LTE: Board Must Consider Impacts of Metro
One reader questions whether the county will sacrifice needs for uncertain return on rail project.
An open letter to our Loudoun County Board of Supervisors:
I place my trust in you, my Board of Supervisors. I expect all of you to step back from the rhetoric, step away from the politics and do what is best for all Loudoun County residents, not what’s best for the developers, who would benefit from higher home values. Residents would pay more for housing and more in taxes, even with a level tax rate.
Not what’s the best for the commercial landlords who either pass taxes through to the business owners leasing space in shopping centers or take write-offs on their tax returns for the vacancies. Commercial taxes hurt the small business owner and stifle their development or send them into bankruptcy.
Do what’s best for all Loudoun County residents. Look at the cost of building and maintaining rail. Build into your models funding for the schools and services needed for our future residents, who will be here long before rail begins service to Loudoun County. Factor in the infrastructure needed to support residents wanting to travel to and from rail.
The major arteries in Dulles and Ashburn are overly congested now and rail stations will create more traffic in those areas. The CTP suggests expanding bus service as rail moves closer to Loudoun but never states why Loudoun County should move from bus services to rail. The assumptions made about growth in the county are based on development around rail. That was the only option given to the consultants who developed the CTP.
Please step back and think of why rail with its enormous cost is necessary above all the other necessities and to the exclusion of some necessities. Think about what future budgets will look like when you are paying for rail that isn’t here yet–and it may never create the economic benefit to offset those costs.
Finally stop believing that development on this level is inevitable and therefore jumping into the deep end of the pool is the correct thing to do.
Please don’t bankrupt our county in the name of ‘progress.’
Thank you,
Shelley Huss
16-year resident of Ashburn
CC Mojo
11:37 am on Monday, June 4, 2012
Metro will alleviate traffic congestion.
Metro will benefit ALL residents of Loudoun through economic development.
Loudoun IS growing, will keep growing and needs transportation infrastructure now in order to keep up.
As a resident of Loudoun, and a small business owner, I am 100% FOR Metro to Loudoun.
Victoria Glenn
5:07 pm on Monday, June 4, 2012
Metro is what is in the best interest of the people of Loudoun County. Growth in the area is happening and it is in our best interest to have the public transportation in place to support it before it happens.
YES to metro!
Luisa
8:36 pm on Monday, June 4, 2012
When I moved here right off of route 50 15 years ago there was nothing out here in my community but a handful of townhouses and single family homes, a school, and a swimming pool. Now we have tons and tons of townhouses and single family homes, churches, multiple swimming pools, elementary schools, middle schools, high schools, restaurants, gas stations, banks, vets, grocery stores....you get the point. Just a couple mins down the road you see more of the same. We call that growth people. We call that progress. It happens. Keep up with it and YES! Please do what's best for ALL of Loudoun County and bring the metro out here!!
Bob Booey
8:46 pm on Monday, June 4, 2012
Using the Metro would actually help with the congestion, not make it worse. If there is a Merto station and people are using it then it means that there are cars that have been taken off of the road. I drive to the grocery store in Brambleton once a week i pass by three brand new large housing developments. we keep building and building more houses even in these hard times. Something has to be done in the form of mass transit. If you want to go east towards where most of where the jobs are there are three ways; Route 7, the Toll Road or Route 50. Two out of the three are always a wreck anytime of day, especially 50. As more of these developments are popping up more people are moving here. you cannot widen these roads anymore. The metro is the answer. Get cars off the road and get the Metro out to Loudoun!!!
abroderick
11:46 pm on Monday, June 4, 2012
The Metro will get cars off of congested roads, making traffic better. The Metro system has been proven to reduce the amount of traffic accidents because there are less people on the roads. This makes driving less stressful and less dangerous. Not to mention the fact that getting more commuters off of the roads means less of a carbon footprint. I welcome the Metro to Loudoun County.
MIke
11:24 pm on Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Wow. I'm amazed so many of my neighbors can have such little regard for facts, and financial disasters.
Metro will not be the magical traffic fix that you would like to believe... Unless you have traffic impact studies to prove that it will. Wait, what's that? You don't? No suprise there ...
36 year old, ashburn resident since 2003 urges the supervisors to not haphazardly waste our tax dollars on this project with no state or federal funds.
Vote NO to metro to Loudoun.