A Good Start   The transportation bill passed by the General Assembly still needs fine tuning, but it injects new money into the system along with greater accountability.   The Virginia General Assembly has finally passed a transportation plan aimed at relieving congestion in Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads and offering help to other parts of the state.   Now Gov. Timothy M. Kaine must decide whether to sign the bill, tweak it or dramatically change it. Although the Governor would be well advised to keep the plan largely intact or risk jeopardizing the fragile political coalition that passed it, constructive input on his part could make it even better.   The plan would raise significant new revenues -- up to $1.5 billion a year through a variety of means -- and would hold Virginia's fast-growth counties and the Virginia Department of Transportation more accountable for how to spend it.   Virginia is one of only a few states that do not give counties responsibility for building and maintaining secondary roads in their jurisdictions. Counties need to take more responsibility for their road systems, and that includes taking into account the traffic impact of new residential and commercial development they approve. The transportation bill moves in that direction.   The bill also requires long-overdue reforms of VDOT. The Senate and the House of Delegates were in full agreement: Better management, more competition, results oriented analyses, cost effectiveness are all part of what VDOT must now do.   One area where Gov. Kaine could improve the bill is road maintenance. Fully one-quarter of Virginia's roads need repair. There isn’t enough money to fix them if VDOT sticks to its in-house maintenance process. Virginia can save hundreds of millions of dollars over the next few years by bidding out the maintenance of its 8,000 miles of primary roads and even more by doing the same for the 50,000 miles of secondary roads.   The new monies that will soon flow into the transportation pot should catalyze a long-term effort to bring more private money to the transportation solution in Virginia. Billions upon billions of dollars are being invested by private firms in roads throughout this country and Virginia should become a leader in this effort.   For the bill to be successful, local governments will need to approve a variety of regional tax and fee increases. One change the Governor might make would be to allow the counties and cities in Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads a menu of new fees and taxes to choose from so localities could determine the mix that best fits their needs and concerns. If Fairfax County wants to raise the tax on car rentals and lower the commercial real estate tax, then the state shouldn’t stand in the way.   Another change might allow each county or city in Northern Virginia to raise its own money and spend it within its borders. If, for instance, Prince William is satisfied with the money for road improvements it is raising through bonds, and it wants to avoid the additional taxes and fees in the bill, it should be allowed to opt out without harming Fairfax County should it want to impose the additional fees.   The real “proof in the pudding” at the end of the day will be how well and state and localities spend these new funds.   The Reason Foundation published a fascinating study in August last year that showed how Virginia can meet its mobility needs by 2030 with fewer dollars than many experts are telling us today. According to the study, Northern Virginia can address its most pressing needs by spending only $10 billion in today's dollars, and the rest of Virginia with another $3 billion.   Those funds would be available with the General Assembly's new transportation bill. More projects can be added, especially if the private sector is tapped to pay for some of them. The in-depth Reason study should become the basis for Virginia's transportation planning over the next two and a half decades. Our elected leaders should adopt it and move forward to implement it.   The new transportation bill is less than perfect, but it is better than nothing and it can start the process of developing a transportation network for the future. It will be up to those in charge to make sure that these new monies are spent in a way that truly improves our transportation mix and helps our commuters and our economy in the years ahead.   -- March 5, 2007