Local officials hope for new commuter services should voters
approve half-cent tax
Gilroy – Local leaders are pushing for expanded commuter rail service and community shuttle buses for Gilroy in the event county voters agree to a new half-cent sales tax.
Train ridership between Gilroy and Silicon Valley is among the lowest in the county, with an average of 141 riders per day during August 2005, according to figures from the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority.
But the numbers don’t reflect a lack of interest, according to Santa Clara County Supervisor Don Gage.
“A lot of people don’t ride the train because of the times and because there’s no train back,” according to Gage, who Monday outlined South County’s transit priorities for a VTA committee working on a 30-year spending plan.
Under the current Caltrain system, a single track serving Gilroy allows six trips per weekday – three northbound trains heading to San Jose in the early morning, and three southbound trains returning to Gilroy at night. A $35-million extension of double tracks would expand commuter service between San Jose and Morgan Hill by 2010.
On Monday, Gage proposed eliminating a $162-million project to electrify the new tracks – which allows trains to use electricity rather than diesel – and to use $65 million of the savings to bring double tracks to Gilroy within five years.
He hopes the roughly $90 million savings will draw support from fellow VTA members looking for spare cash for projects in their areas of the county.
Gilroy Mayor Al Pinheiro backed the double-tracking plan and also put in a request for expanded shuttle bus service in the city.
Connie Rogers, a member of the VTA Citizens Advisory Committee, drew attention to the need for bus service to southeast Gilroy. The service, she explained, would provide employment opportunities for low-income families in the Ochoa migrant labor camp.
In addition to those projects, Gage said he will continue to push for bus service to outlying cities in Monterey and San Benito counties, and increased bus service to Saint Louise Regional Hospital.
The South County wish list will compete against spending priorities throughout the county. The ad hoc committee that met in Gilroy City Hall Monday is scheduled to tour the rest of the county by June, in hopes of crafting a list of top spending priorities before voters reach the ballot box that month. Gilroy was the first stop in the tour.
The committee’s countywide visits take place against the backdrop of an ongoing controversy over the half cent sales tax.
Many residents and anti-tax advocates believe the half cent tax represents an end run around county taxpayers by the VTA and the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, the business association backing a multibillion dollar extension of BART to San Jose.
In recent weeks, the Leadership Group backed off of its efforts for a new, stand-alone quarter cent sales tax intended to raise billions of dollars for BART and other transportation improvements. The move came after reports began circulating that such a measure faced certain defeat. Now the business group is backing the half cent tax, stoking fears that VTA will use a back door to siphon county money for the BART project.
County leaders deny striking back room deals to finance BART, saying the roughly $160 million expected to come from the new tax would help offset the $120 million deficit projected for next year. There are no restrictions on how the money could be spent, and some of the revenues could be channeled to the VTA.
Gage originally opposed plans to finance a commuter rail extension to San Jose, but now says that BART is inevitable and that he’s counting on the new sales tax to meet South County transportation needs, as well as provide healthcare and new social service programs. He is one of five VTA directors on the ad hoc committee that is crafting a new VTA spending plan for the next 30 years.
“If you don’t get the half cent,” he said, “there are a lot of things that aren’t going to happen.”
Don Gage’s Wish List
– Double railroad tracks to Gilroy by 2010, meaning more extensive commuter rail service
between Gilroy and Silicon Valley
– Shuttle bus service throughout Gilroy
– Expanded bus
service to St. Louise Regional Hospital
– Bus service
connecting Gilroy to Monterey, Salinas and San Benito County
