Loudoun County, with a new official total of 169,599 people, led the pack with a 96.9 percent jump during the 1990s. Virginia legislators ought to take a serious look at the new numbers and resolve to prevent problems caused by rapid growth and development. Traffic is one of the big issues, of course. There will never be enough money to build all the roads people think they need, however. The Virginia General Assembly should approach that issue by better managing the way land is used.
Traffic is caused by sprawl.
It is almost impossible to live in the Fredericksburg area or anywhere in Northern Virginia without a car. Virginia legislators, however, sit back and let the development industry determine the pattern of growth. Developers tend to buy relatively cheap land on the ever-widening outskirts of urban and suburban areas. In the not too distant future, Maryland's land-use policies could become a magnet for economic development. It is not unusual for new residents of fast-growing Stafford and Spotsylvania counties to spend two, three or four hours a day getting to and from work.