Road sales tax will benefit the Springs

Numerous neighborhood roads in the Springs will benefit if a quarter-cent sales tax measure, slated for a special election on March 3, passes.

I reviewed the initial maps in the draft of the long-term roads plan. While the specifics could change, I believe we can expect to see on the final maps neighborhood roads to be fixed throughout the Springs between Petaluma Avenue and the northern end of Agua Caliente. Currently these roads receive no maintenance beyond simple pothole filling — the kind where the potholes usually reappear after the seasonal rains begin.

I can’t tell you yet exactly which roads will be improved, because the Board of Supervisors still has to pass the final version of the county’s long-term roads plan. I asked Susan Klassen, the director of Sonoma County’s Transportation and Public Works Department, for a list of the roads in our area that would be fixed. She said she couldn’t provide it at this time, because the countywide plan is still undergoing changes. Klassen said the final plan should be approved in September.

As we learned in October at the Sonoma Valley Road Summit I organized with the roads advocacy group SOSroads, because neighborhood roads don’t qualify for use of federal funds, the county has had no consistent funding source for neighborhood roads.

The major connector roads of Verano, Railroad and Petaluma Avenues, Boyes Boulevard, Agua Caliente Road, and Arnold Drive do qualify for federal funding. They are among the 150 miles of roads already on the county’s priority list. They will continue to be maintained, even if the road tax measure fails. However, if the tax measure fails, it’s unknown how our neighborhood roads will get fixed anytime soon.

As SOSroads, in a statement to its members supporting the tax measure, said, “There are very few other funding options available that will make a dent in our road crisis. While significant and comprehensive pension reform for county employees (beyond the reforms recently adopted) would make more local tax dollars available for roads, it is not likely to happen for years. Therefore, SOSroads believes that a quarter-cent sales tax, combined with an ongoing commitment of county general funds, is the best means for the majority of Sonoma County citizens to have their roads fixed.”

The tax measure actually involves two ballot measures. One is a quarter-cent general sales tax that only requires a simple majority to pass. General sales taxes don’t specify how the revenue is to be spent. So voters will be asked to approve a second measure that is an advisory measure recommending spending 90 percent of the new sales tax revenue on roads and 10 percent on transit.

The new sales tax will generate about $20 million a year, with $8.7 million a year going to the county for the unincorporated area. The remaining $11.3 million will be divided among the county’s nine cities, based on population and number of road miles.

The county’s goal is to improve about 700 miles of its road network over the next ten years. This would bring more than half of its road up to good condition. Presently only 26 percent are considered good.

When the election gets closer, I’ll have more specifics about how the road tax will benefit the Springs.

Back to School Driving

Children going back to school this week are another reminder of how badly we need the sidewalks on Highway 12 and better roads throughout the Springs. Please be careful driving, as our children are walking and riding bikes to school, or are waiting for the bus, in undesirable conditions. As your trustee on the Sonoma County Board of Education, let me wish students, teachers, administrators, school staff and parents an A+ year.