Congress may trade one disaster for another

By: North County lawmakers | Saturday, October 8, 2005 8:38 PM PDT ∞

As elected representatives of North County commuters stuck in traffic, we are appalled at the suggestion that Congress should take back $258 million in approved funding for San Diego County transportation projects to pay for Hurricane Katrina relief.

The federal government should respond quickly to national disasters, but we believe it should not come at the expense of critical transportation projects. The ability to safely evacuate during a fire or after an earthquake depends upon unclogged roads. Killing road projects to fund disaster relief in other areas threatens our ability to be prepared for the emergencies San Diego County will face in the future.

Several important projects in our region depend on earmarked funds from the federal government. The two-lane portion of Highway 76 is one of the most dangerous roads in California, and the project to widen it relies on federal dollars. The Sprinter, a light-rail line connecting the cities of Oceanside, Vista, San Marcos and Escondido, will reduce traffic along Highway 78. In addition to these two projects, $187 million worth of other projects throughout the region would lose federal funding, including improvements to interchanges of Interstate 5 with Highways 78 and 56, as well as construction of major roads including Bear Valley Parkway in Escondido and Poinsettia Lane in Carlsbad.

We were blessed to have a champion in former Congressman Ron Packard, who brought the Sprinter light-rail to North County, fought for transportation dollars and completed road projects in his district. San Diego has to fight for every transportation dollar it can get. The voters of San Diego County did their part by agreeing to a 40-year extension of the half-cent TransNet sales tax. Congress cannot shirk its responsibility to help solve traffic problems. It must fulfill its commitment to fund critical transportation projects.

Instead of gutting our already underfunded transportation system and punishing North County commuters, Congress should cut wasteful programs like NASA's moon/Mars initiative. This "moondoggle" is expected to exceed cost estimates by $30 billion to $61 billion. North County commuters would rather be able to get from Escondido to Oceanside in under an hour than send a crew from Cape Canaveral to the moon.

San Diego County commuters won't stand for Congress wasting billions of their tax dollars while it also fails to deal with the worsening gridlock on local roads. Leadership means cutting government waste in Washington, D.C., protecting San Diego County residents, and defending important traffic-relief projects that solve our real-life problems. We urge Congressman Issa to work for his constituents and stand up for the needs of North County.

Bill Horn is 5th District supervisor of San Diego County; Lori Pfeiler is mayor of Escondido; Claude A. "Bud" Lewis is mayor of Carlsbad; Mickey Cafagna is mayor of Poway; Matt Hall is mayor pro tem of Carlsbad; Judy Ritter is a Vista city councilwoman, Hal Martin is a San Marcos councilman; and Jerome Stocks is an Encinitas councilman.

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