EVEN AT MIDNIGHT! Interstate 64 through Newport News this past Monday night went from four lanes down to one lane for construction, thereby slowing traffic to a crawl for a good mile or two. For a great many students traveling to and from Tidewater and Northern Virginia over fall break, brake lights were a familiar and unpleasant reminder of the state of transportation in the Commonwealth's two most urbanized regions. However, relief is within sight in the form of hundreds of transportation improvements that will come down the pipeline, contingent on the support of voters in Northern Virginia and Tidewater on Election Day. Students from these regions should cast their ballots in favor of the proposed transportation referenda despite three points of controversy, and help release millions of dollars that would then be available for regional transit projects.
There are three points of controversy surrounding these referenda items. First, environmentalist groups argue that additional lanes on the regions' interstates will fuel sprawl outward from the urban centers and effectively chain commuters to the asphalt for moving about the regions. Second, many citizens worry about the regional commissions that would be legislatively empowered to approve or disapprove of transit projects while also determining the extent of and time-tables for funding. These nay-sayers consider the commissions a slippery slope to regional government, a political taboo in both Northern Virginia and Tidewater. Finally, and perhaps the strongest sticking point for the initiatives, a strong and vocal constituency opposes the proposals because they increase the sales taxes in both regions: in Northern Virginia by a half-cent and in Tidewater by an entire penny. The revenue from these tax increases is then put into an account that the transportation commissions use to fund the projects in each region.
To deal with the first issue raised by environmentalists, the projects already proposed in Tidewater and Northern Virginia were designed under consultation with the regional planning districts in the two localities. While many of these projects do involve adding lanes to interstates and extending them, they also provide for High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes, financing for alternate transportation (like the commuter rail, Virginia Railway Express in Northern Virginia), and other transit programs. These projects are designed to facilitate better-planned and more environmentally-friendly options for commuters and travelers in these high-density regions.
On the issue of top-heavy regional governments usurping power from the individual localities, this is in fact the opposite of the rationale behind the referenda. For years, Northern Virginia and Tidewater, who together pay a great majority of taxes in the Commonwealth, have complained that their taxes have gone to Richmond never to be seen again. As construction projects and development campaigns used these resources elsewhere in the Commonwealth, the urban regions cried foul. By creating a regional authority with discriminatory power over the additional sales tax revenue, the region is gaining more power to prioritize regional transportation projects. The members of these commissions are elected officials from each of the member localities, and are directly answerable to the voters.
Finally, the issue of the tax increases must be addressed. Virginia is at a critical economic point. Gov. Mark R. Warner and his team have spent his entire term thus far implementing spending cuts and creative methods of penny-pinching at the state-wide level, but the revenues continue to come up short of current budgetary allocations. If Virginia is to continue to offer services at levels ostensibly below the status quo, there must be a state-wide groundswell for increased taxes. This means, for regions such as Northern Virginia and Tidewater, "no new taxes" means no relief -- not just in the near future, but on even the most distant horizon. In the course of the past decade, taxes have been cut irresponsibly, spending sky-rocketed out of control, and revenues continued to boom thanks to the wondrous tech-boom of the early to mid-90s.
The rallying cry of the opposition: "No new taxes" means no new growth for industry and commerce in these regions. It means no new jobs. It means no new development of Virginia's economy. This means no new revenue for the state treasury, and the revenue shortfalls spiral further out of the government's control.
It is time Virginians took responsibility for the services offered by their government, and it has to begin in the two prominent regions of the Commonwealth. Voters from Tidewater and Northern Virginia must send the message to the General Assembly and the rest of the Commonwealth that the free lunch is over. If better transportation and other services are expected to be provided, take one for the team -- vote yes on Nov. 5. This vote means more than just more roads -- it means a better Virginia for generations to come.
(Preston Lloyd's column appears Thursdays in The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at plloyd@cavalierdaily.com.)
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