Remaining rest areas opened one day ahead of schedule

"Thank you, Governor Bob McDonnell," I posted earlier today ... and then received a press release this afternoon from the Govenror's office announcing that the seven remaining rest areas had been reopened one day ahead of the April 15 goal:

Governor McDonnell Announces Remaining Seven Rest Areas Opened One Day Ahead of April 15th Goal ... all 19 Previously Closed Rest Areas Now Open

RICHMOND- Governor Bob McDonnell and The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) today officially reopened the final seven rest areas in various parts of the Commonwealth. McDonnell announced he would reopen all 19 rest areas closed last year due to funding cuts by April 15, noting the importance of reopening the closed facilities to tourism and economic development in the state.

“Rest areas allow a break for the tired motorists on our state’s highways,” McDonnell said. “The facilities also provide valuable access to tourists, businesses and commuters with information on the many sites and services the Commonwealth has to offer. In living up to our commitment to reopening the rest areas within the first 90 days of this administration, we are increasing safety and ensuring that everyone knows Virginia is open for business.”

The facilities officially reopened today include:

I-95 Ladysmith north and south rest areas at mile marker 107
I-64 Goochland east rest area at mile marker 169
I-64 Goochland west rest area at mile marker 168
I-81 Troutville south rest area at mile marker 158
I-85 Alberta north and south rest areas at mile marker 32

In January, the Commonwealth Transportation Board responded to Governor McDonnell’s call to reopen 19 closed rest areas by reversing its June 2009 decision to reduce the number of VDOT rest areas and welcome centers from 42 to 23. Eighteen facilities closed in July 2009 and the final facility – the Interstate 66 West Manassas Welcome Center – closed in September. VDOT will soon announce its plan to offset or reduce the costs of operating the rest areas.

Four rest areas reopened in mid-February and eight more reopened in mid-March. The reopening of the final seven rest areas has restored all of Virginia’s rest areas to full operations.

In preparation for rest area reopenings, VDOT crews have restored utilities, restocked traveler information centers, cleaned the facilities, installed vending machines and restored rest area grounds. Gates blocking motorists’ entry to these seven rest areas were opened over the last week while VDOT crews completed final electrical, plumbing and facility testing. All work is now complete and the rest areas are officially open for business.

Campaign promise made ... campaign promise kept. Thank you, Governor Bob McDonnell.

Governor Bob McDonnell website

"Thank you, Governor Bob McDonnell"

A friend and I were heading up I-81 recently when I suddenly exclaimed, "Thank you, Governor Bob McDonnell!"

She looked at me as if I had lost my mind.

I pointed out that we were passing the Mt. Jackson rest area on I-81 and I was grateful to Gov. McDonnell for keeping his campaign promise to reopen Virginia's rest areas that had been closed by former Gov. Tim Kaine, supposedly for financial reasons.

Nothing says, "You're not welcome," to tourists and travelers more than closed rest areas.

Democrats tried to justify the closings by suggesting that people could pull off at exits and use commercial facilities. They added that it was a waste of tax dollars to run the rest areas and all sorts of silly arguments.

Drivers of tractor-trailers, horse trailers, campers, boats, and other large vehicles often found it difficult to navigate small parking areas to use those commercial facilities.

Odd how Democrats were able to find money for all sorts of programs they wanted ... but when it came to welcoming visitors to historic Virginia, they agreed with the Democrat governor to shut the door on rest areas and one visitor center.

In my opinion, it was nothing more than politics.

Meanwhile, the final rest areas will be reopened tomorrow just in time for vacation season.

To travelers both local and from out-of-state ... welcome to the Commonwealth of Virginia!

Campaign promise made ... campaign promise kept

It's nice when a politician keeps a campaign promise ... and Gov. Bob McDonnell has done just that. This week's announcement that Virginia's rest areas will reopen over the next three months was welcome news for the upcoming tourist season when visitors will be traveling in our historic Commonwealth. Truckers will have somewhere to stop after the recent ruling by Augusta County's Board of Supervisors.

Many realize Virginia's rest areas were used as pawns in the political game of Democrats versus Republicans, and those pawns used by former Democrat Gov. Tim Kaine during the 2009 gubernatorial Chess game.

Republicans swept the Top 3 offices.

Checkmate.

Rest areas will have staggered openings as they come back online after a unanimous vote by the Commonwealth Transportation Board headed up by Transportation Secretary Sean Connaughton to reopen all 19 facilities by April 15, 2010.

A move that became political during the 2009 campaign, Gov. Bob McDonnell commented:

“I disagreed with the previous decision to close 19 Virginia rest stops and welcome centers. It negatively impacted public safety, tourism, and economic development. The darkened rest stops presented an image of a Virginia 'closed for business.' They left truckers and families without safe and secure areas at which they could get a break from the road, increasing the potential for accidents. Tourists traveling through the state could no longer pull over to learn about Virginia places and sites to visit. Virginians rightly recognized immediately the negative implications of that decision. Today, we have reversed it.”

Kaine has closed rest areas for supposed budget reasons. Gov. McDonnell addressed that:

“I fully understand that this is a tough budget. Significant spending cuts must be made. But they must be made with a comprehensive review of the ramifications of each decision on our citizens. I thank Secretary of Transportation Sean Connaughton for his leadership on this matter, moving within days of taking office to get this action accomplished. I thank the members of the Commonwealth Transportation Board for working with us to achieve this positive result. I look forward to welcoming travelers to the first re-opened rest stop in February.”

So how can a Republican administration reopen rest areas that were closed because of lack of funds under a Democrat administration?

Under the plan approved today, the Virginia Department of Transportation will use $3 million from its maintenance reserve fund to operate the facilities through the remainder of this fiscal year which ends June 30. Long-term funding for the rest areas will be identified as VDOT revises its maintenance budget this spring. The maximum anticipated cost for FY 2011 is $7.5 million.

The administration will continue to work with business leadership around the state to develop an “Adopt a Rest Stop” program to permit private sector contributions to defray operation costs. Additional cost savings will be identified in the current maintenance budget, and the Governor will direct the Department of Corrections to supply non-violent inmate work crews for maintenance, landscaping and repair of existing rest areas. The Governor has also directed Secretary Connaughton to explore further innovative ways to improve the rest areas and welcome centers, making them more attractive and inviting for Virginians and tourists.

So what needs to be done to prepare these areas for public use after Kaine had them shuttered and gated?

Crews will now begin to restore utilities, re-stock traveler information centers, clean the facilities, install vending machines and restore rest area grounds to public use standards before removing gates and reopening the facilities.

Changes the CTB made to truck parking hours and additional 225 truck parking spaces that were added at the 23 facilities that were not closed will not be revisited. These enhanced truck amenities will remain in place and the extended truck parking hours will be in place at all 42 facilities.

This is good news, indeed. It will be nice to have the I-81 rest areas and the I-64 one west of Richmond open again.

Closed rest areas come back to bite Dem Tim Kaine

Democrat Gov. Tim Kaine played politics with Virginia citizens ... and lost. Instead of making interstate rest areas a political pawn, he should have found the $9 million to keep them open and played politics in another way.

Bob Holsworth wrote on his Virginia Tomorrow blog that Kaine tried to blame Rep. Eric Cantor ... but that blame belongs squarely on Tim Kaine's shoulders. The issue of rest areas should never have reached the point where federal intervention was needed. The last-ditch effort did not work and "CLOSED" has been splashed across rest area signs throughout the Commonwealth.

What a sad commentary. We ask visitors to come see Virginia. Tourists arrive and see, "CLOSED."

Billions of taxpayer dollars are being spent on laptop computers ... $14 million was announced earlier this week by Kaine for land to put in a nature preserve ... yet a measly $9 couldn't be found to keep rest areas open, something used by thousands of Virginians and out-of-state visitors. To close them in July at the height of summer vacation season was added insult and made more people take notice and realize it was a political move more than an economic savings.
Mr. Holsworth, political commentator and former political science professor at Virginia Commonwealth University, wrote in Virginia Tomorrow:

The problem is that the issue should have never reached the stage where keeping the rest stops open depended on an eleventh hour reprieve from Congress.

By not allocating the funds to keep the rest stops open, I think that the administration miscalculated public sentiment and misunderstood the powerful (and negative) visual symbolism that the CLOSED signs send about Virginia. It also served up an issue to Bob McDonnell on a silver platter.
...
Let’s get the rest stops reopened- the sooner the better.

Republican legislators tried to avoid closings from the time it was announced last winter.

* Rep. Frank Wolfe (R-10th Congressional) said the rest areas should be reopened.
* Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob McDonnell said the rest areas should be reopened.
* Republican Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling said the rest areas should be reopened.
* Sen. Mark Obenshain (R-Harrisonburg) said the rest areas should be reopened.
* Del. Todd Gilbert (R-15th) said the rest areas should be reopened.
* Del. Chris Saxman (R-20th) said the rest areas should be reopened.
* Del. Steve Landes (R-25th) said the rest areas should be reopened.
* Del. Bob Marshall (R-13th) said the rest areas should be reopened.

So why are the Democrats keeping the rest areas closed?

H/T to CM

Kaine has no $$ for rest areas ... but can buy land & laptops

Well this is nice. Democrat Gov. Tim Kaine shut down 18 interstate rest areas and a welcome center, something the general public and tourists use on a daily basis, because VDOT said it did not have the $9 million necessary to maintain them.

But last week it was learned the state was buying 61,000 laptop computers at the cost of $9,000 each for a total contract of $3.1 billion. BILLION! We could have bought cheaper laptops and saved the rest areas with the leftover money.

Today it was learned Gov. Kaine announced that the Commonwealth was buying 1,000 acres of land for a natural preserve at the cost of $14.2 million ... more than enough money to save the rest areas which would have been much more useful to the general population than yet another natural area. Maybe Kaine is planning to allow travelers with no rest areas to "rest" in the natural area.

Does Gov. Kaine need a lesson in priorities? Isn't money better spent on projects that will get the most use from the very taxpayers who fund them ... projects like rest areas?

Virginia advertises tourism ... yet Gov. Kaine closed rest areas used by tourists. Virginia (including Tim Kaine) advertises our state parks ... yet Kaine closed the rest areas that those who travel to state parks would use.

* Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob McDonnell said the rest areas should be reopened.

* Republican Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling said the rest areas should be reopened.

* Sen. Mark Obenshain (R-Harrisonburg) said the rest areas should be reopened.

* Del. Todd Gilbert (R-Woodstock) said the rest areas should be reopened.

* Del. Chris Saxman (R-Staunton) said the rest areas should be reopened.

* Del. Steve Landes (R-Weyers Cave) said the rest areas should be reopened.

So why are the Democrats keeping the rest areas closed?

Money found to reopen rest areas?

With all the bruhaha from Democrat Gov. Tim Kaine and VDOT about not having money in the budget to keep Virginia's interstate rest areas open, an interesting article in the Richmond Times-Dispatch reveals what many may consider a huge waste of taxpayer money.

What kind of bells and whistles do you find on a $9,000 laptop? That's the cost Virginia will pay for 61,000 computers.

Sixty-one thousand. Do the math. The contract is for $2.3 Billion. That's "billion" with a "b."

How much money did we need to keep the rest areas open? Reportedly the closing of 18 rest areas and one visitor center would result in a savings of $9 million. We cannot find $9 million to preserve rest areas ... but we can spend $9,000 a piece on laptop computers?

I still maintain Democrats are playing politics with a service that is used by many Virginians and visitors to the state. It is time to put pressure on Tim Kaine to reopen the rest areas.

Have you ever seen that movie, Dave? He stands in for the President of the United States and, at one point, brings his accountant friend to the White House to go over the nation's books to find some savings to preserve a children's center. Savings are found and -- voila! -- children's center saved. We need Dave!

Maybe the Commonwealth could find computers on sale at Best Buy ... and then we would have the money to save the rest areas. Wish it was that easy....


H/T Sen. Mark Obenshain's Facebook

Obenshain & Gilbert weigh in on VDOT, Kaine, rest areas

The political games being played by Democrat Gov. Tim Kaine and VDOT with Virginia's rest areas are being disseminated to the citizens of the Commonwealth and do not let up two days after 18 rest areas and a visitor center were shuttered to the public. Check out the VDOT Waste webside.

Sen. Mark Obenshain (R-Harrisonburg) and Del. Todd Gilbert (R-Woodstock) issued a press release today about the subject:

HARRISONBURG—Today, Sen. Mark Obenshain (R-Harrisonburg) and Del. Todd Gilbert (R-Woodstock) wrote an open letter to Governor Tim Kaine expressing their objections to the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT)'s closure of eighteen rest areas across the state and calling his attention to a VDOT practice that is draining funds that could go toward restoring service to the closed rest areas and maintaining Virginia's vital transportation infrastructure.

The full text of the letter is appended, and a PDF copy may be viewed here.

* * * * *

July 23, 2009

The Honorable Timothy M. Kaine
Governor's Office
P.O. Box 1475
Richmond, VA 23218

Dear Governor Kaine,

As the deadline for saving the rest areas from closure passed us by, you expressed regret that funding was not available to keep them open. We have long urged you to preserve these rest areas for the safety of Virginia's motorists, but we are not unaware of the financial challenges confronting all state agencies and departments during the economic downturn. We have, therefore, sought to accompany our calls for keeping the rest areas open with ideas for locating the necessary funding, and in that vein, we write you today to call to your attention a VDOT practice that is draining funds that could go toward restoring service to these closed rest areas and maintaining Virginia's vital transportation infrastructure.

The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT)'s equipment division maintains an extensive 32,000 piece, $534 million fleet, with VDOT residencies “renting” equipment from the division to meet local needs. We are informed that, under current policies, residencies can lose rental priority, and in some cases even rental rights, if they do not utilize equipment with certain established frequencies, and that on many occasions, this requirement has led to the wasteful spectacle of residencies leasing more, or more expensive, equipment than is required for a particular task, or in more egregious instances, running rental equipment in back lots to log time on the meter despite the lack of any actual need for that equipment.

Any system that rewards this sort of low-level fraud, and indeed renders it necessary for residencies wishing to gain timely access to necessary equipment at a later date, is severely flawed, and we call upon your office to review these wasteful practices, which tie up equipment, transport it needlessly, and waste both fuel and man-hours.

We also write to express our concerns about the cost of maintaining the VDOT fleet. In one instance where the Louisa residency was unable to obtain a backhoe from the equipment division and was forced to utilize a private rental, they were able to meet their equipment needs for $800 / week, a savings of almost twenty-five percent off the $1,040 / week quoted by VDOT's own equipment division. When one considers that, whereas private rental agencies seek to profit in such transactions, an internal equipment division should not be marking up costs, one begins to realize the full scope of the cost differential.

The mowers VDOT provides for maintaining the median strips between interstate highways, meanwhile, are sometimes let for as much as $218 / hour. At this exorbitant rate, a single mowing season is sufficient to cover the entire cost of purchasing new equipment outright. What can justify such expenses? Why are the Department's equipment costs so high?

These are only a few of the questions we believe an outside performance audit of VDOT could answer, and we renew our request for such an audit. We do not believe that any measures short of a complete external review of the Department's operations are sufficient, but even if you are not, at present, willing to take this step, we urge you to make inquiries into current VDOT equipment policy.

If Virginians are to be asked to go without many of the rest stops upon which they have long relied, we believe they are owed the assurance that the state is leaving no stone unturned in the quest to reduce wasteful, duplicative, unnecessary, and fraudulent spending, and hope that you will join with us in seeking efficiencies and cost savings.

We remain ready and willing to work with you to restore funding to the Commonwealth's closed rest areas and to once again announce that Virginia is open for business and tourism.

Respectfully yours,

Sen. Mark D. Obenshain
26th State Senate District

Del. Todd Gilbert
15th House District

Senator Obenshain represents the twenty-sixth district in the Virginia Senate. The district includes the city of Harrisonburg and the counties of Warren, Shenandoah, Page, Rappahannock and Rockingham (part).

Bob McDonnell: "Keep rest areas open"

~Bob McDonnell Proposes New Ways to Keep Facilities Open Now; If Closed, Pledges to Re-Open All within 90 Days of Taking Office in January~

The Democrats are playing games with Virginia's rest areas in the middle of summer when more travelers on the road vacationing than any other time of the year.

Saturday morning I stopped at the I-64 rest area just west of Richmond, something I often do because it's location is convenient from Staunton to Richmond and there are few businesses along that Charlottesville-to-Richmond stretch of the interstate.

The rest area was packed with vehicles just as it always is, and I had to wait for a parking place. Yet this is one that is slated to closure on July 21.

Since taking a stand on rest areas, I have heard from many people who agree and have relayed their various stories about why they use them, how they rely on them, and why they feel Democrat Governor Tim Kaine is playing politics.

Today Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob McDonnell took a definite stand on the rest area controversy with the following press release:

RICHMOND- One day before Virginia begins to shutter eighteen safety rest stops and one welcome center statewide, Bob McDonnell, Republican gubernatorial nominee and former Attorney General of Virginia, announced his support for prompt, proactive and creative measures to keep the facilities open. McDonnell further pledged that if the rest stops are closed, he will open them back up within 90 days of taking office as governor in January 2010. Eighteen interstate-highway safety rest areas are set to close tomorrow, and the Interstate 66 West Welcome Center at Manassas will close on September 16th, due to budget choices made by the Kaine administration.

McDonnell called for a series of steps to be taken, all of which would help keep the rest stops open to the benefit of motorists, public safety, and Virginia's tourism and hospitality industry.
Specifically McDonnell proposes the following:

· The immediate creation of an "Adopt a Safety Rest Stop" program with Virginia businesses, community and civic organizations, modeled on the successful "Adopt a Highway" initiative, to help keep the safety rest stops open in the near term, without providing commercial services. Leaders of the Virginia Business Council have already been contacted and have indicated their willingness to help fund rest stop operations in the near term to help the State.

· The General Assembly must explore creative financing structures to fund rest stop operations and maintenance during the 2010 session, and engage the private sector in new partnerships.

· Governor Kaine and the Virginia Department of Transportation should promptly construct a more limited budget for rest stop operations, below the current 9 million dollar annual budget. We must work with local sheriffs, community corrections officers, as well as the state DOC to explore the feasibility of landscaping and clean-up of rest areas as an option for those currently sentenced to community service or eligible for work release programs. Many non-violent offenders are already successfully assigned to roadside clean-up work crews around the state.

· The CTB budget should be reprioritized to allocate the necessary money to keep the rest stops open.

Speaking about his proposals McDonnell noted, "Any person, whether a candidate for statewide office or a parent who has been on a family vacation, can tell you about the importance of Virginia's rest stops. Our rest stops provide a safe place for truckers and motorists to rest, and serve as information centers for tourists looking to find out about Virginia's many attractions. Shutting down Virginia's rest stops will negatively impact motorists, impair public safety, weaken our tourism industry, and slap a "Closed" sign on the Commonwealth. That's not what Virginia needs right now."

McDonnell continued, "With the rejection of recent efforts in Congress to seek a waiver from federal regulations prohibiting the commercialization of our rest stops, it appears this administration is content to let our rest stops be shuttered tomorrow. We should not give up on this issue so quickly. We can still fix this problem. By being creative, working across party lines, making rest stop safety a priority, and involving the private sector, we can keep our rest stops open for the benefit of all motorists and the entire Commonwealth. We should initiate an "Adopt a Rest Stop" program to be funded by private sector companies, wherein they would sponsor the continuing operation of a rest stop by the Commonwealth. You can "Adopt a Highway" why not "Adopt a Rest Stop"? I will contact members of the Virginia Business Council, an organization comprised of the Commonwealth's largest corporate citizens, and ask for their immediate assistance in keeping the rest areas open in the short term. There are also ways to construct a more limited budget to keep the rest stops open that should be explored fully."

McDonnell also stated, "I refuse to believe that we can't work together to make sure our highways stay safe and Virginia stays "open" to travelers, truckers and everyday motorists. And I make this pledge. If the rest stops do close tomorrow, and remain dark in the months ahead, that will end when I am elected governor. I will work with the General Assembly to find a way to fund the operation of these facilities. And within 90 days of my taking office all 19 rest stops will be open again. We have a two-year budget of nearly $80 billion. To keep the rest stops open we need $9 million, or less if we get smart about how we manage things in Richmond. We can do this. It just takes commitment and creativity."

Rest stops play an important role in keeping Virginia's highways safe. They provide a secure location for weary travelers and truckers to rest, reducing the number of accidents. According to the National Highway Transportation Safety Board, driver fatigue results in 100,000 accidents and 1,500 deaths a year in the United States. Studies show that truck-driver fatigue could be a factor in up to 40 percent of truck crashes, and night-time truck crashes increase when the distance between rest areas increases. Rest stops also play an important economic role in Virginia, as they are a place where out of state travelers can pick up promotion sources for the tourism and hospitality industries. Further, according to a recent article in the Richmond Times Dispatch, the closing of the safety rest stops and welcome centers will mean 209 contract workers and 3 welcome-center employees will be laid off, and the state will lose about $800,000 in revenue from vending machines.

Bob McDonnell for Governor

Cross-posted at SixtyFour81.com
Cross-posted at StrictlyVA