How does $700 million toward local road repair and maintenance sound? Probably pretty good, but where would that money come from?
The San Luis Obispo Council of Governments (SLOCOG) is presenting in front of the San Luis Obispo City Council on Tuesday to garner support for a sales tax measure to be added to the November ballot that could add hundreds of millions of dollars to the transportation budget.
If the ½-cent sales tax measure is added to the ballot and adopted, the sales tax would increase to 9.25% in most SLO County cities (Arroyo Grande and Pismo Beach would rise to 8.25%), but James Worthley, SLOCOG's Deputy Director, says the sales tax in SLO County is already a bargain compared to most of the state where many communities have sales tax rates over 9% — some over 10%. Twenty-five counties, accounting for about 89% of the state's population, already have a similar transportation tax measure in place.
Worthley says SLO County fell just shy of passing a similar ½-cent transportation sales tax measure (Measure J) on the 2016 ballot by less than half a percent, losing out on what he says could have been $180 million over the last six years, not counting leveraging that money to compete for state and federal grants.
“Roads and pavements and congestion and safety don't improve themselves. It takes far too long to get one or two improvements down on the ground with the little and limited dollars that we have, so those people that want to say, 'no,' that's fine, but they need to know they're living with the problems into the future until something changes,” Worthley said.
About one-third of the $700 million would go toward regional road safety in SLO County like projects along Highway 101 and “Mobility for All” projects like improvements to bike and pedestrian trails and public transportation for seniors.
Here’s the proposed dispersion of the $700 million over the next 20 years, with the distribution dependent on each region’s population within the county:
- North County would receive $246 million for safety and congestion improvement in specific areas, a possible overcrossing at Union Road on Highway 46 East in Paso Robles, and road repairs along Traffic Way and El Camino Real in Atascadero.
- South County would receive $200 million for road repairs to Grand Avenue and Oak Park Boulevard in Arroyo Grande, along with many other improvements.
- The central part of the county, including San Luis Obispo and Avila Beach, would see $154 million for major projects like Los Osos Valley Road and Broad Street.
- About $100 million would go to the North Coast for Morro Bay, Cambria, Los Osos, and Cayucos.
Before it can make its way to the November ballot, a lot needs to happen. Worthley will need to present to city councils and the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors before April 15.
Once feedback from each city and the Board has been received, SLOCOG will draft a final proposal to get the cities’ approval on May 1.
Worthley says all of the money allocated from this tax measure would stay local.
