The Washington Post has an interesting article on Tim Kaine's transportation plans, entitled, "Environmentalists Avoiding Quarrel With Governor." According to the Post:
Despite disappointment in Gov. Timothy M. Kaine's failure to advance the central plank in his growth-control platform, environmental groups are holding back from launching an all-out battle against his push for billions of dollars in transportation spending.[...]
"We think there's still a great opportunity for the governor and legislature to agree on planning reforms that could give the public greater confidence in how the money will be spent," said Stewart Schwartz, director of the Coalition for Smarter Growth.]
Quite a contrast, the Post points out, to 2002, when environmental and "Smart Growth" proponents "helped block a major transportation funding program" by "launch[ing] an aggressive and successful bid to defeat a referendum to raise the sales tax in Northern Virginia to pay for new roads, a plan backed by then-Gov. Mark R. Warner (D) and the business community."
Personally, I have mixed feelings about this. First, I've been a strong environmentalist and "Smart Growth" advocate for many years, long before I ever heard of Tim Kaine, or even Mark Warner. And I hope to be an environmentalist long after Tim Kaine is governor and Mark Warner is President, Vice President, or whatever. Second, though, I understand the complexity of this issue, which can frankly be maddening at times. Finally, I am a big-time fan of Tim Kaine, having spent much of 2005 working to help elect him Governor. I certainly don't regret that decision one bit, and I continue to believe in Tim Kaine as the best Virginia has to offer. Seriously, how can you not love this guy? :)
Still, I would be lying if I didn't say I was deeply conflicted on the Governor's evolving transportation strategy. What I support is Tim Kaine's original goal of pushing "the coordination of transportation and land use a priority, not just a legislative priority but also an executive branch priority." What I find hard to swallow, though, is, the "quarter loaf" that Virginia Sierra Club chairman Roger Dietrich speaks of: "Maybe we have to give [Kaine] a bye in his first [session], but we can't keep accepting a quarter loaf as we did this year."
Hopefully, the loaf will expand next year and the year after, so that environmentalists and "Smart Growth" advocates find themselves as allies of Tim Kaine, not as adversaries. I certainly hope so!
P.S. Two other pieces of significant environmental/"Smart Growth" news affecting Virginia. 1) I'm very happy to hear about the Metro West development at Vienna Metro moving head. That's excellent "Smart Growth," high density development next to Metro, and I strongly support it. 2) There's great news on southern forests, including right here in Virginia, with a deal by International Paper to sell "218,000 acres of forestlands across 10 Southern states to environmental groups, a $300 million transaction that amounts to the single largest private conservation sale in the South's history." I'm very happy to hear it.