Dilemma for HOV and Housing Prices...

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   I'm reading on the board about how people want to get rid of Hybrids on the HOV lanes.  I'm a Hybrid owner and of course I'd like to see them stay but I can see how people would appose them.  However, I have a bigger issue that I'd like to get everyone's feedback.

	Everyone knows that housing prices have continued to climb.  And, in order for people to be able to afford to buy a house in this area, they either have to buy a small house, townhouse/condo, or live somewhere like Stafford and further south.  Even in Stafford where I live, housing has gotten expensive.

	So, for people right now looking to buy a new home, if they can't afford a $500k house (and most probably cannot), then they either have a buy a very small house/condo/townhouse somewhere not so far outside of the beltway in order to be able to make their work commute OR they buy a bigger house farther away.  That's the choice.

	So, if they buy further away, you're asking them to make a long commute to work.  And, by taking away HOV privlidges for Hybrid drives, you're now asking them to make an even longer commute.

	And, if the commute begins to be too far, then you're asking these people to now sell their house and move closer and buy a smaller house (because they won't be able to afford the same size house closer in) OR you're asking them to move out of the metro area.

	Now, to be fair, I guess the same could be said for non-Hybrid drivers who see more Hybrids on HOV.  However, I travel the HOV lanes in my Hybrid every day and although I see more Hybrids on the road, I don't see the additional conjestion that everyone seems to say is there.  My commute is from Stafford until I reach the last exit before the beltway.  So, I don't see the HOV lane traffic from the beltway down to the Pentagon.  I'm sure it's gotten worse but again, I don't see that part.  But, I can say that in the past 3 years, I have NOT seen an increase in commute between Stafford and Springfield on the HOV lanes.  Maybe it's elsewhere that people are complaining about.  Also, the few times that I have continued on HOV into the Pentagon area, I haven't noticed it being that bad.  Maybe slower at times through there but nothing that would be causing BIG delays.  I don't think Hybrids are causing BIG HOV delays.

	But again, what are we to do about this situation?  If you keep the Hybrid exception, then it's an option that people have to eliviate some of their commute time up and down the Rt. 95 corridor.  If you take that away, then you're adding to their commute time and in some instances, will force people out of the metro area.

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bstebbs Members Profile Find Members Posts New Slug Joined: 22 Feb 2005 Location: VA Status: Offline Points: 0	Post Options Post Reply Quote bstebbs Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 22 Feb 2005 at 12:00pm
	I'm reading on the board about how people want to get rid of Hybrids on the HOV lanes. I'm a Hybrid owner and of course I'd like to see them stay but I can see how people would appose them. However, I have a bigger issue that I'd like to get everyone's feedback. Everyone knows that housing prices have continued to climb. And, in order for people to be able to afford to buy a house in this area, they either have to buy a small house, townhouse/condo, or live somewhere like Stafford and further south. Even in Stafford where I live, housing has gotten expensive. So, for people right now looking to buy a new home, if they can't afford a $500k house (and most probably cannot), then they either have a buy a very small house/condo/townhouse somewhere not so far outside of the beltway in order to be able to make their work commute OR they buy a bigger house farther away. That's the choice. So, if they buy further away, you're asking them to make a long commute to work. And, by taking away HOV privlidges for Hybrid drives, you're now asking them to make an even longer commute. And, if the commute begins to be too far, then you're asking these people to now sell their house and move closer and buy a smaller house (because they won't be able to afford the same size house closer in) OR you're asking them to move out of the metro area. Now, to be fair, I guess the same could be said for non-Hybrid drivers who see more Hybrids on HOV. However, I travel the HOV lanes in my Hybrid every day and although I see more Hybrids on the road, I don't see the additional conjestion that everyone seems to say is there. My commute is from Stafford until I reach the last exit before the beltway. So, I don't see the HOV lane traffic from the beltway down to the Pentagon. I'm sure it's gotten worse but again, I don't see that part. But, I can say that in the past 3 years, I have NOT seen an increase in commute between Stafford and Springfield on the HOV lanes. Maybe it's elsewhere that people are complaining about. Also, the few times that I have continued on HOV into the Pentagon area, I haven't noticed it being that bad. Maybe slower at times through there but nothing that would be causing BIG delays. I don't think Hybrids are causing BIG HOV delays. But again, what are we to do about this situation? If you keep the Hybrid exception, then it's an option that people have to eliviate some of their commute time up and down the Rt. 95 corridor. If you take that away, then you're adding to their commute time and in some instances, will force people out of the metro area.