Survey claims strong BART support Survey claims strong BART support (April 29, 2005)

By Jay Thorwaldson

Support for a BART connection into downtown San Jose is strong even in Mountain View and Palo Alto, according to a recent survey funded by the Silicon Valley Leadership Group.

"The policymakers on the VTA (Valley Transportation Agency) board are making some tough decisions, but they should make them on a regional base," Carl Guardino, CEO of the Leadership Group, said of the reasons behind the survey and why results were sought down to the city level.

The VTA board is faced with a hard reality of projected tax funds having dropped from about $7 billion in 2000 to about $5 billion today -- a "worst-case scenario," Guardino called it..

Guardino said the poll was scientifically done by Jim Moore of El Dorado Hills, who has worked with the group -- formerly the Silicon Valley Manufacturers Association -- for a quarter century. He said Moore "is ethical and has a great track record."

Guardino said Moore has been remarkably close in projecting two prior transportation-related elections: in 1996 when he predicted 52 percent support and the outcome was 51.8 percent, and in the 2000 vote when he predicted 71 percent approval and the election came it at 70.4 percent.

In this survey, 1,000 persons were interviewed for a 3.1 percent accuracy rating compared to 500 interviews for a 4.8 percent plus-or-minus accuracy in past surveys, Guardino said.

Guardino declined to release actual questions and results of the survey other than those announced in a press release, but did go through the results question by question.

He said the results show continued strong support for the measure, with 69 percent supporting it today while 26 percent opposed it, compared to 29.6 percent opposed in 2000.

In Palo Alto, the results showed 79 percent support to 21 percent opposed, and Mountain View showed even stronger support, with 85 percent favorable to 12 percent opposed. Other outlying areas also showed strong support -- 79 percent in Morgan Hill and 78 percent in Campbell.

But only 69.27 percent of San Jose residents surveyed voiced support.

Critics say the head-to-head comparison is not the same as BART versus all other projects promised in the 2000 election, many of which face being swallowed by the BART project. Caltrain now carries about 27,000 passengers a day, and the improvements could double that by 2025-- with electrification adding another 4,000 trips by slightly speeding up the service.

Caltrain was rated as top priority by 44 percent of Mountain View residents and 38 percent of Palo Alto residents, the results indicated.

Jay Thorwaldson is editor of the Palo Alto Weekly, the Voice's sister paper.

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