Dear Friends,
Yesterday, Governor McAuliffe announced a state of emergency in the Commonwealth due to significant rainfall that is already causing flooding, with more rain and possibly a hurricane impacting our region over the next several days. Please take a moment to visit the Emergency Resources page on my website and make sure you and your family are ready!
Transportation is more than just a committee I serve on; it's probably the biggest issue of concern for all of us who live in this area. To give you an idea of the time and effort I put into solving our transportation crisis in Northern Virginia, I am finishing a 24-hour period in which I have attended three important events on this one issue.
Last night, I attended a Northern Virginia Transportation Alliance seminar on, "What You Need to Know About Regional Prosperity, Security, and Key Transportation Investments".
Transportation is a critical part of Emergency Preparedness; one of the topics of last night's seminar was the importance of considering national security and mass evacuation capacity in an emergency when evaluating transportation projects. This is a requirement for projects in Northern Virginia, but Gov. McAuliffe is trying to avoid this for the I-66 project. As a hurricane possibly heads our way and we pay outrageous tolls to sit in traffic congestion, I will keep fighting to make sure we prioritize projects that reduce congestion and increase safety and capacity.
This afternoon, I was out in the rain for a press conference opposing Gov. McAuliffe's plan to charge folks in our area an additional $17/day to get to and from work in Arlington or Washington D.C. to fund transit and pedestrian improvements without providing any new lane capacity and congestion relief for one of the busiest roads in the country.
Tonight, I am back in Arlington for our monthly meeting of the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission, where other officials and I consider policy and funding for Northern Virginia transit projects.
Be safe in the rough weather these next few days, and please contact me anytime if I can be of assistance. Please follow my Facebook and Twitter accounts for more frequent emergency updates (road closures, etc.).
Sincerely,
