VTA weighs transportation priorities VTA weighs transportation priorities (March 12, 2004)

City officials fear BART will block other transit projects

By Grace Rauh

A concern that Mountain View's local transit projects will fall to the wayside until 2030 if the Valley Transportation Authority funds a proposed BART extension to San Jose is starting to spread.

Mountain View Mayor Matt Pear and Council member Greg Perry, along with city council members from neighboring cities, recently signed a letter to Don Gage, chairman of the VTA's board of directors. They implored him to allocate Measure A funding for projects that benefit riders in Mountain View, Palo Alto and elsewhere, rather than give BART the green light.

Funds from the 2000 ballot measure are intended to connect BART to Santa Clara County, expand Caltrain and rail connections, purchase vehicles with better access, safety, and pollution standards, and increase bus and light rail service. Because BART comes with such a hefty price tag, some local transit riders fear all other Measure A projects will be abandoned if the project is the first thing funded.

"It just doesn't seem within our means to do that and not have the rest of the VTA system turn into a train wreck," said Doug DeLong, a Mountain View resident who attended a public meeting on VTA's priority list, Valley Transportation Plan 2030, at city hall on Monday.

The VTA is currently setting its priorities for the various transit projects it plans to undertake over the next 25 years. At a board workshop on Feb. 27, VTA staff recommended that the Downtown East Valley light rail and BART be the only projects funded until 2030. But these recommendations are not irreversible.

VTA officials are hosting six open forums in Silicon Valley to collect comments on how the board should spend Measure A dollars. Attendees at Monday's meeting in Mountain View were allowed to vote in support of specific transit projects. Caltrain, regional buses and VTA buses and shuttles were the top three vote-getters as of Tuesday. Comments from all six meetings will be presented to the VTA board at its March 19 workshop.

E-mail Grace Rauh at grauh@mv-voice.com

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