Friday, February 05, 2010
Editorial: The governor's bill to nowhere
McDonnell got his 70 mph speed limit. He needs to set his sights much higher.
From the RoundTable blog
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Lawmakers put raising Virginia's speed limit on a fast track, giving Gov. Bob McDonnell an early legislative victory. That doesn't mean motorists will be going anywhere fast, though.
The Democratic-dominated state Senate and Republican-led House of Delegates both passed bills this week to raise the maximum speed to 70 from 65 mph on interstates and other limited access highways.
Each chamber has to pass the other's bill before McDonnell can sign the measure, but clearly it was on its way to the governor's desk, prompting him to ballyhoo it as "an important early step towards our common goal of improving transportation in the commonwealth."
Hardly, when the big issue is gridlock.
Commuters creeping along the D.C. beltway or idling on the I-64 approach to the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel will be no better off knowing that they could be driving 70(-plus), if only traffic were moving freely.
McDonnell should be ashamed to claim the change as a serious transportation initiative when his own Republican Party's knee-jerk opposition to taxes has stalled progress so many years that congestion makes a higher speed limit seem like a bad joke.
His candidacy for governor last year took off on his smooth assurances that the detailed transportation plan he offered would solve the commonwealth's festering problems without any new taxes to pay for a fix.
Not surprisingly, the critical elements of that plan are less certain and more distant than campaign rhetoric made them sound. Raising the speed limit, though -- that can be done quickly and cheaply, while showcasing the new governor's ability to get something done, never mind its actual effectiveness.
One glimmer of hope in all of this is the display of bipartisanship in the Senate and House votes.
McDonnell won a landslide election by positioning himself as a moderate, willing to work both sides of the aisle for the common good.
Democrats, whether influenced by that landslide margin or faith in the governor's overtures or some mix of both, chose cooperation over obstructionism.
The governor has the political capital and the opportunity to move Virginia ahead on transportation. The question is, does he have the will to do what truly must be done?
