Measure A Plan

Measure A: Fair and Balanced

Measure A is a countywide transportation plan that was developed by local residents and community leaders from Santa Maria to Carpinteria during more than 12 months of open, public meetings and hearings. Every City Council in the county and the Board of Supervisors has officially approved the Measure A plan, which was guided by three main principals:

  1. Reduce traffic congestion and improve safety on Highway 101
  2. Share revenue fairly across the entire county
  3. Keep the revenue local and ensure strict public accountability

Measure A accomplishes all three. It reflects a balance of local priorities for improving and maintaining our roads, streets, freeways, bridges and other transportation infrastructure while also supporting alternative transportation options that reduce traffic congestion, including buses, bikes, walking and carpooling, among others.

For more information about the Measure A expenditure plan, including a detailed breakdown of individual projects, visit the Santa Barbara County Association of Governments website.

Funding for Measure A comes from continuing a ½-cent sales tax that voters first approved in 1989 and is due to expire in 2009.

Program Category

Percent Share

Revenue

Highway 101 Widening,
Carpinteria to Santa Barbara

13.4%

$140 million

North County

43.3%

$455 million

South Coast

43.3%

$455 million

Total

100%

$1.05 billion

State & Federal Matching Funds

$522 million

 

The benefits of Measure A to every resident in the county are clear. Among its many benefits, Measure A will:

  • Provide safe routes to school for thousands of children who walk or bike to school.
  • Maintain and repair the more than 2,000 miles of roads and streets that stretch through our county.
  • Keep our roads safe and clear in times of emergency and natural disaster, so that police, fire and ambulances can respond quickly.
  • Reduce traffic on Highway 101 and local roads that degrades our quality of life, saps our economy and hurts our environment.
  • Expand local and regional bus service, which also reduces traffic and provides affordable transportation for thousands of workers and residents.
  • Upgrade major highway interchanges and retrofit bridges to make them safe from earthquakes and able to handle growing traffic.
  • Support specialized paratransit services for seniors and people with disabilities.

In addition, Measure A will help Santa Barbara County secure up to $522 million in additional state and federal matching funds. This is money that belongs to Santa Barbara County taxpayers, but that we can only claim by showing state and federal transportation agencies that we are willing to share the cost of maintaining our roads and highways. Otherwise, the money will go to other counties that have already approved local transportation funding measures.

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