On Monday, June, 23 our state legislators will go to Richmond for a special transportation session.  You'll remain in Prince William, impacted by the gridlock that plagues all of Northern Virginia.

You may be faced with increased delivery times.  The already-high cost of gas may be made even higher for you because you and your employees sit in an idling vehicle when roads are congested.  You may be limited in the times that you can schedule meetings or appointments, particularly if you need to leave Prince William, by the times when you know that the roads will be at their most crowded.  And you may have employees who are late or frustrated by their commute or customers who are reluctant to visit your place of business.

And worse, planned roads that could have helped are no longer a near-term possibility because of a recent legislative failure - HB 3202, which was passed last year to provide some relief but this year overturned by the Virginia Supreme Court.

We've heard from you in conversations, meetings and responses to surveys that you are frustrated by the state of transportation.  It's important that you communicate now with our legislators.

Our legislators were elected to solve the critical problems that relate to our region's prosperity and quality of life.  It's time for them to put aside political posturing, partisanship and ideology and work together to provide real solutions for the businesses and residents of Prince William.

Your Chamber has written to all of the Prince William legislators.  Yesterday - Wednesday, June 18 - we sat down with them to work together for transportation solutions.  They need to hear from you also.

More information on the current state of transportation, the special General Assembly session and how to contact our legislators can be found on the Chamber's website at http://www.regionalchamber.org/public_policy/TransportationSpecialSession6.08.s