The Kaine administration’s transportation policy appears to be in disarray. Here it is, more than a year since the resignation of VDOT Commissioner Philip Shucet, and the Governor has yet to select a replacement. The search has been narrowed to three or four candidates, and an announcement is expected soon. The Warner administration, by contrast, had this key position filled within a few months.
Meanwhile five of 17 positions on the Commonwealth Transportation Board expired at the end of June, and the Kaine administration has yet to replace any of these hold-overs from previous governors. Unlike most state boards and commissions, the CTB exercises real power: The board approves VDOT administrative policies and allocates construction dollars. If Gov. Kaine wants to align transportation and land use planning, he needs CTB board members who share his philosophy.
Peter Galuszka, one of our Road to Ruin writers, has the story, “Who’s In the Driver’s Seat?”
Gov. Kaine declared 2006 to be the “Year of Transportation.” But look what’s happened — or, rather, not happened. Breaking his campaign promises, he backed a huge tax increase for transportation — only to have the proposal soundly defeated in the General Assembly. If he’s got a plan for anything new planned for the special session of the General Assembly later this month, there’s no sign of it. Meanwhile, key transportation positions remain unfilled.
There are positive developments — as Bacon’s Rebellion has taken pains to chronicle. The Kaine administration is soliciting public-private partnerships to upgrade critical transportation corridors, and it’s developing new Corridor Management guidelines to increase capacity of existing thoroughfares. The Kainiacs also altered the debate over land use planning in Loudoun County when it released the VDOT traffic-impact analysis of the South Dulles rezoning proposals.
But these policies are only as good as the people implementing them. And right now, the Kaine administration is firing on only three cylinders.
Update: Kaine spokesman Kevin Hall has responded to our article and blog post. Read it in the comments thread of this post.
