Not sure how I missed this earlier but better late than never. Sunday’s Richmond Times Dispatch ran an op-ed by Democratic Caucus Chairman Brian J. Moran on transportation. Del. Moran hits hard the compromise plan:
Yet just when leadership was needed, the General Assembly’s Republican majority failed to deliver an honest transportation solution. Their Band-Aid legislation leaves gaping holes, jeopardizes our fiscal stability, and fails to provide for the future. It retreats from our successes.
The Republican plan amounts to little more than spending our children’s college fund and then maxing out the credit card — all in the name of an election year.
Ouch. But then again, there have been some Republicans in the blogsphere who have said as much themselves.
I’m working on my own piece on the transportation bill. Look for it in the next few days.
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VIVIAN J. PAIGE | All Politics is Local 
As I noted on my blog, I would be a lot more sympathetic to Delegate Moran and his righteous indignation had he and the Democrats offered their own plan.
For better or worse, both sides have been derelict of leadership during the 2007 session, seeking only political advantage and not actually doing anything.
Bwana, I guess you missed out on Governor Kaines plan that was absolutely DOA in the House this year (and last for that matter). Im not sure they even debated it in committee and just straight up killed it.
What I dont understand is how anyone can really think this plan is any good (I’ll admit I dont read your blog so I dont know what you’ve said – this is just me going out on a tangent here) when it takes two years worth of funds to actually pay for one intersection? I could win the lotto tomorrow and come away with more money than this plan gives us in a year. The right wing of the General Assembly needs to understand that 4 intersections in Northern Virginia isnt going to put a dent in our transportation problems.
And the kicker is – unless we find a constant, sustainable fix to the transportation funding problem we face, there wont be any money for new roads, intersections, or anything else – it will all be going to maintenance.
The other thing people havent discussed is – returning the maintenance of roads back to the localities – HAHA – they can barely afford to pay for what they do now, and we expect them to do more? Someone was really smoking something nice when they came up with this plan.
yep…me and the rest of the commonwealth.
I guess I also missed the reports of all the attempts by democratic legislators to tack it onto other legislation to find any way to get their plan into public view and into law.