Gov. Timothy M. Kaine’s “Transportation Accountability Commission” has issued its final report, detailing 34 performance measures to rate the effectiveness of Virginia’s transportation system. The measures cover such topics as safety, maintenance, mobility, environmental stewardship, economic vitality, program delivery, and coordination of transportation and land use.
Compiling metrics won’t patch potholes or build new roads. But they may help guide Virginia policy makers in their decision making. Without answers to basic questions — are roads getting safer or deadlier? Is congestion getting worse or better? Are we catching up on our maintenance backlog or losing ground? Are people driving more or less? — we are fumbling in the dark.
As Commission Chairman James A. Squires said in a press release: “A set of overarching goals and performance measures … are critical to a transportation program that not only delivers high-quality projects, but the right projects.”
There isn’t anything earth-shaking in the report, but the effort was worthwhile. My only frustration: While the report recommends a set of metrics, it doesn’t provide the actual numbers. At some point, someone will have to gather and format the data. When that happens, I’ll report back to you on this blog.
