Glass: The illusion of traffic relief

With the approval of the final environmental impact report for the Rainier crosstown connector, the illusion of traffic relief has moved forward. But the relief remains an illusion unless the voters approve a hefty tax increase and achieve a design exception from Caltrans.

It is unfortunate the Rainier Final Environmental Impact Report has left a major question unanswered.

Will Caltrans permit the Rainier project to include a freeway interchange or not?

After being involved in Petaluma politics for many years I have come to the following conclusions: almost everyone wants the streets repaired and traffic relief, some want a freeway interchange at Rainier, others want just the crosstown connector, some want both the interchange and the crosstown connector, and some of those that want all of this and more do not want their taxes increased. So be it. That is the public’s right, and with their vote they will express their desires. That is democracy.

But before the voters weigh in on this project by voting to tax themselves, or not, they deserve to know, and need to know, what the ultimate project will be when it is completed, and if it will deliver the desired result.

For developers the answer is yes. It has already delivered the goods for many developers by providing the illusion of traffic relief. In many cases, the developers have enjoyed their profits while leaving us with inadequate funds to alleviate the traffic their projects have created. To move past the illusion and achieve the reality of traffic relief, a hefty tax increase will be necessary. The complete Rainier project is approaching a $100 million shortfall. That is a staggering figure. One of the consequences of the high traffic impact fee for Rainier is that it increases the cost of building new housing in Petaluma.

When seeking tax increases, the voters have repeatedly demonstrated they need assurances and guarantees that their hard-earned money will purchase what they want to buy instead of what City Hall wishes to sell them. It was the voters that created the funding to make the improvements on Highway 101 and the Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit project.

In each case, the regional bodies offered a restricted-use tax that required a super majority, which assured the money would be invested in the projects the taxpayers wanted. To date, the Petaluma City Council has only offered a general tax with the proceeds unrestricted as to how they could be spent, which the voters overwhelmingly rejected.

Unfortunately, the Rainier EIR that the council certified confuses rather than clarifies what Petaluma might achieve even if we vote to tax ourselves. The original draft of the EIR included the phrase “when the freeway interchange is built,” but Caltrans amended that statement to read, “If the freeway interchange is built.”

The contemplated freeway interchange at Highway 101 and Rainier is out of compliance with Caltrans standards due to its proximity to the interchange at East Washington Street. Corona Road has the same issues due to its’ proximity to Old Redwood Highway. So Petaluma is trapped by the consequences of past decisions and current Caltrans policy.

Caltrans standing policy is to review design exceptions only if projects are funded. This is a Catch 22. In order to pass a tax measure in Petaluma, history suggests the voters need to know how the money will be spent.

Therefore, if the goal is to fund the project with a tax measure and move traffic relief from an illusion to reality, Petaluma needs an exception to the Caltrans policy on reviewing exceptions. The question to Caltrans is what needs to be done to achieve permission to build an interchange at Rainier?

When Petaluma places a tax measure on the ballot it will be important to give the voters a guarantee as to how and where their tax dollars will be used.

That’s not possible without a decision from Caltrans on the issue of a design exception for the interchange at Rainier allowing for the long-promised and never financed crosstown connector and freeway interchange at Rainier.

Without that guarantee, even if a tax measure is passed, traffic relief may forevermore remain an illusion in Petaluma.

David Glass is the mayor of Petaluma.