The Willow Glen Resident

Councilman launches anti-traffic campaign for airport

Proposal could delay expansion

By Cecily Barnes

In a last-ditch effort to save the city of San Jose from what they predict will be a traffic disaster, District 3 Councilmember David Pandori and San Jose residents Chip Evans and Leslie Moreland have composed the Airport Traffic Relief Act. They hope to present it to voters in November.

The initiative would require a series of traffic improvements to be made before construction of a new terminal begins at San Jose International Airport. Although the proposal hasn't landed a spot on the ballot yet, volunteers are diligently working on collecting the required 16,500 signatures.

"We have at least 50 packets out right now, and if those were to be totally full, that would be about 5,000 signatures," said volunteer Catherine Maher. "We have until July to get the total number of signatures."

The aspiring ballot initiative was written with two goals in mind--making traffic conditions at the airport tolerable and having the airport foot the bill.

Last June, the San Jose City Council approved, by a vote of 9 to 1, a $809 million expansion of the airport, to be completed by 2010. Stipulated in the expansion was the construction of a new passenger Terminal B.

"Traffic and transit improvements that are needed to accommodate nearly double the amount of people should be made before the people arrive," Evans said. "And since the airport has the capacity to pay for improvements directly associated with the airport, they should pay."

The Airport Traffic Relief Act calls for four major improvements before the terminal is constructed, including the completion of Highway 87 by widening Guadalupe Parkway between downtown and the airport, the expansion of the Interstate 880/ Coleman Avenue interchange, improvements to the three airport entrances and a rail line connecting the existing light rail system to the airport.

According to Pandori, funding for these projects was not designated in the master plan. "No funds were allocated for any off-site transportation improvements other than what was already funded," Pandori said. "I don't understand why it wasn't addressed. You can't grow from 10 to 17 million and ferry everyone in and out with traffic signals."

However, airport planner Cary Greene responds that funding wasn't allocated for anything when the city council approved the master plan. That comes later, Greene said.

"The council didn't even approve money for the runway extension," Greene said. "The city is still committed to doing certain improvements to certain intersections at certain times."

Unnecessary delays?

The San Jose Chamber of Commerce has come out in opposition to the initiative, citing the possibility of extreme and unnecessary delays in the airport expansion. According to Chamber president Steve Tedesco, traffic improvements are needed, but not under such restrictive conditions.

"The four points that David and Leslie and Chip are proposing are not unreasonable; they're very much worth thought and very much worth pursuing," Tedesco said. "But [the initiative] takes 100 percent of the flexibility out of it, and presents the possibility of legal challenges that could postpone this thing for years."

Legal challenges could arise out of the initiative's stipulation that the airport should pay for all improvements it legally can, he said.

"The airport has some rules--money generated in the airport stays in the airport to pay for things that benefit the airport," Evans said. "But the San Francisco airport is paying over $106 million for the ramps connecting from the freeway and over $200 million for the BART connection. It seems, not a stone's throw away, that the San Jose Airport would be able to pay for these same things here."

Tedesco fears that, under the initiative, the Redevelopment Agency, which is currently funding the Highway 87 expansion, could make a legal claim that the airport should take over funding of the project.

"They're clearly setting up a court challenge that the airport should pay for it," Tedesco said. "This sets up huge cost initiatives that could delay the expansion up to 10 years or possibly forever."

The Airport Traffic Relief Act, however, stipulates only that construction of Terminal B must wait for the traffic improvements. All other components of the airport expansion could proceed immediately, including parking improvements, airport safety projects, terminal renovations, runway improvements and air cargo projects.

Still, Tedesco says, construction of the terminal is a crucial element of the airport expansion. Furthermore, he says, requiring the airport to pay millions of dollars in improvements has the potential to scare off airlines not wanting to pitch in.

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