(VA) Toll opponents file petition for high court rehearing

[unhappycamper]

http://hamptonroads.com/2013/11/toll-opponents-file-petition-high-court-rehearing



Toll opponents file petition for high court rehearing
By Dave Forster
The Virginian-Pilot
© November 27, 2013

It wasn't the tolls per se that violated the state's constitution, but the profit they will generate for a private company.

That's the gist of the argument that opponents of the Midtown Tunnel project are using to try to get the Supreme Court of Virginia to take another look at their case.

The plaintiffs filed a petition for a rehearing on Tuesday, less than four weeks after the Supreme Court unanimously issued a ruling that cleared the way for tolling of the Midtown and Downtown tunnels to begin Feb. 1. They cannot appeal the matter to the U.S. Supreme Court because there is no federal issue in play.

Petitions for a rehearing are rarely granted, and the chances of one leading to a reversed decision are rarer still, according to Steve Emmert, a Virginia Beach appellate attorney who closely follows state Supreme Court actions.

[JimboBillyBubbaBob]

1. I can't feel sorry for these crybabies!

In 1976, the toll was removed from the Coleman Bridge across the York River between York and Gloucester, part of this Metro area. At the same time, the tolls were removed from the expanded Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel and the new James River Bridge. This was all good. In 1996, the Coleman Bridge was expanded and a toll was reinstituted on it to cover the cost. This was after the initial tolls were used to help pay off the still toll less Norris Bridge across the Rappahannock River. The citizens off Gloucester have paid these tolls since, even the rate increase during the interim. As for the above, the Midtown Tunnel is I-264. You can't get more federal than that. Pay up crybabies. Oh, let's not forget the Monitor-Merrimac Bridge Tunnel that opened in the late 1990s, no tolls!