BELTWAY BONEHEADS

When Ron Shaffer began "Dr. Gridlock" almost 20 years ago, he described the transportation column's mission like so: "We'll try to find out why bad situations exist and what is being done about them." As we restart the column today after Ron's retirement, my hope also is that people will find our mission familiar: to identify problems and figure out how to make things better. -- By Bob Thomson, July 30, 2006; Washington Post

Fort Belvoir's commander yesterday defended the Army's plan to cluster 18,000 military and civilian workers at the Engineer Proving Ground a couple miles from the post, discounting objections raised by Fairfax County leaders who fear a traffic disaster. -- By Alec Macgillis, July 29, 2006; Washington Post

If commuters who use the Dulles Toll Road and the Dulles Greenway followed the same logic as the roads' operators, they would say they are getting quite a bargain for dishing out a few dollars cash at rush hour. But with increases being proposed for the Dulles Greenway, as high as 78 percent for rush-hour access, and expected price increases on the Dulles Toll Road in the next few years, commuters from Loudoun County and beyond could be paying a small fortune to get to work. -- By Mike Rupert, July 26, 2006; The Examiner

Virginia was looking for a hook more than a decade ago that would persuade motorists to buy low-polluting vehicles. The solution: Allow drivers of the cars to travel in carpool lanes without passengers. Initially, few drivers took advantage of the perk. Then, in 2000, hybrid cars were included. The number of hybrids in carpool lanes has soared. So, too, has resentment from other drivers, who complain that their commute is becoming increasingly congested. -- By Ashton Williams, July 20, 2006; Washington Post

Northern Virginia has deployed roving detection systems that can test car emissions remotely without a driver's knowledge. Failure to fix a car with too-high emissions can result in fines of up to $700. -- By Christy Goodman, July 20, 2006; The Examiner