Category: Transportation
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Metro is at the Precipice. Declare Bankruptcy.
By Derrick Max Tuesday, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) warned that without substantially greater subsidies from DC, Maryland, and Virginia, they would be facing a $750 million annual shortfall that would require draconian cuts in services, including closing 10 stations, cutting 67 bus lines, and laying off 2,000 employees. They would also freeze…
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Factoid of the Day: Speeding in Virginia
Virginia has the third highest rate of fatal crashes in which someone was driving faster than the speed limit or too fast for road conditions, according to personal injury law firm Heninger Garrison Davis in an analysis of National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) data. Virginia recorded 906 fatal crashes; speed figured as a factor…
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Virginia’s Forced Technology Hits a Speed Bump
by Bill O’Keefe The Virginia General Assembly, as a result of past Democrat control, has mandated through the Clean Economy Act and a 2021 law a low-emission and zero-emission motor vehicle program for model year 2025 and beyond. In the process it has demonstrated the folly of using technology to force through large subsidies, as…
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One of My Pet Peeves
by Dick Hall-Sizemore State law exempts from registration fees trucks, trailers, and other motor vehicles, used solely for farm purposes either on highways near a farmer’s land or for hauling farm products to market (see here and here). This is one of the most abused Code provisions. The picture above was taken in my…
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Gas Taxes, EV Fees Will Rise Again July 1
by Steve Haner Virginia motor fuel taxes will rise again July 1, to just over 39 cents per gallon on gasoline and just over 40 cents per gallon on diesel. This will be the second automatic increase in gas taxes since the 2020 General Assembly voted to index the gas tax to inflation.
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RVA 5×5: Valet Parking
by Jon Baliles There was a lot of talk and coverage this week about the City of Richmond’s Planning Commission unanimously approving the removal of parking minimums citywide with the full City Council expected to take the matter up at its meeting Monday night. The ordinance as written would allow developers to decide how much…
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Snow Day in April: Something in the Water
by Kerry Dougherty When the first Something in the Water Festival came to Virginia Beach in 2019, some lemon-sucking locals balked at allowing school buses to be used to transport revelers from satellite parking to the resort area. How will bus drivers be able to drive festival goers until 11 p.m. on Sunday and be…
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Planes, Planes, Planes, and Some Space Ships
by Dick Hall-Sizemore Friday afternoon I visited the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum at Dulles Airport, officially known as National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center. It has been on my list of places to visit for a long time. If you haven’t been, I heartily recommend it. As with anything the…
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Maglev & Light Rail: Once-Shiny Objects Now Tarnished By Reality
by Kerry Dougherty Gosh. It isn’t often the local newspaper provides two examples of “shiny object stupidity” in one week. But The Virginian-Pilot delivered. On Wednesday the newspaper quietly reported on the absolute demise of the failed maglev system at Old Dominion University. That’s magnetic levitation technology for those of you who weren’t around here…
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Virginia Rail Safety Inspections
by James C. Sherlock After the Ohio disaster, it is timely to review rail safety in Virginia. The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) of the U.S. Department of Transportation is the federal rail safety regulator in cooperation with state authorities. FRA’s Office of Railroad Safety employs 400 railway inspectors. Federal safety management teams are organized by…
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Coal in Virginia
by James C. Sherlock When we talk of coal today, which is seldom, it is usually not treated well. It is easy to forget (if some even know) that coal powered the industrial revolution, made America the richest nation in the world and fueled American war production that supported allied victories in both world wars…
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Potpourri
WEAPONS AT AIRPORTS It has long amazed and puzzled me that people think they can get away with taking guns and other weapons onto airplane flights. On Monday, a woman was caught at the Richmond airport with a loaded .380 caliber handgun in her carry-on bag. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) reports that, as of…
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Is This a Wise Expenditure or Not?
A news release from the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission touts the the fact that it’s Commuter Choice transit program, funded by tolls on the Interstate 66, Interstate 94 and Interstate 395 corridors, has eliminated 3.5 million single-occupancy vehicle trips over five years. Wow, 3.5 million trips sounds significant. But, wait. That’s only 700,000 trips per…