Alameda County sales tax and BART (Livermore: to live, bus, rail)

[bay2bay]

It looks like Alameda County taxpayers are going to be asked to double the transit portion of the sales tax for BART improvements. I wonder if the other BART counties will be asked to do so as well.

BART board pulls no-strike measure after unions waver on tax - SFGate

[artemis78]

Originally Posted by bay2bay

It looks like Alameda County taxpayers are going to be asked to double the transit portion of the sales tax for BART improvements. I wonder if the other BART counties will be asked to do so as well.

BART board pulls no-strike measure after unions waver on tax - SFGate

The Alameda sales tax that they're talking about (a reauthorization of the current Measure B) is not just for BART; it supports all modes of transportation in the county, from road improvements to bike/ped improvements to bus and rail (which also includes ACE, the ferries, the Tri-Valley transit agencies, and AC Transit, in addition to BART). Some of the money also passes directly to cities for their own transportation programs.

The issue with BART was just that their support was critical with the sales tax going to the ballot again given that BART to Livermore and Irvington BART are projects likely to be included, in addition to non-BART transit projects like Dumbarton Rail and AC Transit BRT projects and many non-transit projects (e.g., fixing the I-80 Gilman interchange, upgrading 880 to reduce congestion, completing the Bay Trail and East Bay Greenway within Alameda County, etc.). The tax extension was very narrowly defeated in 2012, so the support of every city and agency involved is important to have and retain.

I wouldn't expect anything to change in the other BART counties; they all already have their own transportation sales taxes in place, and none of those sunset until the 2030s. (Alameda's current tax sunsets relatively soon and all of the projects that were part of the last authorization have already been completed, which is why it's going back to the ballot for a reauthorization.)

[bay2bay]

Originally Posted by artemis78

The Alameda sales tax that they're talking about (a reauthorization of the current Measure B) is not just for BART; it supports all modes of transportation in the county, from road improvements to bike/ped improvements to bus and rail (which also includes ACE, the ferries, the Tri-Valley transit agencies, and AC Transit, in addition to BART). Some of the money also passes directly to cities for their own transportation programs.

The issue with BART was just that their support was critical with the sales tax going to the ballot again given that BART to Livermore and Irvington BART are projects likely to be included, in addition to non-BART transit projects like Dumbarton Rail and AC Transit BRT projects and many non-transit projects (e.g., fixing the I-80 Gilman interchange, upgrading 880 to reduce congestion, completing the Bay Trail and East Bay Greenway within Alameda County, etc.). The tax extension was very narrowly defeated in 2012, so the support of every city and agency involved is important to have and retain.

I wouldn't expect anything to change in the other BART counties; they all already have their own transportation sales taxes in place, and none of those sunset until the 2030s. (Alameda's current tax sunsets relatively soon and all of the projects that were part of the last authorization have already been completed, which is why it's going back to the ballot for a reauthorization.)

Thank you for clarifying.