Measure B Legal Win Clears Path For Santa Clara Co. Road Fixes

SARATOGA, CA -- "B" stands for big victory for road improvement advocates in Santa Clara County, as a two-year lawsuit challenging Measure B went down like a flat tire in a monstrous pothole.

The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority didn't waste any time celebrating the milestone by announcing Wednesday it issued checks amounting to $9.5 million to local cities and the county for local street improvements as part of Measure B.

Saratoga resident Cheriel Jensen filed the lawsuit because she claimed the initiative was misleading and VTA didn't respond to her public records request. She lost on an appeal last week.

San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo expressed relief projects in his city could move ahead and gratitude in the residents' and especially the motorists' patience as the lawsuit held hostage the fixes for the metropolitan area's notorious roads. The largest city in the Silicon Valley stands to gain the most in the windfall -- $4.6 million.

“I am pleased that we finally have a legal resolution to the frivolous lawsuit that sought to overturn the will of 72 percent of the voters. With this victory, we can immediately put hundreds of millions of dollars to work paving our roads, improving our highways and expressways and upgrading our mass transit systems,” Liccardo said Wednesday. "Today, we're one step closer to building the 21st century transportation infrastructure that our residents deserve."

Funds are earmarked for the San Jose BART extension, Caltrain improvements, transit operations and improvements from streets and roads to expressways and highways.

San Jose's cracks, potholes and uneven pavement ranks it the second worst metropolitan cities in the nation for problem roads, TRIP reported. The Washington, D.C.-based transportation research firm released a study this month that uses data from the U.S. Federal Highway Administration agency.

Of its 2,400 miles of streets, 944 are designated as being in need of attention.

See https://patch.com/california/.

“The road block against road and transit improvements has been cleared,” said Silicon Valley Leadership Group Chief Executive Officer Carl Guardino, who led the effort to qualify and pass Measure B on the 2016 ballot. “Voters will now receive the improvements promised in Measure B, paving the way for work to get started to improve the quality of life for 1.9 million county residents.”

Nearly two years after Santa Clara County voters approved 2016 Measure B, the California Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal on a "meritless legal challenge," the VTA declared. The failure of the lawsuit to move forward grants VTA the right to disburse the tax revenue being accumulated.

“We are ready to provide $9.5 million dollars in advance to cities to relieve the pot hole pain they’ve endured for so long,” Santa Clara City Councilwoman Teresa O’Neill said. “We look forward to signing the agreements with all of our partner agencies in Santa Clara County, so we can get this much-needed work done to improve mobility for the millions of people who rely on us to keep them moving where they work, live and play.”

There are 8 other 2016 Measure B Program categories that will receive funding for various improvements throughout the Santa Clara County. VTA is tasked with administering these funds which will total about $6.3 billion over 30 years, to the following local governments:

• Campbell - $189,906
• Cupertino - $271,115
• Gilroy - $240,462
• Los Altos - $136,274
• Los Altos Hills - $37,843
• Los Gatos - $138,402
• Milpitas - $329,415
• Monte Sereno - $15,657
• Morgan Hill - $189,552
• Mountain View - $353,498
• Palo Alto - $303,672
• San Jose - $4.611 million
• Santa Clara - $548,858
• Saratoga - $139,736
• Sunnyvale - $671,607
• Santa Clara County - $1.356 million

--Image courtesy of Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority