Concerning John Kelly’s March 15 Metro column, “In bruising Beltway battle, toll lane foes appear to win”:
Maryland
Opinion | Maryland residents won when a toll-lane plan failed
Kudos to the individuals of Maryland for getting Transurban to stroll away. Its costly, lopsided challenge would in the end yield little-to-no profit to Marylanders.
I not too long ago moved away from Northern Virginia, the place visitors is seemingly as dangerous because it has ever been. A considerate, multifaceted plan that might embrace toll roads would show far superior to the Transurban profit-oriented mannequin, and it will be a lot inexpensive to finish by means of conventional governmental challenge financing. Tolls can be decrease, and the challenge wouldn’t include income ensures and noncompete clauses that include many public-private partnership contracts.
Virginia is locked into a long time of such restrictions with Transurban, reminiscent of not being allowed to broaden Metro’s Orange Line for 10 years, little say over toll costs, and never with the ability to enhance secondary roads to ease visitors with out Transurban approval, plus state income subsidies if HOV riders are too quite a few. This interferes with native governmental autonomy to offer for residents and is opposite to the targets of an efficient transportation program.
I urge Marylanders to embrace this chance to construct an efficient plan for the brand new period. You’ve gotten dodged a bullet; the actual tragedy can be if Transurban returns.
Robert McGary, Glen Allen, Va.