Inside the Santa Clara County Supervisors’ chambers where VTA Board Of Directors’ meetings are held.
It’s transit budget time again. Thursday’s Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) Board Of Directors meeting will be where they vote to approve – or reject – their proposed budget for the 2020 and 2021 Fiscal Year (FY).
Details on what VTA proposes – and our own alternate to fund additional, much-needed bus increases in Santa Clara County – are below.
On behalf of the Silicon Valley Transit Users, I want to thank our fallen members of our Armed Forces on Memorial Day. Without your sacrifice, none of us would be able to enjoy the freedoms in our republic we enjoy right now.
Let’s also thank Andrew Boone, Monica Mallon, and Judy Purrington for helping to keep the group running behind the scenes They haven’t had time to formally help update the web site; hence why you have not seen any updates on here from them.
Personal issues I described previously resolved (for now), I want to address some Silicon Valley and other public transit issues. Read more below.
It pains me to say this, from the bottom of my heart.
Due to personal issues, I must step down indefinitely from my role as group founder and informal leader of the Silicon Valley Transit Users.
I have asked Judy Purrington to take over running the group. I am also requesting that Dwayne Williams, Andrew Boone, and Adina Levin help run the group as well in my absence. I have also asked a new rising star on the local transit advocacy scene, Monica Mallon, to help run things as well. All of this as VTA tries to reduce transit service in Silicon Valley Yet Again. One other task: find a group alternative to Yahoo! Groups as it has proven to be unstable.
More below…
A group letter was written to VTA to protest and suggest their latest service cut proposal. Read it below. First, read letters from Andrew Boone, Andy Chow, and a news article featuring rising transit advocacy star Monica Mallon. Our letter follows…
California’s State Supreme Court has just spoken on the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority’s (VTA) 2016 Measure B. Their final verdict: reject a petition filed by Cheriel Jensen of Saratoga thru lawyer Gary B. Wesley to review voter approved 2016 Measure B.
According to the Mercury News story on this issue, millions of your sales tax dollars have now been freed up for highway and public transit projects. According to VTA, this money was held in escrow while 2016 Measure B was deliberated in the courts. VTA also mentions the following in its followup on the story:
VTA is now working to get this matter back to the trial court for a final order so that the funds may be released. The funds, currently kept in an escrow account until the suit is resolved, stand at roughly $340M. This process, which seeks a “final and non-appealable” decision by the court could take approximately one month.
It’s now official that 2016 Measure B sales tax money will soon be in play. Given this, what are your thoughts? Please discuss this in the comments section below.
Eugene Bradley
Founder, Silicon Valley Transit Users