Gov. Timothy M. Kaine has the opportunity at the end of this month to advance his agenda to link transportation and land use planning. The terms of five of the 17 members of the Commonwealth Transportation Board (CBT) expire June 30. Kaine’s choices on whom to appoint, or reappoint, will speak more loudly than any speechifying about how serious he is about addressing the disconnect between Virginia’s transportation system and its human settlement patterns.
Unlike most boards and commission in Virginia, the CBT has real power: It allocates highway funding to specific projects, locates routes and provides funding for airports, seaports and public transportation. It also sets administrative policies for the state transportation system. If Kaine wants to change the way the system works, the CBT is an important place to start.
Unlike Kaine’s failed effort to raise transportation taxes, independent columnist Robert Legge recently observed in the Culpeper Star-Exponent, Kaine doesn’t need General Assembly approval to change course at the CBT. Writes Legge: “He has sole authority over appointments of the members of the CTB. It would follow that he would appoint people who share his view that development worsens traffic congestion.”
Three of the five board members up for reappointment are partners in law firms that assist land developers, Legge observed. A fourth, Helen Dragas of Virginia Beach, is CEO of The Dragas Companies, “a large concern that deals in condos, apartment management, office parks and residential mortgages. Last year, VDOT Commissioner Philip Shucet left VDOT to become president of her firm.”
Links to the real estate sector should not disqualify someone from serving on the board. After all, developers and real estate attorneys have a first-hand understanding of how transportation and real estate interact. But Kaine should take special pains to ensure that whomever he appoints, or reappoints, will not defend Business As Usual. It is imperative that CBT board members share his conviction that Virginia needs to think very differently about transportation policy.