Measure A puts focus on transit over roads


Sides debate whether measure addresses issue correctly

By Kevin Fayle

As this year's election draws near, Sunnyvale voters will soon have to decide on numerous local measures. Measure A, the largest of the local measures on the ballot, has drawn a lot of attention.

The measure involves the continuance a half-cent sales tax currently in place to provide for a number of transit projects the Valley Transit Authority (VTA) wishes to undertake. The tax would take affect in April, 2006, when the current Measure A/B tax expires.

If Measure A passes, he money from the sales tax would go towards a variety of transit projects. The project most often discussed in association with the measure is the BART expansion from the Fremont station through Milpitas and downtown San Jose to the Caltrain station in the city of Santa Clara.

The VTA has other projects planned, such as a light rail expansion and improvements to Caltrain. They also want to purchase more clean-air buses and improve service for the handicapped, and the general population.

If Measure A passes, only a few of the many possible projects would directly effect Sunnyvale. Daily commuters driving to and from Sunnyvale would benefit from the improvement of major corridors in and out of the area. Though the VTA has discussed the possibility of creating a light rail system along the Cupertino/Sunnyvale corridor, it is only one of many options of different corridors the VTA will consider if the measure passes. The only guaranteed project that would occur inside the city limits is the improvement of bus line #22 along El Camino Real, which would lead to quicker running times.

Supporters of Measure A believe it offers a way to alleviate the growing road congestion and the resulting pollution. Opponents claim that the county introduced the measure too rapidly, and that financial inconsistencies could render the measure inadequate down the road and force an additional tax.

The BART extension constitutes the most recognizable feature of this measure. The project involves building 21.7 new miles of BART line, as well as eight new stations with two possible future stations, according to the VTA. In addition, the BART would connect with the San Jose International Airport, the Altamont Commuter Express, Caltrain, the Capitol Corridor Intercity Rail Service, Amtrak, and VTA light rail. The BART trains would run every twelve minutes between the Valley, Oakland and San Francisco, and the projected use stands at somewhere around 78,000 riders during each workweek. The VTA does add the projected use depends on future land development.

Opponents of the measure say the VTA has failed to consider the cost overruns that every BART project ever undertaken has incurred. Kim Strickland, spokesperson for the Bay Area Transportation and Land Use Coalition worries money for the BART extension would come either from other projects, or from state and federal transportation funds which would go towards roadway, bicycle and pedestrian projects if the measure passes. In addition, her group has concerns that the VTA will experience a funding shortfall in 12 to 14 years that would require a further increase in the sales tax to accommodate.

Strickland thinks the measure "isn't looking into the future." She and her group believe that the measure ignores the future growth of the Bay Area by concentrating on corridors running from San Jose to the East Bay, when they expect most of the future growth to occur in south Santa Clara County.

Erik Schoennauer, a representative of Taxpayers for Traffic Relief Now doesn't share these concerns. He says the VTA has a much better track record of bringing projects in on time and on budget that the BART organization, largely because of administrative differences between the two. Schoennauer also points out all fifteen Santa Clara city mayors have endorsed Measure A.

"If people were getting left out, than why would their elected leaders come out in support of the measure?" he asks.

Schoennauer also points to the list of endorsements from the community, as well as from large organizations such as the American Association of Retired Persons and the American Automobile Association.

Sunnyvale's City Council endorsed Measure A at their meeting on October 17.

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