It's Time Virginia

Remarks by Jim Dunn

President and CEO

Greater Richmond Chamber of Commerce

Report to Foundation for Virginia

On State of Transportation Services in Virginia

December 1, 2004

Thank you for this opportunity to report to you on the state of transportation services in Virginia. Our transportation system is often the very first impression any visitor or potential business has of our state.

I am speaking today on behalf of Virginians for Better Transportation (VBT). VBT is a diverse and expanding advocacy group working to implement statewide, multi-modal transportation solutions through increased, dedicated and sustainable funding and responsible business practices. VBT is conducting a public awareness campaign to educate Virginians about the Commonwealth's transportation funding challenges and the essential role transportation plays in the quality of life of all citizens. The members of VBT believe it's time for a comprehensive, long-term solution.

Unfortunately, I have nothing positive to report to you about the 2004 Session because there were no positive developments for transportation. No new funds were approved for transportation in 2004 and transportation was the only one of Virginia's six major core services that achieved this dubious distinction.

The only positive result from this failure is that is has focused attention on the transportation funding crisis that faces Virginia.

There are three key elements of the transportation funding crisis:

1)		The transportation needs facing every region of the Commonwealth are enormous;
2)		The revenues available to meet these needs are not even remotely adequate; and
3)		The costs the crisis is imposing on Virginia's citizens, businesses and economic development competitiveness are significant and growing each day we continue to ignore the crisis.

First, I want to briefly review the needs:

In a recent Virginia Beach speech, former Governor Gerald Baliles stated "If the goal of the transportation system is to move people and products, how can it be achieved with an infrastructure that is undergoing strain and clearly inadequate for the growing demands of a global economy?"

Consider the following

		i.	Current revenues will be $3 billion short of what is needed to complete the projects in the current six-year plan within the next 20 years.
		ii.	Approximately 27 percent of Virginia's major roads are rated poorly or in mediocre condition, and in need of resurfacing or reconstruction.
		iii.	Approximately 27 percent of Virginia's bridges 20 feet or longer were deemed last year to be structurally deficient or functionally obsolete.
		iv.	Public transit ridership has increased 58 percent since 1986 with no new revenues.
		v.	Virginia Railway Express, in just 10 years, grew from 6,500 to more than 14,500 trips per day. We know the public will use public transportation when it is available.
		vi.	Freight rail, airport and port traffic are also increasing dramatically.

Second, a review of available resources paints an alarming picture:

	Transportation revenues have lost 40 percent of their buying power since 1986.
	The November 2004 VTRANS Study reports all modes of transportation will require more than $200 billion in revenues over the next 20 years...and current available funds will provide less than half of that requirement.
	VDOT projects that by 2018, with no new funding, road maintenance will drain all available transportation revenues...with no funds available for new construction.

Third and finally, the costs of this funding crisis on Virginia's quality of life and business environment are growing daily. They include:

	Lost time and productivity for commuters and businesses.
	Greater stress on the environment and Virginia's ability to meet more stringent federal clean air standards.
	A recent Virginia Pilot editorial stated, "While our region's growth rate has lately exceeded the national average, and our future looks bright, the chokepoints and bottlenecks in our highway system are starting to cast a dark cloud on Hampton Roads' horizon."

Where do we go from here:

	It is commendable that Governor Warner, Secretary Clement and VDOT Commissioner Shucet have made significant changes leading to a more efficient and productive VDOT. Those changes mean that future transportation dollars will be wisely spent.
	Unfortunately, we seldom get a second chance to make a good impression and the costs of addressing Virginia's growing transportation deficiencies are growing daily.
	Losing one's momentum can be a costly mistake and VBT urges Virginia's State leaders to address, consider and agree on a plan of action to meet the Commonwealth's transportation needs when it convenes in a few short weeks for the beginning of the 2005 Session of the Virginia General Assembly. Such action is imperative if Virginia is to maintain the exceptional quality of life and stellar business climate it has worked so hard to create over the decades.