Virginia Transportation: One Word

Transportation plays a central role in the gubernatorial campaign. In Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads it may prove decisive.

Stories about the state's transportation dilemmas and the candidates' responses to them often cite the 1986 transportation package proposed by Gov. Gerald Baliles as the last comprehensive approach to the problem. The program included the last hike in the state gasoline tax as well.

We recently asked Baliles to contribute a guest column regarding his policy and today's needs. We stipulated 750-800 words as an appropriate length. Baliles graciously declined. As head of the Miller Center at the University of Virginia, he lacked the time.

In an e-mail to us, however, he addressed current needs not with several hundred words but with one:

Money.