Thank you!!!
This is exactly right, as I mentioned in a previous post. These toll increases WILL happen. They are already a done deal. These required "public hearings" are as minimally publicized as possible, and any Q & A is looked at as an unwelcome nuisance by the poom bahs who have a grip on all decision-making. And you thought this was a democracy?
The same holds true in spades of the virtually unpublicized "public hearings" related to plans to develop the Reston Town Center. You basically have a few people deciding the fate of future development, accompanied by their Master, Boston Properties. They are not REALLY seeking comments, but merely performing what to them is an required task. Karen, can you get a schedule of their future meetings published also? Thank you.

Then don't take the toll road. I dont understand the big deal. Take the metro, or the 40 other roads available around Reston Town Center.

The RCA is wrong if they question toll rates. There IS NOTHING that can be done with that, you are yelling at the wrong people. If you have problems with the toll rate then send comments to Bob "I Created all of this economy" McDonnell who is willing to spend 80 million for 1 specific project in Loudoun County, but only provides 150 million to the most important economic transportation project in the state of Virginia, maybe the mid atlantic.

The toll rates have to be what they have to be in order to get private bonds backed. You can't just get money from private sources for free you know. All of these RCA people (specifically Tammi) are biased over their undying opposition of "cost overruns".

The AUDIT which many thought would expose some underlying costing problem found absolutely NOTHING as far as this contract which would reduce the cost. The biggest cost impact it found was the lack of public funding driving up the cost artificially through financing.

If you want to be heard, you have to be educated. PS don't try to imply I am in any way involved with MWAA. I have no interest in anything to do with politics or airports, I am simply a person who likes both sides of a story.

Navid,
Point taken, but your perspective is a bit short sighted because it avoids the 500 pound elephant in the room. Which is the users of the toll road will be asked to bear a unfair portion of burden for financing the Silver Line. Also your proclamation of "don't take the toll road" is naive at best and does not take into consideration the consequences of an increased amount of traffic on local roads that are already dealing with large volumes of traffic.

So far, the decisions concerning the Silver Line have been made by people who have absolutely no interest in the impact of these decisions locally. They have treated the local citizenry, who will have to deal with the impact of their decisions, like a nuisance.

Perhaps you are in need of further education yourself, because you do seem to be naive at best or biased for some reason towards the NWAA by giving half truths about the situation.

The 'DTR users paying for Dullesrail' die was cast over five years ago when then Gov. Tim Kaine spearheaded giving the MWAA the authority to build the rail system, and more importantly, the authority to set DTR rates without any VA veto power.

Public opinion expressed at the September public hearings might have some impact if it were collectively large and critical enough. The RCA simply grousing and calling the MWAA "ethically challenged" and the hearings a "sham" is petty and will have no impact.

On the other hand, what might have an impact is if the RCA formed or were part of a coalition of like minded civic organizations, that presented a unified case against the current exorbitant toll plan. Coalition membership might start with as many of the Reston organizations as possible including the RA, RTC and cluster HOAs.

One voice, one message representing 100s or even 1000s of citizens could well be the seed to encouraging the MWAA , the Fairfax and Loudoun BOS, the state and perhaps even the Feds to come up with a new financing plan that does not jeopardize the completion of the Silver Line, but provides needed relief to DTR users.

Is it correct to say meetings that have not even taken place "are" a sham? Shouldn't you say "will be" a sham? Or more accurately; "we expect these meetings will be a sham"? RCA/Reston 2020 has a tendency to present future events/estimates/expectaions as factual and to use alarmist rhetoric bordering on demagogic to describe their crystal ball's view. I don't think that enhances the credibility of their organization. To the point: yes, I believe these meetings will fulfill some bureaucratic obligation to give the public an opportunity to complain on record; complaints that will have absolutely no impact on MWAA decisions about tolls.

Navid has a point. What's the MWAA supposed to do if the Commonwealth or the Fed won't pony up more cash? Are they supposed to slap some dollar bills on the photocopier and pay for it that way?

Look, there are lots of alternatives. Use other roads besides the DTR, for one. Reston managed to survive and even thrive before there was a DTR. Take the bus. Walk. Ride a bike. Find a job closer to home or telecommute. And if you're that wed to your job, then move closer to your work.

Navid and his supporters are not naive, they are plain wrong. A September 5, 1969 Supreme Court of Virginia ruling cited the relevant section of the WMATA Compact:

http://www.leagle.com/xmlResult.aspx?xmldoc=1969725169SE2d556_1711.xml&docbase=CSLWAR1-1950-1985
.
"Article VII, § 16, of the Compact declares as a policy that, "as far as possible, the payment of all costs shall be borne by the persons using or benefiting from the Authority's facilities and services, and any remaining costs shall be equitably shared among the federal government, the District of Columbia, and the participating local governments in the Zone." "

The WMATA Transit Service Agreement states .... that the Authority's engineering studies estimate that fare box receipts and other transit system revenues will be more than sufficient to pay debt service and reserves on the Authority's transit revenue bonds as well as to meet operating and maintenance expenses, but it is nevertheless considered that the financing of the transit system on favorable terms requires each of the political subdivisions to agree to make payments for services to be provided by such transit systems.

The capital costs of the first 103 miles of Metrorail, completed in 2001, ended up costing over $10 billion, rather than the $2.4 billion estimated in 1969. As soon as the Inside the Beltway crowd had taken money from US taxpayers and Fairfax County, the WMATA Board voted not to fund further Metrorail additions.

And that has what to do with MWAA? They are not the same thing. This is the same typical anti-transit, penny wise stuff that delays projects 20 years so that their cost end up being ballooned.

MWAA is not affiliated with WMATA. You are plain wrong because what you are quoting is irrelevant.

There are several legislative, judicial, and regulatory paths to stopping MWAA's DTR toll increases. If enough concerned citizens get involved, we can stop this abuse of toll road users. For more information, visit www.NoTOLLincrease.org or https://www.facebook.com/NoTollIncrease

There is no logical reason why the users of DTR should pay for Metro. It's pretty obvious that we who use it and continue to use it when the rates increase are not using Metro. This country needs to get back to what is fair in everything we do, not what is expedient or convenient. Some of us remember the promise that tolls would go away when the cost to build DTR was paid for. Then to add insult they are ruining our community in Reston with greedy and out of control development and now they have added a monthly fee for each toll pass - at least on that one I can get one from Delaware without no monthly fee. Bottom line is some of us are fed up, hoping the property values continue to rise long enough to find somewhere else to live and work besides this mess they are creating that we the taxpayers cannot seem to stop.

Navid, you live in a fantasy anti-autombile world. Enough of your drivvel. Dulles Toll Road users are being forced by an agreement for which no public hearing was ever held to contribute almost $1.3 billion of the projected Phase 1 $2.9 billion capital cost. The fed share is $900 million. Phase 1 tax district commercial land owners contributed only $400 million. Tysons residents have contributed $0.00 to Dulles Rail except their pro-rata share of Phase 1 federal and state contributions.

Restonians should know that Navid lives and works in Tysons Corner. He and most of his neighbors have little reason to care that we will pay $17 billion in tolls over the next 50 years so that he and his friends from DC and Arlington County can ride a subsidized rail project on the backs of Restonians.

The Kaine Administration gave away the Dulles Toll Road, a valuable state asset valued in 2008 at $3.52 billion, for no monetary consideration. Bob McDonnell inherited a huge mess. Agreed, he and most politicians, both Democrats and Republicans, have done little to help us.

If you think WMATA did not want Dulles Rail, please provide us the evidence. MWAA and its Dulles Rail partners have failed repeatedly to evaluate funding and financing alternatives. I have suggested a non-partisan oversight committee to evaluate options and propose solutions to this and other Dulles Corridor transportation needs

Navid's ideas are here:
http://greatergreaterwashington.org/nroshan/

Navid, in over one year my non-partisan oversight committee proposal has had no response from politicians. As to your claim that Tysons landowners will pay for a "significant portion of Route 7 improvements," how do you define significant? 10%, 20%, 30% of total costs? If adopted in accordance with Strawman III provisions, the proposed Tysons infrastructure implementation plan, particularly the circulator plan, will put Fairfax County taxpayers on the hook for vastly greater funding amounts than will be Tysons landowners. Some (most?) Tysons residential property owners want an exemption from any obligations to the proposed service tax district. Nuts!!

Have you ever looked at a map? Route 7 runs northwest-southeast; the Dulles Toll Road and Silver Line run east-west. As to suggesting that, compared to I-66, I-95, the Capital Beltway and Route 123, Route 7 "is a dream," when did you last travel Route 7 inbound in the morning peak period? The traffic nightmare will worsen next year when DTR tolls increase. Many more commuters will divert off Route 7 through Great Falls on Route 193, through McLean via Lewinsville Road, through Vienna via Beulah, Lawyers and Old Courthouse Road and other minor roads.

As to Route 7 improvements, the section being widened during the near term is inside Tysons Corner. Funding for widening Route 7 between Reston and Dulles Toll Road is still to be determined. VDOT is considering a transitway instead of an additional vehicular lane.

I have been actively involved in MWAA meetings and elsewhere on Dulles Rail issues for over a decade. As to "your complaints towards MWAA are without merit," my complaint is not with MWAA project management and engineers, some who I have known since 2005. Phase 1 is being completed on schedule and close to the amended $2.9 billion budget - with an excellent safety record.

The problem continues to be MWAA's Board, dominated by members who do not live in Virginia and are not accountable to Virginian taxpayers. The lack of public involvement was the plan of former Governor Tim Kaine and Mame Reiley, the MWAA Board Chairman in 2005 to 2007. The Dulles Corridor Advisory Committee is controlled by heavy rail boosting local politicians who have deliberately avoided asking tough questions about financing alternatives and rail ridership potential, revenues, costs and operating deficits to be paid by taxpayers. Until 2012, the DCAC was chaired and controlled by MWAA. Fairfax County Chair Sharon Bulova is the 2012 Chair. Only one DCAC meeting has been held so far in 2012.

I too wanted Virginia to use its credit to enhance the credtworthiness of the Dulles Toll Road revenue bonds. My understanding is that, for revenue bonds, bond investors look solely to the source of revenue for repayment and not to the political entity, whether local or state.

Funding options not reliant on Dulles Toll Road tolls exist but our politicians refuse to consider them. We need to change that.

Also why in gods name SHOULD people in Tysons Corner have to pay for a road widening for people to continue to come into Tysons and take jobs but live unsustainably far out in Loudoun County?

What kind of justice of fairness is that? Beyond the regular taxes that DEVELOPERS will be paying which are already elevated to pay for a large portion of Silver Line Phase 1, developers and tysons residents will be in charge of paying for 10% of Route 7 improvements outside of Tysons Corner, and 90% of Route 7 improvements inside of Tysons Corner, based on the current Strawman III.

The fact that I as a resident who has chosen to be sustainable, has to pay anything beyond my normal tax share (10% of the Route 7 outside of tysons) is ridiculous and a travesty, but is the cost of my choice to live in what I believe will be the single most important land use decision we have made in our generation.

Some of us remember whne Tysons was a strip mall with a Lums Hot Dog Resturant and Rt. 123/RT7 Intersection was a stop sign, Tysons was in the boonies as the saying goes. And some of us who had worked our way up the Corprate ladder remember suggesting to other Corporate officers that continuing to build a large campus in Tysons was not communtiy friendly nor good for recruiting good talent, Instead suggesting smaller dispersed campuses would be a better solution - that not only got no traction it became a black mark against further advancement, So don't ask the poeple who have to drive into Tyson's, ask the corporations who have built all of the offices there and require the employees to commute, ask the government clients who want thier contractors close by or on-site. And lastly what do your think Tysons would be like if it was not for all those companies? Do you really think the shopping center foot the bill or make a compelling reason for all the planned metro stops? As for fairness, I suspect the vast majority of the initial users of the Whiele station will be residents of Loudon, Clarke, or even Frederick county.

Navid, please stop using blasphemy in your posts.

MWAA and other Dulles Rail partners have had various funding options but have ignored them for unknown reasons. In summer 2011, I proposed revising the 1987 (amended circa 2003) federal lease agreement with MWAA for Reagan National and Dulles International Airports as a means to provide $1 billion to $1.5 billion in federal LOANS (not GRANTS) towards the Dulles Rail project. No response has ever been offered from MWAA, legislators and government officials to whom I provided this suggestion.

Given the fiscal crisis and the economic outlook in Virginia, additional state funding is not realistic. Besides, Virginia has already provided over $3.5 billion through the free transfer of the DTR to MWAA. If the political will existed to see Dulles as an international gateway with national significance, then the President and Congress could enact lease changes this year. It appears that the airlines do not trust either MWAA or the federal government to make an amended agreement that does not greatly increase their costs. With loan term federal loans available for under 3%, our politicians should act now.

My efforts to obtain complete or even summary facts on the amounts of state jet fuel taxes paid by airlines operating at Dulles and Reagan National airports have been fruitless. It appears that lobbyists or other influence groups do not want the public to know details of deals that may have existed for more than 25 years

I meant to say "long term federal loans" are available under 3%. TIFIA Interest Rate is 2.73% for a 35-year loan as of Thursday, August 30, 2012.

Stop the rubbish about Tysons landowners taxes " elevated to pay for a large portion of Silver Line Phase 1." At most, Tysons landowners are providing $340 million plus interest costs to the Phase 1 rail tax district over a 25 year period. As I recall the Phase 1 tax district will expire circa 2033, after which Tysons landowners have agreed to allocate the $0.22 (going to $0.29?) per $100 of assessed value towards Tysons improvements. It is unclear as to what portion of "Commerical and Insustrial" tax district funds, $0.11 per $100 assessed value, are raised and used within Tysons.

Growing concern exists in Reston and elsewhere that Tysons landowners will suck up most available County bonding capacity in coming years which would leave little or no bonding funds for infrastructure capital needs elsewhere in the County.

Navid, why should the taxpayers of Fairfax County provide ANY of the projected $3+ billion in infrastructure costs to improve access to and within Tysons in the next 30 to 40 years? Landowners there stand to gain between $5 and $10 billion in increased land value over this decade as a result of deals made by our Board of Supervisors, some or most of whom received election campaign contributions between 2005 and 2012, in return for granting unlimited development densities around transit stations.

Navid, I suspect we at 2020 agree with many of your points. Our concern is NOT about a $1 toll increase. It is about 40 YEARS of escalating, abusive tolls that will absolutely negatively affect Reston, the place we love and call home as well as all parts of the Dulles Corridor. I have attended dozens and dozens of meetings on the DTR and met personally with MWAA's CFO with other RCA Reston 2020 colleagues and other officials in efforts to create OTHER funding options.

Absolutely, you are correct that Gov. McDonnell has not agreed to any further funding which is, in my opinion, cutting off his nose to spite his face. But his non-renewable term is only 6 years total so the damage will come to light when he is no longer in office and accountable. And perhaps, he will change his mind. But we need to do more than cross our fingers and pray for a miracle. Legitimate public input and planning have been lacking throughout this exercise. We know this and do not intend to quietly retreat and watch degradation of our community without a fight.

You seem like a bright and articulate fellow; would you like to join Reston 2020 and share your ideas? We welcome all views in our work to make Reston and our neighboring communities the best that they can be. If so, please go to our Reston 2020 for further information. We will be having a meeting Oct. 10th in the evening. Anyone else who is interested is also invited. Thank you!
T. Petrine
Co-Chair, Reston 2020

My office market comments are based on my over thirty years experience in commercial and residential real estate in Northern Virginia and Washington, DC. In areas near Silver Line transit stations, some residential property value appreciation may be expected sooner than 2015, depending on disposable household income trends which result from the impacts of the fiscal cliff, taxmageddon and health care tax reforms.

As to commercial office markets, huge uncertainty exists today. The potential severity of sequestration or other federal budget cut measures imposed in 2013 on local employment and prospective office space demand is as yet unknown.

One measure of office market weakness: The assessed values for land at many office zoned properties in western Fairfax County, including most near Wiehle Avenue Metro station, are less in 2012 than they were in 2002.

Either way, this is all tangential. The base point is that the DTR will be usurped as the economic driver of this area by the silver line. That is a good thing.

Someone else pointed out that with the rising price people will start using side roads to get around. The majority of the trips are east-west going to job centers, very few people for instance live in Ashburn and work in a retail service store randomly in Fairfax. Why? Because that person if they work in retail service, could likely find the same job in Ashburn instead. When people travel from Loudoun into Fairfax it is for corporate jobs specifically. Corporate jobs exist at corporate hubs. Corporate hubs will have direct access on the Dulles Corridor. 120,000 people work in tysons, even more in Arlington, even more in DC. A very large number also work in Reston, and Ashburn.

The argument against DTR toll rates shouldn't be that it is punishing Dulles Corridor users (as there will be better options than the toll road) but that they are cutting off their own funding source via a better system. That is something that is VERY real, and that is much more worrisome. I think the user estimates are FAR smaller than they really will be, and that DTR revenue will plummet very early on more from this than from the actual toll rate.

Navid and others, please come to Reston 2020's next meeting on Monday, Sept 10, 7PM to share your ideas. Lots of research we have done and statistical analyses can be shared and options discussed. Meeting details and location will be posted shortly on our blog: Reston 2020.blogspot.com. or just Google "Reston 2020."

Recall that the article's theme was that RCA called the Dulles Toll Road toll increase public hearings "a sham." They are. MWAA has repeatedly failed to explore tolling options such as time of day pricing and free 3 person carpools which were permitted under a General Assembly bill passed a decade ago but never implemented. They are "studying" open road tolling which would facilitate variable toll pricing. Because MWAA's Board is controlled by inside the Beltway members, it has refused to study more equitable Dulles Rail funding arrangements.

For the Tysons message poster, Dulles Toll Road users have already paid over $1 billion in tolls since 1984 -with our after tax money. The diversion of toll road funds by MWAA for an infeasible heavy rail project is an illegal tax by a body that does not have taxing authority. The present rail funding plan was never approved by a political body such as the General Assembly or Congress. No evidence has been offered to show that: "The majority of the trips are east-west going to job centers." Nor is there evidence to support the claim that: "The project would have cost Virginia 2.8 billion over 5 years."

In summer 2005, then under Governer Mark Warner, five proposals to privatize the Dulles Toll Road were made to VDOT under the public private partnership state law. Within a month of Tim Kaine being elected Governor in November 2005, the existing proposals being considered were ignored in favor of a MWAA takeover.

The problem is that the entire area needs to be involved to solve commuter issues, the biggest offender is the Federal Government since that is what drives the vast majority of the business growth the area has seen. Time and again the feds force large campus mentality instead of dispersed smaller campuses. I would also suggest that the area on each side of the toll road from Whiele Ave to Rt. 28 probably employs as many people or close to it as you find in Tysons. And for tysons there is a danegrous trend towards vacating the area for areas west. Community leaders need to team with business leaders to plan for this growth, not politicians, and it needs to include open input from taxpayers. Input from those considering moving to the area is less useful than those that alerady liver, work, and pay taxes here it's our community. Greedy developers need to be put in check, every time you hear public/private partnership dig deeper and find out the real story. Sorry for the Rant - Gene

The business community has mostly sat on its hands on Dulles Rail issues and toll increases during the last four years. AAA Mid Atlantic and the Fairfax Chamber of Commerce made known their opposition to the toll funding plan last month. Thanks to them. Most businesses seem to have been guided by local Chambers of Commerce rail project boosters without regard to potential adverse economic and fiscal impacts of the present rail funding plan.

Last year I asked the heads of Greater Reston Chamber, Dulles Area Chamber and Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce to state publicly what level of toll increases they support to pay for Dulles rail. None of them responded. I sat next to Kurt Krause, current Chairman of the Loudoun County Chamber Board at a lunch meeting several months ago. We agreed on most issues that we discussed until I asked Kurt: "What level of toll increases does the Loudoun Chamber support?" He responded: "We don't have to answer that question." In a way he is correct. It should be for MWAA and our politicians to be held accountable but it hardly demonstrates leadership by the business community.

Fed workers account for over 40% of peak period Metrorail riders, which is likely why WMATA abolished the "peak of the peak" fares this summer. The WMATA Board, like the MWAA Board, has zero public accountability.

Recent MWCOG studies show that Metrorail is likely to serve only 20% of commuters. Their study showed only 8% of Restonians use transit presently.