It was big headlines in the Mainstream Media when a coalition of twenty-some Northern Virginia business groups endorsed more taxes for transportation, but no news at all when 19 environmental/ conservation organizations sent an open letter to state lawmakers outlining their consensus position.
Because you didn’t see them anywhere else, I’m summarizing the key recommendations here:
- Reduce travel demand. Existing transportation plans are unaffordable even with additional funding, and should be reevaluated with an eye to reducing travel demand. No more open-ended commitment to endlessly expand capacity.
- Volatile energy prices are combining with a changing real estate market to change the type of transportation investments needed Translation: Developers are designing more pedestrian- and transit-friendly communities. State and local government is behind the curve.
- Performance standards at the state, regional and local levels should include goals to reduce per capita Vehicle Miles Traveled; increase market share for transit, carpooling, biking and walking; and increase the share of jobs and residences within walking distance. Transportation funding should be tied to meeting these goals.
- Evaluate alternatives. A full range of alternatives should be fairly and transparently evaluated for transportation projects, rather than zeroing in on a pre-selected approach.
- Public-private partnerships must maintain public oversight, make the planning process transparent, ensure that the private sector really invests new money, and funds transit alternatives where congestion pricing is utilized.
- Change allocation formulas. More investment for transit, freight rail, pedestrian and bicycle needs. More money for local streets. Less money for mega projects.
- Improve street connectivity. Better connectivity of streets accepted into the VDOT system would reduce the burden on the few large arterials the state can afford to build.
You don’t have to agree with every one of these proposals to acknowledge the vitality of thinking that is taking place. Between the market-oriented House of Delegates and the “smart growth” prescriptions of the environmental/conservation community, virtually every core assumption about transportation policy in Virginia is being called into question. Yet, judging by the news and editorial coverage of the Mainstream Media, you’d never know an intellectual revolution was occurring.
When will those guys open their eyes?