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Greenbelt Alliance In the News

October 17, 2004

Measure J focuses on transportation

Subheading

To opponents, Measure J offers a hodgepodge of discombobulated transit services meant to drum up political support, not actually solve traffic woes.

Voters will have the final say on the measure, which would reauthorize an existing half-cent sales tax for an additional 25 years to pay for $2 billion in transportation projects throughout Contra Costa County.

Supporter Sue Rainey, a Walnut Creek councilwoman, said the current tax is being spent well. It has funded key projects such as the interchange at Interstate 680 and Highway 24, car pool lanes and more.

But the tax expires in 2009 and transportation officials have to renew it now or face funding uncertainty that could cripple projects, Rainey said.

"Because we do long-range planning, we need to know if that money is there so we can line up matching funds," Rainey said.

With only meager transportation funds trickling down from the state, it's important for the county to create its own funding pot, she said.

Four other Bay Area counties are asking voters to support similar tax measures in November, fearing lack of state funding will thwart road projects.

"By far, most of our projects came in on time and on budget -- as opposed to the state," Rainey said. "And this is money the state can't take away from us."

Opponents argue it's too early to start talking about reauthorizing the tax, because a lot could happen in the next five years to alter the funding picture.

"There's no point in doing it right now," said Ken Hambrick of the Alliance of Contra Costa Taxpayers.

But that's just one part of the opposition's campaign. Hambrick argues Measure J devotes too much money to buses, bicycle lanes, ferries and trails.

"We aren't allocating enough money to roads and highways," Hambrick said.

The measure allocates about 18 percent of money to highways, while about 24 percent goes to cities for new roads and repairs. Another 18 percent is dedicated to commuter transit, while 14 percent goes to local buses and senior services.

The rest of the money is earmarked for growth issues, bike lanes, administration and other projects.

Beyond funding allotments, Measure J has stirred controversy for its links to growth controls. One key tenet calls for cities to comply with a county urban growth boundary, which is still being drafted, or to make their own. If they opt out, cities don't receive funding.

At least one powerful environmental group -- the Greenbelt Alliance -- withheld support for the measure, saying the growth boundary needs to be in place before the election and that more money needs to be spent on transit, rather than roads.

As the election nears, supporters worry the lukewarm reception from the environmental group, coupled with a transportation-heavy ballot, could make it difficult to reach the two-thirds approval threshold.

"It definitely shades the issue," Rainey said. But Measure J differs from other transportation issues on the ballot, she said, because it reauthorizes an existing tax as opposed to creating a new one.

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