|
||||
|
|
|
Another Measure D Success
Story: Route 101/154 North Interchange
|
|
In July the SBCAG Board received the final report on the Route 101/154 North Interchange Project. This vital connection was one of the original fifteen regional Measure D projects. Initial plans called for construction to begin in 2000 and be completed in 2005, but in response to safety concerns by the public and law enforcement officials, the SBCAG board accelerated construction of the project. Only four years after planning began, the interchange was completed—five years ahead of the original schedule.
|
|
Fuel Taxes No Longer Keeping Up With Road Maintenance Needs “Pay-As-You-Go” highway system in jeopardy |
|
In 1956, the Federal Highway Trust Fund was established to ensure that the country would have a “pay-as-you-go” system for funding needed highway and bridge improvements. Trust Fund revenue is generated largely by gas taxes. User fees that fund road, bridge and mass transit improvements no longer generate enough revenue to maintain the system, leaving local governments scrambling to find alternative funding sources for transportation infrastructure. Several issues are exacerbating this situation. In response to federal regulations, auto manufacturers have improved fleet fuel economy by almost 59 percent since 1975. Although overall fuel consumption has increased as population, the number of vehicles, and miles driven have grown, revenue has still not grown at a pace necessary to maintain the system. The resulting dilemma is increasing wear-and-tear on roads and highways coupled with increasingly scarce maintenance funds. More fuel-efficient gasoline-electric hybrids, the promise of hydrogen fuel cell technology, and increasing fuel costs will likely increase fleet fuel economy in the future. While this is good news for air quality, a different funding mechanism is needed to preserve the nation’s transportation infrastructure. Many of the nation’s highways and bridges have been under maintained or are reaching the end of their useful lives. In addition, construction and material costs have grown faster than revenues. As a result, the backlog of costs to repair, replace and rehabilitate the transportation system grows larger each year. In the late 1990’s Congress also began using gas tax revenue for deficit reduction and programs to improve air quality, putting additional strain on highway maintenance and expansion needs. Many local revenue mechanisms are being used to augment the state and federal gas tax. These include gas-tax increases, sales tax measures (like Santa Barbara County’s Measure D), transportation impact fees on new development, and toll roads. Until an adequate national transportation infrastructure funding mechanism is developed, regional governments will have to rely more and more on local funding sources to make up for the shortfall in the face of ever-increasing vehicle use and congestion. |
|
Next Steps for
Inter-regional Partnership Project |
|
Initial findings underscored some daunting issues facing the region that are threatening the quality of life:
Key Findings “Taking Action Regionally” found an overall lack of community ownership in addressing these large-scale problems, mostly due to the historic structure of local governance and conflicting state tax and land use policies, but also due to no-growth sentiments that prevail in many coastal areas. The report also noted what has been well documented in recent years – that state tax policies in recent decades have resulted in cities competing against each other for prime sources of sales tax revenue, like big box retail and auto malls. Moreover, the report found that cities, by their nature, have historically acted unilaterally, without consideration of policy effects across jurisdictional boundaries; and communities today are not effectively working together for the betterment of the region. In fact, individual community policies and actions are having an unintended yet detrimental effect collectively. The SBCAG Board directed staff to take the report’s recommendations “on the road” to make presentations to City Councils in Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties and spread the word about the need to begin collaborative planning efforts to address local jobs, housing and mobility issues. Plans are underway to hold a joint meeting between Santa Barbara County Association of Governments Boardmembers and Ventura County elected officials to develop methods to implement the report’s recommendations.
“We are calling on
local government and the private sector to join this effort through
funding, getting involved and serious leadership,” stated Jim Kemp,
Executive Director of SBCAG. “No one city will be able to buffer
itself from the impacts of population pressures, and nor can we
build our way out of growth pressures responsibly. Still, striving
as a region towards a future that sustains the economic spectrum of
our population and our high quality of life is attainable with
thoughtful leadership and smart planning.” |
|
In accordance with state law, SBCAG is required to contract every three years for performance audits of its activities. The audits examine compliance with statutory and regulatory requirements, assess implementation of prior audit recommendations, and review SBCAG functions. The accounting firm of Nelson/Nygaard conducted the audit which covered the FY 2001-02 to 2003-04 fiscal years The audit’s major findings include: v “SBCAG is effectively organized and staffed to fulfill its numerous responsibilities. The Board is well informed and provides effective direction to the agency with good opportunities for public participation.” v “The Regional Transportation Plan has been updated regularly and expanded to address necessary and important issues.” v “SBCAG is proactive in planning for congestion relief in the 101 corridor and building support for necessary funding through eventual extension of the Measure D half-cent sales tax.” v “SBCAG had maintained and expanded a very active Transportation Demand Management Program.” v “SBCAG does an effective job of administering numerous grant programs to ensure agencies are able to access these funds.” |
|
SBCAG
Welcomes Jimmy Chen |
|
Jimmy is a certified planner from the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP), a registered member of the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE), and holds a Ph.D in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Southern California. Jimmy currently serves on the Transportation Economics Committee and the Transportation & Economic Development Committee of the Transportation Research Board (TRB), National Research Council. Jimmy brings fourteen years of full-time transportation planning, fund programming, and project management experience to this position. Previously, he worked as Transportation Planning Manager for the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and Associate Planner for the Southern California Association of Governments. He also taught urban studies, planning, and geography courses at the California State Universities, Northridge and Los Angeles, with dozens of professional publications. Jimmy has been married to Ying Wang for nineteen years and they have two children. John (15 years old) is a student at the North Hollywood High School Highly Gifted Magnet School and Grace (12 years old) is a student of the Portola Middle School Highly Gifted Magnet School. |
Jimmy
Chen recently joined SBCAG as a Transportation Planner II. |
Santa Maria
Mayor Larry Lavagnino |
|
In May, the City of Santa Maria appointed councilmember Marty Mariscal as the new representative to the SBCAG board, replacing Mayor Larry Lavagnino, who served as the city’s representative for almost 5 years. At the July SBCAG Board meeting Mayor Lavagnino received a resolution from the Board in recognition of his service and contributions as a member of the SBCAG board and as the Board’s Chair in 2003. The son of a San Benito County supervisor, Larry was born and raised in Santa Maria. He began his public service career as staff assistant to Santa Barbara County Supervisor Curtis Tunnell, later serving in that same capacity under Supervisor Harrell Fletcher. First elected to the Santa Maria City Council in 1996, Councilmember Lavagnino was elected Mayor of Santa Maria in 2003. As a member of the SBCAG Board, Mayor Lavagnino was a strong supporter of many transportation improvement projects completed by SBCAG, including construction of new Highway 101 interchanges at Donovan Road, Stowell Road, Betteravia Road, and the 101/154 (North) interchange. As Chair of the SBCAG Board, Larry was instrumental in helping the Board reach agreement on the 101 in Motion project, the North County Intercommunity Transit Service, the 2002 Regional Housing Needs Assessment, and a number of other challenging issues. Mayor Lavagnino’s grace, humor and pragmatism will be missed by all. |
MEETING SCHEDULE
| August 4 | South Coast Subregional Planning Committee | Cancelled | |
| August 5 | Technical Transportation Advisory Committee |
TTAC |
9:00 AM David Gebhard Room 630 Garden St. Santa Barbara |
| August 5 | Technical Planning Advisory Committee |
TPAC |
11:00 AM David Gebhard Room 630 Garden St. Santa Barbara |
| August 19 | SBCAG Board |
SBCAG BOARD OF DIRECTORS |
8:30 AM |
All meetings are open to the public. Individuals needing special accommodations to participate in the meeting should contact SBCAG at least three work days prior to the scheduled meeting. Various other meetings, workshops, and public hearings are held periodically. For meeting locations, agendas or questions, call SBCAG at (805) 961-8900 or visit www.sbcag.org
|
Under a new pilot program beginning this summer, Traffic Solutions is offering free consulting services to qualified organizations that create or expand FlexWork programs for their employees. FlexWork programs can include compressed work weeks, flexible schedules, or telecommuting, and have a proven track record of increasing productivity, improving retention, and boosting employee morale. For more information, call 962-FLEX or visit FlexWorkSB.com Two FREE workshops will be held in August on the fundamentals of how FlexWork programs work and the benefits for employees and organizations.
|
||||
|
|
|
If you live in Santa Maria, you can join a group of Santa Maria bicycle enthusiasts for a “Kruzzer Ride” every Thursday until daylight savings ends in October. The group meets at Waller Park South by Babe Ruth Field on Auto Park Drive and loops the park, goes past the airport, using the area’s newly painted bike lanes. Local bike shop owner Chuck Croyer started the ride as an extension of the popular Bike to Work Day event in May. “We’re trying to get as many people involved, from all parts of Santa Maria. I started this ride, but the ride is all about being by the people, for the people. We want everyone and anyone to join in“, he said in a phone interview. The group rides only as fast as the slowest person, and riders of all ages are welcome. The ride is a great way to meet other bicyclists in the Santa Maria Valley and to learn about the many new bike lanes in the area. Helmets and bells are encouraged. Feel free to call 349-2294 for more information about the rides, or simply join the group at Waller Park any Thursday at 6:30PM.
|
|
Winners of Bike to Work
Corporate Commute Contest Announced |
|
In July, Traffic Solutions staff delivered a delicious catered lunch from the Santa Barbara Chicken Ranch to Dial Page, Advanced Information Management, Inc. (AIM) and the City of Goleta, and will deliver a similar feast to Fielding Graduate Institute in August. Each winner received a plaque recognizing the company's support of bicycling in Santa Barbara County, and AIM also won the grand prize—a commuter bicycle donated by Bike to Work partner Breezer Bicycles. AIM was selected from among the winners due to its pledge to encourage AIM employees to use the bicycle for local work errands and to go to lunch. The bicycle has a basket, reflective rims, a generator light, and several other features that make it a safe and effective vehicle for getting around town.
|
The winners of
May’s 2004 Bike to Work Corporate Bicycle Commute Challenge were
recently announced. Winners included Dial Page (mini),
Advanced Information Management (small), Fielding Graduate
Institute (medium), and Raytheon (large). The City of
Goleta won in the government category (at right, Community
Services Director Steve Wagner accepts the award from Erika
Lindemann).
Organizations
compete in the Corporate Bike Commute Challenge by encouraging
their employees to commute to work on their bicycle. At the end
of the month-long event, the company with the largest percentage
of bike commuters wins a catered lunch. SBCAG Traffic Solutions
will be enhancing the Corporate Bicycle Commute Challenge in a
number of ways in 2005. If you’d like to get your company
involved, email
INFORMATION REQUESTS FILLED
July 2004
| Countywide Bike Map | 1,000 |
| Clean Air Express Paid Subscriptions | 354 |
| Clean Air Express Ten Ride Pass Sales | 19 |
| Carpool Matchlist | 20 |
PROGRAM UPDATES
BICYCLE SAFETY TRAINING
Join our certified bicycle safety trainers and learn the basics of bicycling for transportation. Bicycle Safety Training classes are provided to the community free of charge. Contact Erika Lindemann for more information about how you can enroll: elindemann@sbcag.org
JOB OPPORTUNITY
Traffic Solutions is accepting applications for Marketing Assistant. The job description and application are available on the SBCAG website.
VANPOOL OPPORTUNITIES
A new van is starting in September for commuters between Santa Maria/Orcutt and downtown Santa Barbara, working a 7:30 am to 5:00 pm schedule. More information is available is available on the Traffic Solutions website vanpool page.
There
is a vanpool opportunity for north county commuters, traveling between
Santa Maria and San Luis Obispo. This van serves a 7:30
am - 4:00 pm work schedule and there are currently five vacancies in
this van, for more information call Steve Willard, 549-3173.
GET A MAP
Send an
email with your name and address to
info@trafficsolutions.info
to get a Santa Barbara County Bike map or Transit map mailed to you,
please specify how many you would like.
FORMS