The Washington, D.C., Metropolitan area has the third worst traffic of any area in the United States, according to the Texas Transportation Institutes 2002 study. According to the Citizens for Better Transportation, a Northern Virginia activist group, commuters in the D.C. area spend an average of 84 hours per year in traffic, the equivalent of two weeks' vacation time. It is no wonder with statistics like this that there is a massive cry coming from Northern Virginia residents to improve traffic conditions in their region. On the Nov. 5 ballot, residents of Northern Virginia -- which encompasses Fairfax, Arlington, Prince William and Loudon counties as well as the cities of Alexandria, Falls Church and Manassas -- will be given the opportunity to vote on a half cent sales tax increase that will provide funds to improve mass transportation and roads in the overly-congested area. Northern Virginia residents should vote yes on this referendum with the knowledge that it is the only option available to them at this time and a good start to fixing a substantial problem.
Anyone who has ever had the displeasure of making a trip to Tyson's Corner or flying out of Dulles International Airport between 4 and 8 p.m. (or at most times of the day for that matter) will understand why immediate help is needed. Roads have not been expanded or built to compensate for the massive "suburban sprawl" that has stretched out from the nation's capital. The sales tax increase would raise the tax to 5 cents for every dollar from the 4.5 cents that exists today. Increases would not apply to food, prescription drugs, mortgages, loans, rent or the like, but rather would pertain only to luxury items like clothes and hotel stays. This would avoid the problem of these taxes negatively affecting the poor. The tax would provide $130 million per year to finance $5 billion in bonds over 20 years. Money raised would contribute to 24 separate projects all over the needy region. Projects would range from improving existing roads, building new roads, building new mass-transit projects and updating existing facilities, helping localities comply with the Clean Air requirements. The costs are minimal and the benefits are great.
Opponents of the referendum fall into two groups: fiscal conservatives who believe that any tax increase is bad, and advocates of "smart growth" who believe that the referendum is not good enough and will create more problems then it will solve. Fiscal conservatives will not be convinced, just as they will not be convinced to vote yes on the Education and Parks Bond Referendum. They are usually opposed to tax hikes or getting money on loan, regardless of the situation.
However, the "Smart Growth" people may have some good points. They cite studies done in which expanding roads are shown to actually create worse traffic and gridlock as more and more people use the newly expanded road. Advocates of this idea (www.nosprawltax.org) are quick to point out that the money raised by the tax increase will not cover all costs of the projects proposed. They also claim that no studies have been done to see whether proposed projects will actually improve the traffic problems in the region. These are all very valid points. But when the problem is as large as the one that exists in Northern Virginia right now, action must be taken, even if that action is imperfect.
This referendum would put power into the hands of the local leaders of Northern Virginia, the people who live there and who are keenly aware of the traffic problems. The Virginia Department of Transportation and Richmond have not helped Northern Virginians since these woes began. The sales tax increase is currently the only way to get money and power into the hands of the officials that can and will work to improve traffic conditions. Although not all the costs of all the proposed projects will be covered, this tax increase is the first step in the right direction.
The argument that no studies have conclusively shown that proposed projects will improve traffic is illogical. Studies are not needed where common sense exists. No one can honestly say that a Metrorail extension to Dulles or through the Tyson's Corner area would not greatly relieve traffic troubles, or that work on crowded roads that have not been expanded along with the growing populations surrounding them would not somehow ease the problems.
Northern Virginians should not expect that their lives would immediately change drastically for the better if the taxes were to take effect in June 2003. First of all, these projects will take years to plan and complete. However, the congestion problems cannot be ignored. VDOT has not been helpful. Richmond is finally giving Northern Virginia residents an opportunity to take control of part of their tax revenues and direct them to an area in need of help. This will certainly not solve all problems. But it is a step in the right direction. Money spent by local leaders on improvements to transportation in Northern Virginia is necessary now. Beyond this election, hopefully there will be more talk and more money spent on this important issue. As Northern Virginia's only current option, the sales tax increase needs to be passed to begin the process of correcting a problem that has been growing for years.
(Kate Durbin's column appears Fridays in The Cavalier Daily. She can be reached at kdurbin@cavalierdaily.com.)
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