Coalition for Smarter Growth, Southern Environmental Law Center, Piedmont Environmental Council, Sierra Club – Virginia Chapter, Arlington Coalition for Sensible Transportation

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 29, 2016

CONTACT
Stewart Schwartz, Coalition for Smarter Growth, (703) 599-6437
Trip Pollard, Southern Environmental Law Center, (804) 318-7484

RICHMOND, VA — Today, several smart growth, transportation reform, and conservation groups reemphasized their support for the McAuliffe administration’s proposal to improve traffic flow along I-66 inside the Beltway, in response to a letter a group of state legislators recently sent Virginia’s Secretary of Transportation voicing their opposition to the plan.

“We understand the concerns of legislators and constituents about the tolls, but the Governor’s package of solutions is many times more effective than the widening those legislators are pressing, and it represents both a progressive and a fiscally conservative approach to a major transportation problem,” said Stewart Schwartz, Executive Director of the Coalition for Smarter Growth.

“VDOT’s analysis of the congestion reduction benefits of various projects found that the administration’s proposal to open the HOV lanes to all drivers while charging a toll for single-occupant vehicles, and using the toll revenue to fund transit, strategic widening, and carpooling improvements along I-66 would be six times more effective than widening alone. It would move 40,000 more people through the corridor faster and more reliably,” said Trip Pollard, Director of the Land and Community Program of the Southern Environmental Law Center.

Under the current multi-jurisdictional agreement, widening would be considered after the tolling, carpools and transit are given an opportunity to work and their effectiveness is fully evaluated.

“The problem with widening as the default response to every traffic problem, is that induced demand causes newly widened roads to fill up again in as little as five years,” said Schwartz. “I expect that to happen even more quickly on I-66, as the bottleneck gets pushed to a new location. Besides, where do additional cars go as they try to exit onto local streets in Arlington or Constitution Avenue in DC? We need a demand management solution, and that’s what the Governor’s package provides.” Studies in 2005, 2009, and 2012 built toward the 2015 proposal. All determined that a widening-only approach wouldn’t work very well.

Tolls on I-66 will make it possible for  single-occupant drivers to use the lanes, and dynamic congestion-pricing will ensure that carpools, transit, and single-occupant vehicles are guaranteed a minimum speed of 45 mph through the corridor, ensuring trips are faster and more reliable.

“The revenues from the tolls will also provide as much as $10 million per year to provide increased commuter bus service and rail cars needed for 8-car trains on Metro’s  orange line, helping even more people to move through the corridor to get to jobs,” said Douglas Stewart, Transportation Chair for the Sierra Club – Virginia Chapter. “It’s important for the legislators to recognize that increased transit service represents capacity expansion that is more efficient, effective and sustainable over the long-term.”

The Coalition for Smarter Growth is the leading organization in the Washington DC region dedicated to making the case for smart growth. Its mission is to promote walkable, inclusive, and transit-oriented communities, and the land use and transportation policies and investments needed to make those communities flourish. Learn more at smartergrowth.net.

The Southern Environmental Law Center is a regional nonprofit using the power of the law to protect the health and environment of the Southeast (Virginia, Tennessee, North and South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama). Founded in 1986, SELC’s team of over 60 legal experts represent more than 100 partner groups on issues of climate change and energy, air and water quality, forests, the coast and wetlands, transportation, and land use. Learn more at SouthernEnvironment.org.

Since 1972, the Piedmont Environmental Council has proudly promoted and protected the natural resources, rural economy, history and beauty of the Virginia Piedmont. Learn more about the Piedmont Environmental Council at pecva.org.

The Virginia Chapter of the Sierra Club is 15,000 members strong. We are your friends and neighbors working to build healthy, livable communities, and to conserve and restore our natural environment. Learn more at sierraclub.org/virginia.

 The Arlington Coalition for Sensible Transportation has campaigned for a ‘wiser, not wider’ I-66 inside the Beltway since 1999.  Learn more at acstnet.blogspot.com.        

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                     
September 11, 2015                                                                                      

Contact:
Stewart Schwartz, CSG, 703-599-6437

NORTHERN VIRGINIA – Coalition for Smarter Growth Executive Director Stewart Schwartz said today that the Virginia Department of Transportation’s package of solutions for I-66 inside the Beltway – including rush hour tolling – is the most efficient and cost-effective way for Northern Virginia resident to improve traffic and provide more reliable commutes on one of the region’s major arteries.

Noting the concerns heard from some outer-jurisdiction legislators in Virginia, Schwartz also said that the proposed toll prices are fair and even cheaper in comparison with the total cost of other transportation options in the region, such as parking at an end-of-the line Metro station and riding in to DC or driving on the newly opened 495 HOT lanes.

“We believe that the package of solutions proposed by VDOT is the most cost-effective and efficient approach to addressing I-66 congestion as soon as possible, and for maximizing the number of people who can commute through the corridor during rush hour, while also guaranteeing a much more reliable trip for everyone,” said Stewart Schwartz, Executive Director of the Coalition for Smarter Growth.

VDOT’s package of solutions to growing congestion on I-66 inside the Beltway is based on variable tolling in both directions for single-occupant vehicles during the morning and evening rush hour periods. Two-person carpools would travel for free, and when I-66 converts to three-person carpools, they would travel free. Outside of rush hours, the highway would be free for all users.

The toll revenue would be publicly owned and used for transit, road and other improvements in the corridor, benefiting all users including drivers. Preliminary estimates by VDOT indicate a peak toll during the most congested times of $8 to $9 inbound in the morning/outbound in the evening, and $1 to $3 outbound in the morning/inbound in the evening.

“We’ve checked comparable pricing for Metro in the corridor and the peak tolls on the privately controlled 495 and 95 HOT lanes,” said Schwartz. “We found that the potential highest tolls on I-66 inside the Beltway are competitive and reasonable. They’re also a much better deal that the public is receiving with the 495 and 95 HOT lanes, because public ownership allows us to invest the revenues in express buses and other transit services that will further improve conditions for those who drive.”

Toll and Metro Comparisons:

• VDOT estimate of peak toll on I-66 inside the Beltway: $9.00 (.94 cents per mile for 9.6 miles)
• Metro from Vienna to Metro Center: $10.30 (includes parking $4.85 + Metrorail peak fare $5.45)
• Metro from W. Falls Church to Metro Center: $8.95 (includes parking $4.85 + Metrorail peak fare $4.10)
• I-495 HOT lanes, “maximum dynamic toll” to date: $15.05 ($1.08 per mile for 14 miles; equates to $10.37 on I-66)
• I-95 HOT lanes, “maximum dynamic toll” to date: $20.90 (.72 cents per mile for 29 miles; equates to $6.91 on I-66) 

Sources: 1) WMATA and 2) Transurban data from March Quarter 2015 .Transurban’s quarterly report includes   the “maximum dynamic toll” for that period. To get the numbers above, we have assumed the “maximum dynamic toll” was applied to a vehicle traveling the entire length of the respective HOT lanes.

VDOT’s Proposal for I-66 inside the Beltway

• High-Occupancy Toll (HOT) lanes will operate in both directions, but only be in effect during peak hours (am/pm). Carpools will not pay tolls. HOV2 will convert to HOV3 when the HOT lanes are opened outside the Beltway.
• Unlike other northern Virginia HOT lane projects, the I-66 inside the Beltway HOT lanes will be publicly-owned. So, instead of net toll revenues going to private profits, they will fund transit to move more people, more quickly, further reducing congestion.
• Transit investments could include Metro railcars for 8-car trains, and buses on I-66, Route 50 and Route 29.
• Investments could also be made in pedestrian and bicycle connections to transit stations and work destinations.
• Road widening from the Beltway to Ballston, but not beyond, could be considered in the future, but not before determining whether the HOT, HOV, and transit package have done the trick.

The Coalition for Smarter Growth supports the proposal for these additional reasons:

• The package of HOT, HOV, and transit can be implemented much faster, and at much less cost than widening.
• The alternative of road widening, particularly through the narrow I-66 corridor between Ballston and the Roosevelt Bridge, would cost hundreds of millions of dollars and result in years of traffic delays during construction, if it were even feasible.
• Unlike widening, this solution will not impact homes, neighborhoods, parks, and the heavily used commuter bike trail.
• Unlike widening, which would simply attract more cars that in turn would crowd connecting streets from Constitution Avenue out to the Beltway, this package would provide funding to expand and encourage more transit use and carpooling.
• While some have worried the tolls might divert cars to other corridors, the option to pay a toll for a faster single-occupant trip on I-66 could instead shift cars back to I-66 (i.e. those who use parallel roads during rush hour today because I-66 is both congested and currently limited to carpoolers in at least one direction).

“The VDOT proposal is a creative and fair approach that will maximize benefits for all commuters in the most cost effective and efficient manner. We are confident that if it is looked at objectively, it is the best approach for I-66 inside-the-Beltway, providing congestion relief much sooner and at far less cost than widening, moving far more people and doing so much more reliably,” concluded Schwartz.

About the Coalition for Smarter Growth
The Coalition for Smarter Growth is the leading organization in the Washington DC region dedicated to making the case for smart growth. Its mission is to promote walkable, inclusive and transit-oriented communities, and the land use and transportation policies and investments needed to make those communities flourish.  Learn more at smartergrowth.net.

Please note: this version corrects an error in an earlier version which had reversed the toll amounts for I-495 and I-95. That error has been corrected.

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