The first of a series of comments on the Republican Transportation bills in the Virginia General Assembly.
The Republican majority in the Virginia General Assembly created the Transportation Tax Scam of 2002. It was the wrong plan, with the wrong tax, for a wrong, un-elected, unaccountable Regional Government. This year the Republican majority created the Transportation Tax Panic of 2007 in HB 3202.
The Tax Panic is supposed to protect the Republican majority in 2007. It marries good reforms (from a Hampton Roads perspective) with the wrong plan, wrong taxes, and wrong, un-elected, unaccountable Regional Government. The wrong is really bad.
This time the Republicans aren’t letting the peasants vote on the Tax Panic at the polls. They will call it the Great Compromise, pat themselves on the back and expect the voters to be really thankful in November 2007.
Except, the Tax Panic’s actual solution to transportation in Hampton Roads is the Tax Scam dressed up. It’s rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.
In 2002, the plan for Hampton Roads was ten transportation projects which could be called pour concrete 1, pour concrete 2, pour concrete 3…. pour concrete 10. (The same kinda plan which addressed and failed for all of Los Angeles’ problems since the 1950s.) In 2002 there were 571 ‘congested’ miles in Hampton Roads. At the end of 20 years, after construction delays, accidents and deaths, there would be 670 ‘congested’ miles. That’s an increase of 91 congested miles.
If six of the old transportation projects are built, how many congested miles will there be in 20 years?
There is absolutely no indication that this bill will reduce congestion in Hampton Roads. None.
The new unelected, unaccountable, unchecked or balanced Regional Government, The Hampton Roads Transportation Authority, has the power to impose tolls for congestion management or just for fun, but no quantifiable and achievable goals are set for “The Authority”. None.
So, the biggest headache in congestion, the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel, is ignored in the Tax Panic bill. A new bridge will be built miles away to dump more traffic, mainly trucks from the Port of Norfolk, 20 miles up on the same road – I-64. But, no lanes and tubes are added where the bottleneck actually is.
Ask the Republicans pushing the Tax Panic of 2007:
• How many miles of congestion will be reduced each year for the next 20 years? Cite the reference.
• What other quantifiable and achievable goals will the unelected, unaccountable, undivided Regional Government, The Authority, have to meet? Cite the reference. Why are these metrics in the bill?
• Why do you want to raise taxes and create another layer of government if it doesn’t actually fix the transportation problems across Hampton Roads?
James Atticus Bowden
