In a meeting yesterday with the Richmond Times-Dispatch’s editorial board, Kaine voiced concerns that lawmakers confronted with the tough budget he’s crafting for the next two fiscal years will shrink from some of the sacrifices it will require to keep the state fiscally sound in a tough economy.

Most Virginians would agree that efficiently moving goods and people is paramount to establishing and maintaining a vibrant economy. The wheels of commerce are greased by WILSON
WHITEHURST
roads and railways that allow unimpeded, safe travel. Our transportation networks are valuable assets, tools with which Virginia builds business and creates prosperity.

Virginia Railway Express commuters are likely to experience severe delays Monday as scheduled signal work on the Fredericksburg line likely will push schedules behind by up to an hour.

According to an organization whose members make money from building public-infrastructure projects, Virginia needs to spend a lot more money on public-infrastructure projects. The American Society of Civil Engineers gives Virginia a grade of D+ for the condition of its roads, bridges, dams, water systems, schools, and so on. That puts Virginia slightly ahead of the national curve, which gets a D from the organization. It wants to see a five-year investment of $2.2 trillion.

“The administration has inherited a system that can no longer pay for itself,“ according to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. He was talking about an expected shortfall in the federal highway trust fund—a problem the administration has actively been seeking to make worse. The trust fund gathers revenue principally from gasoline taxes. Like Virginia’s own gasoline tax, the federal tax of 18.4 cents per gallon is not pegged to inflation, so it has lost purchasing power over time. If it had kept pace with prices generally it now would stand between 25 and 30 cents per gallon.

More cell phone users will be able to get service in the Metro starting tomorrow.

Democrat R. Creigh Deeds last night blasted Republican gubernatorial rival Bob McDonnell as a “smooth talker” who runs from his conservative roots, while McDonnell tied Deeds to the disputed policies of President Barack Obama.

Light rail has captured the imagination of Central Virginia. Advocates and skeptics might find the experience of Phoenix instructive. A light rail system that runs from Phoenix to Tempe and Mesa opened in December. It has turned out to be more popular than proponents thought it would be, but not in the way they thought. Commuters have not flocked to it. Partiers have. Weekends find the system laden with users traveling to pubs, restaurants, and other ports of call. Businesses near the rail line are booming. ASU students like the low fares. As a result, average daily ridership approaches 33,000, compared with an anticipated 26,000. Even the right-wing Goldwater Institute has been impressed.

The last full week of September ended with the campaigns of both of Virginia’s candidates for governor claiming victory. Both had reasons to be happy. Three polls released during the past week show that Democrat R. Creigh Deeds has closed the gap with Republican Bob McDonnell to within 2 to 5 percentage points. “It’s a reflection of the fact that people are waking up to the race and responding very well to Creigh’s message and show a healthy amount of skepticism of Bob’s message and his record,“ Deeds senior adviser Mo Elleithee said a conference call with reporters.

A panel reviewing the July 2 closure of the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel may call for enhanced inspections and better training for workers.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate R. Creigh Deeds said yesterday that if the General Assembly passes a bipartisan bill that includes a tax increase to fund Virginia’s transportation needs, he will sign it. But the state senator from Bath County said during an online chat at the Richmond Times-Dispatch that he would not sign a transportation bill that took money from education or other “general fund priorities” to finance the fix.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate R. Creigh Deeds said on TimesDispatch.com today that if the legislature passed a bill to fund the transportation needs that included an increase in taxes, he would sign it.

Virginia governors and legislators have fought for a decade over how to fund roads, bridges and transit. In January, a new governor will inherit what Secretary of Transportation Pierce R. Homer calls a crisis in Virginia’s transportation funding. Republican Bob McDonnell has presented a plan with a dozen funding mechanisms, from tolls to privatizing ABC stores. McDonnell opposes tax increases for transportation.

Imagine traffic jams and parking squeezes in certain parts of Richmond clearing out as people scoot around on electric-powered vehicles such as the Segway Personal Transporter or use other, alternative types of transportation. Buck Ward, who last year opened the Segway of Richmond dealership on East Cary Street, envisions such a scenario happening more often in urban areas as the green transportation movement develops.

The National Park Service says a section of the Colonial Parkway will be closed for at least four months while a bridge damaged by a boat is repaired.