Voters to decide on public transportation

By Winston Yu

When voters head to the booths Tuesday, they will make a choice about the expansion of public transportation all over the state, including the area near Santa Clara.

Voters in Santa Clara County will consider Measure B, a proposal asking voters for a tax increase in order to fund an extension of the Bay Area Rapid Transit system into the South Bay. Also, Proposition 1A would create a new high-speed train system that would cross the entire state.

Both proposals have come under scrutiny for their possible costs, especially since California is still reeling from a long battle over the state budget.

Measure B would create a new 1/8 cent sales tax within Santa Clara County in order to fund the proposed BART extension south from Fremont into San Jose and Santa Clara.

The tax would not go into effect unless matching funds are provided from Sacramento and Washington in order to aid construction.

In an e-mail to the campus community, university President Paul Locatelli, S.J., expressed support for the measure, citing a variety of reasons including, "Measure B would also connect BART with Caltrain right across the street from our campus, providing rapid rail around the entire Bay Area."

The measure has been endorsed by a variety of political groups and politicians across the Valley including Norman Mineta, former secretary of transportation, as well as San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed, who said, "Most Santa Clara County residents -- 91 percent -- will live less than three miles from a Caltrain, BART or light rail station along the newly integrated system."

Measure B has also drawn heavy fire from several former directors of Valley Transportation Authority and BART, as well as from the Silicon Valley Taxpayers' Association, the VTA Riders Union and the BayRail Alliance.

The main criticism is that VTA has asked voters to approve tax increases in the past, including a $6 billion hike in 2000. At that time, they promised new projects that have since been canceled or delayed.

Proposition 1A would provide funds for the proposed California High-Speed Rail system, a bullet train system that could take travellers from San Jose to San Diego in a little over three and a half hours.

This system would run directly through the Santa Clara transit station. While Santa Clara is not a stop, it is less than five minutes to take Caltrain to the San Jose Diridon Station, which is a proposed stop for the system.

Supporters of the initiative portray it as a way to increase mobility while cutting air pollution and reducing greenhouse gas emissions from cars. It would also decrease traffic congestion.

But it is the estimated $45 to $50 billion price tag of the system that has opponents fuming. They claim that the Authority's estimates in ridership, revenues and construction costs are unrealistic.

Both proposals figure into a plan to develop the area around the existing Santa Clara transit center directly across the street from the campus.

While the prospective Santa Clara station planning area is still far from reality, both cities hope that when it is finally completed sometime in the next decade, according to estimates from project officials, it will revolutionize the areas surrounding the station -- the university included.

The planning area calls for the development of a large section of land directly across from the university -- essentially the creation of a Santana Row-esque center in and around the Santa Clara station.

The station would serve as a new transportation hub in the South Bay, consisting of the existing VTA bus lines, the Caltrain station and the proposed BART station and maintenance facility that would serve as the terminus of the BART line expansion.

The plans also call for the creation of an Automated People Mover that would take individuals directly to San Jose Airport, either by an above-ground or underground route.

Contact Winston Yu at (408) 554-4546 or wyu1@scu.edu.