Posted on 09/22/2009 6:25:53 PM PDT by seven.sixtwo
ARLINGTON, Va. - There's a new turn in the debate over high occupancy toll lanes or HOT lanes.
A lawsuit filed by Arlington County last month claims the lanes benefit wealthy white people and discriminates against minorities. While the only rule to get in the HOV lanes on Interstate 395 is you must have three people in the car, Arlington claims adding HOT lanes would cut out poor and minorities by defacto.
That claim doesn't sit well with Fairfax County Supervisor Pat Herrity (R-Springfield).
"I don't think race or class warfare has any standing in this argument," Herrity said.
Buried in the lawsuit filed last month, county attorneys argued the HOT lanes, "encourage and enable a financially-able, privileged class of suburban and rural, primarily Caucasian residents from Stafford and Spotsylvania counties operating single occupancy vehicles ("SOV") unimpeded access on toll lanes."
In other words, it benefits wealthy white people.
A few pages later, the suit claims the Federal Highway Administration and the Virginia Department of Transportation failed to do the proper environmental analysis and that "their actions also constituted civil rights violations as they discriminated against minority and low income communities."
Arlington County Chair Barbara Favola says the race issue only arose because the environmental review includes socioeconomic impact.
"It is not our intention to play a race card. I think that's a very divisive approach," Favola told FOX5.
Before filing the lawsuit, she says, the board never actually discussed race as a factor and that air quality has always been the chief issue. "We were concerned about everybody being affected by the project. We thought congestion was not going to be significantly reduced," Favola said.
Instead, the board believed the HOT lanes could increase traffic, making pollution even worse.
The discrimination claim may be shaky ground for Arlington. The latest U.S. Census numbers show Arlington's population is 80 percent white as of 2008 with a median household income in 2007 of $92,345. The percentage of whites was higher than Fairfax, Prince William, Stafford or Spotsylvania Counties, which are along the HOT lane corridor. Arlington was also wealthier than all but Fairfax County, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Supporters of HOT lanes say people focus too much on the tolls and forget the project also includes money to study bus rapid transit (BRT) and additional park and ride lots.
"Clearly minority and low income people could benefit because it provides an opportunity for car pooling and mass transit," Herrity said.
Even with HOT lanes, high-occupancy vehicles still drive free.
Before the lawsuit was filed, VDOT put the I-395/I-95 HOT lanes on hold because of financial difficulties and concerns in the community. But transportation officials have always said that's only temporary.
Originally found here: http://uniteordie.org/forum/showthread.php?t=5227
HA....I’d like nothing more than to GET RID OF HOV Lanes....if this is how it’s done...so be it!!! Ha...LIBS hoisted on their own petard!
I love it when I get to watch liberals eating their own.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2345860/posts
How’s this then: Only allow those people who have registered cars in their name and a valid driver’s license be allowed to carpool? Isn’t that the reason for those lanes? To get cars off the road?
As I said on a earlier thread, this is the illegal-sheltering Libtards in the People’s Republic of Arlington calling the Muslim-extremist-sheltering Libtards in the People’s Republic of Fairfax County racists. That is truly, truly funny.
It seems to be the Carpooling works for the minorities are the libtards saying minorities are too disorganized and stupid to carpool?
I don’t understand; we have minorities by me that have 4,872 in a car at a time.
On a serious note, when they were considering charging cars to drive around in lower Manhattan, I thought that reeked of class issues. The idea was shelved, but I never did find out why.
I guess it may have to do with paying tolls? Like the rich can afford to use the toll lanes while the poor and minorities have to use city and rural streets to get where they want .... but then it begs the question, how can they afford a car? And are there no middle class minorities???
Which makes no since. The rich travel alone, the less rich tend to travel in groups to take advantage of the HOV. Therefore, HOV is, if anything, prejudicial against the rich, regardless their race.
You have GOT to be kidding me... this is from the Onion, right?
These guys are HOT to trot and the lawyers are HOVering like vultures.
HOV lanes serve the interests of sociable Conservatives. There are no other considerations that need be made than that.
The judge who receives this case should follow the lead of Judge Land down in Georgia. I.e., he should levy a $10,000.00 fine against each of the plaintiffs’ lawyers for filing a frivilous suit.
Welcome to the “obamanation”.
Just rewrite the rules:
HOV Lane eligibility:
3 white people
2 brown people
1 black person
I’m not sure how to deal with 1 black and 2 whites in the car or maybe 1 white and one brown? And what about native peoples? Can we call them “redskins”? Where do they fit in? And Asian peoples? I forgot about them too. Probably no preferences for them. But what about us German - Canadians? This is so complicated (reaching for the Sierra Nevada Pale Ale).
If it were up to the Leftwingtards EVERYONE would have to ride motorcycles to use the Interstates.
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