The American Public Transit Association (APTA) reports (otherwise myopic , my comments ) voters across the country resoundingly approved a record number of public transportation.... The American Public Transit Association (APTA) reports (otherwise myopic , my comments) voters across the country resoundingly approved a record number of public transportation referendums as Americans went to the polls on Nov. 2.

Among the measures approved by voters were a long-term transit expansion plan in Denver that includes new construction of light rail and Bus Rapid Transit; a $16 billion plan in Phoenix that includes light rail and bus improvements; and passage of a half-cent sales tax in Charleston, S.C., that will keep the city's transit system from running out of money.

"This year has shown that it's not just big metro areas that are clamoring for transit; medium and smaller communities like Parkersburg, W.Va., El Paso County, Colo., and Kalamazoo, Mich., also see its benefits," said Stephanie Vance, program manager for the Center for Transportation Excellence.

"This has been a record year for transit initiatives," according to Vance. "We've seen a significant jump in the number of transit initiatives on the ballot and in how many passed." Of the 22 successful initiatives tracked by the Center for Transportation Excellence, the measures are worth an estimated total of over $40 billion.

"From suburban to urban to rural communities, the success of these initiatives proves that people are willing to invest in quality transit services that will pay dividends for years to come," said APTA President William W. Millar. "Voters clearly said that they deserve a better quality of life that available public transportation brings, namely, less congestion, cleaner air, and access to jobs."

Vance noted: "This clearly is not a partisan issue. Of the states that passed initiatives Nov. 2, seven went for President Bush and four went for Senator Kerry. Citizens across the country regardless of party strongly support transit investments and more transportation choices."

Passenger Transport tracked more than 30 transit-related ballot issues. Except for a few cases where the results were too close to call as Passenger Transport went to press, the outcomes are reported below:

South


Two neighboring municipalities in northern Virginia-Arlington County and Fairfax County-voted to approve bond issues for transportation needs largely covered by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. The $18.5 million Arlington County measure, which received 81 percent of the vote, will finance construction, acquisition, and rehabilitation of WMATA facilities, together with other available funds.

By a margin of 76 percent in favor and 24 percent opposed, Fairfax County voters approved a $300 million bond referendum for transportation and other county programs, of which $165 million would go toward transportation projects. Of that amount, $110 million, or two thirds, will go to WMATA for infrastructure renewal, improved system access, and system expansion.

Preliminary reports in Charleston show approval of the half-cent sales tax by a margin of 59 percent to 41 percent opposed. This was the third time the tax was on the ballot: it was defeated narrowly in 2000 and approved narrowly in 2002, but was thereafter nullified by the state Supreme Court because of errors in ballot language. The Charleston Area Regional Transportation Authority noted that it expected to run out of money by February 2005 if the measure did not pass. The tax will raise a total of $1.3 billion over its 25-year life, of which 18 percent will go to CARTA.

In San Antonio, Texas, voters passed a one-quarter of 1 cent sales tax increase as part of a proposal to create an Advanced Transportation District. The preliminary vote was 58 percent in favor and 41 percent opposed.

The transportation district is designed to provide San Antonio residents with advanced transportation options and mobility improvements, including a 10-year plan for the transit system. According to VIA Metropolitan Transit, half of the $34 million to be raised annually from the new sales tax will go to the transit system, while the other half will be divided equally between city street maintenance projects and the local matches needed to secure federal highway dollars.

VIA noted that a earlier tax measure in 2000, specifically earmarked for light rail, failed by 70 percent of the vote. The ATD referendum excludes light rail.

"The passage of the ATD is evidence that the community wants its transportation infrastructure improved," said John M. Milam, president and chief executive officer of VIA. "The voters have chosen to entrust us with scarce and sacred tax dollars, and we will honor that trust by working with our transportation partners to effectively and efficiently implement all the components of the ATD."

Voters in Austin, Texas, voted by 62.2 percent in favor to approve a plan to authorize a $60 million, 32-mile commuter rail starter line. An earlier version of the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority's proposal, covering a 52-mile light rail system at a cost of $1.9 billion, failed in 2000.

The starter line between Leander and downtown Austin will operate on an existing railroad track Capital Metro owns, using diesel-powered trains, at a cost of less than $100 million. Initial plans show nine stations along the line.

The Transit Authority of Lexington in Lexington, Ky., will benefit from a property tax of 6 cents per $100 of assessed value, which passed by a vote of 54 percent to 46 percent. The tax is expected to generate $10.9 million annually.

LexTran General Manager Terry Garcia Crews called the win "a turning point for LexTran. We are now in the position to provide enhanced service for our current riders, as well as our new riders. I am excited about the future." Two earlier levy attempts failed, in 1980 and 1995.

The system had cut service on July 1 to balance its budget, and LexTran management noted that it plans gradually to restore all of the cuts while also adding new service.

The vote on the BayLink light rail trolley system proposal in Miami-Dade County, Fla., which would serve Miami Beach and downtown Miami, was too close to call as Passenger Transport went to press.

Statewide, 64 percent of voters in Florida approved a constitutional amendment to repeal a citizen initiative for a high-speed rail system, which passed in 2000. The repeal, supported by Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, would allow the state legislature to re-evaluate the rail proposal.

Mid-Atlantic

Voters in Parkersburg and Vienna, W.Va., renewed a two-year renewal levy to expand service provided by the Mid-Ohio Valley Transit Authority. The measure provides for 7.4 cents per $100 in Parkersburg, and 7.5 cents per $100 in Vienna routes, and is expected to raise $960,511 each of the two years in Parkersburg, and $411,647 each year in Vienna.

The measure received 63 percent of the vote in Parkersburg and 68 percent in Vienna. A five-year measure previously appeared on the ballot in Parkersburg in June; although it received 58 percent of the vote, state law requires 60 percent for passage.

Midwest

A 1-mill property tax renewal in Kalamazoo, Mich., to benefit Kalamazoo Metro Transit was approved by 67 percent of voters. The 1-mill measure, which has been in place since 1998, was an increase of a previous half-mill measure originally approved in 1986 and renewed every three years thereafter. The measure will raise a projected $1.56 million for the transit system.

Rockies

FasTracks, the Denver Regional Transportation District's $4.7 billion, 12-year comprehensive transit expansion plan, received 57 percent of the vote, according to preliminary reports. The ballot measure provides for a sales tax increase of four-tenths of 1 percent.

The FasTracks plan includes construction of 119 miles of new light rail and commuter rail lines; 18 miles of Bus Rapid Transit service; 21,000 new parking spaces at rail and bus stations; and expanded bus service in all areas of the region.

In El Paso County, Colo., voters approved a one-cent sales tax to form the Rural Transportation Authority to serve Colorado Springs, Manitou Springs, Green Mountain Falls, and unincorporated El Paso County. The vote was 54.92 percent in favor, 45.08 percent against. Fifty-five percent of the funding is set to go for road construction, 35 percent toward maintenance, and 10 percent to transit.

The Roaring Fork Transportation Authority in Aspen, Colo., asked voters to approve a sales tax increase, at a level to be determined. Also, a ballot issue in Garfield County, Colo., asked voters outside Aspen city limits if the county should join RFTA. Both issues were too close to call at press time.

Pacific Northwest

Proposition 1 in Vancouver, Wash., which would have provided a sales tax increase of 0.3 percent to maintain current levels of C-TRAN transit service and provide for some service enhancements, failed by a preliminary vote of 54.17 percent against the measure.

"What this means is that the community will start to see service reductions every quarter, beginning in January 2005. The reductions are necessary to balance C-TRAN's budget by January 2006," said C-TRAN Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer Lynne Griffith. "Our goal, at this point, is to educate our riders on upcoming service changes so they're able to plan appropriately."

Voters in Seattle voted, 67 percent in favor to 32 percent opposed, to support two advisory measures proposed by the Metropolitan King County Council. One measure asked voters if they supported developing a locally funded package of congestion relief and safety projects, to be placed on the November 2005 ballot, and the other listed five funding options to pay for the congestion relief package.

Also in Seattle, voters defeated Initiative 83, which would have killed the 14-mile Seattle Monorail Project. Completion of the elevated rail project is scheduled for the summer of 2009. Published reports state that the monorail project must now prove that it can complete the system within the financial constraints it has set for itself, and that the monorail must pass a city financial review.

A proposal to establish an independent transit district in Bend, Ore., was defeated by a vote of 41 percent in favor and 53 percent opposed. The new district would have been funded in part with a new property tax of roughly 29 cents per $1,000 assessed value. The city proposed a startup transit system with two fixed routes, one north-south and one east-west.

Southwest

Voters in Phoenix approved Proposition 400, the 20-year Maricopa County Regional Transportation Plan, with 57 percent in favor. The plan extends the county's half-cent sales tax for another 20 years, funding a $16 billion plan that includes $2.2 billion (15 percent) for rail capital, $1.3 billion (9 percent) for bus capital, and $1 billion (8 percent) for rail operations and maintenance. Transit improvements would include 27.7 miles of new light rail expansion, added to 30 miles built by cities; new or enhanced service on 30 bus routes, plus the creation of 10 new routes; enhancements to 26 existing Bus Rapid Transit routes and 14 new BRT routes; and tripling of paratransit service.

"It's exciting that at a regional level, public transportation has gotten a very strong 'yes' vote," said Richard J. Simonetta, chief executive of Valley Metro Rail. Pointing out that a regional transportation tax has never passed in the past, he said, "The community has come a long way." In the final weeks leading to the election, the well organized opposition outspent Proposition 400 supporters two to one, he added.

California

A measure to authorize $980 million in general obligation property tax bonds to pay for earthquake safety modifications to the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District passed in San Francisco, Alameda, and Contra Costa counties with 70 percent in favor. A similar measure fell short of the required two-thirds majority in 2002.

Bond revenues from this measure will allow BART to strengthen its Transbay Tube, stations, and elevated tracks. The estimated average yearly tax rate would be approximately $7 per $100,000 of assessed value over the life of the bonds.

An increase in the existing parcel tax in Special Transit District Number One, served by AC Transit in Oakland, Calif., was approved with 71.2 percent of the vote. The measure increases the tax by $2 per parcel per month and extends its for 10 years, with an independent fiscal oversight committee to ensure that all money stays in the district. In general, the district refers to the area from the city of Richmond in the north to the southern boundary of the city of Hayward.

California state law requires two-thirds approval for the enactment or renewal of sales taxes for transportation purposes. Although a majority of voters in Solano County supported a sales tax increase that was expected to raise approximately $1.43 billion over 30 years, it received only 63.77 percent of the total vote, less than the necessary two-thirds.

In San Mateo County, 75 percent of voters passed the extention of Measure A for an additional 25 years of a half-cent sales tax for transportation. The measure originally passed in 1988, and it would have expired in 2008 without the extension. It is expected to generate more than $1.5 billion over 25 years, enabling the county to capture an additional $1.2 billion in state and federal funding for transportation-related projects and services in the county. Thirty percent will go to transit.

A half-cent sales tax reauthorization on the ballot in Marin County, approved by 71 percent of voters, is scheduled to generate an estimated $16.5 million per year, or $275 million over 20 years. Expansion of the local bus system is among the transportation uses listed for the funds.

Seventy-five percent of Sacramento voters opted to extend Measure A, the existing half-cent transportation sales tax, for an additional 30 years: the measure was originally enacted in 1988, and was set to expire in 2009. The approval means that $4.7 billion will be raised for road and transit improvements including light rail construction and improvements.

Voters in San Bernardino County approved a continuation of Measure I, an existing half-cent sales tax to benefit local transportation, which originally passed in 1989 and was due to expire in 2010. The ballot issue, with 79 percent of the votes in favor, will retain the tax for 30 years, generating an anticipated total of $6 billion to be shared by cities and the county.

Measure J passed by 70 percent in Contra Costa County. The county-wide half-cent sales tax is a continuation of Measure C, which was enacted in 1989 and was set to expire in 2009. The new measure would raise $1.6 billion in transportation funding through 2029, and update the "Growth Management Program" initiated by Measure C.

Voters in Ventura County turned down a request by the Ventura County Transportation Commission for a half-cent sales tax increase to pay for road and transit improvements. The measure, which would have generated an anticipated $1.5 billion over 30 years, would have provided for expanded Metrolink commuter rail and local bus services.

A half-cent sales tax measure in Santa Cruz County, turned down by 57 percent of voters compared with 43 percent in favor, would have raised $530 million to cover transportation issues including the widening of a highway, a passenger rail station in Pajaro, and the addition of carpool lanes.

Two other California sales tax issues were too close to call as Passenger Transport went to press. In Sonoma County, Measure M would provide a quarter-cent sales tax hike to raise $470 million over 20 years for transit, and traffic congestion relief. Proposition A in San Diego would continue a half-cent sales tax to raise $9.5 billion over 20 years for transportation. This tax was originally approved by voters in 1987 for the $3.3 billion TransNet program, which expires in 2008.