Open source, procurement, and gov tech.
Prompted by Amy Gardner and Rosalind Helderman’s article on transportation and the governor’s race in the Post today, I’m left wondering when the grownups will show up to deal with this state’s transportation problems. We’re facing an enormous fiscal disaster regarding transportation. We’re less than ten years away from infrastructure that starts to become useless, …
Continue reading “Where are the grownups in the transportation debate?”
I’ve driven the length of Route 250 in Virginia, and often noted its frequent intersections with the meandering Three Chopt Road. Charlottesville’s Downtown Mall and Main Street used to be that road. As a kid I learned—who knows where?—that it used to be an American Indian footpath, built up over the years. So I was …
My friend Del. Shannon Valentine (D-Lynchburg) filed a great bill this year that I hadn’t noticed until now: HB2664 would let VDOT manage the development of roads connecting to Route 29. The idea is to deal with the basic problem of Route 29 around Charlottesville. Lynchburg has been agitating for a Route 29 Bypass Bypass …
Continue reading “Del. Valentine’s Route 29 Bypass Bypass bill.”
The Wilson Quarterly has a very enjoyable article about traffic engineer Hans Monderman, a Dutchman. He’s an advocate for expanding the idea of a woonerf to include much of the road network, eliminating most signage. “Do you really think that no one would perceive there is a bridge over there?” he might ask, about a …
Continue reading “Experiments with eliminating traffic signs.”
Ben Jervey writes in Good Magazine (motto: “For people who give a damn”) about his Amtrak trip across the nation. I enjoy taking Amtrak, but only because flying is so bad. Jervey’s experiences are about the same: the train is chronically late, the food is terrible, and the services are sparse. I’ve been thinking about …
Even the conservative Richmond Times Dispatch editors agree: Republicans’ call for an audit of VDOT is bullshit.* There have been eight performance audits of VDOT in the past seven years. The call for another one is, in the words of the RTD, a “dodge,” an “excuse for sloth” with which “the voters should not be …
Continue reading “RTD calls out Republicans on VDOT audit demands.”
Bob McDonnell proposes dealing with the transportation crisis via an audit of VDOT. The only problem? JLARC just did that, but apparently nobody saw the need to mention it to Bob McDonnell. That’s embarrassing. Auditing VDOT to find billions for dollars in new roads would be like rifling through my couch cushions to find the …
Quite a narrative is emerging in attorney general Bob McDonnell’s handling of Gov. Kaine’s transportation plan. Kaine has proposed a tax increase to address the enormous, systemic transportation funding shortfalls. Republicans have proposed nothing. McDonnell, as the presumptive Republican nominee for governor next year, has taken the lead in proposing nothing. But check out how …
Continue reading “McDonnell endorses a transportation tax hike.”
Virginia’s future prosperity depends upon the Commonwealth having a 21st Century transportation system. Growing up in Fairfax County, and later representing Virginia Beach in the House of Delegates, I have seen firsthand the transportation challenges that we face. I believe it is imperative we modernize and improve the transportation system in the Commonwealth, and I …
Here’s a thought that hit me recently: In the long run, the cost of building infrastructure approaches free, while the cost of maintaining it is infinite. Roads are a prime example. Since the advent of paved roads maintained by the state and federal governments, roads haven’t gone away. Virginia never says “Hey, listen, this four …