From: "Friends of Transit" To: Subject: Here is what the Tribune has to say about Prop. 400 Date: Saturday, October 23, 2004 12:11 AM Yes' on 400 Transportation measure balances needs in a fair and appropriate way After more than two years of painstaking negotiations among Valley mayors over competing transportation needs, a comprehensive plan in the form of Proposition 400 has been placed on the Nov. 2 ballot. But now, narrow parochial interests are threatening to kill the package. Opposition has galvanized behind a last-minute media blitz by millionaire East Valley businessman Dave Thompson, who's taken aim at 15 percent of the $15.8 billion transportation package that would go for light rail. But Thompson also disparages the plan's 17 percent share for expanded bus service in the Valley. He wants nearly all of the money spent on more freeways. Yet after 20 years of building and expanding the Valley's freeways, which is where nearly all the revenue from the county's half-cent transportation tax has gone so far, Valley mayors agreed during the negotiations for extending the tax another 20 years that other modes must be included. Unfortunately, that argument is lost on those who insist on voting on Proposition 400 solely on the basis of their own short-term self-interest. For example, East Valley residents who drive everywhere they go and don't foresee ever riding a bus or train may have a hard time appreciating why Phoenix's leaders have been so adamant about adding the rail component to the plan. Yet as the urban core has built out and its freeways have been completed, considering alternative modes such as buses and rail is inevitable. That is what has occurred in other urban areas around the country, and that is what is happening here. As it becomes more difficult to navigate downtown Phoenix traffic and to park, Phoenix's leaders are justifiably demanding that alternatives to automobile travel be included in the plan for the next 20 years. And let's be honest: Once the Valley's initial 20-mile light rail line - which is already being built separately from Proposition 400 - is completed in four years between Glendale and Mesa, many East Valley commuters and travelers to downtown Phoenix may find it a convenient, comfortable option. Meanwhile, expanding municipal bus service Valleywide, including more and better express-bus service for commuters using freeway HOV lanes, makes good sense as well. Freeways are not being neglected in Proposition 400. Indeed, most of the revenues would go to complete the Valley-wide system and to add HOV lanes throughout. There almost surely will be addition freeway needs beyond the year 2025, but that should not preclude current residents from voting for Proposition 400. It's simply unrealistic to expect a single tax measure to solve all of the Valley's transportation needs far into the future. Proposition 400 is the product of competing needs throughout the Valley that have been balanced in a way that provides a comprehensive, seamless transportation system by 2025. That may not satisfy intensely parochial interests, but it does meet the challenge to provide for our shared transportation needs in a very diverse and growing Valley. The Tribune recommends a "Yes" vote on Proposition 400. _____ To Unsubscribe, Please Click Here