County and VTA Delivered Transportation Goods to South County

Dear Editor,
As Chair of the Measure B Citizens Watchdog Committee, I want to
respond to statements made in a March 7 letter to the editor.
The writer states that Caltrain improvements were the only
reason he voted for Measures A and B in 1996.
Dear Editor,

As Chair of the Measure B Citizens Watchdog Committee, I want to respond to statements made in a March 7 letter to the editor.

The writer states that Caltrain improvements were the only reason he voted for Measures A and B in 1996. Caltrain improvements, specifically improving rail service by adding trains and improving facilities between Gilroy and San Jose were part of a wide array of projects including widening congested highways, adding connector ramps and new light rail service; all in an effort to improve transportation and quality of life in the county. 

Caltrain double tracking, 2.7 miles of new track and signals from Tamian to Lick, was completed in January 2005 along with numerous Caltrain station improvements throughout the county.  All-in-all, $54.23 million of Measure B funds have gone to Caltrain improvements. In November 2000, Caltrain initiated and promoted weekend service to and from Gilroy, unfortunately there were not enough riders to support continuing the service. During the four months weekend service was offered, operating expenses were 20 times the revenue.  Overall Caltrain ridership is increasing and additional service is being offered to meet the demand. However, ridership in the South County has declined substantially since the economic downturn in 2001. This has required Caltrain’s Joint Powers Board, to make difficult service decisions for the prudent expenditure of taxpayer dollars.  Note that County Measure B sales tax dollars do not fund Caltrain operations, but only capital improvements. Neither the county nor the Citizens Watchdog Committee is involved in Caltrain service decisions. 

Additional Measure B projects have directly benefited South County residents including improvements to Highway 152, widening U.S. 101 and constructing the Highway 85/U.S. 101 interchanges. To date, 19 of 26 Measure B projects have been completed, and four are in construction: The county and Valley Trasnportation Authority have delivered nearly all the projects included in the 1996 Measures A and B.    

Henry Servin, Chair

Measure B Program Citizens Watchdog Committee