When pushing new taxes, our City Council often cites the fact that between 4,000 and 5,000 residents of Lafayette live on failed roads. Prioritizing our needs could help take care of a great deal of our roads, nor is the remedy a sales tax increase. We won’t find a cure-all anywhere, but we can make more progress than we are now. We need to cut costs in many areas, but here are the road-specific parts of my plan to get more of our nieghborhood roads fixed:
- Declare a 5-Year Moratorium on Working on Mt. Diablo Blvd. and Fix Neighborhood Streets. Mt. Diablo Boulevard is our most important street and should be kept in great condition. That does not mean that it has to be grinded and repaved before it shows any signs whatsoever of wear-and-tear. Not only is this disruptive to our lives and to business, but it is a monumental waste of money, even if it was paid for largely with grant money. They still spent a great deal of time, money, effort and political capital on Mt. Diablo. The Council should focus on putting together grants for our infrastructure that is most in need and should stop spending money on Mt. Diablo Boulevard for 5 years. During that time we can focus our efforts on repairing the roads of the thousands of residents who live on decrepit streets.
- Focus on Fixing Roads, Not Decorating Them. I discuss this on the “Cutting Costs” page, but it is worth mentioning here that a large portion of the $500,000 spent landscaping Mt. Diablo Boulevard could be better spent fixing roads in our residents’ neighborhoods.
- Issue a Roads Bond if Necessary. A sales tax hike is the wrong way to fund road repair. The money would not be restricted to road repair and, as part of the General Fund, would likely be doled out to a growing list of special interests and side projects. If we absolutely cannot fix our roads with funds available in the budget, a bond for road repair should be issued. This way the money would be guaranteed to go toward roads. Such a bond might be paid for in part or in full by the increase in tax revenue associated with the increase in property values. In any case, a properly managed bond, coupled with responsible fiscal management is the best solution for getting our roads fixed, if the current budget cannot do so.
Some of Lafayette’s residents feel strongly that their roads should be fixed and, at the same time, are opposed to a sales tax. Not only are these feelings not contradictory, but they stem from the same issue. Why should we pay a higher sales tax to fix roads, when the money we already provide is wasted on perpetually working on Mt. Diablo Boulevard? The City Engineer himself has told some residents that he will probably never get around to fixing their neighborhood’s roads. This situation should be changed. Mt. Diablo Boulevard should be our most well-maintained road, but that does not mean we should completely neglect all other streets.
Join the Campaign for a Fiscally Responsible Lafayette. Vote for Froymovich. Change You Can Spend.
Here is my YouTube video about our broken roads:
