

Town Crier File Photo

A proposed VTA sales-tax measure targets relieving commuter traffic along Foothill Expressway and would likely fund the busy roadway’s expansion.

Santa Clara County voters in November may be casting their ballots on a tax measure designed to relieve the area’s traffic congestion.

Valley Transportation Authority’s Envision Silicon Valley sales-tax measure would likely cost consumers a 30-year, half-cent sales tax to generate approximately $6 billion over its lifetime. The initiative would require approval from two-thirds of voters to pass.

The measure would focus on enhancing travel for various modes of transportation: public systems of BART and Caltrain, highways and expressways, and active alternatives for bicyclists and pedestrians. The VTA Board of Directors has scheduled a workshop Friday to review options for the potential sales-tax measure.

“This will be one of the biggest decisions we make,” said VTA Board Director Jeannie Bruins, who also serves as mayor of Los Altos. “We owe it to the taxpayers to define how we spend the money.”

Local leaders of the North County and West Valley cities have advocated in recent months to ensure what they deem a fair distribution of the funds. Earlier this year, the Los Altos City Council agreed to continue collaborating with the coalition of cities to develop a unified position.

“For us to support the tax measure, we need to make sure that it’s going to be benefiting us,” Councilwoman Jan Pepper told her colleagues in February. “And if most of the benefit is going to San Jose, I, for one, am not going to vote in favor of it.”

Bruins hopes that “a significant chunk” of 30 percent or more of the tax dollars would directly benefit the western and northern regions.

Lengthy project lists

For the VTA’s funding considerations, Santa Clara County, local cities and transit agencies in August 2015 submitted an estimated $49 billion in projects and programs. However, the potential funding totals less than half at approximately $20 billion, which includes both the proposed sales-tax funding and future grant funds.

VTA officials expect to adopt the measure’s final content by August.

According to a Los Altos city staff report, the measure would likely fund:

• An extension of BART to San Jose (and possibly to Santa Clara).

• Increased capacity for Caltrain, including longer trains, station and platform enhancements, and money for grade separations.

• Expressway improvements, including widening Foothill Expressway between San Antonio Road and El Monte Avenue and improving the intersection at El Monte and Foothill.

• Freeway improvements including express lanes and interchange upgrades.

• Local jurisdictions’ projects for street and road pavement maintenance – commonly called “pothole money,” Bruins said.

• Transportation improvements for bicyclists and pedestrians.

• Transit service improvements for seniors and people with disabilities.

For more information, visit vta.org/envision-silicon-valley/envision-silicon-valley.