Transportation Solutions
As high gas prices, traffic congestion, strain on the state budget and concerns about pollution prompt widespread calls for change, PEC supports a new transportation vision for Virginia.
VDOT gave plans for the Charlottesville Western Bypass an F. So why spend half a billion dollars on it?
September 23, 2011 PEC Press Release
Infrastructure that serves existing population centers is left to languish, while roads that would lead to speculative development in rural areas go up at great expense. This is the opposite of the way we should be prioritizing.
September 8, 2011. PEC and SELC Joint Press Release
The Outer Beltway around DC and the Charlottesville bypass are both demonstrably bad ideas and wastes of public money--which is why road proponents are sneaking around the public process to push them forward.
The Western Bypass is a quarter-of-a-billion dollar road project that VDOT studies show wouldn't relieve congestion. All the same, proponents are pushing hard for state funding.
Once again, pro-development forces are pushing for an Outer Beltway around the DC suburbs, which could cost billions, spread sprawl, and take away local control.
Learn more about this costly and unjustified road proposal in a May 2011 PEC email alert and use the Take Action links to write to the Governor!
Find out more about the severely flawed transportation legislation being considered by the General Assembly in this Feb 10, 2011 PEC email alert.
VDOT is proposing a new road called The Tri-County Parkway, proposed for land in Prince William and Loudoun Counties. The road would also go through the Manassas National Battlefield Park. Read more about the project and how it will damage parkland.
The Albemarle County Board of Supervisors appears poised to adopt the Places29 plan --learn more about a controversial Growth Area Expansion that some members of the Board are trying to include.
VDOT proposed to widen four roads through the Piedmont. So far, push-back from citizens has gotten two of those proposals off the books.
July 23, 2010. PEC and CSG Joint Press Release.
PEC has retained the services of a national expert on access management to help Fauquier County improve traffic flow on Route 29 from Warrenton to Prince William County.
Read our March 8, 2010 email alert about a last-minute General Assembly bill that would have diverted tax revenue to pay bonuses for private road developers. Ultimately, the bill failed to reach the House floor.
During the week of April 12th, 2010, PEC hosted Ian Lockwood, a nationally renowned transportation engineer and designer, who initiated a community discussion on the future of the Rt. 22/231 corridor.
OPPOSE: This General Assembly bill would divert limited resources away from projects that would help reduce congestion in Northern Virginia. (UPDATE: Good news, this bill failed to report out of committee on a 2-5 vote)
VDOT has released a preliminary blueprint for the Rt. 29 Corridor. While some of VDOT's recommendations have merit, others would, if built, fuel even more of the low density sprawl that has created transportation problems in the first place.
Loudoun is in the process of updating the Countywide Transportation plan to lay out a strategy for the orderly construction, maintenance, and improvement of the transportation system. Learn more about the plan & weigh in on transportation options.
When planning is dysfunctional, the connection between land use and transportation works to our downfall, but we can make it work to our benefit.
Piedmont roads take us through some of the country's most historic landscapes, but their future is uncertain. Read this article to learn how PEC saved a gateway at Gilbert's Corner, saw the Rt 50 traffic calming project to fruition, and more.
PEC is an active partner in Reconnecting Virginia, which offers transportation strategies based on wise spending and positive land use solutions.
PEC partners closely with the Coalition for Smarter Growth, which advocates for a full range of transportation options and for land-use decisions that will encourage efficient transportation patterns in and around DC.
Newspaper, TV, and radio reports on the transportation issues affecting our quality of life, environment, and rural heritage.
Learn more about transportation solutions from these web resources.
September 20, 2011 PEC Press Release
Learn about current issues and solutions with freight and passenger rail.
