Virginia Loses Title as Top State for Business on Infrastructure and Transportation Issues

In its annual ranking of top states for business, CNBC dropped Virginia from the top spot to #3 this year.  The single most important reason for the drop by far was the cut in the state's ranking on "infrastructure and transportation" from 10 to 33 among the nation's states.   The state's ranking in "cost of doing business" also dropped significantly from 21 to 32.

Here's is what CNBC had to say about Virginia:

 Virginia: Road to Trouble

So what happened to Virginia — last year’s top state?

The Commonwealth is still a contender, finishing a solid third overall. But it faltered in two categories in particular: Infrastructure and Economy.

Infrastructure — specifically the state’s perpetually clogged highways — has long been an issue in fast-growing Virginia, and there is fresh evidence this year that the state is having trouble keeping pace. With some of the country's toughest commutes, the state dipped to number 33 in the category, down from 10th a year ago.

Virginia’s economy remains in the top tier. But it has suffered in part due to circumstances beyond its control. The state’s proximity to Washington, DC has helped in previous years. Late last year, however, Moody’s slapped a negative outlook on Virginia’s otherwise pristine bond rating because of the federal government’s fiscal crisis. That contributed to Virginia slipping to 10th from eighth in our Economy category this year.

While still the envy of most states, Virginia declined in a total of six categories in 2012. The other four are Cost of Doing Business (32/21), Education (13/6),Technology & Innovation (14/11) and Business Friendliness (4/3). In this competition, you can’t post that many declines and stay on top — or, it turns out, finish second either.

Yet both state legislators in Richmond and our supervisors in Fairfax County continue to short change investment in infrastructure and--especially--transportation.  It is a key reason why the Washington metropolitan area remains one of the most congested metropolitan areas in the country.   
 
And, yet, as we plan for Reston's future, Reston Task Force members have so far been unable to persuade the County staff and even the Task Force chairman (who also heads the Dulles Corridor Railway Association rail advocacy group!) to make implementation issues a key element of the new Reston plan.  Some headway was made at the last Task Force meeting when Fairfax Department of Transportation staff reported that peak period delays at "gateway" intersections in Reston (along either side of the toll road) would quadruple from their current one-minute level.  Several Task Force members insisted that some mechanism be included in the plan that ties development to needed enhancements to infrastructure.   But the County has not yet agreed to that.

Also noteworthy is the state's loss of stature in Education from #6 to #13.  Virginia has long had one of the premier higher public education systems in the country, but lack of funding is eroding that stature.  Locally, the Task Force has yet to acknowledge the need for an elementary school in the Reston Town Center area under the draft proposal for residential development there, although the area will produce more than an average school-full of kids if development proceeds as forecast.

Just another reason on top of huge toll increases on the DTR why prospective businesses and residents may look elsewhere for easier access to employees, residents, visitors, and shopping.

As an early RCA Reston 2020 document submitted to the Task Force said, "Planning without Implementation is Empty."  Surely our community can do better than this.