Northern Virginia Doesn’t Need New Highways
Virginia Highways (cc photo by thisisbossi)
Observing the Virginia election campaign from afar, I thought that one potential upside to the fact that Bob McDonnell’s lack of a real plan to finance proposed road construction in Northern Virginia might have the beneficial consequence of making sure that the road construction doesn’t happen. I mean, I hate to knock a pro-tax editorial since lord knows I love taxes, but this kind of sentiment from the Washington Post editorial board doesn’t seem to me to be correct:
Mr. McDonnell’s challenge will be to translate his promises into results, specifically on the state’s most critical challenge: reinvigorating a sclerotic, aging transportation network. Virginia last raised new revenue for transportation almost a quarter century ago; little wonder that it is running out of cash to build roads. We remain skeptical of the flimsy filigree he passed off as a transportation plan, which rejects any fresh taxes to pay for new roads. But by dint of his victory he has earned the right to show it will work. We’d be delighted if he proves us wrong.
The postmortems on the campaign of State Sen. R. Creigh Deeds, the losing Democratic candidate, will identify his campaign’s missteps, misjudgments and missed opportunities. Inevitably, one of those will be his at-first tepid, and later unequivocal support for raising taxes to build roads. This will reinforce the conventional wisdom that it is impossible to win an election in Virginia, and elsewhere, on a platform that includes higher taxes.
Sigh.
Things like building more NoVa roads or expanding I-66 won’t solve Virginia’s traffic congestion problems. Right now the limited road capacity is operating as a constraint on further sprawl. Building more road capacity will encourage more sprawling development. But the reason Northern Virginia’s roads are crowded is that there’s a lot of stuff in-and-around Northern Virginia, there are limited non-road options for getting around Northern Virginia, and the roads are largely free. If you want less congestion over the long run, you need to tackle these issues head on. That means things like improving Virginia Rail Express so commuter rail is a more reasonable option for people; it means building the Metro Silver Line and—crucially—actually doing the increased density and urbanization in Tyson’s Corner; it means building Columbia Pike Streetcar; it means getting Virginia to support building a separated blue line through Downtown DC.
That would cost money and so, yes, taxes would be necessary. But higher taxes to build more roads isn’t what Northern Virginia needs. And ultimately like all jurisdictions plagued with traffic problems around the world, there’s ultimately a need to recognize that congestion pricing is the only really stable way to ensure a reasonable flow of traffic.
McDonnell’s pseudo-plan is not going to work but the alternative the Post is pushing wouldn’t work either.
31 Responses to “Northern Virginia Doesn’t Need New Highways”
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November 4th, 2009 at 1:11 pm
that photo sure looks like the DC side of the Potomac! I mean shouldn’t the river be between the “VA Highways” and the Lincoln Memorial?
November 4th, 2009 at 1:12 pm
Maybe I’m confused, but that sure doesn’t look like a picture of Virginia highways to me.
November 4th, 2009 at 1:19 pm
You are not going to get less congestion, either in the short run or the long run– not unless Northern Virginia actually chokes to death on its traffic. The choice is the character of the congestion– will it be urban or suburban? Personally, I favor urban congestion– but in either case less congestion is not an option.
November 4th, 2009 at 1:29 pm
Breaking news! The Lincoln Memorial has been moved to Arlington!
November 4th, 2009 at 1:34 pm
One of the problems I’ve always had with the ‘if you don’t build it, they won’t come’ theory of transportation infrastructure is that existing roads fall apart and have to be replaced anyway, so they might as well have greater capacity. I mean, its not like its cheaper to build a smaller road. Here in Seattle, our roads continue to fall apart while Yglesias style opposition to new roads runs against the all freeways, all the time crowd and the result is complete paralysis.
Maybe if they designed highways with light rail stacked on top – or better yet, if you could park your car on the light rail cars, we could get some agreement. At this point, who cares what you build, just build something already. The government already has our damn money.
November 4th, 2009 at 1:35 pm
Totally, 100% agree. What No. VA needs is a massive investment in dedicated rail (like MetroNorth in NY) and additional Metro access.
Read “The Power Broker” by Robert Caro. That’s a case study as to why you can’t just build more roads.
This is an area where McDonnell is a disaster. Although getting rid of ABC is one of the best ideas I’ve finally heard from a VA politician.
November 4th, 2009 at 1:36 pm
This isn’t an either/or. I don’t know of many people who want to invest more in roads who don’t also want to invest in other forms of transportation.
November 4th, 2009 at 1:38 pm
One thing VA could do is move up the highway exit signs on non-interstate highways so you see them before the exit as opposed to as you drive past the exit (or even after you’ve passed it). Not to toot my own horn, but I’ve been living here for five years and am better with directions and navigating than anyone I know, and I still occasionally miss exits. It took three years to figure out the GW Parkway, the Jeff Davis Treason Parkway, and the highways on the DC side of the river around the Lincoln Memorial, because the signage is so ridiculously bad. Doing this would probably seriously reduce congestion, as there would be fewer people diving across traffic from the left lane to make the exit that they just realized they are about to miss.
Also, Columbia Pike streetcar, woot!
November 4th, 2009 at 1:42 pm
Because I do a reverse commute from DC to Tysons on 66, I would probably gain the most a widening of 66; and even I think it’s moronic.
If they want to spend $1.2 gazillion on something, they should fix the Spring Hill Lane/Toll Road interchange. But I bet that’s true of half the other interchanges on 66 and the Dulles Toll Road. Which is my way of agreeing with MY.
November 4th, 2009 at 1:46 pm
Right now the limited road capacity is operating as a constraint on further sprawl.
EXACTLY. People do not understand that more lanes = more traffic. Expanding our “free” roads does nothing but give us more space to sit in traffic congestion. We could add seventy lanes to our roads — it does nothing to solve how a more-dense core is supposed to support the traffic coming in from rings of ever-expanding, car-dependent suburbs.
Congestion pricing or mass transit are the way to go.
November 4th, 2009 at 2:05 pm
Surely the teaparty movement with their commitment to hard work, volunteerism, and local government will be willing to build these roads themselves, financed by bake sales and by rejecting all federal funds? Right?
November 4th, 2009 at 2:08 pm
This sounds like a great idea, but where is the state going to make up the lost revenue from? Are you willing to endure a tax increase to make up the difference? I hate ABC stores as much as the next guy, but give me the choice between buying from the stores or paying more taxes, it’s likely I will stick with the store system, and plenty of people will probably agree with me.
November 4th, 2009 at 2:11 pm
Sorry JustMe, have to disagree…shedding a guaranteed source of revenue during a recession is precisely the right thing to do. Something about opening free markets or something like that…
November 4th, 2009 at 2:24 pm
The Columbia Pike streetcar, if built, will do nothing to decrease traffic congestion, which is not a serious problem on its route. C.P. has the best bus service in the state of Virginia now; I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s the best service anywhere on the Metro system, but I don’t have the facts on that.
The goal of the streetcar project is to make the Columbia Pike corridor “cool” and attract young hip white people, thereby replicating the Metro-driven upscale development along the Orange Line corridor. In the long run, if this succeeds, it will presumably reduce sprawl somewhat. But the County Board isn’t thinking about sprawl or traffic, it’s thinking about tax revenue.
November 4th, 2009 at 2:42 pm
I must admit, those are some lovely overpasses. Lots of greenery. Love the stonework. And I think I see the roadway feeding into a roundabout? Roundabouts are cool. Roads don’t have to be grotesque, you know. They can actually be quite beautiful.
Top the picture off with Grant’s Tomb in the background, and we have quite a lovely scene.
November 4th, 2009 at 2:56 pm
Just me,
The State of Virginia is paying a lot more for these stores than the private sector would. There’s no reason that the taxpayer ought to be doing that. As for additional taxes, how about cutting some spending? Is there no where in the state budget that we can make up that lost revenue? In addition…
Average American,
Yeah, a guaranteed source of revenue…because once we get rid of ABC there will be nowhere in the state of Virginia that one will be able to purchase liquor. Moreover, I can’t imagine that anyone will have any interest whatsoever in opening additional liquor stores because as we both know, it’s just so much easier to have a model based on the widest possible distribution of ABC stores for political convenience.
I’m sorry but your point is just plain silly. I’m curious, do you happen to live in Virginia?
Honestly, I would think that a progressive like yourself would applaud a religious nut like McDonnell closing down a store that was in part designed by a bunch of Baptists trying to restrict liquor sales.
November 4th, 2009 at 3:05 pm
Places like Pennsylvania use their state store system to restrict access to liquor. Places like NH and VA use the system to make lots of money to keep taxes low. If you want to cut spending, then you can cut taxes when you’ve done that. Don’t kill the money-making golden goose making the state worse off for everyone except investors who want to get into the retail liquor business. Want to get rid of the liquor stores? Great. Tell me which additional taxes you really, really want to pay to make up for the revenue shortfall. Cut the budget? No one is going to sacrifice their roads, fire their teachers, and lay off their state police officers just because YOU have a fixation on getting rid of the ABCs.
Want low taxes? Then accept some state-owned enterprises that raise money.
Unless you’re thinking that the retail liquor business is just a booming economic opportunity that whose tax revenues and hundreds of thousands of new jobs being created by privatization will end up revitalizing the entire state! Yes, Smithe, that’s it! The economic future of all Virginians is the liquor business!
Actually, I think that after getting rid of the ABCs, the government should levy a “libertarian tax” to make up for the revenue shortfall.
November 4th, 2009 at 3:05 pm
Actually, the reason that message works in NoVa is not about expanding highways — that is incredibly expensive — but because VDOT has control of most of the secondary roads in Fairfax County. The real bottlenecks aren’t the highways but the regular roads, and you can’t invest in them unless Richmond says so.
In terms of highways, fixing certain problems is more useful than building new lanes. ANd investing in public transit only helps certain jurisdictions and landowners.
November 4th, 2009 at 3:28 pm
People do not want congestion pricing, Matt. It’s a solution that’s worse than the disease.
November 4th, 2009 at 3:39 pm
I think that those little brown signs, 14 inches off the ground and placed after the exits have induced my longest profanity laced driving tirades.
November 4th, 2009 at 3:43 pm
Justme,
I don’t know whether or not you live in Virginia…but in Virginia the ABC stores are spread out to the point that it is a complete annoyance to find one. That hurts people’s ability to purchase liquor which in turn hurts tax revenue. Most importantly, just what types of benefits does the state provide to employees of ABC stores…http://www.abc.state.va.us/careers/benefits.html. Do you really think that we’re going to be losing revenue by closing down this welfare operation?
Whether we go the route of selling liquor in grocery stores or in dedicated liquor stores, I’m 99% certain that we’re going to sell more liquor. Moreover, the liquor that gets sold in those stores will probably end up being cheaper as ABC has inflated liquor prices (I used to buy my liquor in DC when I worked there). That also translates into more liquor sales and more revenue.
Now, if you’d like to make the argument that all of this will result in unforeseen consequences like medical issues or even accidents, that’s a fair point. But arguing that getting rid of ABC is going to hurt state revenue?…That is simply preposterous.
November 4th, 2009 at 3:48 pm
And Justme,
Could you provide me with your math here? According to you, by shutting down ABC, the state will lose money? How?
ABC (THE STATE) has to pay the salaries and benefits of its employees. It receives tax revenue from the sale of alcohol.
The first of these will be eliminated. Which leaves the second. How is it that by eliminating overhead, but preserving taxes, one loses money?
I understand that you’re more inclined to support government for the sake of supporting government, but your argument makes no sense.
November 4th, 2009 at 3:58 pm
I think that those little brown signs, 14 inches off the ground and placed after the exits have induced my longest profanity laced driving tirades.
A little brown sign means that you have entered the National Park Service Zone. Not that the point is not valid as to the other jurisdictions that put up signs, or don’t.
November 4th, 2009 at 5:06 pm
@21,22: So the state stores have inflated liquor prices, but somehow the difference between inflated-retail price and wholesale price magically vanishes into the ether?
The state doesn’t just make taxes on sales at state-owned stores, it also makes *the profit markup that another store owner would have made*. As in 100% of it, not whatever corporate income tax it would have collected from that income.
Monopoly profit. That’s the revenue source. And if in the process it drives the price of liquor up and the quantity consumed down, I don’t much mind. The fact that ABC offers decent jobs rather than crappy McJobs is an obvious benefit to working Virginians, if you happen to care more about them than about drinking Virginians. (Of course there is a lot of overlap!)
P.S. Of course you could jack up alcohol taxes to the point that they raise equivalent total revenue, and then abolishing ABC would be budget neutral. I doubt McDonnell will do that, or even propose doing it.
November 4th, 2009 at 5:46 pm
What Mr. Yglesias fails to mention in his diatribes against the private automobile is that virtually all the gas tax revenue collected in the State of Virginia is now going to maintainance and quite soon it will not even cover that. One need only look at the state of I66 between the Beltway and Route 50. The roadway there, which is 40+ years old, far past its useful life, is literally falling apart. It should have been rebuilt years ago. In addition, there is the condition of bridges in Northern Virginia which badly need work. Don’t depend on fucktard McDonnell to find the revenue to do anything.
Instead of raising the gas tax, what the state is doing is allowing a private contractor to build and operate the abortion called Hot Lanes, on the Capitol Beltway between I95 and the Dulles Access Highway. These might better be termed Lexus lanes as the average joe won’t be able to afford to utilize them, in addition to the requirement of having to have a transponder on the vehicle to assess the tolls. In addition, the tolls are supposed to be based on the amount of congestion on the hot lanes so that a vehicle entering them won’t even know how much his/her bank account is going to be debited. This is a system almost guaranteed to screw drivers using the lanes.
November 4th, 2009 at 6:30 pm
Pave, baby, Pave!! Just sayin’ now that gas is below $3 a gallon
November 4th, 2009 at 9:04 pm
adjust fall aerosols related average
November 4th, 2009 at 9:35 pm
Virginia born, Virginia bred, and – God willing – when I die I’ll be Virginia dead. Sic semper tyrannis.
That said, Chris already addressed your points…the VABC generates revenues from the sale of liquor AND the taxes. And while it, of course, has to pay its employees, even if the state shed its control of the ABC it would still have to pay people to make sure liquor stores weren’t misbehaving. So you’d still be paying people to oversee liquor sales, and you’d have less revenue with which to do it.
Also, as per the VABC’s website, the agency has brought in $1.7 billion to the general fund over the last five years and posted $665.6 million in annual gross sales in FY09.
As for the stores not being dense enough for your taste…there are 43 stores within 25 miles of my current residence, and 51 within the same radius of where I lived in Richmond. In Arlington it’s 69. Even little Bath County has more ABC stores per person than Chesapeake. Do you really think privatizing the sale would lead to a denser spread? Moreover, what’s to stop big box stores from flexing their existing muscle to undercut prices and freeze out “small business” liquor stores?
November 4th, 2009 at 11:59 pm
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November 5th, 2009 at 3:26 am
If roads create more traffic then building public transportation also creates more traffic. Every study has shown that the metro coming to Tysons Corner is going to make traffic worse because the country will allow massive expansion even though most of the people working in that expansion will drive there.
If you want to limit traffic, then the planning and zoning commission need to do their jobs and match development with capacity. There is no reason to believe that street cars, subways, or trains will cause the planning boards to perform their jobs better.
November 5th, 2009 at 1:26 pm
[...] And by the way, I notice that there was no link to Yglesias’ post for some reason. So here’s that, too. [...]