NO on B!

VTA wants to gut North County bus service under its "Network
90" plan at the same time that they're asking voters to approve yet another bump in the sales tax. Santa Clara County residents are already paying three sales taxes to VTA, a permanent 1/2 cent that was approved in 1976, plus the more recent Measures A and B, whose revenues are mostly going down the BART sinkhole.
Plus, we're paying a Vehicle Registration Fee on top of that. Yet this is not enough, they want more tax money to flush down the BART toilet while eliminating local routes.

VTA is asking the voters for a fourth sales tax increase yet they refuse to “value engineer" their expensive projects. There is no reason
that the BART extension needs to duplicate existing bus and train service
between the San Jose and Santa Clara stations. And the proposed Bus Rapid
Transit on El Camino could be constructed at lower cost by eliminating the
dedicated center lanes and converting the curbside lanes to HOV use during peak hours.

Money saved from cutting the “gold plating" from big capital projects could be spent on supporting the bus system, including saving routes threatened under Network 90. Until VTA learns to use its existing resources more
efficiently, vote NO on more taxes.

This tax is being pushed by Carl Guardino and the grossly misnamed "Silicon Valley Leadership Group," whose rich corporate members stand to benefit most from the hugely expensive BART extension. Rather than increasing sales tax A FOURTH TIME, maybe these rich companies need to step up and pay higher corporate tax.

Three pro-transit and environmental groups, BayRail Alliance, the Sierra Club, and Silicon Valley Transit Users are urging a “no" vote on the upcoming VTA sales tax increase. VTA proposes to use Measure B funds to extend BART beyond San Jose Diridon Station to Santa Clara Station, completely duplicating existing Caltrain service. This is a clear example of VTA's poor decision-making. It explains why Caltrain supporters like BayRail Alliance still cannot trust VTA.

The groups believe that the funds to run BART trains between San Jose and Santa Clara would be better used to boost Caltrain frequency to a BART/light rail level of service between Palo Alto and San Jose.

Visit Web Link to read more and join the No on B Campaign.

If Measure B passes and becomes law, the VTA will resume its plan to seize the left lanes on El Camino Real for infrequent VTA "rapid transit" buses only. El Camino will be a construction zone for a couple of years and then remain gridlocked most of the day with only two lanes for other traffic - including other VTA buses on the right. The VTA could have promised to NOT proceed with the bus-only lanes in the language of the measure but did NOT. The bus-only lanes and center-of-the-road boarding stations could be built with money not from Measure B - but Measure B's expenditure categories are broad enough to use its money as well. And the VTA has other counter-productive plans including UNDER-UTILIZED TOLL LANES on freeways - including on Highway 85. And toll lanes will lead to toll roads. VOTE NO.

Not voting for anything that increases sales tax, it is a regressive tax. Web Link

Interesting map of sales tax by state...maybe will move to New Hampshire..
Web Link

NO ON MEASURE B.

Yes, we need all the things it will allegedly (but probably will not) bring - except, of course the absurd BRT on El Camino.

But we've ponied up so many times and got just more bad planning and worse execution from the VTA. Worst of all, this is a regressive tax, hardest on the people that the BRT is meant to help.

Enough is enough, and we are way past the "enough" stage.

NO MORE SALES TAX INCREASES.

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The VTA has lost their way. They are already enjoying at least 3 dips into my paycheck each week. They do not need more money, they need to cut the costs by reducing their overpaid middle managers.

When will VTA say, we need more money available so we're cutting costs.
That is the answer to Measure B. Vote NO!

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Because I can't imagine any reasonably intelligent person making the argument that saying no a tax makes one racist. I can't imagine anyone would is a reasonable adult would question people ask for accountability with the money brought in when there has been a trend of gross mismanagement.
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VTA, along with their "Inverse Robin Hood Tax" partner Silicon Valley Leadership Group sees yet another opportunity for VTA to make promises and perhaps deliver down the road. While they might be able to build most of these projects (except BART to Santa Clara), they've purposely used ambiguous terms like "Traffic Relief."

The fact is that VTA has attempted to "spread the wealth" to every jurisdiction to buy their votes/endorsements and given a larger share of "peanuts" to environmental and biking groups for the same reasons.

But the bottom line is that this "pork barrel" and "jack of all trades" solutions that Carl Guardino claims "experts" created is a sick joke.

At best it will help 5-8 percent before "induced demand" kicks in and the congestion gets exponentially worse! The reason we are in the pickle we're in is because VTA has refused to learn the "lessons learned/best practices" from around the country and the world.

And yes, transit ridership has plummeted 23% because they keep cutting bus routes and frequencies. (not due to two downturns as Carl G states - VTA graphs prove that's bogus!)

The $500 Million over 30 years for "core transit" for seniors, disabled and students will be bar less than VTA has taken away from buses and shifted to BART!
And VTA's claim that duplicating BART from SJ/Diridon to Santa Clara will result in increased CalTrain ridership is mind boggling.

Speaking of numbers, the claim that VTA/BART ridership will hit 90k riders is contrary to what a regional agency as estimated: 12k riders. BART extentions have historically not hit anywhere near their stratospheric projections, even a decade after a station has opened. This looks like more fantasy.

Speaking of fantasy, VTA needs to prove that they are one year ahead of schedule and $75 Million under budget. Any experienced contractor of major projects knows that their claim is dubious at best and most like irrelevant to the closing numbers as costs rise near the end of projects and everything needs to get buttoned up on their punch lists.

Let's not forget this error that VTA hopes people forget about (and doesn't result in millions to tens of millions to fix after a major earthquake):

Web Link

By VTA covering this up and saying it's "Ok" they have let the contractor off the hook! So we as taxpayers are responsible for any damaged pipes - 1400 feet of which were installed.

Fyi: Cast iron pipes were huge issues in the Christchurch New Zealand earthquakes!

Vote NO on measure B. The VTA does not need additional tax payer money to waste on their already bloated budget, and to use against taxpayers by forcing solutions on us that we don't want or need. Many people have said that measure B has certain guarantees that money can only be spent in certain ways. Well we saw in the Court's ruling regarding HSR spending that the promises in ballot measures are worth the paper they are printed on!

Ballot measures should have to be restricted to single project or single agency expenditures. By putting together such a hodgepodge measure, it can only serve to obscure its real objectives while simultaneously eliminating accountability.



Jim Neal
Old Mountain View