Have you felt by now that the hastening movement to green energy comes only by way of the pain of leaving fossil fuels behind?
In a parallel to that, reading about the $4 billion being spent to improve Virginia's passenger rail service between Richmond and D.C. causes me to think the two are related.
People will want to use trains more and their cars less. Isn't that the point of accelerating a dramatic shift in the transportation paradigm? To reduce vehicle traffic and use less fossil fuel?
So then, why are we "improving" Williamson Road, and why is Roanoke County spending bazillions to improve the Bonsack area's U.S. 460 corridor?
Following the arguments that less traffic is better, people need a reason not to use their cars. Terrible delays in traffic and a high likelihood of accidents fit that bill.
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Remember when Bonsack used to be the middle of nowhere? Those roads, including Virginia 604/Cloverdale Road, used to be two-laners with no median and one-quarter the number of signalized intersections.
In the year 2000, no one cared there was no Bonsack Walmart. Now look. The past two decades' improvements served only to increase the traffic capacity. More capacity stimulated more growth, including traffic generators Walmart, Lowe's and Chik-fil-A. Significantly more accidents on that route today than there were 20 years ago? You bet.
The arrival of more conveniences for consumers and for large employers makes it easier for real estate agents to sell newly built and soon-to-be-built bedroom communities, and any area soon — within 20 years — becomes too congested for the roads' capacities to carry a volume of traffic. Again. Stop improving roads! (Isn't it obvious?)
At the very least, people who find car travel inconvenient and risky will consider carefully how often and when they will plan their car trips. The outcome? Reduced volume, reduced fuel consumption.
And don't use your clothes dryer. The time has come back for people to let a nice breeze dry their clothes on a 1940s-style clothes line. I've got a whole long list of painfully good ideas if you really want them.
Jason Cohen, Blue Ridge
