Joe Taylor: Design real road plan first, then look at money

Our roads are a mess. But legislators debating more funding to fix them are missing the critical first step: We need an actual plan that prioritizes repairs, improvements and new projects and puts real dollar figures on what’s most critical in our state. We cannot, and should not, let anyone shortcut this essential step. Without a solid plan, there is far too much room for politics and geographic favoritism.

With no real plan, it is becoming clearer that the infrastructure debate is not about roads; it’s about money. While the Department of Transportation has priority lists, we lack a big picture. We’re not focusing enough on whether we should get our existing roads in shape before building new ones, or what timelines are reasonable for progress.

No one seems to be assessing how we maximize other funding already available. We need our congressional delegation to be fully engaged in ensuring South Carolina gets its fair share of money from Washington. We also need to evaluate the huge increases in the general fund, which has grown by nearly $2 billion over the past five years, to see if more money can be directed to roads.

Perhaps most importantly, we need to factor local spending into the larger state plan. For example, citizens in Richland, York and Horry counties are already paying higher taxes for roads. Are these counties working together as part of the bigger strategy, based on what our state truly needs? Sadly, more than $127 million in new taxes collected in Richland County are being earmarked to fund plazas, parks, greenways and pedestrian flyovers. By contrast, there’s little actual road work going on and no forward thinking about beltways that are needed today — and essential for tomorrow.

If South Carolina can’t develop a plan on its own, we need an organization with experience in looking at the big projects to rank projects in order of importance.

Well-maintained roads not only make our state more attractive and accessible for business and tourism; they create a safer environment for everyone, along with pride in our state and communities.

It’s time to dramatically change the legislative debate. Instead of creating a big pile of money and deciding how to divide it later, we need to develop a road improvement plan first. Once a plan exists, costs can be determined, and the Legislature can debate how to fund it.

This story was originally published April 18, 2016 at 1:45 PM with the headline "Joe Taylor: Design real road plan first, then look at money."