Total victory,
total vindication for
new bridge advocates
Already, the Legion Bridge meltdown is being ranked as one of the D.C. region's Top 5 traffic disasters of all time. But imagine if this had occurred during a terror attack or other disaster. Sadly, the local media - out of political bias or simple ignorance of history - largely did not inform their viewers, listeners and readers about exactly why they were stuck in Carmageddon 2019: The failure to complete the D.C. region's freeway system, and most-specifically, Montgomery County and Maryland's childish refusal to build the new Potomac bridge to appease radical anti-car ideologues and developer sugar daddies who need traffic congestion to justify high-density development in the suburbs.
Nobody could take a lap around the Beltway yesterday, but this morning, I'm taking a victory lap as the only Maryland candidate in the 2018 elections who was not only advocating for the new Potomac River crossing, but made it a centerpiece of my campaign.
Simply put: I told you so.
And the tens of thousands of you who voted for me for Montgomery County Council At-Large, along with more than 6000 additional Democrats who voted for me across party lines, can also take a victory lap this morning. You weren't just tired of sitting in traffic; you did your homework before voting. And this morning, like me, you can celebrate total victory and total vindication.
Just as I was the only candidate representing you, the taxpayer and commuter, in the election, now I am sadly perhaps the only journalist who is telling the truth this morning. The truth about our "leaders" failing us by blocking a bridge critical to commuting, national security and Montgomery County's economic development - including the need for direct access to Dulles International Airport. But also the truth that yesterday's fiasco produced clear winners and losers.
And as my readers and my 2018 election supporters know, sometimes it's better to lose with a winner than to win with losers.
Winners
Robert Dyer
The local media and a number of community organizations colluded with the Montgomery County cartel to prevent any coverage of my campaign and platform. But the fact is, I was the sole County Council candidate who ran on the priority of building the new Potomac crossing, and completing Montgomery County's master plan highway system. I'm looking very smart this morning.
It's safe to say there is extreme voter remorse among low-information Montgomery County voters this morning. Those voters were poorly-served by the very media that claims it informs the public, and prevents democracy from "dying in darkness." Casual voters need to know now that they must begin to take their responsibility more seriously - if the Washington Post and other local media aren't informing you about the choices on your ballot, you need to sit down for an hour and research the candidates online before voting. And that having every seat on the County Council won by a Democrat every election kept you in bumper-to-bumper traffic for hours last night. A hyperpartisan victory is ultimately an empty and Pyrrhic victory, as yesterday proved.
Robert Dyer voters
'Nuff said.
New Potomac River crossing advocates
While I've been alone as a candidate and activist on our side of the river in pushing for the new Potomac River crossing, the bridge doesn't lack for high-profile advocates. Virginia Senator Mark Warner, the Northern Virginia Transportation Alliance, former Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation Chair Bob Buchanan, and former Virginia Govs. Bob McDonnell and Terry McAuliffe are among those who have supported a new crossing in recent years.
Losers
Drivers
D.C region commuters, especially those who live in Montgomery County.
Montgomery County Council
Each member of the current Montgomery County Council (and the previous Councils this decade) has openly opposed a new Potomac River crossing in their public statements. They should be facing the wrath of their constituents today via phone, social media and email, and at the ballot box in 2022. They are almost entirely to blame for yesterday's catastrophe.
Gov. Larry Hogan
Incredibly, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan - a real estate developer, no less - has come out against a new Potomac River bridge. While claiming reducing traffic congestion is a key priority for his administration, Hogan instead became the latest governor in Annapolis to let the phone go to voicemail when Virginia's top leaders have called to discuss a new crossing.
Hogan's claim that the bridge is cost-prohibitive is simply false; the bridge and required highway extension from I-370 can be built privately as a toll facility, at virtually no expense to taxpayers. Our County's structural budget deficit shows what the costs of not building it are - year after year.
Like many bridge opponents, Hogan has made the suggestion of instead "improving" the existing Legion bridge. The problem is, even a magical 16-lane American Legion bridge would have been closed for the same number of hours yesterday. We need more crossings. Period.
New Potomac crossing opponents
Developer-funded bridge opponents ranging from the Coalition for Smarter Growth to Greater Greater Washington to the Rockefeller Foundation aren't looking too "smart" this morning. I would love to have seen them walk from car-to-car in the backups of commuters desperately trying to get home to family and dinner last night, and pass out brochures opposing the new bridge. And to witness the response of drivers!
22 comments:
First rule of adulthood: Trying to make yourself look good by stomping all over other people and making them look bad doesn't work. It just makes you an a-hole. And while you may have some great ideas, you, Bobbypants, are a supreme, petulant a-hole. You will never win.
6:30 AM The "petulant a-holes" are the men who refused to debate last election.
The logic here is completely whack and there's no mention of the insane financial, environmental, and social costs of a new crossing. Maybe we should build another Red Line parallel to the current one in case it shuts down again.
Of course a handful of Virginia leaders support it (although most of them do not): it only benefits Virginia to the expense of Maryland.
6:57: No, it benefits us more than VA because we would then be more competitive in attracting corporations that want direct access to Dulles Airport.
There are no financial costs - as I said, a private firm will build and operate it as a toll bridge and highway. Or you could cancel the $10 billion BRT boondoggle and use a fraction of those funds to build it.
6:44: Hear, hear.
6:30
Mr. Dyer stating his past and current position regarding a new crossing does not make him an A-hole it shows he was 100% Right!
Liberals can't handle the truth if it smacks them upside the head. Collusion..Collusion..Collusion...smh
6:57 AM Another Potomac crossing would benefit our people in Montgomery County on a daily basis, in addition to providing a relief valve when the Legion Bridge closes.
Yesterday just highlighted how important bridge crossings are to our economy, security and quality of life.
Powerful piece. How will the council respond to this crisis?
"American Legion Bridge shutdown paralyzes D.C. region with no alternative Potomac crossing"
Except for Chain Bridge, Key Bridge, TR Bridge, Memorial Bridge, 14th Street Bridge and Wilson Bridge.
9:55 am you're wrong- Chain Bridge and Key Bridge were jammed. Over 4 hours from Tysons to any point in moco using those bridges.
All roads feeding those bridges were jammed as well.
Chain Bridge simply can't handle that much traffic.
Watch out! Robert told you so. There isn't the political will on either side of the river to build another crossing or make the existing one bigger. The traffic sucks but what can you do? Move to Iowa? Metro riders from Tyson's were smart.
Another handy way to avoid driving alone across the Potomac...take the damn Metro. Even though certainly degraded from a a few years ago, the Metro is still a world class subway system, that many more folks should consider. Have two white knuckle, blood pressure increasing rides on the beltway every day, or plan your life around the existing extensive Metro system, live close enough to walk or bike to a Metro Station, and choose a job that you can walk or bike from a Metro Station, give up your car and take advantage of mass transit. So many folks bitch about their lousy commute from MoCo to NoVa. Be more proactive an use the very handy Metro to commute. Y4s it’s not perfect, but a great option to consider.
Or even better, get a job on the same side of the river that you live. Or telework, or car pool. Or retire and stop driving to work. Or start your own business from home, like Robert!
To plan your life around a very long and tedious driving commute in the DMV, and complain about it all the time, is just plain dumb, and often very avoidable with a little planning.
11:11 AM - "All roads feeding those bridges were jammed as well."
That's not the same as saying that there is "no alternative crossing". Of course these alternative crossings will be "jammed" if one is closed.
4:22: It's great if you can afford to live by Metro or by your job. Not everyone is so blessed. The majority of the population can't be held hostage by the few in the Creative Class.
First mile+Metro+Metrobus+last mile = hours of commuting time most folks don't have to waste each day.
9:55: None of those connect to Maryland - check your map, Magellan.
2:04: Vote out the morons who created this mess.
6:57: That's why we need more crossings.
"None of those connect to Maryland - check your map, Magellan."
Check your own map. The Wilson Bridge most definitely does connect to Maryland. And all of the rest are just a few miles south of Western Avenue.
"Vote out the morons who created this mess."
Less than 5 months after they were voted in to a 4-year term, by landslides? Not sure how Albornoz, Friedson Glass and Jawando have anything to do with this, given that they are freshmen. In fact, Albornoz supports a Second Crossing.
7:36 PM
My point that many people in this area don’t even consider transit options. Negative “I will never use Metro again” comments scare off many people. Of course it could, should and hopefully will be better, but it still is a world class transit system.
Maybe most folks can’t afford an apartment that is steps from the Metro in Friendship Heights, but more affordable options exist further out. Many folk select a residence without considering the difficulties they will have to endure with a long driving commute, when they live in a city that really emphasizes transit. The DMV is not that far behind NY in making driving and owning a very poor choice.
The average total cost in America to finance or lease a car, insure, fuel, and park is well over $10,000 per year per driver. If you choose a residence near transit, with available Uber/Lyft/Zipcar options, you could easily ditch the car and spend $900 more per month for your “Creative Class” residence and still come out ahead.
No frustrating and mind numbing commuting on congested roads. You get more excercise walking or biking to and from the Metro or Bus. If you insist on having a car to go grocery shopping, vacations, or to get to and from work during Metro single tracking as shut downs, or really cold, hot, rainy or humid days, just buy a cheap used urban compact car and use it sparingly, while you live in a walkable urban city with tons of amenities steps from your residence. The dream of a large single family home, on a large lot, 25 miles from your workplace, sometimes really doesn’t make a lot of sense in a city where driving is such a poor option.
7:08: You're delusional - Nobody takes the Wilson Bridge from Tysons to Bethesda. The other bridges you're referring to are much lower in capacity than the Legion Bridge, and were totally overwhelmed Thursday night, causing a complete collapse of the region's transportation system. None of those connect to Maryland, or to major job centers in Fairfax and Loudoun. You've lost the debate - don't be an Adam Schiff, ranting incoherently at the sky on a street corner.
The Council, including the freshmen, haven't said a word or taken a single substantive action on traffic congestion since they took office (except to say they want to make traffic even slower). A lot of talk about Trump, but no action on the actual priorities of their constituents.
7:14: Very few, and usually eccentric, people want to raise their kids in urban areas. How is it viable for a parent who has to drive kids different places and run errands to use the bus? The people making these pronouncements are the exception to the majority of people, who find transit slow and frustrating, and don't want to spend four hours a day getting to and from home.
Robert these liberal comments on here are comical..
Does the idiot bartender AOC with no life experience live in the area now?
Stop with the war on cars, and enough of the ridiculous backup causing "road diets".
8:31: We need a yellow vest uprising in Montgomery County.
Not everybody has kids. Especially young Amazonian’s. Not everyone needs to live in Fredrick and drive to Tyson’s to work and shop.
Over reliance on personal vehicles for most of your daily needs in this town is just absurd. Plan your life, your work, your education, your recreation to minimize driving and try to take advantage of available transit options. The DMV already has some of the longest commute times in the country. Give up your drum beat about enhanced density density is killing the area. Stop insisting on constantly wider roads, and more bridges, and the preservation of under-utilized areas and maybe work us all figure out how to maximize connectivity in a dense urban area by using planning principles that make sense for this area.
If you really want to live in the suburban utopia of your childhood, perhaps the DMV is a poor choice.
I vote to continue the war on cars, and yes reduce road widths if it enhances bike commuting, walkable neighborhoods, safer sidewalks.
9:11: Let me get this straight, you're telling the majority of D.C. area residents to leave if we won't agree to be dominated by a small group of Creative Class radicals, Fellow Travelers, and greedy developers? LOL. Prepare for the Yellow Vests, my friend.
"Stop insisting on the real solutions, and buy into our developer-driven fantasy!"
11:11: You're saying soccer moms have "led a very sheltered life?" That ought to go over well for your guys on Election Day 2022.
Even in the District, jobs and schools are not within walking distance for everyone. Not everyone can afford to live behind a wall in Kalorama.
10:31 PM.
No I’m just suggesting that many DMV resididents discard transit options for various reasons. Many don’t seem to understand the quality and versatility of the existing system, or seem to want to help make it even better. They would prefer to let Metro die, and funnel all effort into massive road and bridge improvements. I contend that since the DMV is a;ready poorly served by freeways, it would be nearly impossible to fix, based on existing and anticipated growth.
Of course I believe roads and bridges should be improved as much as practicable, but transit options like bus, BRT, light rail, heavy rail and streetcars should not be considered second class and receive only token improvements.
Of course many folks don’t live or work in areas that are well served by transit. My point was that many of these issues are self-created and can be fixed with proper long term planning. Move closer to transit, take you next job closer to transit, consider teleworking, get out and walk if possible, dust off your old bike and ride to work or school. I think transit is a very polarizing topic in that some feel the need favor only one mode. I suggest a balanced approach to all modalities is crucial.
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