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County holds meetings on 30-year transportation plan
Monday, March 10, 2008
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Imagine yourself Napa County’s transportation czar. What would your priorities be? How would you spend limited funds?

These essential questions will be asked of county residents in coming weeks as the Napa County Transportation and Planning Agency refines a strategic plan for the next 30 years.
Better roads, more buses, commuter trains and ferries are among the options that will considered at community meetings in American Canyon, Napa and Calistoga.

To reduce congestion, officials will suggest policies to promote housing closer to jobs, new get-about options for tourists and better walking and biking paths near schools.
Twenty transportation strategies have been distilled from public comments at community meetings last fall and interviews with 80 employers and community groups, said Jim Leddy, NCTPA’s executive director.

The results from the new round of public meetings will be presented to the NCTPA board of directors in June. The new transportation plan will help shape public policy for years to come, he said.
While this long-term planning is wrapping up, the NCTPA is considering a transportation sales tax for the November ballot. A decision on whether to try a second time for a tax must be made by August, Leddy said.

The Strategic Transportation Plan will be a broad policy document, while any decision on the transportation tax will focus on more immediate needs, Leddy said.

Any sales tax will have to take into account the county’s great need for road and street repairs, he said.

While NCTPA staff has whittled public comments down to 20 broad strategies, the upcoming public meetings will focus on the most important, said Eliot Hurwitz, NCTPA’s program manager.

On the supply side, maintaining streets, investing in south county roadways and increasing transit options are thought to have the biggest public benefit, he said.

On the demand side, encouraging housing near jobs, car-free tourism, improved bike and pedestrian links to schools and city centers and using parking disincentives to discourage single-occupancy vehicles will be spotlighted.

Any transportation policy must take into account a growing senior citizen population, Hurwitz said. Napa County’s senior population is likely to grow from 15 percent to 25 percent by 2030, he said.

“That will change the needs of our transportation system considerably,” Hurwitz said. More buses and home-pickup options will be needed, he said.

The meetings are 6-8 p.m., with doors opening at 5:30 so the public can review possible transportation strategies.

American Canyon — Wednesday, Canyon Oaks Elementary School, 745 Silver Oak Trail.

Napa — March 19, Napa Valley Unified School District board room, 2425 Jefferson St.

Calistoga — April 2, Calistoga Community Center, 1307 Washington St.
7 comment(s)

musikluvr wrote on Mar 10, 2008 10:08 AM:

" The entire article is only foreplay to the fine print. The fine print is that they want a sale tax increase! NCTPA is a layer of bureaucracy that is out of control. It is run by people who could care less about Napa. The director doesn't even live in Napa County. They are not responsive to our electorate. They cannot be recalled. With impunity and against the will of Napans they run the empty trolleys and the emtier buses. Their buses spew diesel smoke, ruin our streets and tieup traffic with one person riding in a 50 passenger bus. These buses get 6 MPG. Empty buses or those with one or two people in them are the worst contributors to green house gases and air pllution. The average family car gets 20 MPG. Since they lost the tax increase election in 2006 their entire goal has been to come back and try again for a tax increase. The NCTPA already gets 1/4 cent of our sales tax and it increases every year with inflation. But that is not enough. They want more! "

MikeK wrote on Mar 10, 2008 10:56 AM:

" musikluvr wrote:

"They are not responsive to our electorate. They cannot be recalled."

The majority of the board members are all elected officials.

Recall them all you want. "

bennyd wrote on Mar 10, 2008 11:18 AM:

" Our Governor, just last week, released the beginning of the 20 billion dollar's in pre approved state funds for the state's mass transit infrastructure needs. I feel very hopeful that the time is right to start acting in a pro-active way on getting our traffic problems solved. "

kevin wrote on Mar 10, 2008 1:02 PM:

" There is a member from each town and city and a delegate from the supervisors. Currently, if you don't live in District 3 or 4, you are out of luck trying to recall them. If you don't live in their District, chances are they won't even TALK to you... "

mikek wrote on Mar 10, 2008 1:20 PM:

" kevin wrote:

" There is a member from each town and city and a delegate from the supervisors. Currently, if you don't live in District 3 or 4, you are out of luck trying to recall them."

Doesn't change the fact that they *can* be recalled. If they aren't, and they keep getting reelected, then they must be representing their constituents in a way the appreciate. "

musikluvr wrote on Mar 10, 2008 2:30 PM:

" MikeK is so helpful finding just one error in my comments. Glad to know I am not perfect, but happier to know that everything else I wrote was correct. "

MikeK wrote on Mar 10, 2008 3:02 PM:

" *sigh*

musikluvr, it's not a simple error. It's yet another comment by you about how we are all powerless when it comes to the juggernaut that is government.

Sorry. I just don't buy it. Why? Because it isn't true. "

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