New gas tax could help east-to-south commuters
QYou said you haven’t heard from people against increasing the gas tax? Well, here’s your first. Darlene Brannen San Jose A Actually, yours is the first of many following the Legislature’s unprecedented decision to raise the state gas tax by 12 cents a gallon, the diesel tax by 20 cents and registration fees by $38 a year to raise $52 billion over the next decade. Potholes are the top priority. Q I can’t support these higher taxes until you name a project that will significantly improve my commute from the East Bay to the South Bay.
Alice Steffen Livermore A Try this, from Hansthe-Fremont-TrafficCzar:
“Perhaps the most exciting thing Senate Bill 1 provides for Fremont, Caltrans and all of Silicon Valley is the opportunity to finally get the State Route 262-Mission Boulevard connector between I-880 and I-680 upgraded to a full freeway. The concept being pursued is a below-grade expressway allowing traffic to pass through without stopping at the two signals at Warm Springs and Mohave.
“This corridor is practically congested 24/7 and uncorking this bottleneck should be a welcome relief for daily commuters to Silicon Valley jobs, Silicon Valley’s weekend warriors heading to Tahoe, and increasingly for truckers hauling shiny new electric vehicles emerging from the Tesla Motors factory.
“This project was previously thought as unfundable due to anemic levels of state funding, but SB 1 has changed that. There is now over $500 million available annually for improving congested corridors and freight corridors. I can’t imagine there are many more worthy highway corridors across the state for this investment than 262.”
Me, neither. Q Please list where the $52 billion from the 12-cent-per-gallon gas tax would go so your readers, many of whom are all for it, know it won’t be used just to fix roads. Public transportation, infrastructure and culverts were all mentioned. Potholes could still be far down on the list. John Cole San Jose A Potholes will be at the top of the list because paving work can be done fast. Freeways and city streets will get $34 billion of the $52 billion.
Said Dawn-the-Santa Clara County-Expert:
“I’m still on Cloud 9 over the passage of SB 1! We can reverse what has been a steady decline in pavement conditions for the 565-mile unincorporated road system and 62-mile expressway system. Prior to the passage of SB 1, the outlook was bleak.” Q The 12-cent-per gallon raise is a historic theft and clearly another anti-car sneak attack. John Rogers A Anti-car? A sneak attack? Historic theft? Interesting choice of words. Q WHOA! Hold the horses. Back up the wagon. I bet that most of those who want a gas tax are electric or plug-in hybrid owners. Lou Horyza Milpitas A And for the first time, they’ll pay a $100 fee. There are no free rides. We are all in this together.