Submit your comments against I-66 widening
Photo by digitaldefection on Flickr.
Tomorrow (Wednesday) is the last day to submit written comments to VDOT about their proposed widening of I-66 in Arlington. To comment, click this email link.
Here are some reasons to oppose the widening:
Induced demand. Whenever you widen a freeway, some people who aren’t choosing to drive will drive. Some people will choose to move to exurban locations instead of closer-in areas. We’ll end up with more VMT, more pollution, and more traffic in DC.
Environmental laws. As Michael P wrote, VDOT’s legal rationale for skipping the Environmental Impact Statement is flawed. They say that these are “spot improvements” that will have no impact. But 4.3 miles is more than a “spot,” and the law requires an EIS for changes that could create induced demand, which this will.
It may not move more cars. Even if you accept VDOT’s goal of moving more private automobiles, as Geof Gee learned at the public meeting, VDOT lacks the ability to model increased accidents due to weaving or other effects. While the widening may increase the normal capacity of the freeway, if increased accidents sometimes disrupt the flow, then we could end up with a slower-moving freeway than we have now.
No transit or HOV options. According to widening opponents Wiser Not Wider, VDOT hasn’t considered other alternatives that previous reports recommended. Their 2005 Idea-66 study recommended expanded HOV hours or tolls as other solutions to congestion, but VDOT has ignored these. They haven’t considered adding a third lane but reserving it for express buses only, or adding shoulder for buses and emergency vehicles, as other cities have done.
I think the widening is a bad idea altogether. But even if you aren’t so sure, Michael P’s argument about EIS laws is very persuasive. We can’t have government agencies simply asserting that a change will have no impact and moving forward without enough analysis.
Please email VDOT and ask them to follow the legal process of an EIS, and to seriously consider better options than more private vehicle moving lanes, options that could move more Virginians in a more sustainable way.