Road and transit improvements in the pipeline are already in jeopardy as Virginia drives along without a transportation plan in place, Gov. Tim Kaine (D) told a crowd Thursday at the Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce’s induction ceremony and annual meeting.
In Fairfax County, secondary road funding this year is 36 percent less than it was last year, said Kaine, the event’s keynote speaker. “Every part of the state has a need for a transportation fix, but there is a cost of doing nothing.
“It means we could begin to lose federal funds,” said Kaine, explaining that the state might lose out on thousands of dollars in matching funds. “In fact, the Metro matching grant proposed by Congressman [Tom] Davis could be jeopardized by General Assembly inaction.”
Kaine, who recently finished his first legislative session, lamented that transportation remains the “key issue” going forward. “The longer we wait, the more challenging, and more expensive, the solutions become,” said Kaine.
EARLIER THIS YEAR, despite the longest legislative session in state history, Kaine and the Republican-controlled House of Delegates couldn’t agree to a budget that included transportation funding.
“We need to address our growing maintenance backlog and keep up with Virginia’s aging roads and bridges,” said Kaine, adding that the House promised to do that after resolving the budget stalemate.
“I’m going to hold them to their word,” said Kaine.
Kaine sent the House a $1 billion-per-year transportation plan that includes a 90-percent increase in local highway construction and double the investment in mass transit.
What may be most important to Kaine, the plan does not dip into the General Fund, which pays for things like schools, nursing home care and law enforcement.
In Kaine’s plan, fees or taxes are increased on insurance premiums, registration for heavier vehicles, vehicles sales and abusive drivers.
Kaine, appealing to members of the Chamber, which was celebrating the induction of its new chair and board members, argued that sitting “everyday in gridlock” was costing individuals and businesses too much.
THE FORMER MAYOR of Richmond also reviewed several milestones from this year’s legislative session, including increased spending for K-12 education and early childhood education.
He told the crowd how the Virginia Department of Transportation would begin providing traffic impact statements for new rezoning requests to help localities make better zoning decisions.
Stemming from his talk about local control, Kaine answered questions in an interview after the speech regarding local citizens' effort to make Reston a town.
“Its up to citizens to decide whether or not [township] gives them access or input that they need,” said Kaine, after acknowledging that he wasn’t thoroughly briefed on the specific situation in Reston.
MARION MYERS, who took over as chair of the chamber during the induction ceremony, said the chamber is in an excellent state of affairs, crediting outgoing president Tracey White. Myers said an executive search committee is in the process of finding a replacement for White.
Myers also said she’s excited about leading the chamber’s 25th anniversary celebration next year.