Virginia Institute for Public Policy Scholar Ron Utt takes applies his rhetorical axe to the legislature’s crumbling transportation plan in today’s Free Lance-Star and concludes that it’s time for some serious outside intervention:
There is a remedy to this mess. Last year the independent auditor for the state of Washington hired a team of experts to assess the performance and policies of those responsible for transportation in his state. The findings were so devastating that a few weeks later voters rejected a referendum for a tax increase that would have wasted $18 billion on sketchy transportation projects.
Sound familiar? Didn’t area voters in a 2002 referendum reject higher transportation taxes in Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads due to lack of confidence in the wacky schemes promoted by public officials? Yes, they did, and that’s why the legislature and governor excluded uncooperative area voters from their newest wacky schemes by not allowing a referendum and by establishing regional transportation authorities composed of appointed, rather than elected, participants. In response, voters should insist that Virginia’s political establishment stand down from any renewed effort at transportation policy-making until a similar audit is conducted in this state, and its findings presented to the people.
In the case of Virginia, the audit should also take a careful look at the institutional structure that oversees the program, including the metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) and the regional transportation commissions, both having limited expertise in transportation. Indeed, for those who serve on these commissions, an absence of transportation expertise appears to be a prerequisite for appointment.
As the saying goes, read the whole thing. (Cross-posted at Tertium Quids).
