I am tired of the arguements. I think that governments, at all levels should have to stow away funds for infrastructure on a yearly basis, some for general maintenance and some for new and upgraded infrastructure. I think that the money needs to be bundled in a way that no one can use it to any purpose other than for what was initially intended. Funding would be dispersed base on population, not at the whim of various legislators. All existing infrastructure would be put on schedules for upgrades (25-30 years, depending on population growth). The money would be off budget or not part of that government-level general budget. It would be a savings account, just like homeowners associations are required to keep or like responsible people save for something that they want. It is time to bring some organization to infrastructure planning, especially in Virginia where the power is in the hands of those who are glad to take our money but unwilling to give anything back. My solution to the problem of the recent failure of VA delegates to do their jobs is to secede and do what is right for northern and eastern Virginia. Enough is enough.

According to a commenter at the Not Larry Sabato blog, the State Senate killed a proposal yesterday to earmark $50 million for Metro, even though it was necessary in order to receive $1.5 billion in federal matching funds.

(The Examiner today reported that the House passed the proposal, and suggested, apparently erroneously, that the proposal was poised to pass the Legislature).

Apparently, the State Senate (and Governor Kaine) are willing to throw away free federal money, in order to create a need for additional tax revenue that will justify a tax increase.

They want to use every penny of a record budget surplus on social services and schools (even though K-12 education spending has doubled in inflation-adjusted terms), not on transportation, and will only transportation to be funded out of tax increases, not existing revenue.

Transportation, it seems, is just a pretext to raise taxes.

But if an when taxes are in fact increased, the State Senate and the Governor may well raid the transportation trust fund to pay for social services, as they did in the past.

Governor Kaine will no doubt be sorely tempted to divert or siphon off any money supposedly raised for transportation to pay for his costly universal pre-kindergarten proposal. (Nevermind that some studies have shown that attending pre-kindergarten makes young children more aggressive and does not improve their school performance).

Transportation is not a priority for the Governor or the State Senate. It is just a pretext for raising taxes. They would rather squander the budget surplus on social services, which are already being funded at record levels.

They can't agree on how to fund badly-needed road improvements (NOT new roads that we also need, just improvements to existing roads), and they can't agree on how to add a few more Metro cars to relieve overcrowding.

But they have $4 billion for the Dulles rail pork-barrel boondoggle.

Come November, throw the bums out!

Time to secede! Welcome to the 51st state: North Virginia. Wouldn't be much different... Northern Virginians already consider themselves seperate from their Southern Virginian kin.

Time to change the name of the blog from "Get There" to "Get There Late" or "Get Nowhere".

Seriously, people, discuss some realistic proposals. First, the primary congressional people responsible for this boondoggle are in districts other than NoVA and Hampton Roads. So NoVA voters won't have a say on their fate. It's time for the gov to exact political revenge on these people. They don't want to allocate matching funds for metro? Fine, take away their funding for whatever pork barrel stuff is stowed away. Next, NoVA lobbying interests (deep pocket businesses) should make it well known to the holdbacks that they are going to fund the hell out of any opponent in any location in VA who pledges to come up with a solution. Create ads that make these pols look like weak-kneed liberals just to make them mad. Or, play the game of chicken. Businesses need to start threatening the state with departing for lower costs and better quality of life, and for each business, detail the loss of tax revenue that fund their pet projects.

What is there to say?. It's more of the same: no taxes/no roads. I would gladly pay whatever is needed to get more pavement. I have been voting at the polls and everyone should try again in Nov. 2007. If nothing changes, one thing I'm considering is voting with my feet. As hard as it is to leave an area, especially one I like, if that leaves me more time for life rather than sitting in a car and going nowhere then so be it.

Hey Steven, it's not "weak-kneed liberals" that are keeping the transportation dollars from flowing; it's the Republicans! Most of the rest of the state (the rural part) is highly conservative. And Tim Kaine is one of the ones who most wants money spent on transportation.

I wish there was an easy solution to the transportation problems statewide. Unfortunately, anything that will actually have any sort of impact will be both costly and complicated. A combination of increased public transit and automobile infrastructure improvements are required.

I would hardly call the Dulles rail a pork-barrel boondoggle. Rather, it's exactly the type of project that should be undertaken. A place like Tysons corner (where nearly 100,000 people work) MUST have public transportation access. And, for any hope at traffic relief, people need to live near where they work. It's unfortunate that a relatively minor (compared to the rest of the project's cost) incremental cost of building the tunnel means fewer options for the revamped area.

Billions of dollars need to be spent--nationwide, not just in Virginia--to upgrade transportation infrastructure for a multitude of reasons, from the quality of life issues involved with traffic gridlock to theenvironmental issues associated with suburban sprawl. It's too bad the Virginia legislature didn't make the tough decisions (I guess those are politically risky) we inherently entrust to our public officials.

There is a three step process that should be followed

(1) Throw the bums out (don't exactly know who the bums are but I'll figure that out by november)

(2) DEMAND that for every dollar NOVA sends to Richhmond, that we get every *@#%% dollar back!! (I've heard hearsay that as little as 20 cents makes it way back here) and if this doesn't work

(3) SECEDE from Virginia and form our own state. Richmond has neglected and abused Northern Virginia enough that IMHO it does not deserve to have it. Make Fairfax City the state capitol, and include in Fairfax, Prince William, Loudoun, the cities of Arlington, Alexandria, Falls Church. Also include Montgomery (Maryland) so that a MUCH NEEDED bridge can be built across the potomac.

I solved my own commuting problem and moved away to Florida. My single biggest factor in looking for a job outside the DC area was the traffic. I couldn't spend an hour and a half in traffic each way anymore. Virginia has too many people, not enough roads, and a legislature that has no idea what they're doing. With the amount people are paying in property taxes, they should have plenty of money for roads.