New gas tax will not fund high-speed trains
Q
So we have this new gas tax coming Nov. 1. Friends tell me that a good chunk of it will be spent on high-speed rail and not pavement repairs. True? — David Drake and so many others
Q
When are you going to tell your readers that even with all the new taxes there isn’t enough money to repair their street? We will need another tax just to maintain roads as they are right now. — Rich Crowley, San Jose
A
Not entirely accurate. San Jose plans to invest the $39 million a year it will get from the state gas tax increase in maintenance of its residential streets, something it has not been able to do for the past seven years.
Decisions will be made later this year on how to spend the $1.2 billion that will come in countywide over the next three decades from the Measure B sales tax. This should provide enough money to properly maintain all of its major arterial streets on an ongoing basis. San Jose’s share will be $19 million a year.
Before the tax hikes, California faced a $130 billion transportation shortfall and the number of counties with pavement in the “poor” or “at risk” category had grown from 42 in 2008 to 52 in 2016.
Q
Why is no one talking about the gas tax that we already pay that is now sitting in the general fund? That money was supposed to pay for road work and hasn’t for some time. Why not move the money from the general fund back to where it was intended and not increase our taxes? — Dean Banks, Mountain House
A
That’s being done, and the state will repay the millions it diverted from the sales tax on gas purchases to the general fund. This was permitted in 2010 to help overcome the huge deficit caused by the recession.
Q
Your article on what to do if you get stuck in your vehicle on railroad tracks was good. A driver should never remain in the car. More important, when drivers are approaching railroad tracks they should never cross until the car in front has crossed and they can see that there is room for their car on the other side of the tracks. That’s what we teach them. — Don Meyer, Economic Driving School
A
That’s advice the lows.Roadshow clan fol-
Q
There are four trees literally drying up along Tully Road in San Jose. There is irrigation but perhaps it is broken. — Khanh Nguyen, San Jose
A
Eric-the-Tree-Man to the rescue. He says while the trees are in decline, they are salvageable. There is an irrigation problem that is being worked on. Look for Gary Richards at Facebook.com/ mr.roadshow or contact him at mrroadshow@ bayareanewsgroup.com.