When it comes to transportation — like most policy issues of importance — elected officials have basically two options moving forward: They can take the easy road or the hard one. The former requires no difficult decisions; often it just requires kvetching about how you’ve been shortchanged. The latter means challenging your supporters to make meaningful choices — cutting projects or raising taxes and fees. On Monday, Baltimore area officials went the road more traveled, complaining about Maryland’s $19 billion, six-year Consolidated Transportation Program because they believe Baltimore and Baltimore County are getting their needs bypassed as the state reduces spending by another $1.3 billion to meet rising costs and revenue shortfalls.

That’s not to say there isn’t some validity to the chorus of gripes expressed by city councilmembers and suburban delegates Monday. Just look at the state of public transit investment in Central Maryland — with the Washington, D.C., area $4 billion Purple Line moving forward and the revived Baltimore Red Line likely to be pushed into the 2030s, at best — and it’s easy to see some imbalance. The D.C. area may have worse traffic but what about Gov. Wes Moore’s mantra about leaving no one behind? Baltimore’s economic needs are far greater. And leveling the opportunity playing field ought to factor in the planning. And that’s not even taking into account the urgent need to rebuild the Francis Scott Key Bridge.

A more responsible approach would be for Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski Jr., Mayor Brandon Scott and others to express support for higher motor fuel taxes. It won’t make them more popular — Maryland’s gas tax is already 46.1 cents per gallon (down slightly as of July 1) — but it’s a better option than sacrificing needed repairs and congestion-relief projects. It also has the benefit of encouraging greater conservation and reducing greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants. As recent storms have reminded us, we can’t keep underwriting wasteful guzzlers with cheap fuel prices and not expect to suffer the far more costly impacts of climate change.

That may not fit the current election narrative. Former President Donald Trump is trying to convince voters in Maryland and across the nation that cheaper gas doesn’t come with those not-so-hidden costs. But perhaps after Nov. 5 — and maybe before the Maryland Commission on Transportation Revenue and Infrastructure Needs (aka TRAIN Commission) releases its final recommendations on this topic by Jan. 1 — Gov. Moore and his fellow Democrats will offer a more meaningful fix for what ails the region transportation-wise. And if it all ends up sounding painless and easy, we’ll know it misses the mark.