In the Washington Post's Candidates' Forum, Sunday Sept. 29, 2003, the 19 candidates for the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors were posed a question: "How long is your daily commute? What specific steps would you take to ease traffic congestion and other transportation problems? How would you pay for them? ".

Of the 19 candidates who answered, only one, Lori L. Waters (R), specifically mentioned telework, yet even that was only in the context of what she does herself, and was not mentioned as part of her plans for easing congestion.

"Finding and funding transportation solutions is a priority. I commute to Washington, which is 70 miles round-trip. Most days I carpool or telecommute, which are traffic solutions. I support sidewalks and paths, but relying on them for traffic reduction is unrealistic (i.e., long commutes and winter months). We need roads that intelligently connect. Bus rapid transit is another option, especially since rail won't reach Loudoun until after 2015. I opposed the transportation sales tax referendum because we already pay gas taxes, which should be exclusively appropriated to transportation, especially roads. Route 28's public-private partnership is a funding model."

Another candidate, Stephen J. Snow (R) mentions working from home, but he misses the point. Creating local jobs is great to allow people to work closer to home, but if you can work at home then the location of the corporate office ceases to be a factor!

"No commute presently. If Loudoun County were still "open for business," we would see jobs being created right here, so that more residents like me could work at home or closer to home. We need a regionally interconnected transportation system, prompt Route 28 upgrade, accelerated completion of Loudoun County Parkway and Route 659 relocated, widening of Route 50, rapid transit to eastern Loudoun with BRT [bus rapid transit] to Dulles South. Traffic signals should be synchronized for best flow. To pay for projects, we must prioritize transportation needs and readjust developer proffers, develop public-private transportation initiatives and bring financial management to county government."

 Instead of focusing on transportation improvements, the leaders in Loudoun County and around the area need to push the major employers in the Washington D.C. area (like the Federal government) to encourage telework so that their local residents can stay in Loudon County. In addition to the benefits to employers and employees, local businesses will benefit from the increased daytime population.

1:52:47 PM    
comment []  trackback []