Bob McDonnell’s Transportation Plan Is No Good for NoVa
Attorney General Bob McDonnell. Photo via Wikimedia.
Bob McDonnell’s plan for fixing transportation in Virginia (am I the only one who is consistently surprised when transportation is one of the most important issues there?) seems to consist of only tolls and more highway spending. Moreover, these don’t appear to be tolls as in congestion pricing so much as tolls in the style of Delaware: making people pay because you know they will. For example, McDonnell is proposing tolls at the North Carolina border, only going inbound.
Basically, this is not what at least Northern Virginia needs. It’s regressive funding for expanding sprawl. There’s an emphasis on HOT lanes, but I didn’t see mention of transit in the short AP piece going around.
That said, McDonnell’s proposal to pay for some highway repairs by privatizing the state’s liquor monopoly is fine by me. It’s a silly holdover from the temperance movement and Prohibition.
Aaron Brazell
Rhys Thom
Ethan Arpi
robyn liska
helena cobban
Dario Hidalgo
Laura Root
Erica Schlaikjer
clayton lane
noah kazis
Alex Pazuchanics
Neela Pal
Patricio Chile
Nate Baird
Megan McConville
David Daddio
Allison Bishins
Kwame Brown
brian sykora
McDonnell’s fixation on highway spending echoes throughout the state. Of all of the candidates for governor, he is the only one who continues to support the so-called “Third Crossing” of Hampton Roads harbor, while others are focusing on more pragmatic and fiscally responsible (and less costly and environmentally damaging) ways to improve mobility in Hampton Roads, like high-speed rail to Raleigh and to Richmond via US 460.
He’s stuck on transportation ideas that are 20 years out of date. And this is supposed to be “the jobs governor”?
And wait, customs booths on the North Carolina border? Is this the second coming of Jesse Helms?
[...] he has called for paying for projects by promoting offshore drilling, privatizing liquor stores (McDonnell’s least-worst plank, according to Noah Kazis) and tolling interstates 95 and 81. And I cannot see what could do more [...]
[...] that there’s significantly more information available than a short AP article, I thought it might be useful to compare the fairly extensive transportation plans of the two [...]