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Despite some successes, lack of sustainable transportation funding will directly impact Virginia’s aviation system and the industry it serves |
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by Charles Macfarlane
On the surface it may seem as though Virginia’s aviation needs are being met successfully, despite the statewide transportation funding crisis. The return on investment (ROI) for local and state transportation dollars spent on aviation infrastructure is quite remarkable. In 2005, for each dollar the State invested in Virginia’s airport projects, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) spent approximately $34. The ratio was even higher for local spending – for each dollar spent by a Virginia town, city or county, the FAA and State spent $49.
The economic impact of this investment for aviation in Virginia is even more impressive. According to the 2004 Virginia Airport System Economic Impact Study, 164,000 jobs generated $4.8 billion in wages from aviation-related activities. The study also reported the total economic impact of all aviation-related activity in Virginia was $10.8 billion.
The goal of the Virginia Aviation Board to locate a general aviation airport within a 30-minute drive or an air carrier airport within a 45-minute drive of 99 percent of Virginia’s population is very close to becoming a reality. As a result, we, in the Commonwealth, are very close to realizing the full benefit of our existing aviation infrastructure. Unfortunately, the lack of focus for coordinating state transportation activities and the lack of funding for providing the missing links are still having a significant negative impact on the productivity of our aviation system and the industry it serves.
First, the State has, traditionally, not provided enough funding to complete projects, even though the funding needed represents a relatively modest amount of additional investment. For example, Stafford County and Lee County airports opened in 2002 and 2004, respectively, without a public telephone, a place to get out of the weather or a means for pilots to purchase aviation fuel. The conditions at these two new airports clearly demonstrate an ineffective use of many years of planning and a combined expenditure of $50 million in local/state and federal funds. Surely spending several thousand additional dollars for a fuel truck and a temporary structure with phone service is an appropriate way to leverage significantly greater utility from existing large dollar investments for modest, but much needed additional improvements.
Second, Virginia needs to better coordinate the timing of completion of its transportation projects across modes as well as ensure proper connections between the different modes of transportation. For example, an intersection on Interstate 95, adjacent to the new Stafford County Airport was not completed until three and half years after the airport (a $38 million investment) opened. As a result, the airport was only accessible to northbound traffic going past the airport and returning by two-lane county roads, which forced travelers nearly 16 miles out of their way. Better coordination of connections between the modes can be as simple as establishing a regularly scheduled shuttle from the airport (in RIC’s case) to the downtown area at Main Street Station for connections to trains, buses and taxis. This initiative would require modest funding, yet generate significant efficiencies and user benefits.
Third, we must make sure we keep aviation funding for aviation uses. Too often aviation taxes intended for aviation purposes have been diverted to other uses by the legislature and the Governor. The State’s aviation funding is modest in comparison to other transportation funding and it needs to remain competitive with aviation funding from competing states. Virginians must demand that these funds remain dedicated and used where they were originally intended.
Lastly, Virginia must determine a way to provide our localities with the tools and funding necessary to protect and preserve the State’s (and the local jurisdictions’) aviation transportation assets. Certainly linking a city’s, town’s or county’s transportation funding to a review of how well that particular local government protected its and the State’s existing assets in that community will go a long way to make sure that our significant investments are maximized over time. We have seen, all too well, what can happen when local zoning decisions allow encroachment of new development immediately adjacent to existing airports. The threat of the BRAC Committee to move the Navy’s operations from Oceana in Virginia Beach and the Federal Aviation Administration’s documented concern over future funding at the Leesburg Airport are just two examples of the many instances where local government decisions in Virginia have jeopardized the full use of federal funding for many of Virginia’s strategic transportation assets.
Virginia operates and maintains the third largest state highway network in the United States, yet we continue to ignore the fact that long-term, multimodal funding options are necessary to keep it linked with the other modes and thereby operating as efficiently (as a system) as possible. It is imperative that our government leaders seek options that will provide the Commonwealth with the most productive and cost-effective intermodal transportation system. We should seek additional funding to complete the airport projects that have been started, and invest in other much-needed projects that are still in the planning stages. It takes years of planning to ensure money will be in place to maintain and grow the safe and productive use of our State’s airways as well as our highways, railways and waterways.
With just a few basic changes to our aviation infrastructure, Virginians could see exponential improvements in the quality and level of service of the use of these aviation assets. A portion of the funds are scheduled to be in place. Assuming these funds remain dedicated and the additional needs, which are modest in scope, are met; it is quite possible that Virginia can increase its already healthy ROI for Virginia’s aviation funding.
Former director of the Virginia Department of Aviation, Charles Macfarlane is an executive council member of Virginians for Better Transportation and a managing partner at Macfarlane Partners, LLC. For more information about VBT or the transportation funding crisis, please visit the It’s Time Web site at www.itstimevirginia.org or call 804-237-1399.
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