To the Editor
<bt>Maybe you can convince the candidates for local offices to respond to my questions below via your newspaper:
All I want is straight answers and facts. How will you attack the traffic congestion problems in the short term? If you can't address this issue, I know several people that have solid ideas about what to do. For example, why oh why should one expect to be in bumper-to-bumper traffic at 1 p.m. on a Saturday afternoon on Route 66? Or why should one expect to be in rush hour traffic in D.C. or Northern Virginia at 7 p.m. on a weekday? What are your proposals to address these issues ?
I have read about many of the proposed solutions to the traffic problems that Northern Virginia residents face. However, many of these plans are very long-term solutions (e.g., rail to Reston by 2008 and on to Dulles Airport by 2013). These plans may be very solid and comprehensive, but they don't help relieve the congestion problems in a timely manner. What short-term (three to five years) solutions do you propose for our traffic woes? How will these solutions be funded, and do you feel that Northern Virginia residents and state/local government officials will approve of them? If you don't think these parties will approve of them, why not? What are the stumbling blocks?
John Sweeney
Vienna