Anonymous wrote:I'm happy to see the push-back. We'd definitely be inconvenienced if the ramp were closed.
assuming you live in the general area or in VA can you explain why it would be inconvenient for you if they closed the ramp from 1-7pm weekdays? Do you go into MD everyday in that timeframe? Or are you thinking it will make other neighborhood/school areas backed up with traffic? I’m trying to figure out the good verses bad.
Most NOT in favor are traveling *from VA to MD at the evening rush hour*, which happens to be about 3:30 to 7. Some evenings are gridlocked, and there is clearly one cause, so if the cause is stopped, the traffic is dispersed elsewhere (not just one place). The Marylanders take offense because they think only the rich people object to the traffic, and want the closure, which is not the case. It is the same reason that the Marylanders block the box, they think they are sticking it to the man, but they are really sticking it to every day people - renters and other people who live work in that area. So, the closure was deemed necessary as part of the study.
I already know all of that My question was directed at 17:59. Again since this is a VA SCHOOL FORUM I am assuming that 17:49 would live in VA. I'm wondering specifically why anyone who lives around the Cooper/Churchill/Langley area or just in N. VA would be opposed to the closing of the 495 ramp from 1-7pm weekdays. What "other" neighborhoods would get clogged up from this if they closed the ramp?
You have to figure that out for yourself; but I will tell you that the traffic will be dispersed such that not one neighborhood will be gridlocked after the ramp closure, the traffic will be broken up - unlike now.
Also, why don't these Maryland drivers get MD to pay for a bridge? That would be the logical answer. Of course, that seems to make too much sense for some of the PPs.
You will say that, but other neighborhoods (Tysons, or along 123 or 7) already have plenty of traffic and VDOT has stated that closing the ramp would be a "wash" (which means that alleviating traffic in one location just makes it worse somewhere else).
So you are going to have to do a lot better than "I will tell you it's gonna be great" if you want to convince others this is a good idea. And, believe it or not, some of us who live in the area DO need to go to MD from 1-6, either to get to schools in MD or for part-time jobs. The SAHMs whose kids go to Cooper and Langley, of course, may have no experience with such things.
So many inaccurate presumptions in your post, I have no idea where to start. How about you reel in that anger, then address the matter at hand? No one is saying that the traffic will magically disappear - it simply makes more sense to disperse (look. it. up.) the traffic, than have it concentrated in one area. It is not a personal attack on you, believe it or not.
You could start by trying to answer the question honestly, which you haven’t begun to do. Closing one entrance to the Beltway doesn’t “disperse” traffic, so much as divert it to other areas that already have plenty of traffic.
“Disperse” would only be a fair characterization if all the traffic were currently concentrated in one place, and you know that’s not the case (see prior posts suggesting that drivers should be required to use the Toll Road “like everyone else”).
So, again, the only fair inference from your posts is that you simply want less traffic in the Langley area and could not care less if that makes traffic worse elsewhere.
Much of the traffic is currently in one place. Furthermore, even if that was not the case (which it is), the drivers are behaving in an illegal manner, causing safety issues, and more. If the commuters at that intersection obeyed the law (which they are not), it would not have come to this. Stop being such a child and accept responsibility for your actions. Maybe you would get further in life, and stop being so sour grapes. Maybe.
I haven't suggested there shouldn't be additional traffic enforcement at the intersection, especially when students are being released from school . Not once.
On the other hand, you've continued to obfuscate, by making false claims that traffic is concentrated in your neighborhood to the exclusion of others; you've offered no evidence that closing the Georgetown Pike exit ramp would lead to any net benefits in the region's traffic flow (as opposed to what VDOT officials have said, which is that it's all just a "wash"), and you've been the one ready to attack anyone who didn't agree with you (and make assumptions that are likely false about our financial status compared to yours).
The "government-sanctioned study" that you refer to is a pilot program to close the ramp for four months, which is being pushed by Langley residents. It's been "sanctioned" in the sense that VDOT has agreed to consider it, only to learn that other residents of the area don't particularly want to be guinea pigs, just so the roads near some Cooper/Langley parents have less traffic. And VDOT officials are already on the record as stating they believe closing the ramp would simply increase the traffic elsewhere, with no net benefits.
And in the real world, none of this is accurate.
In the words of otehrs:
"Some McLean residents have pushed the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) to consider a four-month-long pilot program that would close the northbound I-495 entrance ramp off of Georgetown Pike from 1 to 7 p.m. on weekdays."
"But when VDOT officials discussed the idea at an Aug. 2 community forum at McLean High School, the overwhelming majority of the roughly 280 people who showed up strongly opposed the proposed ramp closure."
"County, state and federal elected officials at the forum said the ramp-closure idea was a non-starter with residents."
"Moore repeatedly used the term 'a wash' when describing the potential change in Beltway traffic movement as a result of the ramp closure – it would simply send the bottleneck further down the line, toward the already congested interchange with the Dulles Toll Road, and further down I-495 to Tysons and beyond."
Anonymous wrote:I'm happy to see the push-back. We'd definitely be inconvenienced if the ramp were closed.
assuming you live in the general area or in VA can you explain why it would be inconvenient for you if they closed the ramp from 1-7pm weekdays? Do you go into MD everyday in that timeframe? Or are you thinking it will make other neighborhood/school areas backed up with traffic? I’m trying to figure out the good verses bad.
Most NOT in favor are traveling *from VA to MD at the evening rush hour*, which happens to be about 3:30 to 7. Some evenings are gridlocked, and there is clearly one cause, so if the cause is stopped, the traffic is dispersed elsewhere (not just one place). The Marylanders take offense because they think only the rich people object to the traffic, and want the closure, which is not the case. It is the same reason that the Marylanders block the box, they think they are sticking it to the man, but they are really sticking it to every day people - renters and other people who live work in that area. So, the closure was deemed necessary as part of the study.
I already know all of that My question was directed at 17:59. Again since this is a VA SCHOOL FORUM I am assuming that 17:49 would live in VA. I'm wondering specifically why anyone who lives around the Cooper/Churchill/Langley area or just in N. VA would be opposed to the closing of the 495 ramp from 1-7pm weekdays. What "other" neighborhoods would get clogged up from this if they closed the ramp?
You have to figure that out for yourself; but I will tell you that the traffic will be dispersed such that not one neighborhood will be gridlocked after the ramp closure, the traffic will be broken up - unlike now.
Also, why don't these Maryland drivers get MD to pay for a bridge? That would be the logical answer. Of course, that seems to make too much sense for some of the PPs.
You will say that, but other neighborhoods (Tysons, or along 123 or 7) already have plenty of traffic and VDOT has stated that closing the ramp would be a "wash" (which means that alleviating traffic in one location just makes it worse somewhere else).
So you are going to have to do a lot better than "I will tell you it's gonna be great" if you want to convince others this is a good idea. And, believe it or not, some of us who live in the area DO need to go to MD from 1-6, either to get to schools in MD or for part-time jobs. The SAHMs whose kids go to Cooper and Langley, of course, may have no experience with such things.
So many inaccurate presumptions in your post, I have no idea where to start. How about you reel in that anger, then address the matter at hand? No one is saying that the traffic will magically disappear - it simply makes more sense to disperse (look. it. up.) the traffic, than have it concentrated in one area. It is not a personal attack on you, believe it or not.
You could start by trying to answer the question honestly, which you haven’t begun to do. Closing one entrance to the Beltway doesn’t “disperse” traffic, so much as divert it to other areas that already have plenty of traffic.
“Disperse” would only be a fair characterization if all the traffic were currently concentrated in one place, and you know that’s not the case (see prior posts suggesting that drivers should be required to use the Toll Road “like everyone else”).
So, again, the only fair inference from your posts is that you simply want less traffic in the Langley area and could not care less if that makes traffic worse elsewhere.
Much of the traffic is currently in one place. Furthermore, even if that was not the case (which it is), the drivers are behaving in an illegal manner, causing safety issues, and more. If the commuters at that intersection obeyed the law (which they are not), it would not have come to this. Stop being such a child and accept responsibility for your actions. Maybe you would get further in life, and stop being so sour grapes. Maybe.
I haven't suggested there shouldn't be additional traffic enforcement at the intersection, especially when students are being released from school . Not once.
On the other hand, you've continued to obfuscate, by making false claims that traffic is concentrated in your neighborhood to the exclusion of others; you've offered no evidence that closing the Georgetown Pike exit ramp would lead to any net benefits in the region's traffic flow (as opposed to what VDOT officials have said, which is that it's all just a "wash"), and you've been the one ready to attack anyone who didn't agree with you (and make assumptions that are likely false about our financial status compared to yours).
The "government-sanctioned study" that you refer to is a pilot program to close the ramp for four months, which is being pushed by Langley residents. It's been "sanctioned" in the sense that VDOT has agreed to consider it, only to learn that other residents of the area don't particularly want to be guinea pigs, just so the roads near some Cooper/Langley parents have less traffic. And VDOT officials are already on the record as stating they believe closing the ramp would simply increase the traffic elsewhere, with no net benefits.
And in the real world, none of this is accurate.
In the words of otehrs:
"Some McLean residents have pushed the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) to consider a four-month-long pilot program that would close the northbound I-495 entrance ramp off of Georgetown Pike from 1 to 7 p.m. on weekdays."
"But when VDOT officials discussed the idea at an Aug. 2 community forum at McLean High School, the overwhelming majority of the roughly 280 people who showed up strongly opposed the proposed ramp closure."
"County, state and federal elected officials at the forum said the ramp-closure idea was a non-starter with residents."
"Moore repeatedly used the term 'a wash' when describing the potential change in Beltway traffic movement as a result of the ramp closure – it would simply send the bottleneck further down the line, toward the already congested interchange with the Dulles Toll Road, and further down I-495 to Tysons and beyond."
Anonymous wrote:I'm happy to see the push-back. We'd definitely be inconvenienced if the ramp were closed.
assuming you live in the general area or in VA can you explain why it would be inconvenient for you if they closed the ramp from 1-7pm weekdays? Do you go into MD everyday in that timeframe? Or are you thinking it will make other neighborhood/school areas backed up with traffic? I’m trying to figure out the good verses bad.
Most NOT in favor are traveling *from VA to MD at the evening rush hour*, which happens to be about 3:30 to 7. Some evenings are gridlocked, and there is clearly one cause, so if the cause is stopped, the traffic is dispersed elsewhere (not just one place). The Marylanders take offense because they think only the rich people object to the traffic, and want the closure, which is not the case. It is the same reason that the Marylanders block the box, they think they are sticking it to the man, but they are really sticking it to every day people - renters and other people who live work in that area. So, the closure was deemed necessary as part of the study.
I already know all of that My question was directed at 17:59. Again since this is a VA SCHOOL FORUM I am assuming that 17:49 would live in VA. I'm wondering specifically why anyone who lives around the Cooper/Churchill/Langley area or just in N. VA would be opposed to the closing of the 495 ramp from 1-7pm weekdays. What "other" neighborhoods would get clogged up from this if they closed the ramp?
You have to figure that out for yourself; but I will tell you that the traffic will be dispersed such that not one neighborhood will be gridlocked after the ramp closure, the traffic will be broken up - unlike now.
Also, why don't these Maryland drivers get MD to pay for a bridge? That would be the logical answer. Of course, that seems to make too much sense for some of the PPs.
You will say that, but other neighborhoods (Tysons, or along 123 or 7) already have plenty of traffic and VDOT has stated that closing the ramp would be a "wash" (which means that alleviating traffic in one location just makes it worse somewhere else).
So you are going to have to do a lot better than "I will tell you it's gonna be great" if you want to convince others this is a good idea. And, believe it or not, some of us who live in the area DO need to go to MD from 1-6, either to get to schools in MD or for part-time jobs. The SAHMs whose kids go to Cooper and Langley, of course, may have no experience with such things.
So many inaccurate presumptions in your post, I have no idea where to start. How about you reel in that anger, then address the matter at hand? No one is saying that the traffic will magically disappear - it simply makes more sense to disperse (look. it. up.) the traffic, than have it concentrated in one area. It is not a personal attack on you, believe it or not.
You could start by trying to answer the question honestly, which you haven’t begun to do. Closing one entrance to the Beltway doesn’t “disperse” traffic, so much as divert it to other areas that already have plenty of traffic.
“Disperse” would only be a fair characterization if all the traffic were currently concentrated in one place, and you know that’s not the case (see prior posts suggesting that drivers should be required to use the Toll Road “like everyone else”).
So, again, the only fair inference from your posts is that you simply want less traffic in the Langley area and could not care less if that makes traffic worse elsewhere.
Much of the traffic is currently in one place. Furthermore, even if that was not the case (which it is), the drivers are behaving in an illegal manner, causing safety issues, and more. If the commuters at that intersection obeyed the law (which they are not), it would not have come to this. Stop being such a child and accept responsibility for your actions. Maybe you would get further in life, and stop being so sour grapes. Maybe.
I haven't suggested there shouldn't be additional traffic enforcement at the intersection, especially when students are being released from school . Not once.
On the other hand, you've continued to obfuscate, by making false claims that traffic is concentrated in your neighborhood to the exclusion of others; you've offered no evidence that closing the Georgetown Pike exit ramp would lead to any net benefits in the region's traffic flow (as opposed to what VDOT officials have said, which is that it's all just a "wash"), and you've been the one ready to attack anyone who didn't agree with you (and make assumptions that are likely false about our financial status compared to yours).
The "government-sanctioned study" that you refer to is a pilot program to close the ramp for four months, which is being pushed by Langley residents. It's been "sanctioned" in the sense that VDOT has agreed to consider it, only to learn that other residents of the area don't particularly want to be guinea pigs, just so the roads near some Cooper/Langley parents have less traffic. And VDOT officials are already on the record as stating they believe closing the ramp would simply increase the traffic elsewhere, with no net benefits.
And in the real world, none of this is accurate.
In the words of otehrs:
"Some McLean residents have pushed the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) to consider a four-month-long pilot program that would close the northbound I-495 entrance ramp off of Georgetown Pike from 1 to 7 p.m. on weekdays."
"But when VDOT officials discussed the idea at an Aug. 2 community forum at McLean High School, the overwhelming majority of the roughly 280 people who showed up strongly opposed the proposed ramp closure."
"County, state and federal elected officials at the forum said the ramp-closure idea was a non-starter with residents."
"Moore repeatedly used the term 'a wash' when describing the potential change in Beltway traffic movement as a result of the ramp closure – it would simply send the bottleneck further down the line, toward the already congested interchange with the Dulles Toll Road, and further down I-495 to Tysons and beyond."
Where on earth are these quotes from?
Local media. Probably too mainstream for you.
LOL at the vague answer without citations.
LOL at your lack of familiarity with search tools.
Anonymous wrote:I'm happy to see the push-back. We'd definitely be inconvenienced if the ramp were closed.
assuming you live in the general area or in VA can you explain why it would be inconvenient for you if they closed the ramp from 1-7pm weekdays? Do you go into MD everyday in that timeframe? Or are you thinking it will make other neighborhood/school areas backed up with traffic? I’m trying to figure out the good verses bad.
Most NOT in favor are traveling *from VA to MD at the evening rush hour*, which happens to be about 3:30 to 7. Some evenings are gridlocked, and there is clearly one cause, so if the cause is stopped, the traffic is dispersed elsewhere (not just one place). The Marylanders take offense because they think only the rich people object to the traffic, and want the closure, which is not the case. It is the same reason that the Marylanders block the box, they think they are sticking it to the man, but they are really sticking it to every day people - renters and other people who live work in that area. So, the closure was deemed necessary as part of the study.
I already know all of that My question was directed at 17:59. Again since this is a VA SCHOOL FORUM I am assuming that 17:49 would live in VA. I'm wondering specifically why anyone who lives around the Cooper/Churchill/Langley area or just in N. VA would be opposed to the closing of the 495 ramp from 1-7pm weekdays. What "other" neighborhoods would get clogged up from this if they closed the ramp?
You have to figure that out for yourself; but I will tell you that the traffic will be dispersed such that not one neighborhood will be gridlocked after the ramp closure, the traffic will be broken up - unlike now.
Also, why don't these Maryland drivers get MD to pay for a bridge? That would be the logical answer. Of course, that seems to make too much sense for some of the PPs.
You will say that, but other neighborhoods (Tysons, or along 123 or 7) already have plenty of traffic and VDOT has stated that closing the ramp would be a "wash" (which means that alleviating traffic in one location just makes it worse somewhere else).
So you are going to have to do a lot better than "I will tell you it's gonna be great" if you want to convince others this is a good idea. And, believe it or not, some of us who live in the area DO need to go to MD from 1-6, either to get to schools in MD or for part-time jobs. The SAHMs whose kids go to Cooper and Langley, of course, may have no experience with such things.
So many inaccurate presumptions in your post, I have no idea where to start. How about you reel in that anger, then address the matter at hand? No one is saying that the traffic will magically disappear - it simply makes more sense to disperse (look. it. up.) the traffic, than have it concentrated in one area. It is not a personal attack on you, believe it or not.
You could start by trying to answer the question honestly, which you haven’t begun to do. Closing one entrance to the Beltway doesn’t “disperse” traffic, so much as divert it to other areas that already have plenty of traffic.
“Disperse” would only be a fair characterization if all the traffic were currently concentrated in one place, and you know that’s not the case (see prior posts suggesting that drivers should be required to use the Toll Road “like everyone else”).
So, again, the only fair inference from your posts is that you simply want less traffic in the Langley area and could not care less if that makes traffic worse elsewhere.
Much of the traffic is currently in one place. Furthermore, even if that was not the case (which it is), the drivers are behaving in an illegal manner, causing safety issues, and more. If the commuters at that intersection obeyed the law (which they are not), it would not have come to this. Stop being such a child and accept responsibility for your actions. Maybe you would get further in life, and stop being so sour grapes. Maybe.
I haven't suggested there shouldn't be additional traffic enforcement at the intersection, especially when students are being released from school . Not once.
On the other hand, you've continued to obfuscate, by making false claims that traffic is concentrated in your neighborhood to the exclusion of others; you've offered no evidence that closing the Georgetown Pike exit ramp would lead to any net benefits in the region's traffic flow (as opposed to what VDOT officials have said, which is that it's all just a "wash"), and you've been the one ready to attack anyone who didn't agree with you (and make assumptions that are likely false about our financial status compared to yours).
The "government-sanctioned study" that you refer to is a pilot program to close the ramp for four months, which is being pushed by Langley residents. It's been "sanctioned" in the sense that VDOT has agreed to consider it, only to learn that other residents of the area don't particularly want to be guinea pigs, just so the roads near some Cooper/Langley parents have less traffic. And VDOT officials are already on the record as stating they believe closing the ramp would simply increase the traffic elsewhere, with no net benefits.
And in the real world, none of this is accurate.
In the words of otehrs:
"Some McLean residents have pushed the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) to consider a four-month-long pilot program that would close the northbound I-495 entrance ramp off of Georgetown Pike from 1 to 7 p.m. on weekdays."
"But when VDOT officials discussed the idea at an Aug. 2 community forum at McLean High School, the overwhelming majority of the roughly 280 people who showed up strongly opposed the proposed ramp closure."
"County, state and federal elected officials at the forum said the ramp-closure idea was a non-starter with residents."
"Moore repeatedly used the term 'a wash' when describing the potential change in Beltway traffic movement as a result of the ramp closure – it would simply send the bottleneck further down the line, toward the already congested interchange with the Dulles Toll Road, and further down I-495 to Tysons and beyond."
Where on earth are these quotes from?
Local media. Probably too mainstream for you.
LOL at the vague answer without citations.
LOL at your lack of familiarity with search tools.
Anonymous wrote:Op here. We have Back to School Night at 7pm tonight.
Will it be ok to leave at 630 since it is towards the end of rush hour?
Our kids have gotten off the bus at 3:40 since school started. So far so good.
OP, the traffic issues are sporadic, but significant enough for the measures. There is no telling when the traffic will be at a dangerous level - it depends on the beltway congestion, where it occurs, and what Marylander commuters decide to do on that given day, sans much needed bridge on their part. Cue PP who claims it is New Jersey commuters, as if those exist. I suppose in his world?
Anonymous wrote:I'm happy to see the push-back. We'd definitely be inconvenienced if the ramp were closed.
assuming you live in the general area or in VA can you explain why it would be inconvenient for you if they closed the ramp from 1-7pm weekdays? Do you go into MD everyday in that timeframe? Or are you thinking it will make other neighborhood/school areas backed up with traffic? I’m trying to figure out the good verses bad.
Most NOT in favor are traveling *from VA to MD at the evening rush hour*, which happens to be about 3:30 to 7. Some evenings are gridlocked, and there is clearly one cause, so if the cause is stopped, the traffic is dispersed elsewhere (not just one place). The Marylanders take offense because they think only the rich people object to the traffic, and want the closure, which is not the case. It is the same reason that the Marylanders block the box, they think they are sticking it to the man, but they are really sticking it to every day people - renters and other people who live work in that area. So, the closure was deemed necessary as part of the study.
I already know all of that My question was directed at 17:59. Again since this is a VA SCHOOL FORUM I am assuming that 17:49 would live in VA. I'm wondering specifically why anyone who lives around the Cooper/Churchill/Langley area or just in N. VA would be opposed to the closing of the 495 ramp from 1-7pm weekdays. What "other" neighborhoods would get clogged up from this if they closed the ramp?
You have to figure that out for yourself; but I will tell you that the traffic will be dispersed such that not one neighborhood will be gridlocked after the ramp closure, the traffic will be broken up - unlike now.
Also, why don't these Maryland drivers get MD to pay for a bridge? That would be the logical answer. Of course, that seems to make too much sense for some of the PPs.
You will say that, but other neighborhoods (Tysons, or along 123 or 7) already have plenty of traffic and VDOT has stated that closing the ramp would be a "wash" (which means that alleviating traffic in one location just makes it worse somewhere else).
So you are going to have to do a lot better than "I will tell you it's gonna be great" if you want to convince others this is a good idea. And, believe it or not, some of us who live in the area DO need to go to MD from 1-6, either to get to schools in MD or for part-time jobs. The SAHMs whose kids go to Cooper and Langley, of course, may have no experience with such things.
So many inaccurate presumptions in your post, I have no idea where to start. How about you reel in that anger, then address the matter at hand? No one is saying that the traffic will magically disappear - it simply makes more sense to disperse (look. it. up.) the traffic, than have it concentrated in one area. It is not a personal attack on you, believe it or not.
You could start by trying to answer the question honestly, which you haven’t begun to do. Closing one entrance to the Beltway doesn’t “disperse” traffic, so much as divert it to other areas that already have plenty of traffic.
“Disperse” would only be a fair characterization if all the traffic were currently concentrated in one place, and you know that’s not the case (see prior posts suggesting that drivers should be required to use the Toll Road “like everyone else”).
So, again, the only fair inference from your posts is that you simply want less traffic in the Langley area and could not care less if that makes traffic worse elsewhere.
Much of the traffic is currently in one place. Furthermore, even if that was not the case (which it is), the drivers are behaving in an illegal manner, causing safety issues, and more. If the commuters at that intersection obeyed the law (which they are not), it would not have come to this. Stop being such a child and accept responsibility for your actions. Maybe you would get further in life, and stop being so sour grapes. Maybe.
I haven't suggested there shouldn't be additional traffic enforcement at the intersection, especially when students are being released from school . Not once.
On the other hand, you've continued to obfuscate, by making false claims that traffic is concentrated in your neighborhood to the exclusion of others; you've offered no evidence that closing the Georgetown Pike exit ramp would lead to any net benefits in the region's traffic flow (as opposed to what VDOT officials have said, which is that it's all just a "wash"), and you've been the one ready to attack anyone who didn't agree with you (and make assumptions that are likely false about our financial status compared to yours).
The "government-sanctioned study" that you refer to is a pilot program to close the ramp for four months, which is being pushed by Langley residents. It's been "sanctioned" in the sense that VDOT has agreed to consider it, only to learn that other residents of the area don't particularly want to be guinea pigs, just so the roads near some Cooper/Langley parents have less traffic. And VDOT officials are already on the record as stating they believe closing the ramp would simply increase the traffic elsewhere, with no net benefits.
And in the real world, none of this is accurate.
In the words of otehrs:
"Some McLean residents have pushed the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) to consider a four-month-long pilot program that would close the northbound I-495 entrance ramp off of Georgetown Pike from 1 to 7 p.m. on weekdays."
"But when VDOT officials discussed the idea at an Aug. 2 community forum at McLean High School, the overwhelming majority of the roughly 280 people who showed up strongly opposed the proposed ramp closure."
"County, state and federal elected officials at the forum said the ramp-closure idea was a non-starter with residents."
"Moore repeatedly used the term 'a wash' when describing the potential change in Beltway traffic movement as a result of the ramp closure – it would simply send the bottleneck further down the line, toward the already congested interchange with the Dulles Toll Road, and further down I-495 to Tysons and beyond."
Where on earth are these quotes from?
Local media. Probably too mainstream for you.
LOL at the vague answer without citations.
LOL at your lack of familiarity with search tools.
Anonymous wrote:I'm happy to see the push-back. We'd definitely be inconvenienced if the ramp were closed.
assuming you live in the general area or in VA can you explain why it would be inconvenient for you if they closed the ramp from 1-7pm weekdays? Do you go into MD everyday in that timeframe? Or are you thinking it will make other neighborhood/school areas backed up with traffic? I’m trying to figure out the good verses bad.
Most NOT in favor are traveling *from VA to MD at the evening rush hour*, which happens to be about 3:30 to 7. Some evenings are gridlocked, and there is clearly one cause, so if the cause is stopped, the traffic is dispersed elsewhere (not just one place). The Marylanders take offense because they think only the rich people object to the traffic, and want the closure, which is not the case. It is the same reason that the Marylanders block the box, they think they are sticking it to the man, but they are really sticking it to every day people - renters and other people who live work in that area. So, the closure was deemed necessary as part of the study.
I already know all of that My question was directed at 17:59. Again since this is a VA SCHOOL FORUM I am assuming that 17:49 would live in VA. I'm wondering specifically why anyone who lives around the Cooper/Churchill/Langley area or just in N. VA would be opposed to the closing of the 495 ramp from 1-7pm weekdays. What "other" neighborhoods would get clogged up from this if they closed the ramp?
You have to figure that out for yourself; but I will tell you that the traffic will be dispersed such that not one neighborhood will be gridlocked after the ramp closure, the traffic will be broken up - unlike now.
Also, why don't these Maryland drivers get MD to pay for a bridge? That would be the logical answer. Of course, that seems to make too much sense for some of the PPs.
You will say that, but other neighborhoods (Tysons, or along 123 or 7) already have plenty of traffic and VDOT has stated that closing the ramp would be a "wash" (which means that alleviating traffic in one location just makes it worse somewhere else).
So you are going to have to do a lot better than "I will tell you it's gonna be great" if you want to convince others this is a good idea. And, believe it or not, some of us who live in the area DO need to go to MD from 1-6, either to get to schools in MD or for part-time jobs. The SAHMs whose kids go to Cooper and Langley, of course, may have no experience with such things.
So many inaccurate presumptions in your post, I have no idea where to start. How about you reel in that anger, then address the matter at hand? No one is saying that the traffic will magically disappear - it simply makes more sense to disperse (look. it. up.) the traffic, than have it concentrated in one area. It is not a personal attack on you, believe it or not.
You could start by trying to answer the question honestly, which you haven’t begun to do. Closing one entrance to the Beltway doesn’t “disperse” traffic, so much as divert it to other areas that already have plenty of traffic.
“Disperse” would only be a fair characterization if all the traffic were currently concentrated in one place, and you know that’s not the case (see prior posts suggesting that drivers should be required to use the Toll Road “like everyone else”).
So, again, the only fair inference from your posts is that you simply want less traffic in the Langley area and could not care less if that makes traffic worse elsewhere.
Much of the traffic is currently in one place. Furthermore, even if that was not the case (which it is), the drivers are behaving in an illegal manner, causing safety issues, and more. If the commuters at that intersection obeyed the law (which they are not), it would not have come to this. Stop being such a child and accept responsibility for your actions. Maybe you would get further in life, and stop being so sour grapes. Maybe.
I haven't suggested there shouldn't be additional traffic enforcement at the intersection, especially when students are being released from school . Not once.
On the other hand, you've continued to obfuscate, by making false claims that traffic is concentrated in your neighborhood to the exclusion of others; you've offered no evidence that closing the Georgetown Pike exit ramp would lead to any net benefits in the region's traffic flow (as opposed to what VDOT officials have said, which is that it's all just a "wash"), and you've been the one ready to attack anyone who didn't agree with you (and make assumptions that are likely false about our financial status compared to yours).
The "government-sanctioned study" that you refer to is a pilot program to close the ramp for four months, which is being pushed by Langley residents. It's been "sanctioned" in the sense that VDOT has agreed to consider it, only to learn that other residents of the area don't particularly want to be guinea pigs, just so the roads near some Cooper/Langley parents have less traffic. And VDOT officials are already on the record as stating they believe closing the ramp would simply increase the traffic elsewhere, with no net benefits.
And in the real world, none of this is accurate.
In the words of otehrs:
"Some McLean residents have pushed the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) to consider a four-month-long pilot program that would close the northbound I-495 entrance ramp off of Georgetown Pike from 1 to 7 p.m. on weekdays."
"But when VDOT officials discussed the idea at an Aug. 2 community forum at McLean High School, the overwhelming majority of the roughly 280 people who showed up strongly opposed the proposed ramp closure."
"County, state and federal elected officials at the forum said the ramp-closure idea was a non-starter with residents."
"Moore repeatedly used the term 'a wash' when describing the potential change in Beltway traffic movement as a result of the ramp closure – it would simply send the bottleneck further down the line, toward the already congested interchange with the Dulles Toll Road, and further down I-495 to Tysons and beyond."
Where on earth are these quotes from?
Local media. Probably too mainstream for you.
LOL at the vague answer without citations.
LOL at your lack of familiarity with search tools.
But when VDOT officials discussed the idea at an Aug. 2 community forum at McLean High School, the overwhelming majority of the roughly 280 people who showed up strongly opposed the proposed ramp closure.
If anything, you’d expect the advocates for change to show up in greater numbers. There really must just be a handful of vocal supporters. It surely won’t be lost on the politicians that this isn’t a popular proposal.
Anonymous wrote:If anything, you’d expect the advocates for change to show up in greater numbers. There really must just be a handful of vocal supporters. It surely won’t be lost on the politicians that this isn’t a popular proposal.
Anonymous wrote:If anything, you’d expect the advocates for change to show up in greater numbers. There really must just be a handful of vocal supporters. It surely won’t be lost on the politicians that this isn’t a popular proposal.
I am certain that the politicians have heard, and will continue to hear, from both sides.
Anonymous wrote:If anything, you’d expect the advocates for change to show up in greater numbers. There really must just be a handful of vocal supporters. It surely won’t be lost on the politicians that this isn’t a popular proposal.
I am certain that the politicians have heard, and will continue to hear, from both sides.
And what they've heard is making the likelihood of a ramp closure unlikely.
Anonymous wrote:If anything, you’d expect the advocates for change to show up in greater numbers. There really must just be a handful of vocal supporters. It surely won’t be lost on the politicians that this isn’t a popular proposal.
I am certain that the politicians have heard, and will continue to hear, from both sides.
And what they've heard is making the likelihood of a ramp closure unlikely.
Seriously - WTH was with Georgetown Pike today? Over an hour to get to Back to School Night at Cooper MS and I still missed most of it. Is that what rain does to people. What a disaster.
Anonymous wrote:Seriously - WTH was with Georgetown Pike today? Over an hour to get to Back to School Night at Cooper MS and I still missed most of it. Is that what rain does to people. What a disaster.
+1
From 5:30 to 8:30 it was straight gridlock, complete with the seemingly obligatory box blocking. Why can't Maryland find a way to either employ their people or fund a bridge to help them get to work? They are really screwing over their own people.
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