Interesting debates about transportation with the passage of the NVTA stuff last night.  The main outcry seems to concern the “abusive driver fees” (which aren’t a part of the NVTA but a part of the overall package).  These do seem steep and the fact that they don’t apply to out of state drivers is especially galling.  I do see the logic in the “don’t break the law and you don’t have to worry” argument but some of the fees are pretty steep: over $1000 for having an “obstructed view of the road”.  I don’t disagree that having an obstructed view of the road is bad but $350/year for 3 years is a lot of bucks.  In addition, while having and obstructed view of the road is dumb, it isn’t any dumber than not using turn signals and I guarantee that failure to signal leads to many more accidents and injuries than “obstructed view” ever will.  Yes, it’s a pet peeve.

Abusive drivers fees as an idea isn’t a bad one but they need to be a little more reasonable and apply to everyone who drives in the state.

I attended the Help Save Manassas Meeting the other night and there were a lot of questions about the peddlers and what the City is doing.  Well, you can find out the same time I do if you like.  The Land Use/Economic Development committee has a meeting scheduled for July 5th at 5:30 in the second floor conference room at City Hall and the peddler issue in slotted on the agenda about an hour after the meeting starts.  It could be earlier or later depending on how discussion on earlier items goes.  As always, these meetings are open to the public but public comment is at the discretion of the chair.