California releases infrastructure report card
To underscore their concern for the poor condition of transportation infrastructure, the Society of Civil Engineers delivered a pre-election report card on California's bridges, roads and transit systems. While money can't buy happiness, it can buy our way out of deplorable transportation infrastructure too long ignored.
On Wednesday, the pro infrastructure American Society of Civil Engineers gave California Bridges a C minus, down from a C plus last year.
"Especially as it relates to seismic retrofitting to improve the safety of bridges in the event of an earthquake and California has the largest percentage of bridges in poor condition in the nation," said Tony Akel of the California Report Card Committee.
Year over year, roads stayed at a D suggesting little or no improvement.
"Forty-four percent of Californian Roads are in poor condition, 44%," said Mr. Akel.
Transit got a C minus; up from a D minus last year.
"In fact, the Bay Area now ranks as the third most congested urban area in the nation after New York City and Los Angeles," said Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguín.
A group of high profile engineers, business people and government officials fear that passing Prop. 6, killing the recently enacted gasoline tax and car fees, will badly damage the state.
"We believe it's important for voters to have a fact based, non-partisan assessment about where we are as Californians and where we might wish to be," said Kwame Agyare of the American Society of Civil Engineers.
"If Proposition 6 is passed, the Bay Area stands to lose $3.7 billion dollars in funding for transportation improvement projects," said the Berkeley Mayor.
"Prop. 6 is also a job killer. If passed, Prop. 6 will eliminate tens of thousands of jobs annually across the various industries but in the transportation construction sector and across the entire California economy," said Kristin Connelly of the East Bay Leadership Council.
"It is a dangerous mistake to eliminate transportation revenues that are accountable to the taxpayers, cannot be diverted for other purposes, and that voters have overwhelmingly dedicated to fixing our roads," said Kiana Valentine of the California Association of Counties.
Jim Wunderman is CEO of the Bay Area Council, a consortium of major Bay Area businesses that provide 20% of all regional jobs. "If we don't do this, we just keep increasing the backlog of work that needs to be done at tremendous to public safety and the quality of life for the people of our state, " said Mr. Wunderman.
Not to be outdone, proponents of Proposition 6 have charged that many public officials are using taxpayer funds to campaign against the gas tax repeal, demanding a Federal investigation. Prop. 6 proponents say that the former state gas tax was adequate if only the state would spend it properly. However, the most recent polling shows Prop. 6 losing 52 to 39 percent.