Stoneridge extension may be on the ballot Stoneridge extension may be on the ballot (August 05, 2005)

Landscaped median coming to Stanley Boulevard
Jeb Bing

County Supervisor Scott Haggerty has called on Pleasanton to hold a referendum to let voters decide if they want Stoneridge Drive extended to El Charro Road and Livermore.

Haggerty’s suggestion came at the end of his “State of the County” address last week at a sold-out luncheon meeting of the Livermore Chamber of Commerce at Rios-Lovell Winery.

“I think Pleasanton is more than just those folks who live around Stoneridge Drive,” Haggerty said. “By putting Stoneridge through, it would take a lot of traffic off Santa Rita, Valley and Stanley. It would help do a lot of other things for traffic.”

Haggerty waded into the controversial Pleasanton issue after former Livermore Mayor John Shirley asked why Stoneridge isn’t being extended as officials in both cities once planned.

Although Stoneridge was constructed as a divided street with sound walls protecting the east side neighborhoods it passes through so that it could become an additional major thoroughfare to Livermore, that plan started losing favor as traffic on I-580 increased. Today, a majority of the members of both the Pleasanton City Council and Planning Commission have voiced their opposition to extending the roadway, joining with neighbors in the Mohr-Martin community in saying Stoneridge could become a major cut-through street for gridlocked motorists on the freeway.

Haggerty told the Livermore audience that he understands that the Pleasanton Chamber of Commerce may seek to place an initiative on an upcoming ballot to ask for an up or down vote on the Stoneridge extension issue. He said the Livermore Chamber might want to join in that effort.

“I think the best way to resolve this is to have a vote of the people of the city of Pleasanton to see what they want,” he said.

With regard to Alameda County, Haggerty said the Board of Supervisors has approved a $2.18 billion budget for the fiscal year that started last July 1. To achieve a balanced budget, a requirement for California counties, the supervisors closed a $92 million gap by eliminating 55 full-time positions from the county’s 8,640 employee base and asking departments to pare back by as much as 17 percent.

As “painful as this was,” Haggerty said, “the future looks bright. We’re feeling good because the economic forecast for this year’s revenue looks promising.”

He said revenues from property taxes, sales taxes and vehicle license fees are expected to grow by 7 percent in the current fiscal year, and added revenue from gasoline taxes will total $1.3 billion statewide. Since the passage of Proposition 42 which mandated that gas tax money be used only for transportation-related projects, the funds have been used instead to pay down the state’s deficit. Recently, Gov. Schwarzenegger agreed to release the funds starting this fiscal year, which will bring millions of dollars in revenue to Alameda County transportation agencies.

High on Haggerty’s list of transportation priorities are improvements to I-580, Hwy. 84 and accident-plagued Vasco Road.

“With regard to the 580,” Haggerty said, we’re now number one – number one in both the morning and evening commute hours, number one in terms of having the worst congested freeway in the nine Bay Area counties.

Although improvements won’t come quickly or easily, he expects work to start first on building additional High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes from I-680 to Greenville Road, lanes that he wants to convert quickly to High Occupancy Toll (HOT) lanes. The tolls, which will affect commuters from San Joaquin and Stanislaus counties the most, will help pay for Tri-Valley road improvements.

Already, plans are being finalized to widen Hwy. 84 from Pigeon Pass to Ruby Hill as it connects to Isabel, which has already been widened. That work could start in 2007, with additional improvements scheduled later to turn Hwy. 84 into a multi-lane thoroughfare from I-680 to I-580.

Haggerty also said the county, working with Livermore and Pleasanton, plans to beautify Stanley Boulevard, “which is simply just an eyesore.” A landscaped median will be installed along with trees and shrubs to be planted on the north side of the roadway.

Haggerty also praised county voters for approving a half-cent sales tax increase two years ago to pay for increased health care services. The tax is raising $90 million a year and the amount could grow as the economy improves. By law, at least 75 percent of the revenue raised must go to the county’s Highland Hospital and related health institutions and services for the poor. The balance will be distributed to other health agencies and services throughout the county, including Axis Health to extend its service hours, and to ValleyCare Medical Center to help pay for new and additional emergency services.

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