But after some initial talks of different formulas for splitting the money, they ultimately agreed that attempting to divide the funds based on prospective costs would not be a winning proposition, he said.Ĭhip Taylor, public works director at Sunnyvale, said that staff from the three cities, including public works directors and transportation managers, considered various criteria, including the number of vehicles on each crossing and the multiple challenges each particular crossing faces. In January, the agency showed a scenario based on year-of-expenditure dollars in which $887 million in Measure B funds would go toward grade separation.īurt noted that during the discussions, each of the cities believed that its particular projects would be costlier than those elsewhere. The $700 million designated for grade separation was based on 2017 dollars. If the VTA goes along with this approach, Palo Alto would be entitled to more than $400 million to improve its grade crossing. After the VTA board voted to oppose the shifting of funding toward BART, agency staff quickly scuttled the scenario. The proposal solicited widespread backlash from members of the VTA board and the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors, who characterized the move as a betrayal of the VTA's promise to the voters when it was seeking support for Measure B. The collaboration grew stronger after VTA staff presented a contentious scenario last November that would have effectively frozen all spending on grade separations for decade and directed more Measure B funding in the near term to expanding BART service in San Jose. The agreement was hashed out by transportation planners from the three cities, who have been meeting as part of a subcommittee of the VTA's Technical Advisory Committee, Burt said. "We look forward to working with VTA on its biannual budgeting process to identify more specifically when funds are needed as each city continues with its planning and environmental review process." "The cities of Sunnyvale, Mountain View and Palo Alto have collectively come to this agreement and respectfully request that VTA accept this allocation plan for the life of the current 2016 Measure B Grade Separation fund," states the letter signed by Sunnyvale Mayor Larry Klein, Mountain View Mayor Ellen Kamei and Palo Alto Mayor Tom DuBois. Instead, each city would get its share of the funding and then determine when, where and how it would spend it. The agreement between the three cities would alleviate those anxieties by ensuring that the funds would not be divvied up on a use-it-or-lose-it basis, with shovel-ready projects getting to the front of the line. Palo Alto staff and some members of the council had repeatedly voiced concerns about falling behind the other two cities in planning for grade separation and losing out on county funding. While Measure B explicitly designated $700 million for grade separation at the three cities, the measure had not laid out the exact mechanism for distribution. ![]() If the VTA moves to formally endorse the formula proposed by the three cities, it would eliminate much of the financial uncertainty that has plagued the grade separation process in the three cities. ![]() ![]() Burt told this news organization that his conversations with VTA staff have led him to believe that the agency will support the new pact. But Palo Alto Vice Mayor Pat Burt and Sunnyvale Vice Mayor Glenn Hendricks, who serve on the VTA board of directors, have both come out strongly in support of the agreement. The deal has yet to be ratified by the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority, the regional transportation agency that is distributing the funds from the 2016 tax measure. Under a deal reached with Mountain View and Sunnyvale, Palo Alto would receive 50% of funds from Measure B to pay for grade separation work at its four rail crossings.
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