Photo credit: Times-Dispatch
by James A. Bacon
Sometimes, I despair for the transportation future of the Richmond region. If there is a problem, the first instinct of our civic leaders is to raise taxes to subsidize initiatives of unknown economic viability.
The latest case in point is a set of recommendations issued by a work panel to the Capital Region Collaborative. The panel, headed by former Transportation Secretary Whittington W. Clement, wants to win backing from regional legislators for the same kind of deal won by Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads this year to raise local taxes and generate more money for transportation improvements.
The panel also endorsed the creation of a Downtown Circulator bus route, “bus bridges” linking Main Street Station downtown to the Staples Mill AMTRAK station and Richmond International Airport, and a Bus Rapid Transit system along Broad Street, according to Michael Martz’ reporting in the Saturday Times-Dispatch.
Wow, we’ve just raised transportation taxes in Virginia, with a significant share of $3.5 billion in statewide revenues coming our way over the next six years, and we’ve already concluded that we need more money? Well, if our transportation priority is subsidizing more bus routes that Richmonders may or may not use, maybe we do need more money.
The thought process appears to go like this.
Step One: We have a transportation problem.
Step Two: Only government can solve the problem.
Step Three: But government needs more money.
Step Four: Raise taxes.
If I assembled a group of legislators, here’s what would be on my agenda before I started talking about raising taxes.
- Let’s talk about where we can rezone for more walkable, higher-density corridors that can support mass transit without the need for operating subsidies. The Urban Land Institute just held a “Reality Check” exercise in which the overwhelming consensus was to concentrate new development. Let’s build on that.
- Let’s discuss how to open up the transit system to more innovation and competition. Can privately operated buses, jitneys and “e-hail” services be part of the region’s transportation solution?
- Let’s explore how the smart-phone revolution can promote carpooling and shared car-ownership services.
- Let’s see if we can inexpensively expand the network of bike lanes and bike paths.
Local governments in the Richmond region are under incredible fiscal stress. My home county of Henrico proposes to create a meals tax to cover the looming fiscal gap. Does it really make sense to add new infrastructure and new transit services that will only increase the ongoing cost of maintenance and subsidies? That is dead-end thinking. We must do better.
