Electile Dysfunction (Current students plz look!)

[Steve85]

Well and not only that, but I'd say that a toll hurts the blue collar worker less than a fuel tax. The first proposal was a regional fuel tax which absolutely would have disproportionately impacted the lower income folks, whereas here you pay your 30 dollars (just a single carton of cigs, y'all) and then you can drive all you want on 81 all year.

I don't like it but I like it better than my gas being a nickel more a gallon until the end of fucking time.

And this is where I am on this. I'm on 81 a lot, but generally only a few miles at time. And some of the worst few, with two lanes through all the Winchester exits. I feel like a fuel tax would be like having a toll on all the roads I frequent. 

I'm not sure how much it would impact traffic patterns in the short term, I can't see the Winchester folks that work in Martinsburg jumping on 11 to avoid $30/yr. I could see some of the Winchester folks using 11 to get to the industrial parks in Clear Brook and just across the WV border which would put them on 11 right outside our neighborhood making it even harder to get out. We can forget about it if there is accident on 81, 11 gets completely jammed.

They have made some improvements along our stretch of 81, mainly in the way of improved access ramps but several still need work. It is dangerous to have trucks climbing up to the ramp to the highway unable to accelerate and such short acceleration lanes. And a lot of them are also overweight making them less safe, apparently JB Hunt has a local lawyer on retainer to handle all the tickets they get at the weigh station just north of the 66 interchange.

And yeah, everywhere you look, it's poor planning and not requiring developers to do shit. I was talking to a friend who is involved with all the county planning commissions and what not about a road that is supposed to connect our neighborhood with the north 81 / 37 / 11 exchange area. Apparently it's cheaper for the developer to "hold the bond" (not sure exactly what that means, but gathered they are paying something as a penalty for not building the road) than build the road...so they don't. They just stretch it a half mile or so every year to feed a new development area.