BACKGROUND: Virginia residents in counties/cities inside Interstate
Route 495 (the "beltway" serving the Washington, D. C., region) along
the I-395 corridor are awakening to the prospect that their safety,
quality of life, property values, and taxation will be adversely
affected by the proposed creation of a high-occupancy toll (HOT) lane
stretching miles from south of the beltway toward the District of
Columbia. This public-interest petition echoes those residents'
concerns about, and objections to, the HOT lane project, seeking all
available remedy from pertinent government officials.

TEXT OF THE PETITION:

(1) Whereas, the construction/operation of the proposed HOT lane has
the potential for far more negative attributes than positive ones;

(2) Whereas, the affected residents deserve full, prompt deference
from officialdom in the resolution of their concerns and apprehension
in this matter;

(3) Whereas, the several jurisdictions/communities most at risk of
incurring burdensome consequences from the proposed project expect and deserve adequate official transparency and fair-minded interaction from the various authorities assigned to planning,
executing, and overseeing the project; and

(4) Whereas, this petition serves as a formal instrument for
expressing our collective grievance, and for seeking its redress --

We, the undersigned, do hereby call upon our key elected and appointed officials to join (and help sustain) our opposition to the project as conceived and designed.