Editorial: Day Late, Dollar Short, Fairfax Times, September 7, 2012

Next week, Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority officials will play host to public hearings in Reston and McLean to get community input on proposed toll rate increases to support the construction of the Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project and improvements to the Dulles Toll Road.

Although Airports Authority officials deserve some credit for organizing the meetings, why they weren’t conducted three or four years ago — when Fairfax residents might have had a legitimate say in the scope of the project and how its gargantuan debt load is distributed.

A rocket scientist certainly isn’t needed to understand that unless people who represent toll road users have a seat at the table, an equitable solution to rail’s funding problems is unlikely. . .

. . . Under the current plan, Dulles Toll Road users will pay for 75 percent of Phase 2’s $2.8 billion price tag, a troubling formula that will dump thousands of cars on already congested side streets, as commuters attempt to save a couple hundred bucks per month and, just as important, negatively affect the local economy. It’s a safe bet that every extra dollar that goes into a toll basket is likely one that won’t be spent in a local restaurant or clothing store.

A central reason for the toll inequity has been the Airports Authority’s inability to keep toll increases in line with initial projections. . . .

Click here for the rest of this editorial. 

The editorial captures just about all the arguments RCA Reston 2020 has been making about the impact of increased tolls over the last four months:  reduced discretionary spending power of local families, added congestion to local roads, and a reduction in economic growth as families and businesses steer clear of the high transportation cost Dulles Corridor.