Category: Transportation
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The Woonerfs Are Coming!
Enter a new term into the vocabulary of Virginia land use: woonerf. Woonerfs, according to this brief treatment by real estate information firm CoStar, is a word of Dutch origin meaning livable landscape. Increasingly, developers in the United States — and the Washington region in particular — are adopting the Dutch/Flemish technique of creating public…
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After I-81 Tax Compromise, Time to Talk VMT Tax
The Commonwealth of Virginia has done some smart things in recent years regarding transportation policy. It has established the Smart Scale system for objectively ranking transportation projects. And it has reformed its Public Private Partnership process for attracting private-sector investment without giving away the store. But the assortment of taxes used to fund the state’s…
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How to Fund I-81 Improvements: Six Principles to Consider
Governor Ralph Northam is pitching another plan to raise money for improvements to the Interstate 81 corridor: (1) Increase the statewide diesel tax to pay for transportation projects across the state, and (2) impose a regular gas and diesel tax along the I-81 corridor to raise revenue directly for I-81. The combined measures would raise…
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Next Up: Carbon Tax, Cap and Trade On Your SUV
They are coming next for your SUV. While the Air Pollution Control Board still has steps to take, it is safe to consider Virginia’s membership in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative a done deal. That will quickly hit you in your electric bill, as Virginia’s two major electricity generators will have to pay a tax…
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New Momentum for Mileage-Based User Fees
From a purely economic perspective, the ideal system for funding road and highway improvements would be a Mileage Based User Fee (MBUF) in which motorists would pay in direct proportion to which they use the public road network. Charging for road usage would incentivize Virginians to drive less, thus reducing both congestion and carbon emissions.…
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Charlottesville’s Parking Gamble
The People’s Republic of Charlottesville is undertaking an interesting experiment — the city has approved development of the Center of Developing Entrepreneurs (CODE), a Silicon Valley-inspired office space, that provides only 74 parking spaces downtown for as many as 600 workers. Worried that the project will aggravate the parking shortage around the Downtown Mall, some…
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The Art of Streetscaping
Naples, Fla., a city of some 20,000 inhabitants, is one of the wealthiest communities in the United States. Reputedly, the jurisdiction has the second highest proportion of millionaires. Modest lots within walking distance of the beach sell for a couple million dollars, and tear-downs are common. The landscaping in residential neighborhoods is as manicured as…
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RVA Affirms Bike Lanes, Opens City to Scooters
The sidewalk scooter fad now coming to Richmond was in full swing in San Antonio during a visit over the holidays, providing a good preview of Things to Come. Downtown Richmond is not now and probably never will be as packed as downtown San Antonio during the Alamo Bowl, and it was clear from their…
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I-66 Rush-Hour Travel Speeds Up 12%
Did the implementation of tolls on Interstate 66 inside the Beltway hurt or harm rush-hour travel times? I addressed that issue yesterday based on data from a Washington Post article. Now I supplement that post with data direct from Deputy Secretary Transportation Nick Donohue. The tolls have been widely criticized by commuters, many of whom recoil…
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Transportation Revenue Focus of Concern Again
In the middle of a booming economy, with many state revenue sources surging, flat transportation revenues were the focus of warnings Monday in presentations by Virginia Secretary of Finance Aubrey Layne and Secretary of Transportation Shannon Valentine. “I think we are heading for a cliff,” Layne told the House Appropriations Committee. “For the first time…
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No Quick Fix for I-66
When the Interstate 66 Express Lanes opened a year ago, they triggered a maelstrom of controversy as Northern Virginia commuters encountered new driving patterns. Motorists were particularly irate at peak rush-hour tolls rising as high as $47.50 to drive just a few miles on I-66 inside the Beltway. Virginia transportation officials said, never fear, people…
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NoVa Pushes Back on D.C. Fare Decriminalization
When last we visited the matter of turn-stile jumping and other ways of cheating the Washington Metro mass transit system, Washington City Council had voted to decriminalize the nonpayment of fares. It wasn’t hard to predict that Virginians would not look kindly upon the decision. Now comes the inevitable reaction.
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Washington City Council Puts Virginia Taxpayers, Metro Riders at Risk
Well, Washington City Council has gone and done it — decriminalized Metro fare evasion. America now will be treated to an interesting social experiment. If it doesn’t go well, Virginia taxpayers will wind up picking up part of the tab. The financially strapped Metro, which operates the mass transit bus and rail system for the…
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Amazon Deal Highlights Virginia’s Competitive Advantage Over Maryland
Many Virginians have qualms about the $550 million in job-creation incentives plus more than $1 billion in promised transportation and higher-ed investments it took to recruit a $2.5 billion Amazon facility to Northern Virginia. But things could be worse. Maryland offered an $8.5 billion package — and didn’t land the deal. The Washington Post is asking…
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Updates: Deadly Road Diet? Rider T1 Case
The Powerful Law of Unintended Consequences A raging forest fire is hard to imagine in Northside Richmond, but there could be other emergencies where the city and its residents would come to regret the loss of vehicle travel lanes on Brook Road. A recent deadly fire in California we all watched on television may be…