Caltrans chief urges continued sales tax push
Article Last Updated: Thursday, Jun 02, 2005 - 11:17:30 pm PDT
By Barry Eberling
VACAVILLE - California's transportation head urged - in his own words, "implored" - local leaders on Thursday to keep working on a county transportation sales tax measure.
"Keep going," state Department of Transportation Director Will Kempton said. "Keep trying."
Kempton spoke at the Solano Economic Development Corp. breakfast at the Travis Credit Union. He granted an interview afterward.
The Caltrans leader knows about Solano County's roads. He worked as a consultant in 2002 on the county's first failed transportation sales tax attempt. He experienced the rough Interstate 80 pavement near Vacaville while driving to the breakfast.
And Kempton has driven through the center of Solano County's congestion universe, the traffic-plagued Interstates 80 and 680 interchange. Traffic jams on some days begin at 2 p.m. and go until 7 p.m., he said.
"I know it well," Kempton said.
He also knows about the congestion on Highway 12 through Jameson Canyon, the major link between Solano and Napa counties. A former employee of his drives this highway, he said.
Of course, every county has its transportation gripes. Solano County isn't special in that regard.
"Everybody has their interstates 80 and 680 interchange," Kempton said. "But this is a particularly bad one."
Local transportation leaders expect the congestion at the interchange to worsen when the new Benicia Bridge span opens and so does Kempton. The belief is the bridge congestion, once alleviated, will move to the next bottleneck down the line.
"We've got to address that problem and soon," Kempton said.
Kempton has experience with transportation sales taxes. During the late-1980s, he managed the Santa Clara County transportation tax program. He worked on creating a state matching program for county sales taxes.
Things go easier for a $100 million project with $50 million available from a local tax, Kempton said. Counties with transportation taxes use this money to attract state and federal matches.
Solano County's two failed transportation sales tax measures in recent years had some opponents. If any were present at the Solano EDC breakfast, they kept quiet.
One opposing argument is that the state and federal government should fix the interchange - that it's a state and federal responsibility, not a local one. Passing county transportation sales taxes simply encourages the state and federal governments to dump more costs on local taxpayers.
Kempton addressed this viewpoint in an interview.
Caltrans has part of the responsibility for the interchange, Kempton said. But it doesn't have a lot of money, he said. The approach needs to be one of partnership, not just differentiating between different levels of government, he said.
"The traffic is not going to go away, folks," Kempton told the breakfast gathering. "It's only going to get worse."
Kempton lives in Folsom. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed him the Caltrans director in November 2004.
The Solano Transportation Improvement Authority is working to put together a half-cent county transportation sales tax measure. It is unclear whether the measure will go on the November ballot or the November 2006 ballot.
Reach Barry Eberling at 425-4646 Ext. 232 or at beberling@dailyrepublic.net.
Copyright Daily Republic. All rights reserved.
By Barry Eberling
VACAVILLE - California's transportation head urged - in his own words, "implored" - local leaders on Thursday to keep working on a county transportation sales tax measure.
"Keep going," state Department of Transportation Director Will Kempton said. "Keep trying."
Kempton spoke at the Solano Economic Development Corp. breakfast at the Travis Credit Union. He granted an interview afterward.
The Caltrans leader knows about Solano County's roads. He worked as a consultant in 2002 on the county's first failed transportation sales tax attempt. He experienced the rough Interstate 80 pavement near Vacaville while driving to the breakfast.
And Kempton has driven through the center of Solano County's congestion universe, the traffic-plagued Interstates 80 and 680 interchange. Traffic jams on some days begin at 2 p.m. and go until 7 p.m., he said.
"I know it well," Kempton said.
He also knows about the congestion on Highway 12 through Jameson Canyon, the major link between Solano and Napa counties. A former employee of his drives this highway, he said.
Of course, every county has its transportation gripes. Solano County isn't special in that regard.
"Everybody has their interstates 80 and 680 interchange," Kempton said. "But this is a particularly bad one."
Local transportation leaders expect the congestion at the interchange to worsen when the new Benicia Bridge span opens and so does Kempton. The belief is the bridge congestion, once alleviated, will move to the next bottleneck down the line.
"We've got to address that problem and soon," Kempton said.
Kempton has experience with transportation sales taxes. During the late-1980s, he managed the Santa Clara County transportation tax program. He worked on creating a state matching program for county sales taxes.
Things go easier for a $100 million project with $50 million available from a local tax, Kempton said. Counties with transportation taxes use this money to attract state and federal matches.
Solano County's two failed transportation sales tax measures in recent years had some opponents. If any were present at the Solano EDC breakfast, they kept quiet.
One opposing argument is that the state and federal government should fix the interchange - that it's a state and federal responsibility, not a local one. Passing county transportation sales taxes simply encourages the state and federal governments to dump more costs on local taxpayers.
Kempton addressed this viewpoint in an interview.
Caltrans has part of the responsibility for the interchange, Kempton said. But it doesn't have a lot of money, he said. The approach needs to be one of partnership, not just differentiating between different levels of government, he said.
"The traffic is not going to go away, folks," Kempton told the breakfast gathering. "It's only going to get worse."
Kempton lives in Folsom. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed him the Caltrans director in November 2004.
The Solano Transportation Improvement Authority is working to put together a half-cent county transportation sales tax measure. It is unclear whether the measure will go on the November ballot or the November 2006 ballot.
Reach Barry Eberling at 425-4646 Ext. 232 or at beberling@dailyrepublic.net.
Copyright Daily Republic. All rights reserved.
posted by Solano EDC at 2:53 PM
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