LoudounNow LOUDOUN COUNTY’S COMMUNITY-OWNED NEWS SOURCE
[ Vol. 1, No. 45 ]
[ loudounnow.com ]
Bluemont's new sweet treat
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[ Sept. 15 – 21, 2016 ]
State Supreme Court: Greenway Tolls Stand BY RENSS GREENE & NORMAN K. STYER
TURF WAR Danielle Nadler/Loudoun Now
Tuscarora High School freshmen practice Monday evening on the school’s crumb rubber turf field.
Standoff Shuts Down Field Safety Testing BY DANIELLE NADLER & RENSS GREENE
I
t started as an idea from Blue Ridge District Supervisor Tony Buffington. After he heard concerns that the crumb rubber that fills many of Loudoun’s athletic fields may cause health risks, he told his kids they could no longer play on the artificial material. Then, he asked that the Loudoun County Health Department test the crumb rubber fields for cancer-causing chemicals. From their daises, members of both the Board of Supervisors and the School Board said they were in favor of testing the material on which Loudoun athletes practice and compete. But through either political maneuvering, or a simple misunderstanding, that idea was shelved last week. At their Sept. 6 meeting, supervisors turned down the School Board’s conditions for testing the schools’ fields in a decision punctuated by an excoriating tirade from Chairwoman Phyllis J. Randall (DAt Large).
The School Board had accepted the Board of Supervisors’ offer to pay for testing at three artificial turf fields, but stipulated the county must also test three grass fields, more than doubling the price tag from $27,900 to $68,000. “This was their attempt to give us a poison pill to back down,” Vice Chairman Ralph M. Buona (R-Ashburn) said. Buona said he had been told “this was their way of giving us a way out, was to kick it back to us with a bigger price tag, and I was told that bluntly.” This infuriated Randall. “For them to do this, they’re playing games, and they’re playing games with maybe the safety of all our students,” Randall said. She pointed out that all schools are surrounded by grass fields, and that there have been no suggestions that they are causing cancer—a possibility that has been raised around artificial turf, although without conclusive evidence. “School Board members, you should be ashamed of yourselves,” Randall said. “Hear me. You should be ashamed of yourselves. … We’ve
been playing on grass for centuries, and here we’re doing this little game playing right now.” “We’re going to test something that covers probably half the county?” said Supervisor Suzanne M. Volpe (R-Algonkian), similarly incensed. “This is a typical back and forth between the School Board and the county. I don’t want to play anymore.” Jeff Morse (Dulles), the School Board member who made the June 28 motion asking that tests include both artificial and natural grass fields, said this week that the vote was certainly not meant to talk the county out of testing the fields. It was meant to “provide a baseline and help us determine relative levels of toxins.” “It’s sort of ironic that they were pushing so hard to have this happen, and then when we want to provide them with more than one data point, they balk at the cost,” Morse said. “If you want enough information to make some reasonable decisions, you should ask for that inforTURF >> 13
A four-year-long challenge to the toll rates charged on the Dulles Greenway reached an apparent conclusion last week with no relief in sight for Loudoun commuters. The Supreme Court of Virginia issued an opinion upholding rate hike approvals granted by the State Corporation Commission since 2012. The toll increases were challenged by David L. Ramadan, then a state delegate representing the 87th House District, and by the Loudoun Board of Supervisors. Ramadan charged that the rate increases did not comply with state law and sought the SCC to enact lower rates. Critics said the higher tolls discouraged area residents from using the privately owned 14-mile highway between Rt. 28 and Leesburg, and that revenue generated by the tolls was in excess of that needed to provide a reasonable rate of return for owner TRIP II. With increases approved earlier this year, TRIP II collects $4.40 per car at its main toll plaza, $5.35 per car during rush hours. Motorist passing through the plaza also pay $1 more to the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority for travel on the Dulles Toll Road. The Virginia Department of Transportation estimates that in 2015, 54,000 people traveled on the busiest section of the Greenway on an average weekday—a traffic volume that would generate $237,600 per day at the non-rush-hour rate. Last year, the Greenway reported $84.7 million in toll revenues. Last year, the Dulles Toll Road saw 94,000 cars on an average weekday between Rt. 28 and the Fairfax GREENWAY >> 24
Renss Greene/Loudoun Now
Commuters passing through the Dulles Greenway’s main toll plaza in Sterling pay $6.20 per trip during rush hours.
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