■ 08 September 2008 | 7:56 AM
Free parking=costly roads
I travel the I-664 Monitor-Merrimac Bridge-Tunnel route each day in a car pool. Over the last few weeks I have done an unofficial survey of commuter traffic. Only 11 percent of the commuter vehicles had more than one person in them.
Until we start providing incentives for people to use other means of getting back and forth to work, including cutting back on available parking spaces at the shipyards, bases, large employers and downtown employment areas, we will always have too many cars on the roads.
Every day, there are thousands and thousands of cars on the interstates, main roads and Hampton Boulevard heading in the same directions, leaving the same neighborhoods and working the same hours. We've got to get rid of this 'me first' attitude and work together on reducing our traffic problems.
Jerry Phillips
Chesapeake
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Good comments. First though, I'm no commie, nor am I a right or left wing radical. I'm just a worker like you, sitting in traffic most every day, making observations. I've been carpooling the majority of 25 years. Sure it's been inconvenient at times, but the positives outweigh the negatives. Haven't you sat in traffic and noticed that almost all of the vehicles that you encounter on your daily commutes have only one person in them? Haven't you ever thought that there had to be a better way? Have you thought of getting with a co-worker, arranging a pick-up spot and carpooling at least a couple of days a week? I know that public transportation around here is not the answer, but if only a few more each day carpooled or tried something else, it would make a big difference. Be good and be safe.
Forced reduction of Car use
Sounds like something out of the Old Russian/Communist solutions for curtailing freedoms of the People!
Now, if there was efficient public transportation available to the places that people need to go to in order to work, (which there is not!) Instead of just a ride to the Beach, a lot of the transportation problems could be solved.
ok
Dr. Tabor, he mentioned incentives as well. So there would obviously be perks to carpooling that would entice people to do it. It doesn't just consist of only eliminating parking spaces. And those incentives would be voluntary (so that solves the whole freedom thing).
C.B., I'm not sure what you mean about different work schedules or different work locations? There are thousands of people that work the same hours every day of the week at the same place (Newport News Shipyard, etc.). So obviously there would be enough people that could get together and carpool. And of course there are the times that would arise which would require someone to drive a personal vehicle, most of which could be planned for (doctor office, court, etc.)
Although...
Although it would be nice to carpool, most are not in a position to carpool because of lack of people that share the same schedules, work locations as well as day to day needs that require immediate transportation. Anyone with children knows that the dreaded "your kid is sick" call comes at the most inconvenient moment. There are more situations to add but the point has been made. Now to control parking access to force carpooling would probably jeopordize the viability of an economic industrial zone without real public transportation into that area (Downtown Norfolk?)
More government = less freedom
So, your solution is to limit people's choices by increasing the costs of choosing to drive?
People make their choices on how to commute based on costs, both monetary and lifestyle, which are unique to the person. I would not presume to tell a person who makes the choice to drive to work so he can have a half hour more time with his children after work each day that his choice is wrong.
If we wish to encourage people to ride-share or use transit to get to work, then we should make those choices more attractive(WITHOUT shifting the costs to drivers through subsidies), not force people into those choices by making their alternatives less attractive.
People are happier when they are free to choose.