work! Movie myspace layouts zlbgp

I like your portal! Myspace color chart kblts

Good work! Ap nation high school football rankings dfsfg

Nice work! Football betting tips swjuz

Great work! Football playbook gnvwz