In a news conference yesterday, leaders of 21 Northern Virginia business groups made the case that traffic congestion will undermine the area’s prosperity and harm residents’ quality of life if additional money is not found to build roads. They backed a plan by Delegates Thomas Davis Rust and David B. Albo, both Fairfax County Republicans, that would raise $417 million a year for Northern Virginia Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William counties by hiking local taxes and fees.
Reports Washington Post reporter Tim Craig:
The plan, part of which would have to be approved by local officials, calls for higher vehicle registration fees and a 2 percent increase in hotel and rental car taxes. It also raises taxes on developed commercial and industrial properties in the region.
“It’s not a sales tax; it’s not a gas tax. It’s not an income tax,” Rust said. “These are very directed fees toward people who are using the transportation system and impacting the transportation system.”
Here are the questions I have for Delegates Rust and Albo:
- Where did you come up with $400 million? Is that the amount that you think you can push through politically, or does it have some connection with what’s actually needed?
- What projects do you intend to fund with that $400 million a year? Let’s see the kind of transportation improvements you have in mind.
- Is there a rational nexus between whom you’d tax and who would benefit from the road improvements? Put another way, would this plan, in addition to raise money, incentivize people to drive less, carpool or use mass transit? Would it encourage developers to build transit-oriented development and pedestrian-friendly communities? Would it, in sum, reduce the demand for new roads in any way? Or would it perpetuate Business As Usual?
- Is there a guiding vision behind the investment of this money? Would you invest it to increase connectivity of existing development — in other words, to promote infill and redevelopment? Or would you use it to open up new greenfields, perpetuating the pattern of scattered, disconnected, low density development that is the root of Northern Virginia’s transportation woes?
- Would you accompany this spending with any changes in land use? Or do you think that money is all that’s needed to improve mobility?
I have seen precious little indication that the business interests in Northern Virginia have given any attention to any of these questions. If they succeed in getting these taxes passed, here is my prediction: It won’t make a discernible difference in traffic congestion. Because the region isn’t addressing the root causes of congestion, Northern Virginia will wind up with terrible congestion and higher taxes. And the same poor, deluded fools will come back in a few years saying that $400 million wasn’t enough, let’s raise taxes again.
Now, there’s a real recipe for economic competitiveness and a high quality of life!