FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Date: March 9, 2004
Contact: Jennifer Stone (619) 531-4766

JACOB URGING SANDAG TO CHANGE TRANSNET TAX PROPOSAL

SAN DIEGO - Chairwoman Dianne Jacob is asking the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) to give local roads a fair share of TransNet dollars in a proposal to extend the tax through the year 2038. The half-cent sales tax is used for transportation improvements throughout the County.

The current TransNet allocation formula distributes revenues equally among transit projects, major highways and local roads. However, the proposal to extend the TransNet tax would cut in half the percentage of revenue currently allotted to local roads. Local roads would receive just 16 percent of the revenues.

Chairwoman Jacob maintains that many local roads in the unincorporated areas experience problematic congestion and must be brought up to modern road standards. She will ask that the SANDAG proposal allocate one-third of the distribution of TransNet revenues to local roads, preserving the current Transnet allocation. This will ensure fairness to the estimated 476,000 residents who depend on unincorporated area roads for safe travel.

Jacob plans to make her case at a meeting of the SANDAG Board of Directors on Friday, March 12 at 10:15 a.m. SANDAG is located on the 7th floor of the Wells Fargo Building Downtown. The address is 401 B Street.