Virginia Del. Jim LeMunyon, R-Fairfax, spoke Thursday on a bill that would rate transportation projects based on their ability to reduce congestion and allow the public to review the results.
LeMunyon discussed the bill at a meeting of Gov. Bob McDonnell’s Commission on Government Reform and Restructuring in Tysons Corner.
The bill was introduced during the 2010 General Assembly session and referred to the commission by the House Transportation Committee.
It would require that all significant proposed Northern Virginia transportation projects, including bus and rail projects, be rated to determine which ones provide the “biggest bang for the buck” in terms of reducing congestion. The ratings would be made using computer simulation methods used in transportation planning.
The bill also requires that the results be made public, which would allow citizens to review potential projects themselves.
“In some cases, significant amounts of public money may have been spent for transportation projects that do not provide reasonable congestion relief for the region,” LeMunyon said in prepared remarks. “This cannot continue if we expect to solve the region’s transportation problems.”
