Palo Alto asks VTA for equity Palo Alto asks VTA for equity (March 17, 2004)

Council fears Measure A funds will only go to BART

by Bill D'Agostino

Fearing for the future of long-desired local transit projects and programs, the Palo Alto City Council took aim at the Valley Transportation Authority Monday night, pleading the regional body for fairness in its future forecasting.

The council unanimously agreed to send a letter asking the VTA to plan to fund projects that would benefit Palo Alto and other neighboring communities.

An initial draft of the VTA's plans for the next 25 years prioritized expanding BART to San Jose and Santa Clara, leaving little money for projects in the Palo Alto region. That plan has since been amended, slightly, to also prioritize projects improving Caltrain and bus line 22, which travels along El Camino Real throughout the county.

Other local projects are still listed very low in the current draft of the plan. Those projects include a new high-class transit center in downtown Palo Alto, electrifying Caltrain's tracks and rebuilding the Dumbarton Rail to again bring trains across the San Francisco Bay.

If the VTA's plan is approved in its current form, those projects would -- in the best case scenario-- have to fight among 10 similar projects for very scarce funds.

Matching federal and state dollars for those projects could be lost, warned Councilwoman Yoriko Kishimoto, who asked the council to send the letter.

The worst-case scenario would be that funding for such projects would be smaller than projected, leaving no money for anything other than BART's expansion.

Other councils from cities throughout the county were expected to send similar letters to the VTA this week.

The VTA's board, which has the final say, will be studying the plan during a board meeting on Friday morning, March 19, at 8:30 a.m. The meeting will be held at the San Jose Hyatt.

Funding for the VTA's transit projects will primarily come from Measure A, a half-cent sales tax increase approved by county voters in 2000 that is projected to raise $3.8 billion dollars. When the plan was initially sold to voters, Palo Alto was promised the dollars would used to fund local projects.

"But then the recession hit," Kishimoto noted.

Even in the upgraded plan, $2.5 billion of the $3.8 billion is projected to be spent bringing BART to San Jose and Santa Clara. The entire BART project is estimated to cost more than $4 billion.

Laura Stuchinsky is the director of transportation for the Silicon Valley Manufacturing Group, which advocated strongly for Measure A. She said she hoped all the projects would be funded, but since revenues are declining, VTA has to set priorities.

"BART is a high priority for voters in the entire region," said Stuchinsky, who wasn't at the council meeting.

Palo Alto resident Bob Moss told the council the letter wasn't strong enough.

"Honest equity demands that we get reimbursed countywide, that we get benefits countywide," Moss said.

The council seemed to hold out little hope the letter -- even if numerous councils sent it -- would be successful. The 12-member VTA board is heavily made up of members from the San Jose region, including five members from the San Jose City Council, Councilman Vic Ojakian pointed out.

"They have a majority vote," Ojakian said. "They have no reason to change the situation."

Councilwoman Dena Mossar, who served on the VTA board for two years, said it's "high time" for the other county cities to get together and force real change.

Currently there is no Palo Alto representative on the board, as the city shares one seat with Los Altos, Los Altos Hills and Mountain View. Last year, the Palo Alto Council sent a letter asking for a more equitable distribution of VTA board members. To learn more about the VTA's future plans, visit www.vtp2030.org.

Bill D'Agostino can be e-mailed at bdagostino@paweekly.com

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