And I *like* light rail as a solution. (over 8-lane freeways, anyway)

MEw

For most Vuhjinyens “Northern Virginia” refers to the area roughly north of Rt. 234 and west of Rt. 15.

Back in the 40′s my grandfather ran a dairy farm a mile outside of Oakton. Its changed since then.

And I’ll NEVER EVER again book a plane that leaves out of Dulles between 7 and 10 am.

I’m getting nauseous just thinking about it.

I live in Loudoun, for the past 12 years. Moved from south Arlington, probably only a few blocks from where you now live (we were on south 22nd street). I worked in Sterling, VA at the time, and made the reverse commute, much like you are doing today. While I’ll admit it’s been a long time since I made that drive, making the reverse commute, either by bus, or by your own vehicle, is far better, less aggravating and takes less time.

Not long after I moved out here, I took a new job with my present company, who at the time were based in DC on Vermont Ave. I tried all options…I tried the commuter bus, I tried the Herndon Park and Ride (with bus service to Falls Church metro), and the problem was the same. My family was back in Loudoun, and once I committed to the bus, I was trapped in DC without a return option that would take less than 2 hours. The buses, for all of their value, are stuck in the same traffic you would be in if you drove your own vehicle.

This is why even with the mass transit options you mention, most folks who live out our way drive their cars. And even that has its limitations, because I-66, which is the main thoroughfare into DC, is HOV west bound from 3:30-6:30PM. So you either have to leave your office in the middle of the afternoon, or stay there until 6:15 or so, which doesn’t get you home until 7:30PM or later.

Now, I am in no way suggesting that the metro is perfect, and would solve all of these issues. But it would be nice to have an option that required you to park your car, get on the train and get downtown, rather than having to perform a mini-version of planes, trains and automobiles every day.

Is that worth the proposed tax increase? Perhaps not. But I will say this…Loudoun has passed so many other tax increases over the years, for things that benefit the few rather than the many. Those sorts of things passed with flying colors. Now we are faced with something that may actually benefit the greater population, and the caterwauling is deafening.