Observer Online | Hoping for Leadership on New Roads Plan

Posted March 14, 2008

Hoping for Leadership on New Roads Plan

At the beginning of the awards gala for the Dulles Regional Chamber of Commerce last Saturday night, a number of invited politicians were introduced. When the master of ceremonies called out the name of Del. Tom Rust, people looked around the room to see if he had attended. But I wasn't looking around the room. I knew he could not have joined us. I knew he had pressing matters to deal with in Richmond, where the regular session had gone into overtime, and where he was working frantically to save the now-trashed transportation funding plan he championed last year.

Actually, the General Assembly may not have turned its full attention to the transportation plan yet, as it was working to close up all its other business and will probably schedule a special session to tackle transportation later this year.

After the Virginia Supreme Court struck down the plan two weeks ago on the grounds that an unelected body, in this case the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority, can't impose taxes, there was plenty of finger pointing. Republicans said Gov. Tim Kaine amended the final version, and his changes made it unconstitutional. Others blamed Republicans for voting for a flawed plan.

Ultimately, Virginia is still mired in discovering a thousand ways not to put together a good transportation network. Until state Republicans recognize the need to bring the gasoline tax into the 21st century there will be little hope of funding new road development.

Until down-state politicians recognize that the commerce of northern Virginia and Hampton Roads are essential to a good quality of life across the entire state, there is little hope of creating a permanent funding mechanism for the improvements we need in Herndon and Reston.

Del. Rust has been a champion of transportation reform. He wisely recognized, before he was even elected to the new district serving Herndon so many years ago, that finding money to fund transportation growth is essential, not just for northern Virginia but for the entire state.

Virginia is a tough cookie to crack, however. The General Assembly has shirked its responsibility so many times that the plan that was passed last year, which required so much work, debate and compromise among political leaders, was the first comprehensive transportation funding plan for the state in two decades. A major project, such as rail to Dulles or the building of a western bypass, can take decades to plan, study, fund and build. That the General Assembly had left the state with no rudder and no wind in its sails when it came to transportation improvements—for two decades—was ridiculous.

Now that the plan is no longer viable, I hope and pray that Del. Rust can do it again. I hope he can lead his fellow politicians to compromise for the good of the Commonwealth. I hope he can lead the conservatives of his party to understand that a "No Taxes" stance only works until the state runs out of money and the citizens need roads.

The collapse of the plan is disappointing. I hope everyone in the state can see the need for transportation funding is more dire than ever.