Too Progressive

Governor Kaine spoke at a town hall meeting at Newport News High School yesterday and announced that he has agreed to the elimination of the Hampton Roads Transportation Authority in exchange for a long-term solution to financing the area’s highway construction and maintenance needs.

Kaine said he will again call a special session of the General Assembly to address the complex and politically charged issue of transportation funding now that negotiators have completed a new, two-year state budget.

Last year’s landmark transportation legislation, developed after two years of work, has seen key components cast aside, leaving large metropolitan regions unable to finance many congestion relief projects, while the state’s highway maintenance fund remains unable to pay for needed work.

To bridge the gap, Virginia is using millions from its construction budget and spending it on maintenance while demand on the state’s highways and roads continues to grow.

Great, now if we could just get some help up here in Northern Virginia.  And not to take anything away from those down in the Hampton Roads area either, but I’d say we are in much more desperate need of relief up here and anyone who commutes regularly in this area can back me up on that.

A little late, yes, but better late than never:

“We must continue to look for strategies to promote safety on the road,” said Kaine, who has been under pressure from fellow Democrats to end the fees. “The abuser-fee idea has flunked with voters, and we should acknowledge it and move on.”