|
Bad
Dog, Bad Dog
This
letter was addressed to Steven Sisson, author of
Blue Dog Tales, regarding his Oct. 4, 2004 column,
"Richmond Road
Warrior".
I
have a healthy respect for the Fourth Estate and the
role it plays in keeping the public educated and
informed. I also respect opinions of those who pick
up the pen (or keyboard) to express themselves
through various published media. But, in your
October 4 column, you mixed your opinion with a
remark that is simply false when you wrote:
For
instance, last week the Commonwealth
Transportation Board and the Virginia Department
of Transportation only provided 24-hour notice
about the public hearing on the six-year road-
improvements
plan. How inconsiderate was that?
Paid
advertisements for the six-year improvement program
pre-allocation hearings were placed in local
newspapers about four weeks in advance of the
hearings. At the same time, the notice was placed on
the "public meetings" calendar on our web
site. The ads ran again about two weeks before the
hearings. We followed those up with press releases
that were picked up by news outlets. Maybe you
happened to read a story the day of one of the
hearings and just assumed that this was the only
notice given. Regardless, a quick call to our press
office, or to me, and you would have had the
straight story.
Now,
maybe you're thinking that if you didn't know about
the meeting, then no one else did either. Folks were
indeed there. If you want to offer some constructive
criticism on how we can improve our public notices,
we'd be pleased to listen. But,
"inconsiderate?" That's a pretty low blow.
I think you'd agree that "inconsiderate"
is a strong word to use incorrectly.
I
want to mention one additional thing. This year we
decided to hold these pre-allocation hearings
through videoconferences around the state, dealing
with two districts at a time. By not flying and
driving people all around the state, and by
combining meetings, we saved about $40,000 for the
taxpayers.
Keep
us on our toes Mr. Sisson, and keep the public
informed. We want you to do that. But, please check
your facts first.
Philip
A. Shucet
Commissioner
Virginia
Department of Transportation
Richmond
philip.shucet@vdot.virginia.gov
What's
the Rush in Accessing Working Papers?
Your
choice of guest columns is first rate. While I don't
necessarily agree with all, they provide a wide
variety of views that reflects well upon your
choices.
Case
in point: Becky Dale’s Sept. 20, 2004, column on
Freedom of Information, "Working
Papers, Shirking Papers." Her arguments,
within the confines of the world of FOI, make sense
and seem sufficient to prevail within any judicial
court – but not necessarily within the court of
public opinion.
Tragically,
views expressed in working papers, while lying
fallow for years, can come to life again politically
when/if the official chooses to run again for public
service and his/her opponent has access to the
candidate’s ideas that may have been spurned then
but look viable now.
In
the political sense, “working papers” remain
“working” until the death of the official.
Perhaps one can argue that an official is
“politically dead” at some point and therefore
the “working” papers become “worked” and
should be available, as Ms. Dale argues. But
who can divine when a former governor wishes to
become a mayor, for example?
And
what’s the rush? One could argue that any sense of
immediacy or urgency suggests prima facie evidence
that revelations within those “working papers”
belies the assertion that they have become
“worked” rather than “working.” Why not wait
until there’s no potential to turn the revelations
into political usefulness!
Anyway,
were it not for your perspicacity in providing a
wide diversity of views, I would not have
encountered this opportunity to politely vent my
spleen!
John
Nicholson
Company
Flowers
john@companyflowers.com
Arlington
Tele-work
Can't Help I-81
While
I agree with your opinion on using
telecommunications to relieve rush hour traffic (See
"Silicon for
Asphalt," Sept. 20, 2004), the problem we
have on Interstate 81 is far different. The
challenge that I-81 faces is the rapidly increasing
movement of freight from the Gulf States to the
Northeast. It is hard to push freight over the wire.
The
present proposal to use the Public Private
Transportation Act to impose tolls on an existing
Interstate is bad public policy and a cop-out by the
legislature and Governor. The feeling seems to be that Western Virginia
is now “taken care of”.
There
are a number of things wrong with the present
"concrete freight way" idea over and above
the tolls.
First,
this is the most inappropriate engineering solution
that I have ever seen in my career. The massive widening required to accommodate
the additional four separated truck lanes will
obliterate most existing businesses at interchanges
and will destroy any aesthetic value that I-81 has.
Secondly,
in my opinion, it is not an efficient use of
resources to separate traffic flows as presently
proposed since at times truck lanes will be low flow
and passenger car lanes will not and vice versa.
Thirdly,
the merging of the inside lane truck traffic across
the car lanes to exit or enter some interchanges
will cause turbulent, dangerous conditions.
The
tolling of trucks, and probably cars, will put an
enormous burden on those of us who work to bring
industry to Western Virginia. If the tolls would provide some new
additional alternatives it would not be so
unbearable. However, imposing tolls on an existing
Interstate, which is the only viable option for
service to this area, is simply unfair and will have
an immense negative economic impact. There have been published reports of at least
one potential industry that has not located in the
area because of the potential for tolls on I-81. There surely will be more.
Our
New River Valley Economic Development Alliance has
requested that an economic impact study be executed.
We believe that this factor has not been
properly evaluated. The solution is for our
Department of Transportation to look at road and
rails as complimentary transportation systems and to
provide funding for both through public channels.
A
less radical expansion of I-81, such as originally
planned by VDOT, and some public funding of the
private rail system infrastructure paralleling I-81
is the best solution to the increasing traffic. It appears that Norfolk Southern is ready to
consider such a partnership. These expansions could proceed simultaneously,
thereby reducing the massive disruptions that will
be caused by the almost total reconstruction of I-81
necessitated by the “concrete freight way”
concept.
The
present proposal is a $13 billion project, probably
the largest single project in the history of the
Commonwealth. A
project of this magnitude requires participation by
all of the state. The
burden should not be borne by Western Virginia
alone.
Ken
Anderson
Anderson
& Associates
Blacksburg
Anderson@andassoc.com
|
