THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, June 24, 1994 TAG: 9406240028
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A12 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: Medium
DATELINE: 940624 LENGTH:
My experience in having auto-emission inspection in three other localities where I lived is that the actual test time, exclusive of waiting-in-line time, is five minutes, not ``a day off (or maybe two) to get the car tested'' as suggested by the editorial.
{REST} Failure of the standards and resultant compliance can be as little as the cost of a new air filter or new spark plugs - minor expenditures, that are cost effective because of resultant improvement of gasoline mileage. The serious cost of catalytic-converter replacement is generally avoided because of the mandatory 50,000-mile manufacturers guarantee.
Your editorial seems to be more troubled about the possible loss of highway construction funding than the prospect that we may join the 100 million of our fellow citizens, 50,000 of whom die prematurely annually, who now breathe unhealthy air. We in Southeastern Virginia have been flirting with failing the standard for several years now. What Hampton Roads needs most is better mass transit, encouragement of car pools, greater use of HOV lanes and single-occupant-car restraint; the last thing we need is another highway.
The rampant roadbuilding here has split neighborhoods, encouraged long-distance commuting and contributed to the loss of a sense of community spirit. The effluents from the large auto population in this area, as well as those transported here from Northern Virginia by prevailing winds, are significant contributors to the pollution of Chesapeake Bay and surely are a factor in the decline of the bay from what was formerly the world's most food-productive estuary to its current also-ran status.
WALTER ZADAN
Virginia Beach, June 15, 19943 by CNB