Regional transit plan remains an uncertainty

Efforts to gauge lawmakers’ views on the future of transportation during the recent General Assembly special session was “pretty much an exercise in futility,” one local official said Wednesday.

The comments came as David Blount, the legislative liaison for the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission, offered an uncertain regional transit update to the Metropolitan Planning Organization Policy Board.

“It’s hard to say what we might see with investments in transportation,” Blount said.

He added, “I can’t sit here and tell you today what the political landscape is going to look like in the fall.”

Charlottesville and Albemarle are seeking General Assembly permission to establish a regional transit authority, which would allow the localities to enact taxes or fees to expand the area bus service. Additionally, the county would have a bigger voice in transit decisions in exchange for carrying a greater financial burden — currently, the local transit system is operated by the city, with the county essentially serving as a paying customer.

The system operates within the city about 80 percent of the time, with the rest in Albemarle.

Blount said that transportation discussion was virtually absent during the special session, compared with talks on energy and environmental policy, which often become higher priorities in election years.

Several board members then questioned whether the plan to establish the regional authority by next summer was too ambitious.

“[Our plan] sounds very optimistic,” said board member Satyendra Huja, a city councilor.

Others said it was important for the plans to move forward regardless of the grim outlook, because the area favors increasing public transport.

“The voters might just send a message to Richmond to tell them their jobs are at stake,” said board member David L. Slutzky, an Albemarle supervisor. “They might have to wake up.”

The policy board will host a joint work session between Charlottesville and Albemarle officials on Aug. 5 at the City Space to discuss the authority and how to move forward with the legislation. Board members suggested inviting local legislators to the session as well to test the waters on getting approval from Richmond.

“I don’t think we want to spend a lot of money to walk in with a concept we could have found out they would not support,” said Dennis S. Rooker, a board member and Albemarle supervisor.

In a memo to board members, Melissa Barlow, the MPO’s transportation director, said one of the key decisions elected officials will need to make is the structure of the transit authority’s board. Legislation would need to be drafted for the General Assembly in January in order for the transit authority to be created by July 1. It would then work to assume responsibility for the Charlottesville Transit Service by January 2010.

Before the legislation is presented in January, Slutzky said, the policy board should garner support from everyone, including businesses and area residents.

“We can show [the General Assembly] that we have support from everyone with a dog in the fight,” he said.

“Gas isn’t going to go down, that’s for sure.”