California Groundbreakers

Driving to the Roseville Galleria is not much fun. Neither is commuting on Highways 80 and 65 through Rocklin and Lincoln. But with population growth and more homebuilding on the way in Placer County, traffic isn't going to get any better. Placer is one of 16 counties in California with a ballot measure to increase the retail sales tax for transportation improvements (Sacramento County has something similar with Measure B). If approved by two-thirds of county voters, it would be in place for 30 years and raise about $1.6 billion to fund highway projects ($380 million specifically for the Highways 80-65 chokepoint), public transit expansion, local street improvements, and other projects in Placer’s suburban and rural areas. Measure M is a contentious one, and it certainly is making for strange bedfellows (when was the last time the Tea Party and the Sierra Club took the same side on a political issue?). Opponents say it will hurt the local economy, residents already pay high taxes to build and repair roads,