With more than 100,000 absentee and provisional ballots left to
count, four-tenths of a percent stands in the way of extending BART
16 miles southward.
With more than 100,000 absentee and provisional ballots still left to count, four-tenths of a percent stands in the way of extending BART 16 miles southward.
A tantalizing 66.27 percent of county residents have voted to enact a one-eighth cent sales tax to lengthen the public railways line, just short of the necessary two-thirds required for passage.
The measure could add stations in Milpitas, San Jose and Santa Clara, connecting the public transit’s line with Caltrain from Gilroy to San Francisco. An airport shuttle would also be included. The measure also depends on state and federal funds to match the local construction dollars.
Santa Clara County Supervisor and former Gilroy City Councilman Don Gage said from his home Tuesday evening that he hoped the measure would pass, but he added that he was surprised the ballot item garnered so much support amid a host of other multi-million bond measures.
“We have to plan for future transportation. It’s like schools,” Gage said. “You have to put your priorities in perspective.”
