The benefits of the recently passed SB 1, the Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017, has been touted far and wide as the solution to our deferred road maintenance woes, and to some degree it is. But the bill allocates the most funds to the State Highway Operation and Protection Program (SHOPP), $1.9B (billion) per year. This money will be spent on the state system, which includes the freeways most people think of, and some major arterials as well, which are part of the state highway system even though they look like roads. The Local Streets and Roads Program is $1.5B, but spread out over all the counties and cities of the state. The share for each will be tiny, compared to other funds which are already spent on maintenance, and compared to the backlog of deferred maintenance. Dan attended the Local Streets and Roads workshop last month, and was amazed at the energy the counties and cities were spending on making sure the program worked to their advantage, even though the amount of money is small. For example, Sacramento County would see about $1.2M (million), and the City of Sacramento would receive about $7.2M per year. A drop in the bucket compared to needs. 

How does this relate to transit? The failed 2016 Measure B transportation sales tax was marketed in large part based on fix-it-first, road maintenance and some transit maintenance. Though the actual commitment was weak, lasting only five years and with escape clauses, this is the one transportation expenditure that resonates with all citizens and transportation advocates, no matter their preferred mode of travel, and the yes vote on Measure B was probably due in significant part to fix-it-first. It has been speculated that there will be much less support for a transportation sales tax in Sacramento county in the future, because people will be feeling the impact of higher gas taxes (which won’t start being collected until November, so the whining is premature), and people will assume that the state funding is significantly solving local issues, which is not true. So the next transportation sales tax, whether presented in 2018 or 2020, may gain even fewer yes votes. This would impact transit in a major way. Though STAR is advocating for a larger share of the next measure for transit, 2/3 of the half cent rather than 30%, if the measure can’t pass, it won’t provide anything for transit. 

So, it is important for Sacramento Transportation Authority, (SacTA), the county and the cities to educate the public about what impact SB 1 will and will not have on the maintenance of local streets and roads. People need to know how much of a shortfall remains, and what it would take to overcome the deferred maintenance backlog over a specific period of time. And all the entities need to make a strong commitment to a continuing, no exceptions, fix-it-first policy and expenditures, to get us out of the maintenance hole (literally) we have, and to make sure that once out of the hole, we stay out of the hole. 

• Measure B 2016