In Marin - vote yes on Measure A for better transportation

The Sierra Club urges Marin County voters to vote for Measure A, the Marin Transportation Sales Tax Expenditure Measure, on the Nov. 2 ballot. This new plan is far better than other such plans over the years, and is supported by almost all segments of the community. It requires a 2/3 vote to pass.

The measure would raise $16.5 million per year - $331 million over its 20-year lifetime - from a 1/2-cent increase in the sales tax. The money would be used to provide necessary congestion relief and to improve mobility for all county residents and workers. If the measure fails, we will face severe cuts in the West Marin Stagecoach (the shuttle that provides the main public-transit service in West Marin), the Safe Routes to School program, completion of the 101 Gap through San Rafael, local bus service, and shuttle and taxi service for people with disabilities and seniors. Without these programs many people will have few transportation options but cars - and those unable to drive will have few options indeed.

The Sales Tax Expenditure Plan provides four key strategies:

• transit (55%) - $182.4 million to develop a seamless local bus system serving community needs, including special services for seniors and those with disabilities;
• Highway 101 (7.5%) - $24.8 million to fully fund and accelerate completion of the Highway 101 Carpool Lane Gap Closure Project through San Rafael;
• local roads (26.5%) - $87.9 million to improve, maintain, and manage local transportation infrastructure, including roads, bikeways, pathways, and sidewalks;
• school access (11%) - $36.5 million to reduce school-related congestion and improve safe access to schools.

This is one time when the phrase "congestion relief" is being used not as a euphemism for highway expansion, but as a strong criterion to make sure that all projects deliver needed transportation benefits. Even the 101 gap closure, the one freeway project in the measure and just 7.5% of the funds, is a high-occupancy-vehicle lane that will allow express buses between Sonoma County and San Francisco through Marin to operate reliably.

State transportation funding is being diverted, and local transit funds are insufficient to meet even the reduced service levels implemented last November by the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway, and Transportation District. This measure will open opportunities for Marin to receive state and federal grants that require a local share.

The measure does not include funding for commuter rail. The Sonoma Marin Area Rail Transit District (SMART) is working on such a proposal, but has not completed the environmental review. It plans to place a separate sales-tax measure to fund rail service on the November 2006 ballot.

The current measure was prepared by the Marin Congestion Management Agency, now known as the Transportation Authority of Marin (TAM), after four years of public participation and input, including close attention from the Sierra Club. The Club had previously endorsed the failed 1998 Transportation Tax Measure. The Club lobbied successfully for several improvements, including strong policies for governance and high funding priority for local transit and school-related transportation programs.

The expenditure plan will be managed by TAM. Its 16-member board will consist of the Board of Supervisors plus a councilmember from each incorporated city/town. The Authority will be accountable to a 12-member Citizens' Oversight Committee, which will review all expenditures and report annually to the public.

The Sierra Club urges all Marin voters to vote for this measure. Tell your friends about it as well; we need every vote.

Details of the plan, including the full text, are available at: www.marintraffic.org

Karen Nygren, transportation chair, Sierra Club Marin Group