Before he’s even been elected Dave LaRock has had an impact on our lives. He has found responsible, workable, solutions for the traffic problems that plague northern Virginia.
Dave LaRock, Republican candidate for Delegate in Virginia’s 33rd district, has long believed that Virginia’s transportation funds should be prioritized with the money going to those areas of the state that have the most need. Areas of the state with the most traffic congestion should get the most money to relieve that congestion. Surprisingly, that’s not how it has worked in Virginia. Dave has been working with House of Delegates Speaker Bill Howell on his ideas for transportation in Virginia.
“I have long called for a businesslike approach to transportation funding; it is essential that we allocate dollars based on measurable results. Funding should go where it is most needed for maintenance and relieving congestion on our roads.” said LaRock.
Dave’s concept would “require that all highway and mass transit projects be evaluated and prioritized based on their projected reduction in traffic congestion”.
“This is what you do in business,” said LaRock, “You study your options, you perform a standardized cost-benefit analysis for each option, and you pick the one that will get the job done based on data. It’s high time we applied this approach to transportation spending in the Commonwealth to get traffic moving here in Northern Virginia.”
Speaker Bill Howell has endorsed Dave’s ideas and now the Washington Post has too. From Monday’s Post editorial:
In Mr. Howell’s view, every transportation project proposal should be graded on a data-driven “priority model.” That’s a good idea, the effect of which could be, ideally, to minimize political meddling in choosing where money gets spent.
Critics in individual localities may attack Mr. Howell’s vision as a high-handed or top-down approach to transportation planning. But a systematic, rational process probably will lead to a higher payoff for more Virginia commuters.
Even before his election, Dave has already made a difference in our lives by finding a workable way to get money to northern Virginia to help with our terrible traffic and he’s convinced Speaker Howell to join him in supporting these important solutions. That’s exactly what we need in a leader in Richmond.
