November 1, 2004

Voters are being asked to consider a record number of fifty-three ballot initiatives on transit funding this year according to analysis by the Center for Transportation Excellence. Thirty-one ballot initiatives will be voted on November 2nd and twenty-two were voted on earlier this year, compared to a total of thirty-eight in 2002 and fourteen in 2001. Of the twenty-two already voted on this year, eighteen passed.

Faced with clogged roadways and reduced certainty over federal funding for public transit, communities throughout the country are increasingly turning to ballot initiatives to fund local public transit systems.

Some of the largest ballot initiatives voters will consider on November 2:

• Denver: The $4.7 billion proposed transit improvement package would expand the light rail/commuter rail lines to reach additional inner city and suburban communities and the Denver International Airport. It would also fund a new rapid bus service and an 80% increase in parking capacity at park-and-ride facilities. If approved, the initiative would be funded with a local sales tax increase from 0.6 percent to 1 percent (4 cents/per $10).
• Phoenix: Proposition 400 would continue the half cent sales tax dedicated to transportation in Maricopa County. The revenue would fund a $16 billion plan to augment and improve the area's freeway and bus systems and add 27 additional miles to the planned light rail system approved by voters in 2000.
• San Diego: A $9.5 billion proposal to extend an existing half-cent sales tax to 2028 to fund regional transportation improvements. The funding would be split equally between highway, transit and local road projects with $1 million annually earmarked for bike paths and facilities.