Kaine Just Doesn't Get It!
December 24, 2007
Letter to the Editor Submitted to Area Newspapers
Governor Kaine's budget shows he doesn't understand that our traffic crisis is not just a daily inconvenience to people living and commuting in Northern Virginia. The extreme problem in our road system impacts nearly every other part of our state economy and therefore, the budget.
After months of hearing voters complain about traffic while going door to door, visiting commuter parking lots and researching our transportation crisis in Virginia I was dumfounded with Kaine's total disregard for transportation in his proposed budget. In Kaine's 63 page summary presentation to the finance and appropriations committees, he made one brief reference to shifting transportation money from one year to the next. In his press statement he touted the many wonderful successes of Virginia and the need to spend more on those already successful areas. But he failed to mention our backlogged road maintenance projects and lack of funding to build much needed lane miles to relieve traffic.
A national transportation research group estimated that "Virginia's congested and deteriorating transportation system costs Virginians more than $4 billion every year due to increased fuel costs, lost time, greater incidence of accidents and more frequent repair bills." Eliminating those costs to Virginia's economy could certainly be a boost for our economic development and our tax base!
Education is negatively impacted by the excessive traffic congestion as well: students, teachers and staff sit the same traffic the rest of us do each morning and afternoon. Parents struggle to get home in time to participate in school activities, or even help with homework, much less volunteer to help at school or extracurricular activities.
To Senator Herring and Delegate Poison, I say, our traffic clogged roads are not a partisan problem. Everyone in Loudoun County needs you to convince Governor Kaine that making fixing our traffic woes a priority will be good for all of Virginia. Don't neglect this issue now that the campaign is over.
After months of hearing voters complain about traffic while going door to door, visiting commuter parking lots and researching our transportation crisis in Virginia I was dumfounded with Kaine's total disregard for transportation in his proposed budget. In Kaine's 63 page summary presentation to the finance and appropriations committees, he made one brief reference to shifting transportation money from one year to the next. In his press statement he touted the many wonderful successes of Virginia and the need to spend more on those already successful areas. But he failed to mention our backlogged road maintenance projects and lack of funding to build much needed lane miles to relieve traffic.
A national transportation research group estimated that "Virginia's congested and deteriorating transportation system costs Virginians more than $4 billion every year due to increased fuel costs, lost time, greater incidence of accidents and more frequent repair bills." Eliminating those costs to Virginia's economy could certainly be a boost for our economic development and our tax base!
Education is negatively impacted by the excessive traffic congestion as well: students, teachers and staff sit the same traffic the rest of us do each morning and afternoon. Parents struggle to get home in time to participate in school activities, or even help with homework, much less volunteer to help at school or extracurricular activities.
To Senator Herring and Delegate Poison, I say, our traffic clogged roads are not a partisan problem. Everyone in Loudoun County needs you to convince Governor Kaine that making fixing our traffic woes a priority will be good for all of Virginia. Don't neglect this issue now that the campaign is over.