November 1, 2008

Yes on Measure B

By Pat Dando
President & CEO, San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce
Special to the Times

On Nov. 4, we will have an opportunity to create local jobs, pump money into Santa Clara County’s economy and invest in our transportation systems with Measure B, the proposal to help bring BART to San Jose.

The San Jose / Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce has endorsed Measure B because we believe that the South Bay BART extension will benefit the local economy and provide workers with an affordable way to get to their jobs.

Measure B will provide operations and maintenance funds for a BART line that would come into Santa Clara County from Fremont. The planned extension will have six stops, and run through Milpitas, San Jose and Santa Clara. By connecting with the existing light rail system, along with Caltrain at the HP Arena and Santa Clara stations, commuters will have access to the entire Bay Area.

According to independent studies, this infrastructure investment will create approximately 2,500 construction and 7,300 permanent jobs for engineers and BART operators throughout Silicon Valley. During these uncertain economic times, it makes even more sense to invest in infrastructure projects that put people to work.

The studies also found that the extension will pump between $6 billion and $11.4 billion into the local economy as BART makes it easier to live here, shop here and work here.

The proposal also helps Santa Clara County access federal construction money for the line. The Federal Transit Administration won’t match local and state construction dollars already raised without reassurances that there is a revenue stream to pay to operate and maintain the line. Measure B provides that reassurance through a 1/8- cent sale tax, roughly the equivalent of $13 a year per taxpayer.

Most importantly, by extending BART through Measure B, workers would be able to can keep more cash in their pocket because they’ll have a real alternative to expensive gasoline prices. And, an economic impact study on the project shows that BART will help save something more valuable than money – time.

The study puts the value of the time saved by expediting Santa Clara County commutes through BART to between $2.5 billion and $4.7 billion. But we all know there is no way to put a price on extra time spent with our families.

Please join the Chamber and myself, in supporting a proposal that is good for our economy, good for our commutes and good for our wallets – vote yes on Measure B.