Category: Transportation

The Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017

5/8/2017

On April 6th 2017, the California legislature passed the Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017 (Senate Bill 1), the largest gas tax in state history. This bill was just signed into law by Governor Brown on April 28th.
This bill will raise the base gasoline excise tax by 12 cents per gallon, will increase the diesel and biodiesel tax by 20 cents, and will impose annual vehicle licensing fees. The combination of these taxes and fees will provide the state roughly $5 billion a year in transportation funding, and $52 billion over the next 10 years.
While the passing of Senate Bill 1 is considered a huge win for the Democrats in Sacramento, it did not come easily, as highly controversial last minute deals with hesitant Democrats and Republicans resulted in roughly $1 billion being set aside for projects in areas of Riverside and Modesto.
With Santa Cruz County having already approved Measure D in December of 2016, which authorized a half cent sales tax that will raise an estimated $17 million per year for local transportation funding, Senate Bill 1 will offer Santa Cruz County an additional $6 million per year, making available an additional $23 million in annual funding for road repair and transportation projects in Santa Cruz County.
In addition, in response to concerns that the new funds will not be spent solely upon transportation as intended, Senate Bill 1 contains a proposed 2018 constitutional amendment that will guarantee that all of the $5 billion a year, will be used only for transportation repair and projects.
From Senate Bill 1, which will begin in November of 2017, the City of Santa Cruz can expect to receive $1.48 million annually, whereas Watsonville will receive $1.21 million, Scots Valley $278,000 and Capitola $232,000.

Relevance: This bill is of great relevance to California’s infrastructure and economy as a whole, and addresses recent concerns in Santa Cruz County regarding the need for greater funding for roads and transportation. While this tax increase can be criticized as an increased financial burden for Santa Cruz residents who have already approved a gas tax in November and are struggling with the extremely expensive nature of California living, one can also argue that increased funding for transportation infrastructure and projects will not only put many people to work, but will also strengthen Santa Cruz’s local economy, as safe and efficient travel is a core aspect of economic growth. Furthermore, this additional funding may also play a role in supporting the City’s energy efficiency goals, as this bill allocates funding for sustainable and energy efficient transportation, setting aside an annual $100 million to promote increased travel by walking or bicycling, as well as $25 million for sustainable communities grant applications. Furthermore, this bill will also heavily invest in strengthening public transit, an essential aspect of sustainable travel. Many also see this increase in transportation funding as highly timely, in light of one of California’s wettest winters, which caused an estimated $20 million in road damage in Santa Cruz County, forcing both the City and County to declare a state of emergency.

To read more about the relevance of this bill please see our Chamber Newsletter for more details:
http://web.santacruzchamber.org/news/newsarticledisplay.aspx?ArticleID=1528
To see the specific details on the allocation of the projected funding please visit the following link:
http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article147437054.html
For more information please see the following links:

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An Important Step Towards Embracing a Bike Share System in the City of Santa Cruz

3/10/2017

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As of February 14th, 2017, the Santa Cruz City Council took an essential first step towards instituting a public bike share system, as it authorized a Request for Proposal (REP) for a bike share system in the City of Santa Cruz.
A bike share system is a network of public bicycle stations that offer bicycles to be used for short-term convenience, for purposes of work as well as errands.
While bike share networks have traditionally been seen as far too expensive outside of major cities, the City is motivated to explore models and strategies that will reduce these costs in order to achieve the Santa Cruz General Climate Action Plan, which aims to expand bicycle use to take up to 12% of commuter transportation.
This motion could be a key step towards establishing a system of transportation that reduces city automobile traffic and encourages short distance, non-polluting methods of transportation.

The information in this write up is based in a City Council Agenda Report set forth on February 14th, 2017. For details and more information please follow the link to the City Council Agenda.

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Application for Volkswagen’s $3.3 Million Grant

2/22/2017

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In light of the recent Volkswagen scandal in which Volkswagen sold approximately 500,000 diesel vehicles implemented with devices intentionally designed to reduce emission recordings, Volkswagen has settled with the Environmental Protection Agency to invest over $800 million in a Zero Emission Vehicle Investment Program.
The City Council has just authorized the City Manager to apply for and accept, if awarded, a grant from Volkswagen of America’s Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Investment Program. If the application is accepted the City of Santa Cruz would obtain up to $3.3 million from California Air Resources Board who will distribute the Volkswagen of America ZEV Investment Program funding.
This grant application is extremely relevant to local transportation issues as the successful acceptance of Santa Cruz’s application could mean $3.3 million dollars in funding to Zero Emissions Vehicle charging infrastructure and ZEV vehicles which could be a key aspect of the City's aim to reduce emissions by 30% and switch 20% of cars to low carbon fuels by 2020.
This initiative has been proposed by the Council as the Green City initiative, and with an already a high concentration of Zero Emission Vehicles, Santa Cruz City is posed to take advantage of this grant and the greater shift towards sustainable transportation that it exemplifies.

For details and more information please see the following City Council Agenda.

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Storm Induced Road Damage

2/22/2017

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In light of recent intense storms, one of the major issues in regard to regional transportation facing Santa Cruz County has been intense road and infrastructure damage, estimated to have caused 20 million dollars worth of road damage and $1,685,000 worth of damage to local water supply lines in the last month.
With Santa Cruz County having received some of the heaviest damage in the state and the Public Works Department running on overdrive, the City and the County have declared an emergency and are in desperate need of federal funding from the Federal Highway Administration to repair the country-wide extreme road damage sustained by intense flooding, falling trees and mudslides.
A vast majority of the damage has occurred in District 5 of Santa Cruz County, made up of San Lorenzo Valley, the Santa Cruz mountains, and the city of Scotts valley, with some of the worst damage striking Zayante Canyon, the Narrows, Bear Creek, and Nelson Road. Dangerous mudslides, falling trees, and collapsing mountainsides in areas of the Santa Cruz mountains have prevented road access to mountain living residents, sealing residents into their homes for days at a time, and posing a major fire hazard for the future if not repaired soon.
While federal funding is expected within the coming weeks, it is unlikely that such funding will be utilized until the storms blow over and there is a consistent break from the rains.

For questions and more information please contact the Santa Cruz Public Works department.

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Chamber blog

The Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017

An Important Step Towards Embracing a Bike Share System in the City of Santa Cruz

Application for Volkswagen’s $3.3 Million Grant

Storm Induced Road Damage

Authors

Archives

Categories

Chamber blog

The Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017

﻿An Important Step Towards Embracing a Bike Share System in the City of Santa Cruz

﻿Application for Volkswagen’s $3.3 Million Grant

Storm Induced Road Damage

Authors

Archives

Categories

An Important Step Towards Embracing a Bike Share System in the City of Santa Cruz

Application for Volkswagen’s $3.3 Million Grant