I-66 tolls would make dad late, mom insane

Letter to the editor

My name is Riley Kotlus and I am an 11 year old student in Prince William County.  

Two years ago my family moved so that we could be closer to my dad’s job so he could get to work faster.  My dad commutes to work everyday.

Most of my friends’ parents commute into work every day. Lots of them work in DC or Tysons Corner. 

Now there are highway bandits in Richmond who want to make I-66 a toll road.  This means that we either have to move out of Prince William County to Fairfax, or parents will have to pay up to $17 each day, or they will have to take roads like 28, which make my dad yell.  

Did you know that in Virginia the minimum wage is $7.25 an hour? That seems like a lot of money to me, but if you have to spend three hours of your money to go to work, then it doesn’t leave you with very much, even if you are a kid.  Also, people who work have to pay taxes, so that is even less money.  

I like when my dad is able to come home earlier because there is less traffic.  If he has to take 28 or 29, he’ll be home later. When he gets home later, my mom has to drive all three of the kids in our family to activities by herself, which makes her completely lose her sanity.

If they make tolls on I-66 and parents drive it to save time, then they’ll have to pay about $4,000 a year to drive to work.  

I like doing swim team, but it is extremely expensive, and if my dad had to pay $4,000 to go to work, then I wouldn’t get to do swim team. I bet that’s true for my friends who swim, too. 

If I don’t do swim team, then I’m not being active, which is what the president and first lady want.  There are lots of reasons why tolls on I-66 are a bad idea, but most of all, politicians should think of the children who don’t want their mom to be crazy, who still want to do swim team, and who just want to make the president happy.