In This Issue

	300 Ticketed for Misusing HOV Lanes
	Ohio Turnpike Controversy
	Va. Gov. will hear Rail Option
	U.S. 59 Price Jumps in Douglas County
	Fl. Candidates Split over Gas Tax, Impact Fee
	Former DOT Secretary joins ICx Technologies Board
	Washington Rail Faces Growing Pains
	NC Rail Project Gives Up on Federal Funding
	ITD Transportation Director Resigns
	Rail Tunnel Dispute Raises Bigger Question

300 Ticketed for Misusing HOV Lanes

Washington State Patrol troopers are cracking down on carpool lane cheaters on State Route 520, where the HOV minimum is three occupants per car, instead of the usual two. Since July 7, 413 HOV lane violators were pulled over, and 306 tickets were issued at $101 a piece.

Officers had been receiving complaints from motorists who were sick of seeing cheaters speed past them. "It's well-posted and marked, and we get a lot of complaints about it," State Patrol spokeswoman Trooper Kelly Spangler said. "These are folks who are stuck in traffic because they don't have the right number of people, and they see people cheating. People call, and rightfully so."

In this particular stretch of 520, drivers have to merge into the fast-moving HOV lane, then slow down and turn on their blinker to merge into the congested general purpose lanes. Motorists who are unfamiliar with the road, as cars are speeding around them, just stay illegally in the HOV lane.

Troopers emphasize that the patrol should be an educational experience for drivers. They issued 47 warnings in July, and 40 more this month, as of August 15. The patrol is planned through the end of August, but could be extended if necessary.

Ohio Turnpike Controversy

Ohio - One candidate for Ohio governor is pushing to lease the Ohio turnpike to a private company. Republican Ken Blackwell wants Ohio out of the turnpike business, and says it would bring billions of dollars to the state.

The tolls from the millions of vehicles that travel the turnpike each year pay to operate the road system, and the toll rates are determined by a commission.

Blackwell says leasing the road could raise up to $6 billion, which could be used to develop businesses, support education, and fund projects like developing clean energy.

Some local democrats disagree with the gubernatorial candidate, saying the idea would cost the state in the end. Indiana and Illinois made billions by leasing their toll roads to foreign companies, but the new private owners have increased their tolls.

Critics fear the increase in tolls would drive the truckers off the turnpike and onto city streets, ruining local roads and increasing traffic. They are also concerned that mismanagement of the turnpike by the private company will lead to a substandard road system.

Blackwell says low tolls and well maintained roads could be written into the contract with the new owner.

Let's put this myth about substandard performance on the part of the concessionaire. They are in the business to make money. They know that a poorly maintained facility will only chase away users and reduce their income. Look around the world and see how well maintained toll facilities are. These people are highly motivated to do well. TW

Va. Gov. will hear Rail Option

STAUNTON, Virg. - Virginia governor Tim Kaine is set to hear a rail solution plan Aug. 31 for the increasingly truck-congested Interstate 81. Rail Solution hopes to convince the state to delay accepting the state department of transportation's proposal to widen I-81 and install tolls until a study can be completed of an intermodal rail system stretching from Harrisburg, Penn. to Knoxville.

The group believes the system could take up to 60 percent of the trucks off a 500-mile section to reduce congestion on the overloaded interstate.

For now, the funding for improvements on I-81 should be used to fix the most dangerous spots on I-81 where the highest number of crashes occur, said Rail Solution Chairman Rees Shearer. He thinks the option was overlooked by VDOT in earlier studies, favoring a more expensive interstate expansion that would cost motorists in tolls and degrade the rural character of the valley.

So far, 47 counties, cities, towns, and planning organizations have voted in favor of studying the rail option before tolls and expansions on I-81.

U.S. 59 Price Jumps in Douglas County

Kans. - The Kansas Department of Transportation has reported the cost of building the new U.S. Highway 59 freeway through Douglas County is rising, thanks to the increasing construction and fuel costs.

The cost to build the four-lane highway in Douglas County has risen from $101.7 million to $136.9 million, according to Joe Blubaugh, KDOT's public affairs manager. The total cost for the project is now estimated at $235 million.

"We're also just getting better estimates," Blubaugh said. "As we design this and we get more and more information available to us, it gets easier and easier to get the right estimate."

The construction of the new freeway brings an end to the dangerous "at grade" intersections, like Baldwin Junction, the intersection of U.S. highways 59 and 56. This year three people have died in crashes at that intersection.

"This is a freeway," said Blubaugh of the new design for U.S. 59. "The only way you can access it will be an interchange."

Fl. Candidates Split over Gas Tax, Impact Fee

Flor. - The proposed $10,000 impact fee on new homes to help pay for the cost of an infrastructure to support them was unanimously agreed upon by candidates for a seat on the Nassau County Commission, save one Republican.

Mike Boyle (R) and Phil Scanlan (D) support it, while Republican Vickie Samus says impact fees are "antiquated," and the cost of growth should be offset in other ways. "I support developer fees and would like to eliminate impact fees," she said. "Affordable housing and impact fees can't meet in the middle."

Boyle said he supports the $10,000 impact fees because they aren't a hardship for a new buyer, and the fee is spread out over 30 years.

The majority of the candidates agreed they would retract the county's 5-cent gas tax, approved by the commission for Nassau County last year to pave existing roads. "I'd definitely repeal it," said Democrat Angie Hall. "It hurts consumers and small businesses, especially gas stations. It doesn't work here because no one buys gas here (in Nassau) when it's five to seven cents cheaper in Duval or Georgia."

Incumbent Republic Floyd Vanzant said he voted in favor of the gas tax last year and said he'd continue supporting it as long as it brought in the projected revenue.

I am struggling with the difference in outcomes from these two positions. Whether it is an impact fee or a developer fee there is only one person that is going to pay it-the purchaser of the property or home. TW

Former DOT Secretary joins ICx Technologies Board

Rodney Slater, former Virginia Transportation Department Secretary, has been appointed to the board of directors for ICx Technologies, which develops advanced technology for homeland and military security.

Slater headed the Federal Highway Administration between 1993 and 1997, and then became the DOT secretary from 1997 to 2001. He also served as a member and chairman of the Arkansas Highway Commission before working in the Clinton Administration.

Slater strengthened the federal government's commitment to intelligent transportation systems, and he coordinated highly praised responses to many natural disasters including the 1993 Midwest flooding, and the 1994 Northridge, Calif. earthquake, said Hans Kobler, president and chief executive officer of ICx.

Currently, Slater is a partner at James Lee Witt Associates, a crisis and emergency management consulting firm in Washington D.C., and a partner at the Patton Boggs law firm.

ICx is a manufacturer of advanced technologies, including surveillance products, that detect and identify chemical, biological, radiological and explosive materials.

Washington Rail Faces Growing Pains

SEATTLE - Commuters in Washington state are finding they can save time and money by taking Sounder Transit's four south-line trains between Tacoma and Seattle. Ridership has increased by fifty-percent in the last year, to an average of 5,800 rides per weekday, plus hundreds more on the weekends by Mariners and Seahawks fans.

For the first time in five years, Sounder is feeling growing pains. But as the park and ride lots run out of spaces in the mornings, the line is still only carrying half the riders predicted by politicians in 1996, when voters passed a regional ballot initiative to fund the mass transit.

Nine trains were scheduled to be operating in 2002, and stretching out to Lakewood in south Pierce County, but that line won't be completed until 2011. Sounder operations manager Martin Young predicts the south line will meet its goal of 10,200 to 14,000 trips per day a few years following the opening of the $809 million corridor, in the next decade.

The south line far surpasses the north line, which serves Everett, Edmonds and Seattle, which averages 720 rides each weekday. This may be because many Seattle workers live in communities along the south line, where more affordable housing is available.

NC Rail Project Gives Up on Federal Funding

The Triangle Transit Authority in North Carolina is giving up on its bid for federal funding to pay the majority of the proposed $810 million regional rail project. This is one of numerous setbacks the planned 28-mile, 12-station line has faced after hoping the federal government would supply 60 percent, or $486 million of the rail's total cost.

Authority leaders said in a press release they were not giving up on regional rail. "Doing nothing is not an option," said TTA Chairman of the Board Carter Worthy. "Anyone who drives on I-40 in rush hour can see there is a real need. Rail is an important component to the transportation and economic development plans for the Triangle."

TTA has been working for over a year to lock in a long-term federal funding commitment from the Federal Transit Authority, which gave the project a "low rating" in February because TTA's ridership and cost-effectiveness projections didn't meet the new FTA standards.

Close to $140 million in local, state and federal funds has already been spent on the rail project, and an additional $15 million to $20 million is tied up in previous contracts. 169 acres of land has also been bought or leased, representing 93 percent of the land needed of the line. TTA plans to continue collecting the five percent tax on rental cars to use for the regional rail project.

This is an interesting development and one that will probably be replicated around the country. While the prospect of federal funding is enticing, the probability of getting a substantial share is pretty small. The line for possible New Starts funding goes down the street, around the corner and into the next county. Local solutions, without federal oversight are going to become more and more common. TW

ITD Transportation Director Resigns

Idaho - Idaho Transportation Department Director Dave Ekern announced his retirement last Thursday. Gov. Jim Risch appointed longtime director Dwight Bower as interim director while the state Board of Transportation searches for a new director. Bower headed the state's second largest department from 1993 to 2003.

Ekern said he is leaving to pursue "two potentially significant career opportunities," in the resignation letter he submitted to the seven-member board chaired by Risch appointee Frank Bruneel, a former state lawmaker.

The department manages $700 million a year in road spending and is in the planning stages of the $1.2 billion Connecting Idaho highways repair project. The agency has awarded two contracts worth $43 million so far, and has completed work in the designing phase of the first six projects for one of the state's largest infrastructure overhauls in history.

After leaving the department, Bower became a top executive in Boise's branch of H.W. Lochner, Inc., a transportation consulting company. While the state has several active contracts with the company, a transportation spokesman said Bower has severed his relationship with Lochner.

Ekern will stay on payroll until Aug. 25, exhausting his vacation time, and Bower will take over Sept. 5.

Rail Tunnel Dispute Raises Bigger Question

The debate over whether to build a Metrorail line below ground through Tysons corner in Virginia has brought a bigger issue to the table. Is it possible to turn the congested, outside office park of Tysons in Fairfax County into a lively, walkable downtown for Northern Virginia?

The decision of whether to build an underground or elevated track comes back to this dream and if it is worth risking the extension of the rail system to Washington Dulles International Airport.

If the tunnel is built for the four-mile Tysons stretch, it would further develop Fairfax County's attempts to create a pedestrian-friendly downtown, as Arlington created in its Rosslyn-Ballston corridor along a Metro line.

Critcs agree that the underground line may be preferable, but say the additional costs and time for the $4 billion project would be higher than tunnel supporters say. Top congressional sponsors of the line say delays and cost increases associated with the tunnel could threaten the 23-mile line to Dulles.