Our Transportation Crisis: Who Will Pay?

The purpose of this forum, which was held on November 17, 1998, was to explore ways to fund transportation and mass transit improvements. Co-sponsored by the Norman Y. Mineta International Institute for Surface Transportation Studies, the Silicon Valley Chapter of the Commonwealth Club, the Silicon Valley Manufacturing Group, and the San Francisco Bay Area Metropolitan Transportation Committee, the forum dealt specifically with methods of funding transportation improvements. The traditional way of funding California’s highway system, the gas tax, will soon be unable to keep up with the necessary maintenance and expansion Silicon Valley will require to maintain its status as an economic leader.
The forum was attended by interested private citizens and moderated by “Mr. Roadshow”, Gary Richards of the San Jose Mercury News. The expert panelists, from the Bay Area as well as other states, included:

• Jim Cunneen, 24th Assembly District of California

• Charlotte B. Powers, Chair, Valley Transportation Authority and Councilwoman, City of San Jose, District 2

• Paul Toliver, Director of Transportation, King County, Washington

• Carl Guardino, President and CEO, Silicon Valley Manufacturing Group