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234 and HORNER Parking FUNDS APPROVED |
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defender 
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 Topic: 234 and HORNER Parking FUNDS APPROVEDPosted: 08 Feb 2005 at 10:21am |
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YES! I wish I had an icon of the Mighty Slug to post here!
Owing to your calls, e-mails, and faxes, Senator Chuck Colgan not only heard your voice, he fought in the Conference Committee to preserve the funding, and even threw in some Horner Road Dollars, too. I leave the remainder of ths post intact, just wanted to tell everyone who joined in the battle, two items. First, Thank You! Second, we wait for the conference report to be "bound" and sent to the Governor for signature. If all is well with the budget, the 234 AND the HORNER ROAD commuters will be pleased. Regarding Prince Willian County, especially Sean T. Connaughton and Maureen S. Caddigan, let's wait and see what the Governor signs. Original Post: Do you know that the Virginia House of Delegates approved $2M to DOUBLE the size of the 234 lot? Do you also know that this funding is AT GREAT RISK and only your e-mail, fax, and phone call to Virginia Senator Chuck Colgan will save the funding? FAX your support for the Rt 95/234 parking lot expansion to SENATOR CHUCK COLGAN at his Richmond office, (804) 698-7651, or send him an e-mail at district29@sov.state.va.us, or call Chuck, at (804) 698-7529. From: Virginia Delegate Jeff Frederick: . . . [taken from below] . . . contact Senators Colgan and Puller and ask them to make sure this funding remains in the budget . . . . . . as you may know, the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) owns more than 5 acres adjacent to the existing Rt. 234/I-95 commuter lot, which is in great need of expansion to better meet the needs of commuters in that area. I’m pleased to also report that my budget amendment providing for funding to expand this lot has made it into the House budget. For those interested, I’d encourage you to contact Senators Colgan [(804) 698-7529] and Puller [(804) 698-7536] and ask them to make sure this funding remains in the budget when the Senate considers it. . . end of information from Delegate Frederick. Fellow Commuters: This issue is won or lost over the next seven days. While Virginia Senator Toddy Puller can advocate for this, and it is good to let the other Senators know that this is a real issue for many people (congestion and pollution hurts everyone, the lots provides relief felt up and down the roadway), in reality, Senator Chuck Colgan is the key! He'll be on the conference committee for the budget (the only Democrat in the Senate to be on this committee). Combine his strong support for this with the House conferees, it should be able to happen. Should, but this has got to be front and center in his mind. He has to take ownership of it as his priority. Remember, Senator Colgan is KEY to this. He is the MOST SENIOR VIRGINIA SENATOR. Dumfries area: Commonwealth Senator, 29th District, Chuck Colgan PO Box 1650 Manassas, VA 20108 Tel. [in Richmond, now, (804) 698-7529] (703) 368-0300 E-Mail: CJColgan@AOL.com; district29@sov.state.va.us Dear Senator Colgan; Today, as I call, write, and hopefully fax this information to you, I hope you agree how important this is. You have the opportunity to improve the lives of several thousand families in your district and many others in Northern Virginia. Delegate Jeff Frederick has done the leg work, but has also noted that YOU are the KEY PLAYER who can MAKE THIS HAPPEN. While the Rt 95/234 VDOT commuter lot holds 500 cars, for each person parking, there is a driver, plus we have local busses who drop off riders from 0530 until 0900. Once the lot is full, at about 0645, parked cars overflow on to local streets. Still more commuters do the "kiss-and-ride" drop-off. Thus , on any day, 1200 to 1500 commuters use the lot. Hundreds of others would but can't and it is a major point of frustration. House Bill 1500 has $2M to DOUBLE the size of the Rt 95/234 VDOT commuter lot. Double the lot and you DOUBLE THE NUMBER OF YOUR CONSTITUENTS, and others, who can use the lot. SUPPORT HB 1500 AND 234 FUNDING, so that 3,000 commuters can exclaim, "Senator Chuck Colgan came through for us and our families!" And that would be great for all of us! Senator for Springfield and down to Dumfries: Commonwealth Senator, 36th District, Linda T. “Toddy” Puller P.O. Box 73 Mt. Vernon, VA 22121-0073 Tel. (703) 765-1150 E-mail: tpuller@aol.com; district36@sov.state.va.us Or, you can click on the links below to send an e-mail to your senator, or ALL THE SENATORS, as individual e-mails. Please, consider something like this: Dear Virginia Senator: House budget bill, HB 1500, contains funding to expand the existing Rt. 234/I-95 VDOT commuter lot. This funding is critical to improve the daily commute of numerous Virginians. I urge you to ensure that this funding remains intact, in the bill, to expand the commuter lot. I thank you for your effort and look forward to seeing this lot expanded, very soon. Senator Bell; district22@sov.state.va.us Senator Blevins; district14@sov.state.va.us Senator Bolling; district04@sov.state.va.us Senator Chichester; district28@sov.state.va.us Senator Colgan; district29@sov.state.va.us Senator Cuccinelli; district37@sov.state.va.us Senator Deeds; district25@sov.state.va.us Senator Devolites-Davis; district34@sov.state.va.us Senator Edwards; district21@sov.state.va.us Senator Hanger; district24@sov.state.va.us Senator Hawkins; district19@sov.state.va.us Senator Houck; district17@sov.state.va.us Senator Howell; district32@sov.state.va.us Senator Lambert; district09@sov.state.va.us Senator Locke; district02@sov.state.va.us Senator Lucas; district18@sov.state.va.us Senator Marsh; district16@sov.state.va.us Senator Martin; district11@sov.state.va.us Senator Miller; district05@sov.state.va.us Senator Mims; district33@sov.state.va.us Senator Newman; district23@sov.state.va.us Senator Norment; district03@sov.state.va.us Senator O'Brien; district39@sov.state.va.us Senator Obenshain; district26@sov.state.va.us Senator Potts; district27@sov.state.va.us Senator Puckett; district38@sov.state.va.us Senator Puller; district36@sov.state.va.us Senator Quayle; district13@sov.state.va.us Senator Rerras; district06@sov.state.va.us Senator Reynolds; district20@sov.state.va.us Senator Ruff; district15@sov.state.va.us Senator Saslaw; district35@sov.state.va.us Senator Stolle; district08@sov.state.va.us Senator Stosch; district12@sov.state.va.us Senator Ticer; district30@sov.state.va.us Senator Wagner; district07@sov.state.va.us Senator Wampler; district40@sov.state.va.us Senator Watkins; district10@sov.state.va.us Senator Whipple; district31@sov.state.va.us Senator Williams; district01@sov.state.va.us You can go to http://conview.state.va.us/whosmy.nsf/main?openform to lookup a senator. Street Address, City, and ZIP Code are required as VA Districts break by streets, sometimes. Fuller Underwood II |
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SpongeBob
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Posted: 08 Feb 2005 at 1:14pm |
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So is it approved or what? I can't tell. It would be great for them to allocate the money, but where will the lot be? I was at a VDOT presentation maybe 5 or 6 years ago to look at three parking lot options near the 234 intersection. It was all tied up around the hotel and the Route 1 improvement. They had nice drawings of Horner style and size lots, three of them, around the 234/95 interchange. We told them to build all three lots if they wanted to meet demand, but they only had funds, they said, to buy the land and build one lot. The may now own 5 acres around there, but where?
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muschi
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Posted: 08 Feb 2005 at 2:17pm |
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Mr. Direct you emailed me about this i dont live anywhere near 234 [i live out west]. hell, i dont even know where it is for sure.
once again wat does "not psosted" mean for god's sake!? dont make me start a thread so we can all find out!! [i kno others have asked on here]. boy u r an engima. no, not enema, no not negro. an enigma. god i amuse myself...[self-effacing pathetic] sighhhhhhh [ps oh and why r u direct do u work in direct mail marketing or something? oh the mysteries never end! [^][^][^][xx(] |
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SpongeBob
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Posted: 08 Feb 2005 at 3:14pm |
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Alright, Muschi, enough now; Robert's been beaten up enough for one day. You can have back at him tomorrow.
For today, I'm like, D'oh! Now I see where it says it passed out of the House, sheltered in the big budget bill. Here's Delegate Frederick's press release on the matter: http://www.va52.com/news.asp?docID=57 I'd like to know exactly how much money might be allocated to VDOT to build a new lot? It sounds like it is money to buy land, about 5 acres, and add it to the existing lot. Unfortunately, most of the current lot is going to be used to build the planned fly-over interchange into Southbridge. The big mound of dirt on the corner is the base of the flyover. So we will be losing much of the lot; what will we gain? Also, the plan I saw years ago showing a commuter lot placed on the east side of 95 called for a vehicle to go through two left-hand turns at signal lights to enter the lot going south in the evening to drop off slugs. That's not convenience on a par with Horner. Yet this lot ought to be like a Horner Road South, considering all the development is in that area now, not to mention Stafford and points south. There is also the proffer from the Southbridge developer for a lot at the end of 234... how does that play into Frederick's plans? Finally, if you build a convention center or major hotel on 234 (as they're doing) the Sponge will be there the day it opens starting a new slugline. |
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SpongeBob
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Posted: 08 Feb 2005 at 4:26pm |
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I want further details before I endorse the plan. I've been talking to Maureen and others about an expansion of this lot since it filled up in 2001. I was one of the complainers who got the lot expanded the first time.
But before I say I am for a project, I like to know more. If VDOT is planning to use the funds to buy enough land for 1,000 more spaces, then the allocation is too small, and i would oppose the bill. We need a 3-5,000 space lot to anticipate growth. While the funds are available, we need to get the maximum we can for this all-important project. We need Connaughton and his Stafford and F'burg counterparts to weigh in to make this bill meaningful. But, if VDOT expects to build toll roads, they don't need commuter lots: there won't be any busriders or carpoolers or slugs! I know the land around the lot (heck, I used to walk to the lot through the woods from the Food Lion everyday, over the stream, up the muddy hill, across the airport... ah, sweet memories.) |
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cdatkins
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Posted: 11 Feb 2005 at 12:32pm |
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This really needs to happen. With the new Port Potomac going in, route 1 north of Princeton Woods/Southbridge could become a nightmare in the morning, making Potomac and Horner worse options for those of us who live in that area. An expanded 234 would alleviate the route 1 congestion substantially, I think.
Money shouldn't be a question. They raised our taxes last year and have, by some estimates, a $1 billion surplus down in Richmond (oops). Walmart also has a lot of open parking on its south side that could be used for slugging as well. |
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dickboyd
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Posted: 14 Feb 2005 at 3:53am |
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From a discussion on GoogleGroup Miscellaneous Transportation Roads (MTR). Any comments from slugs? Are slugs welcomed? Ignored? Prosecuted? Recognized? People that post to MTR are more likely to contact their elected representatives and car dealers to get Clean Fuel vehicles exempted from HOV rules. Those same people might not have ever been to northern Virginia, or the east coast for that matter. Any slugs willing to share their experiences with MTR?
I think this poster missed the point that ALL the lanes should free flow, not just the reversible lanes. Yet the general theme is to FORCE capacity and ignore free flow. Are slugs mute, deaf, or just don't care? dickboy@aol.com http://groups-beta.google.com/group/misc.transport.road/browse_frm/thread/5d24a63863998cd1/52b5e9c50bebe73c?_done=%2Fgroup%2Fmisc.transport.road%3F&_doneTitle=Back+to+topics&_doneTitle=Back&&d#52b5e9c50bebe73c Who says cars have to be full? if the road operates at a decent level of service with SOV's, then we don't need full cars. If that doesn't work, then try HOV-2. Then HOV-3. HOV-3 has worked just fine for the Shirley HOV roadway until recently, so maybe its time to re-evaluate the restrictions. > Slugs are prosecuted, not encouraged. Prosecuted, on what grounds? There is nothing illegal about slugging, so long as drivers don't charge for their services (at which point, anti-jitney laws and business laws come into play). Its legal for me to give a free ride to anyone I choose to, whether its a friend of mine that i've known for 20 years, or someone I meet that morning at the slug lines. VDOT doesn't "encourage" slugging for liability reasons I assume, but i'd say they take a much more neutral stance to it then anything else. THey do post a link to the slugging websites on their webapge and they certainly go out of their way to accomodate slugging with all the park and ride lots. dickboyd@aol.com |
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Bob
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Posted: 16 Feb 2005 at 10:34am |
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I can provide a little information based upon my watching a part of yesterday's PW Board of Supervisors meeting. Apparently the state folks are trying to require a local kick in to build the lot. I belive this would be $1 million or more (?) The discussion from Connaughton and others was focusing on the fact that a lot of the people using the lot are from Stafford and Fredericksburg and therefore those counties should not get a free ride on this. In my opinion, this is an example of VDOT again trying to slough responsibiity on the counties, but this is why we HAVE a state agency because it is not fair to make PW pay for the other counties.
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Admin
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Posted: 02 Mar 2005 at 5:08am |
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State funding, $2M, for the 234 parking lot is approved. Budget now
goes to Governor for signature. |
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DanMadeup
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Posted: 04 Mar 2005 at 1:07pm |
quote: Bob; I went to the tape and disagree with you on how you framed your answer. Sean is much too sharp to openly oppose this funding. However, Maureen Caddigan and Barg did open up and show what, Mr. Lang has often said, is a less than commuter friendly attitude. The State want's to pony-up money to help comuters and certain officials want to fight it. From the tape: Caddigan: . . . ah, we would not be interested in paying a million dollars for Fredericksburg and Stafford county to be using those lots. I means it just something that we would not do . . . Ms. Barg: I also want to piggyback on what Maureen said . . . . It has always been VDOT’s responsibility to build these commuter lots . . . we don’t support building parking lots for the state. " Seans conversation was limited to finding out what percentage of people in the 95/234 lot were PWC and then strike a position from that data. Fortunately, Delegate Frederick and Senator Colgan worked a much better package for us. |
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