Work in Tysons - Commute from Ashburn

[NC211]

Originally Posted by FCNova

Living in MD and working in VA is possibly the worst commute in the area. The inner loop can be incredibly backed up with people trying to go 270 north or 95 north in evening rush. The opposite isn't that bad though. I live in Tysons and commute deep into MD and my commute averages about 45 minutes(30 on great day 1 hr on bad day). But, I'm also not paying daily tolls like people in Ashburn or Leesburg.

I also agree with TE, to each their own in terms of where you live but don't ***** about the greenway. I know people who have moved way out there and do that. There was that petition awhile back where people were complaining about the high costs, and in conversations some of my friends would discuss the merits of it. I find that absurd. You knew when you moved out there and bought your house that you'd need to either deal with heavy traffic or pay tolls, or possibly both, and you did it so don't complain. For awhile I actually considered that myself because I really do like Ashburn, but I've come to the conclusion that when we buy a house I'll just get a modest one in Vienna rather than Ashburn because I really hate the idea of paying those ridiculous tolls for the rest of my life, especially not even knowing how much they'll be in 10 years or if they'll even be sufficient to support all the traffic.

True about the Greenway, and I for one am guilty of complaining about it. Although, I complain mostly because somehow it costs $5.10 to go either 2 miles, or all 20. I think that is unfair for a couple of reasons and still remain surprised that nobody has filed a suit for it.

Ultimately the Greenway will likely be addressed by the state of VA, given the financing structure used to build it, which is essentially a reverse coupon bond structure. Basically, you borrow $100m with a 30 year term, you'd expect in 30 years to have it paid off. Not so with the Greenway's structure. Take the same number and years, and with the negative coupon structure, your $100m of debt is more like $300m when loan maturity happens. I know why they did it that way too. At that time, the area population wasn't high enough to support the traditional payment structure. Additionally, when buillt, it was new (no need for maintenance costs). They basically front-load their profit revenue. Then as the road ages and requires more in repairs & maintenance costs, matched by an increasing loan balance, the gamble then becomes how many cars are using it. If there aren't enough to support the debt AND the increasing costs for maintenance, then maintenance gets cut to protect the ownership structure from the lender calling a default on the debt. At the end of the day, the Greenway is a looming scam to the taxpayers of VA. Regardless if they triple the vehicle count that use it today, the escalating debt on it will outpace the vehicle count with relative ease. Raise the tolls to much, and you'll have a problem with the actual real estate needed to support the road in general. I heard on the radio a few weeks ago that they're asking for yet another rate increase, with the reason being to support the state tax assignment. That's a clever way of hiding the real reason why the rate needs to go up, because the debt level is going up too. Only way it is going to go down, is when lawsuits start to fly for the pricing structure, deferred maintenance becomes a safety issue, and loan default risk increases. In my opinion, VA is just waiting to pick it off at the courthouse steps in another 10 years or so.

I have little to no doubt some politician somewhere got something they shouldn't have for this too.

[dkf747]

Originally Posted by FCNova

Living in MD and working in VA is possibly the worst commute in the area. The inner loop can be incredibly backed up with people trying to go 270 north or 95 north in evening rush. The opposite isn't that bad though. I live in Tysons and commute deep into MD and my commute averages about 45 minutes(30 on great day 1 hr on bad day). But, I'm also not paying daily tolls like people in Ashburn or Leesburg.

I also agree with TE, to each their own in terms of where you live but don't ***** about the greenway. I know people who have moved way out there and do that. There was that petition awhile back where people were complaining about the high costs, and in conversations some of my friends would discuss the merits of it. I find that absurd. You knew when you moved out there and bought your house that you'd need to either deal with heavy traffic or pay tolls, or possibly both, and you did it so don't complain. For awhile I actually considered that myself because I really do like Ashburn, but I've come to the conclusion that when we buy a house I'll just get a modest one in Vienna rather than Ashburn because I really hate the idea of paying those ridiculous tolls for the rest of my life, especially not even knowing how much they'll be in 10 years or if they'll even be sufficient to support all the traffic.

If I wqnt to ***** about the Greenway's outrageously overpriced tolls then I am going to ***** about it. When something is so clearly wrong then I'm going to call attention to it. I don't ***** about the Dulles Toll Road because it's tolls, while kind of high, are not outrageously high, and there are ways to reduce the expense. I'm only renting out here, and plan to move closer in in a couple of years.