That was Sabiston’s answer when Representative Angela Bryant asked him who supports tolling at the recent meeting with the city’s legislative delegation.
Another legislator sitting beside Senator Ed Jones that day also hinted about what is to come. John May, who took Representative Lucy Allen’s place and sits on a transportation committee, said what most of us already know: It appears the state is leaning to tolling.
Even Jones doesn’t speak of how we’re going to stop tolling. He speaks of what we do with the money should tolling come.
We admire May’s candor but it doesn’t appear he will be an ally in this tolling issue. If there is an ally in the General Assembly we’d like them to raise their hands.
It appears Bryant may become an ally but can one person, in a remake of Mr. Smith Goes to Washington or Raleigh, stand up to the state Department of Transportation, whose secretary has already pledged to support Virginia’s effort?
It’s doubtful because we believe the fix is in.
We believe the state DOT thinks we’re trusting sheep who don’t see the gleaming knife in the shepherd’s hand, a shepherd who is really a wolf.
We say this because the state says they haven’t decided. They cite they have to study this, then study that and then study another issue. They don’t say, “Yes, we’re going to toll,” or, “No, we’re not going to toll.”
We don’t believe this because when you ask what the options are it’s always tolling or fund through traditional methods which mean our children’s children will most likely be parents or grandparents themselves when improvements are completed.
Another question raised by Sabiston is where is the federal government? It seems the federal government has abandoned this issue and told the state, like a faithful lapdog, to handle the matter.
We believe the only allies we have are the ones who have said they are working on a position paper and assembling other leaders along the Interstate 95 corridor. They are people like Halifax County Economic Development Director Cathy Scott who at Tuesday’s board of commissioners meeting described a recent meeting on the matter at Halifax Community College as strangely organized with not much discussion. “The issue of tolling was low key.”
To fight tolling, which we believe should be done, will take a letter and being there campaign not just from officials but the people who go to work on this highway and travel it for a living. We believe we have to make allies on this matter and we don’t believe there are many in the state — Editor.
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