Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, July 22, 1994 TAG: 9407220127
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: LENGTH: Short
The report released Wednesday by the Washington regional Transportation Planning Board covers plans for several major highways. Among them are the widening of Interstate 66 in Prince William County and the widening of the Capital Beltway and Interstate 270.
The board, members of which represent Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia, is developing a new transportation plan that must be approved by fall.
Under new federal transportation and clean-air laws, the plan must show that $2 billion in new road and transit projects will not increase emissions that pollute air.
Although the Transportation Planning Board analysis concluded that cleaner-burning fuels and cars mean road and transit projects would not worsen pollution, it also noted traffic congestion in the region will increase significantly - leading to longer rush hours and a tripling of traffic during the evening rush hour.
Disney critics said the planning board analysis was ``a hollow exercise'' because the staff relied on traffic information prepared by the Walt Disney Co. for Prince William County.
Ronald F. Kirby, the board's staff director, defended the clean-air analysis, saying the figures supplied by Prince William through Disney ``are the best we've got. Local governments are in a much better position to answer questions about what's happening in their jurisdictions.''
by CNB