Our View: After years of neglect, North County may soon get its fair share of taxpayers' money for roads and public transit. That was the good news Tuesday from leaders of the San Diego Association of Governments, the regional superagency in charge of curing our crippling traffic woes.
In November, voters narrowly passed the 40-year extension of the TransNet sales tax. Key to the measure's passage was support in North County, where nine elected officials pledged to use their clout at the agency to direct more money for local freeways and streets.
Six months later, the North County Nine are showing signs of keeping that promise. To speed local projects, the agency says it will borrow against a piece of the estimated $14 billion that TransNet will raise over its 40-year lifespan. State and federal funds are expected to swell total outlays across San Diego County to $42 billion by 2030. Planners say this staggering chunk of change will begin to shrink congestion by 2010, then keep up with traffic growth through the next decade or two, but fall behind by 2030 on most major thoroughfares.
The sad fact is that at best, our leaders hope to keep pace with increasing traffic, but they don't expect to gain significant ground on congestion.
Still, some relief is coming for North County: Interstates 5 and 15 will grow from eight lanes to 14, Highway 78 will eventually add two lanes, and Highway 76 will get two more lanes on the gridlocked stretch from Vista to I-15.
Just as important is the $1 billion North County Parkway Plan. If our city governments cooperate, the plan would widen local roads to create a network of connecting streets so that folks can stay off freeways to take routine trips to shopping, schools and work in neighboring cities.
This kind of attention from regional planners is a welcome turnabout for North County, which was shortchanged under the first 20 years of the TransNet tax, which slapped a half-percent levy on most retail sales in the county.
At the same time, taxpayers are painfully aware that today's traffic congestion is the direct result of the planning failures of 20 and 30 years ago. So where is this powerful agency headed over the long haul? The answer is less clear, although there is cause for optimism.
For openers, North County is well represented in the agency's command structure: Poway Mayor Mickey Cafagna is the board chairman, Solana Beach Councilman Joe Kellejian heads its transportation committee, and Escondido Mayor Lori Pfeiler runs the regional planning committee.
They say the agency will soon look for a corridor to build a third north-south freeway in the county, or at least study ways to further expand capacity on I-5 and 1-15. And because officials still don't have enough money to make a big dent in congestion, the agency plans to take a serious look at greater reliance on toll roads.
A third priority is an additional half-percent boost to the sale tax, although no serious proposal would go to voters before 2011 or so. The tax hike would face stiff opposition, mostly because environmentalists hope to grab half of it for beach projects and habitat preservation. Another obstacle is the agency's fondness for public transportation, which has yet to convince most commuters in San Diego County to abandon their cars.
In the meantime, this vital agency needs help from lawmakers in Sacramento. Democrats, under the lash of labor unions, have blocked legislation that would allow private companies to design and build freeways and transit projects using methods that dramatically speed construction. Also needed is passage of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's plan to allow governments to finance toll roads in partnership with private firms.
What's clear is that although local officials are making progress, North County today is doomed to substantial traffic congestion —— maybe forever. In November, taxpayers showed they are up to the task. Now our elected officials must find the vision and courage to raise more money and get moving on truly visionary projects.
