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Loudoun supervisors ask for study on Dulles Greenway incremental tolling Monday, Jul. 11 by Crystal Owens | 7 comments | Email this story 0ShareLoudoun supervisors on July 6 agreed to ask a task force formed to study the Dulles Greenway to also examine in
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Date: July 14, 2011 10:06AM
Loudoun supervisors ask for study on Dulles Greenway incremental tolling
Monday, Jul. 11 by Crystal Owens
http://www.loudountimes.com/index.php/news/article/loudoun_supervisors_asks_for_study_on_dulles_greenway_incremental_tolling/
Loudoun supervisors on July 6 agreed to ask a task force formed to study the Dulles Greenway to also examine incremental tolling for the 14-mile road.
County Administrator Tim Hemstreet, who was tapped by the Virginia Department of Transportation to serve on the task force, posed the question to supervisors just before the group was set to start its first meeting.
The group, the Dulles Greenway User Interface Task Force, was created in February by VDOT at the request of U.S. Rep. Frank Wolf (R-10th), a longtime critic of the privately-owned road.
The task force’s goal is to examine ways to make the road more user-friendly and address increasing toll prices.
The Dulles Greenway, owned by the Australian company, Macquerie Group, is considered one of the most expensive toll roads in the country.
The price for two-axle vehicles has increased 400 percent since it opened 15 years ago. Base tolls are now as high as $4.50.
One of Wolf’s biggest complaints about the Dulles Greenway is that motorists don’t know how much they must pay to use the road. He wants signs placed at its entrances that inform users of the costs.
But Loudoun supervisors for years have talked about how incremental tolling would ease motorists’ complaints about its price.
Right now, users pay the same amount regardless of how far they travel on the road.
“We need to work with the Greenway to get them to do the incremental tolls and distance tolling, and I’m not sure the signage is going to help with that,” said Supervisor Andrea McGimsey (D-Potomac).
Residents who live near the Dulles Greenway are aware of what they must pay to use the road, supervisors said.
Instead, the task force should be focusing more on ideas that could help motorists’ wallets, they said.
Government leaders have argued that the toll road should be taking vehicles on some of Loudoun’s congested roadways, such as Waxpool Road, but instead is adding to the gridlock because motorists don’t want to pay the high toll prices.
However, some supervisors said the task force would do little to change how the Dulles Greenway operates.
The Virginia State Corporation Commission regulates the Dulles Greenway and sets its authorized returns, meaning it’s the only entity that can force the company to lower its prices.
“We don’t need a committee. We don’t need anyone to tell us that [incremental tolling] is a good idea,” said Supervisor Stevens Miller (D-Dulles). “We know it’s a good idea. The problem is the legislature won’t require the Greenway to do it.”
Miller called the task force “an exercise in spinning our wheels.”
“I don’t see why we should be involved,” he said.
Monday, Jul. 11 by Crystal Owens
http://www.loudountimes.com/index.php/news/article/loudoun_supervisors_asks_for_study_on_dulles_greenway_incremental_tolling/
Loudoun supervisors on July 6 agreed to ask a task force formed to study the Dulles Greenway to also examine incremental tolling for the 14-mile road.
County Administrator Tim Hemstreet, who was tapped by the Virginia Department of Transportation to serve on the task force, posed the question to supervisors just before the group was set to start its first meeting.
The group, the Dulles Greenway User Interface Task Force, was created in February by VDOT at the request of U.S. Rep. Frank Wolf (R-10th), a longtime critic of the privately-owned road.
The task force’s goal is to examine ways to make the road more user-friendly and address increasing toll prices.
The Dulles Greenway, owned by the Australian company, Macquerie Group, is considered one of the most expensive toll roads in the country.
The price for two-axle vehicles has increased 400 percent since it opened 15 years ago. Base tolls are now as high as $4.50.
One of Wolf’s biggest complaints about the Dulles Greenway is that motorists don’t know how much they must pay to use the road. He wants signs placed at its entrances that inform users of the costs.
But Loudoun supervisors for years have talked about how incremental tolling would ease motorists’ complaints about its price.
Right now, users pay the same amount regardless of how far they travel on the road.
“We need to work with the Greenway to get them to do the incremental tolls and distance tolling, and I’m not sure the signage is going to help with that,” said Supervisor Andrea McGimsey (D-Potomac).
Residents who live near the Dulles Greenway are aware of what they must pay to use the road, supervisors said.
Instead, the task force should be focusing more on ideas that could help motorists’ wallets, they said.
Government leaders have argued that the toll road should be taking vehicles on some of Loudoun’s congested roadways, such as Waxpool Road, but instead is adding to the gridlock because motorists don’t want to pay the high toll prices.
However, some supervisors said the task force would do little to change how the Dulles Greenway operates.
The Virginia State Corporation Commission regulates the Dulles Greenway and sets its authorized returns, meaning it’s the only entity that can force the company to lower its prices.
“We don’t need a committee. We don’t need anyone to tell us that [incremental tolling] is a good idea,” said Supervisor Stevens Miller (D-Dulles). “We know it’s a good idea. The problem is the legislature won’t require the Greenway to do it.”
Miller called the task force “an exercise in spinning our wheels.”
“I don’t see why we should be involved,” he said.