                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

DECLARATION OF POLICY (§ 33.2-1900)

The development of transportation systems, composed of transit facilities,
public highways, and other modes of transport, is necessary for the orderly
growth and development of the urban areas of the Commonwealth; for the safety,
comfort, and convenience of its citizens; and for the economical utilization of
public funds. The provision of the necessary facilities and services cannot be
achieved by the unilateral action of the counties and cities, and the attainment
thereof requires planning and action on a regional basis, conducted
cooperatively and on a continuing basis, between representatives of the affected
political subdivisions and the Commonwealth Transportation Board. In those urban
areas of the Commonwealth that together form a single metropolitan area,
solutions must be jointly sought with the affected political subdivisions and
highway departments. Such joint action should be conducted in a manner that
preserves, to the extent the necessity for joint action permits, local autonomy
over patterns of growth and development of each participating political
subdivision or locality. The requisite joint action may best be achieved through
the device of a transportation district, having the powers, functions, and
duties set forth in this chapter. In the provision of improved or expanded
transit facilities, it is the policy of the Commonwealth to make use of private
enterprise to the extent reasonably practicable.

HISTORY: 1964, c. 631, § 15.1-1343; 1986, c. 438; 1997, c. 587, § 15.1-4501;
2014, c. 805.