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About an hour later I started getting some fairly confrontational messages left by random people, some with VDOT emails, others with hidden aliases, but IPs that traced back to the state capital and to a vdot address. They said things like, I was stating false facts, and misleading the public, and yet when I kindly asked which facts were false, they critiqued me as "bitching" and that I should accept the world as the last generation left it for me. Evidently "leave things exactly the same" is the motto that made this country great... thats why we all still grow tobacco and transport goods via longboats and barges along waterways.
I think this is a little unfair. I mean, it was a very anti-VDOT post, and you appear to have only gotten two confrontational responses from VDOT employees. They may very well be from the same employee, actually. It's a bit of an exaggeration to say you're "under attack".
As for the post, I think you make a few good points- NoVA's share of transportation money is pitifully small and VDOT's vision of Tysons is not compatible with the urbanist makeover that Fairfax County wants. Tysons has to go all-in on the street grid concept or it won't work.
However, I disagree with some of the other criticisms:
The Mixing Bowl upgrades didn't kill Backlick and Commerce. First, the rumors of that neighborhood's destruction are greatly exaggerated. There are a number of thriving businesses in that corridor, and the area has seen a new hotel opening. Second, to the extent that it has decayed, that corridor's decay is similar to inner-ring suburban decay around the region (and the country). It would have happened with or without an upgraded interchange. Springfield's current state is not that different from Annandale or Bailey's Crossroads, where no superhighways have been built.
The Mixing Bowl upgrades have indeed reduced congestion on the Beltway in that area. Where they have not reduced congestion is on 95 South in the afternoon, but that is being addressed with another widening which will bring the total number of 95 South regular lanes to 4.
Gainesville is another place where I don't see a problem with VDOT's actions. You can't street-grid everywhere, and Gainesville is cul-de-sac heaven, so it's difficult to build extra arterials in the area. Here, VDOT is doing the best they can with an area that was poorly planned and cannot be retrofitted the way Tysons is being retrofitted (no Metro to Gainesville on the horizon, that's for sure).
Finally, the biggest reason VDOT has not attempted to upgrade roads in downtown Richmond is that Richmond has not seen the growth or congestion that NoVA has. I'm sure they would be attempting to widen roads there if Richmond were growing at the same pace as NoVA.
Yea, I have heard about this before. I asked my friend who is better with this kind of stuff, and he said its really an issue with OpenDNS and is a client side issue that I can't really fix until DNS does something with my site. Anyone know how to fix other than that?
I'm not sure if there really is a fix. ISPs' DNS servers should eventually update with your site, but I'm not sure how long that would take.
In the meantime, I would just tell people to use Google's DNS servers. I actually use them on my other computer- just hadn't gotten around to setting up this one with them yet.
However, I disagree with some of the other criticisms:
The Mixing Bowl upgrades didn't kill Backlick and Commerce. First, the rumors of that neighborhood's destruction are greatly exaggerated. There are a number of thriving businesses in that corridor, and the area has seen a new hotel opening. Second, to the extent that it has decayed, that corridor's decay is similar to inner-ring suburban decay around the region (and the country). It would have happened with or without an upgraded interchange. Springfield's current state is not that different from Annandale or Bailey's Crossroads, where no superhighways have been built.
When the mixing bowl was sold to the region, it was said it would help commute times for those who live in eastern fairfax as well as create an economic boom for the county in that region that would help pay for (because after all in VDOTs mind access from a highway is a great way to promote commerce). While the area is no slum, it definitely has not seen any sizable improvement as far as gross commerce and value with the exception of 1 new hotel. I would hope that the county would garner a better return on investment for a 1 billion dollar (unfair a lot of funds came from state/federal) project. Springfield would have been better served finding a way to better promote and improve on the Franconia Metro and make it a not just a terminus line. A streetcar system or better retail/residential/mixed use around the station would have promoted more people to get off the train and instead of driving home to Burke, stick around and enjoy some amenities, or even rent closer to the metro. Instead the metro at Franconia is no more than a tool that garners no tax revenue for the state/county. You have to leverage public funding of things to make a region better, and metro is a big leveraging element.
As far as the VDOT people, at the time I posted this thread they were coming more rapidly (also there are 3 different people, I verified IP, all from richmond, all from VDOTs server) and they accused me of "lying" but did not provide any actual cases in which I did in an attempt to discredit my statements. Also over 600 vdot employees visited my site yesterday as it was posted on their intranet, I figured the first couple of messages were the start of a barrage that never came.
I don't disagree about your comments against the article, a lot of these things are subjective, but the response I did get from the VDOT employees was downright confrontational and clearly they didnt want to discuss, they just wanted to dismiss me as a Utopian idiot who is uneducated in transportation, even though I, unlike a lot of VDOT designers, am actually a licensed professional civil engineer with a background in transportation design.
When the mixing bowl was sold to the region, it was said it would help commute times for those who live in eastern fairfax as well as create an economic boom for the county in that region that would help pay for (because after all in VDOTs mind access from a highway is a great way to promote commerce). While the area is no slum, it definitely has not seen any sizable improvement as far as gross commerce and value with the exception of 1 new hotel. I would hope that the county would garner a better return on investment for a 1 billion dollar (unfair a lot of funds came from state/federal) project. Springfield would have been better served finding a way to better promote and improve on the Franconia Metro and make it a not just a terminus line. A streetcar system or better retail/residential/mixed use around the station would have promoted more people to get off the train and instead of driving home to Burke, stick around and enjoy some amenities, or even rent closer to the metro. Instead the metro at Franconia is no more than a tool that garners no tax revenue for the state/county. You have to leverage public funding of things to make a region better, and metro is a big leveraging element.
I don't think the Mixing Bowl upgrades were meant to concentrate economic benefit in Springfield. Rather, the benefits have been spread across the region in terms of time saved by commuters.
As for Franconia Metro, don't discount the value of park-and-ride. It makes sense for transit stations where redevelopment is not imminent. There are 5000+ cars at the station every day (plus hundreds at nearby park-and-ride shuttle lots) that aren't clogging up 395. Also, there are plans to turn Springfield Mall into a walkable town center, which would greatly enhance Franconia Metro's connection with the surrounding community. The plans have been endlessly delayed because of the financial condition of the owner of the property, but I hold out hope that they'll get going soon. Downtown Springfield is too far from the Metro station to do transit-oriented development without a streetcar or BRT connection to the Metro.
Streetcars to Springfield may be a good idea at some point, but I think Fairfax County has too many other transit/redevelopment projects on its plate to really consider a Springfield transit system right now. Springfield doesn't have the density to support streetcars- it's mostly strip malls and SFH, with some TH sprinkled in. The whole area would have to be remade for streetcars to work. While streetcars would spur that redevelopment, there are other areas in the county that already have density (Tyson's obviously, Skyline, Bailey's) that are more ready for transit.
So, as some of you know, I can be an opinionated jerk, but not to toot my horn, but I typically use facts to back my opinion. Which is what I hope I accomplished with the following article on my website VDOT Too Big To Fail/
Somehow this morning someone from VDOT (Virginia Department of Transportation) found my website. How do I know this? Because on google analytics I suddenly saw 400 visitors coming from a website named insidevdot.gov, with a quick investigation I found out this is VDOTs intranet. I then assumed that I had annoyed someone and this was spreading through the department in order to figure out a way to repute the information that I was putting out (or maybe it was just a fun posting to mock me on VDOT, I have no way of knowing).
About an hour later I started getting some fairly confrontational messages left by random people, some with VDOT emails, others with hidden aliases, but IPs that traced back to the state capital and to a vdot address. They said things like, I was stating false facts, and misleading the public, and yet when I kindly asked which facts were false, they critiqued me as "bitching" and that I should accept the world as the last generation left it for me. Evidently "leave things exactly the same" is the motto that made this country great... thats why we all still grow tobacco and transport goods via longboats and barges along waterways.
Anywho, I found the entire conversation (still on-going) to be very funny and interesting. I really must have ruffled some feathers or perhaps pointed out the flaws. I thought some of you urbanists might want to see it, so go check it out and feel free to give your two cents to some VDOT people.
Thanks
Maybe you should post the responses you are getting on the website, the full responses with signatures and everything, see what happens then. Also, I would contact VDOT Supervisors and ask if it is VDOT procedure to access internet and harrass someone on State Time using the Taxpayers Dime.
I mean, I dont necessarily want to chase down the VDOT people that posted, I thought it was just interesting the arguments they were making. I can post it here if people will find it easier to follow. It appears today they have stayed quiet on my webpage.
Mention it on your website, of course. Why bring city-data into this? Unless, of course, you're using this as a reason to get people to read your website.
Don't get me wrong, I enjoy your posts. In fact, I enjoy them a great deal--but you do seem to mention your website a lot, especially on Nova forum, and in ways that seem intended to draw readers to your site. Just my opinion, of course.
Well but Im confused, on my site its clear what the comments are, as the comments are public source at the bottom of the article. Thats why I was questioning where to put it.
:P Glad you like the posts, I'll try to avoid publicizing as much haha
Governments instituted to secure rights and govern those who consent are unwieldy things when it comes to providing services, especially since politics is involved.
It may be a far better solution to privatize the infrastructure, as it was before the 20th century and the rise of the "Progressives".
At least when private ownership fouls up they can't ask for "more tax money" to deal with mismanagement and corruption.
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