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 The Road Out of Our Transportation Crisis is Built on Leadership
by Tom Campbell
May 3, 2007
The subject was transportation, but the real issue at the NC SPIN Transportation Forum was leadership. North Carolina has dropped from the 8th best highway system in the country in the late 1980’s to 28th, according to Dr. David Hartgen, UNC Charlotte’s professor of transportation studies. If you have driven our Interstates and urban roads recently you likely already knew this.
We know we have a transportation crisis. What we don’t know is whether our Governor, DOT, and legislators acknowledge these problems and, if so, how they propose to solve them. When asked his top three priorities to resolve our transportation troubles former DOT Secretary Jim Harrington immediately responded, “Leadership, leadership, leadership.” Current DOT Secretary Lyndo Tippett bristled, “When you have a lot of self-esteem, no one else has leadership.” This arrogance, coming from the head of our transportation department proves Harrington’s point.
There were many positive suggestions made during the ninety-minute forum. One is that our legislators must stop raiding the Highway Trust Fund, transferring badly needed road funds to our state’s general operations. Our current funding formula needs changing, prioritizing spending on the most urgent projects instead of spreading money equally without regard to need. It is unreasonable that our current formula does not depend on traffic counts or congestion. We must seek every possible means to expedite the permitting and construction process. While a pay-as-you-go system has been our tradition, it has been years since we passed a road bond referendum to jump-start urgent needs. The concept of allowing private contractors to build roads to state standards, turning them over to the state upon completion, has demonstrated that roads can be built faster and less costly. There are some public transit proposals worthy of consideration, but spending priorities must balance current and realistic future usage.
Explosive state population growth, coupled with more fuel-efficient vehicles and dramatic construction cost increases demands new funding sources. Toll roads have never been popular with our people but are going to be part of the solution. So should HOT (high occupancy tolls on current roads) and HOV (high occupancy vehicle) lanes. The concept of taxing motorists for vehicle miles traveled (VMT) should be considered. Cities and counties will need to be more involved in road construction and maintenance, but they must have additional local-option funding sources at their disposal.
Do not be misled; the road out of our transportation crisis is not quick or cheap. And do not fall into the trap of trying to place blame with one political party over another, or even with one administration or another. Who is at fault for the current situation won’t help get the proverbial ox out of the ditch. But neither does this justify denial, arrogance, or inaction. It is time for leaders to lead. |
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