ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, December 18, 1995 TAG: 9512180018
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-8 EDITION: METRO
HOW MANY residents of Roanoke County and Salem work in, or regularly shop in, the city of Roanoke? How many residents of Roanoke work or shop in the county and Salem?
A transportation-pattern study by the Virginia Employment Commission in 1990 gives clues. It determined that 40,200 people were commuting daily into Roanoke city, while 13,691 city residents were commuting out.
At the very least, these figures suggest that some inbound commuters from the county and Salem might ride the bus if Valley Metro expanded its service in those jurisdictions. They also suggest that some outbound city residents might no longer be able to get to jobs and shopping centers in the county and Salem if Valley Metro were forced to cut back its service.
Such numbers ought to figure in the thinking of municipal officials in Roanoke County and Salem, as well as the city of Roanoke, as they consider whether to join in a plan to support Valley Metro and, after 20 years of talking about it, work toward a truly regional mass-transit system.
Roanoke city officials propose to create a transportation district wherein a 2 percent gasoline tax would fund Valley Metro, making up losses in federal mass-transit subsidies that are expected to disappear by 1999. The gas-tax revenue would also replace the city's annual subsidy to the bus system that now comes from property taxes and is swelling as federal funds dry up. By law, city property taxes would be reduced by an amount equal to the general-fund payment to Valley Metro.
Providing the General Assembly approves the proposal, the city could go it alone. But legislative approval is far more likely if Roanoke County and/or Salem agree to join the transportation district, also adding the gas tax in their jurisdictions.
No question, the plan's benefits are more obvious for the city of Roanoke, if only because more city residents now depend on Valley Metro. There's a lot more in this for the county and Salem, however, than simply a show of regional good will.
If they joined the transportation district, the gas tax would produce about $2.5 million annually across the region, providing enough revenue for Valley Metro to expand what is now only minimal bus service in Salem and Roanoke County. In any event, the county and Salem would not be subsidizing Roanoke city bus riders - they'd pay only for the Valley Metro service their residents receive.
If the county and Salem chose not to expand that service immediately, or chose not to use all the new revenue on expanded bus service, the money raised could be used for other transportation-related purposes (greenway projects, for example). It also would provide a new revenue source, freeing up general funds for other purposes (school projects, for example) while reducing the need for increases in property taxes.
Meanwhile, by helping to ensure a reliable funding source for Valley Metro, the county and Salem would be wisely positioning themselves for the day when demand for bus service may be considerably greater than it is now. That's not just a matter of regional cooperation. It's regional good sense.
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