STAR has sent a letter to the SACOG Board of Directors and James Corless, Executive Director of SACOG, restating our opposition to the proposed transportation sales tax measures, and expressing doubt that a side agreement being worked on by SACOG, SMAQMD (Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District), and Mayor Steinberg would actually mitigate the impacts of the Capital Southeast Connector and other capacity expansion projects. Even if the GHG/VMT impacts could be mitigated, the land use impacts of promoting greenfield development, rather than infill, cannot be mitigated. The measure language, and likely any side agreement, sees transit as just a mitigation for the harms of motor vehicle dominance, whereas we see transit (and walking and bicycling) as a beneficial mode of travel, in and of itself. Transportation investments in the past have left us with roads in poor condition, congestion, sprawl development, and a lack of transportation choices for everyone but particularly low income and people of color. The measure proposes to continue this failed model for another 40 years. It is time to change the paradigm, and invest in transit, walking and bicycling.
For previous STAR posts on the proposed transportation sales tax measure, see ‘Measure 2022‘ category. For other aspects of the measure, see ‘Measure 2022‘ category on Getting Around Sacramento.
Sacramento Transit Advocates and Riders (STAR) 