Is BART worth a quarter cent? Is BART worth a quarter cent? (June 24, 2005)

It wasn't that long ago that the Valley Transportation Authority came calling on city councils in the north and south county seeking their support for an additional half-cent sales tax to pay for the $6 billion-plus extension of BART to San Jose.

The reaction from the Mountain View council was decidedly lukewarm, as it was in many other cities, including Palo Alto and Los Altos. None agreed to support an additional tax, and all suggested that the VTA find another way to fund its projects. It didn't help that the additional levy would give Santa Clara County the highest sales tax rate in the state.

Now, given the chilly reception for the half-cent tax, San Jose Mayor Ron Gonzales has urged the VTA board of directors to consider seeking half a loaf -- a quarter-cent sales tax -- ostensibly enough to keep the BART project alive that voters approved in 2000, when the Valley's economy was booming. The trouble is that now, with both the proposed BART project and the VTA dependent on shrinking sales tax revenue, the VTA's own analysis suggests that a quarter-cent tax is not enough.

In sending his recommendation to study the smaller tax, Mayor Gonzales cites a recent poll taken by the Silicon Valley Manufacturing Group (its new name is Silicon Valley Leadership Group) that claims 60 percent or more voters still support building BART. But did the poll give respondents alternatives, such as improved Caltrain service or highway improvements?

The real question should have been:

Would you approve a half/quarter-cent sales tax increase to pay for BART to San Jose, and in the process drastically reduce the number of transportation projects elsewhere in the county for the next 20 to 30 years?

Due to its huge edge in population, San Jose voters can determine much of what goes on in Santa Clara County. But in this case, smaller cities have tremendous clout, due to the requirement that any sales tax increase be passed by a two-thirds vote.

Many north county residents supported the BART to San Jose measure because the measure promised significant transportation projects for their cities. Many of those projects now face an uncertain fate due to the economic downturn, and if the VTA cannot even make ends meet with reduced bus and light rail schedules, it is very unlikely that a quarter-cent tax would do enough to overcome what is needed for operations and build BART.

It is time for San Jose to admit that at $6 billion or more, BART is simply too costly for the county to support at this time. In today's world, voters will demand real value for their transportation dollars, such as better highways, Caltrain upgrades and other measures that can help alleviate traffic congestion. These are the worthwhile projects that will go up in the smoke of Mayor Gonzales' obsession with building BART to San Jose, no matter what the cost.

E-mail a friend a link to this story.