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REBUTTAL ARGUMENT
FROM MEASURE T
TO MEASURE U
Measure U: is a generational opportunity to break the last remaining traffic bottlenecks on Highway 29, while continuing to invest in smoother roads and streets throughout Napa County – all without raising taxes.
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This spring, Napa County and each of its five municipalities endorsed putting Measure U before voters – positioning the measure to end up on the ballots of registered voters in Napa County in the upcoming November 5, 2024 general election.
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Measure U provides a once-in-a-generation opportunity to:
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Continue to provide dedicated funding to smooth, repair, and maintain roads in unincorporated areas and in each of Napa County’s five municipalities: the Cities of American Canyon, Napa, St. Helena, and Calistoga, as well as the Town of Yountville.
Dedicate funding for traffic relief programs in Napa County, primarily focused on congestion bottlenecks in the Napa and American Canyon areas – funds that can be leveraged to secure outside grants from state and federal sources.
Provide jurisdictions with the flexibility to bond future road repair and improvement projects to fund and execute costlier projects faster.
If passed by voters this November, Measure U will replace the existing Measure T sales tax passed by voters in 2012 – extending the life of the measure an additional 12 years, while making the improvements needed to improve Pavement Condition Index (PCI scores) and provide the traffic relief Napa County residents have long sought and desired.
PERSISTENT CHALLENGES
WITH MEASURE T
Pay-go funding is not enough to keep up with deferred maintenance that is causing pavement conditions to continue to decline
Pay-go system does not provide the flexibility needed to build costlier projects faster
Growth in sales tax revenue (4.6% annually) being outpaced by rising construction costs (up 10.7% annually). Over time, this will cut the purchasing power of Measure T
Narrower focus of current measure does not provide jurisdictions with any flexibility to use
local streets and roads money for other transportation priorities
MEASURE U:
AT A GLANCE
Measure U replaces Measure T, a ½ cent sales tax for local streets and roads
Generational opportunity to break the last major bottlenecks on Highway 29
Expands the bike and pedestrian provision to include Class IV bike lanes (current Measure only allows for funding of Class I projects)
Provides flexibility to bond and bring funding forward to deliver more local streets and road improvements faster
MEASURE U:
DETAILS AND BENEFITS
Bonding – Regional Capital Improvement Projects
The proposed measure will set aside up to $56 million for regional capital improvement projects through the issuance of bonds for the opportunity to achieve long-held transportation priorities: breaking the last remaining bottlenecks on Highway 29 between Napa and American Canyon. This apportionment will position Napa County to be more competitive in securing state and federal grant funding opportunities to bring these projects to fruition.
Bonding for regional capital improvement projects can help fund:
Highway 29 Improvement Projects
Airport - SR 29/SR 12 intersection – Intersection Improvements at Highway 29 and Jameson Canyon/Airport Road and Highway 12/Kelly Road
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Highway 29 - American Canyon – Operational and Multimodal Improvements on Highway 29 between Napa Junction and American Canyon Road
Carneros - SR 29/SR 12 – Intersection Improvements at Highway 29/Carneros Highway
Highway Operations and Emergency Evacuations - To allow proactive management of highway facilities and emergency demands such as natural disasters. It includes adaptive messaging signs and battery storage for Vine Transit.
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Regional projects provide benefit to the entire county because workers, residents, and visitors to and from all communities use them.
BONDING -
LOCAL STREETS
AND ROAD FUNDING
Currently, Measure T’s pay-go system provides annual allocations to jurisdictions for local streets and road improvement and rehabilitation projects.
Under the replacement measure, jurisdictions will receive more funding over the life of the measure and have the option to issue bonds to build costlier road rehabilitation and improvement projects faster.
FLEXIBILITY TO MEET
CURRENT AND
FUTURE NEEDS
Bonding – Funding Road Repair and Improvement Projects Faster
The replacement measure will create the flexibility jurisdictions need to get costlier road repair projects funded faster, instead of having to save pay-go allocations over the course of many years to fund priority projects.
Funding Transportation Projects Not Under LS&R Guidelines
In response to jurisdictional concerns, the replacement measure will provide flexibility to allocate up to 5% of local streets and roads allocations for projects outside the scope of maintenance and rehabilitation. For example, this could include the Newell Drive extension in American Canyon, Silverado five-way intersection in the City of Napa, or bridge replacement in St. Helena.
Funding to Support Class IV Bike Lanes
While NVTA supports the continued creation of Class I bike lanes like the Napa Valley Vine Trail, in response to jurisdictional input, the replacement measure will also provide funding to create Class IV buffered bike lanes in places where Class I bike lanes are not feasible.
