19miles, 25minutes flat...
Posted on 01/06/2007 6:55:23 AM PST by iceskater
Your humble servant was asked to give a talk on transportation yesterday....
For instance, one might question the received wisdom that the Commonwealth faces a transportation crisis. Six years ago, according to AAA, the average daily commute to work in America was 25.5 minutes.... The average commute in 2006 actually has shrunk -- to 25.1 minutes. It's now 24 seconds shorter than it was six years ago. (Thanks to Jim Bacon of www.baconsrebellion.com for unearthing this datum.) And contrary to the agonizing screams of frustration that you hear from Northern Virginia, commuting times around Washington aren't that much longer -- about 8 minutes longer than the national average. The average commute time around Northern Virginia takes about as long as the average commute in Chicago. Even Prince William, with one of the longest commuting times in the nation -- 36.4 minutes -- is only a couple minutes worse off than the Windy City.
(Excerpt) Read more at timesdispatch.com ...
Reminds me of the manufactured budget crisis of M.Warner. Same song, different verse.
Richmond ping.
This guy gives so much data on the alleged transporation crisis.
Great info. Thanks.
The reason the average commute is around 30 minutes is because people choose places to live that pre-select for that figure.
As a personal example--the company that my wife works for is planning to move from their current location to one at greater distance--which would mean a "more than one hour" commute one way. As a result, we plan to sell our current house, and buy a new one closer to her new workplace--which will mean "about a half-hour" commute for both of us (instead of her current 25 minutes and my current 5 minutes).
This is great information. I will try to think about this while I'm sitting on the 14th Street Bridge headed for the 3rd Street tunnel driving on the worst-designed stretch of freeway in the world.
19miles, 25minutes flat...
Well my, admittedly ancedotal, evidence says the author needs to spend more time on 395 in the mornings. 45 minutes to 1.5 hours to go 18 miles is insanity.
I HATE that bridge. H A T E it.
First he said average commute.
Now, the two of you may not be calling for it. But I have little patience with NOVA-ers and folks from Hampton Roads calling for more money for transportation when in 2002 both regions soundly rejected sales tax increase referendums for transportation.
Thing is, I don't trust the governor and the state legislature to do what they say they're going to do with any tax increase that might be approved. We could approve a tax increase for highways and they are prefectly capable of turning around and using it to build free housing for illegal aliens, or something equally counterproductive instead of improving the roads.
Oh you're absolutely right they can't be trusted. If they could, they would have already found money for transportation in the already over-bloated budget.
If they wanted, they would have found the money. They don't want to. The dems don't want to because it makes the Repubs look bad. The repubs don't want to because they don't want to have the finger pointed at them for cutting someone's precious budget boondoggle. And Timmy boy has made the argument that it's either roads or schools, or a tax increase to do both. How about no tax increase and realign the budget?
Now that's a proposal I could really grap hold of.
Richmond, rush hour, Ha!
And that's supposed to mean...exactly what?
I didn't see anyone saying that traffic was worse in Richmond than it is in Nova or Hampton Roads.
Did I hear correctly that King Kaine wants to up the tax on new cars? Never mind the fact that Virginians already pay the equivalent of one extra car payment (or more) to get a new vehicle as we speak.
Kaine pontificates that he and his socialist party are "for the little guy", but he's attempting to tax all but the very rich out of affording a new car every 5 years or more.
But it’s a great excuse to raise taxes.
They quite properly rejected the tax hike, and they quite properly demand that Richmond give them THEIR MONEY instead of wasting it on downstate cow paths.
I have no problem with NOVA and HR advocating more money from the existing budget for transportation. I have a problem with those that say the state needs more money.
But FWIW, if you think I-81, Route 460, Route 360 and Route 58 (among others) are "cow paths," then you really need to get outside the Beltway more often.
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