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On March 3, Contra Costa County voters have an opportunity to approve Measure J, a half-cent sales tax that will raise about $3.6 billion over 35 years for transportation-related uses.

Save Mount Diablo, along with other organizations like Save the Bay, Greenbelt Alliance, TransForm, Bike Easy Bay, League of Women Voters Diablo Valley and West Contra Costa, Monument Impact, 350 East Bay, Contra Costa Citizen’s Climate Lobby, Sustainable Rossmoor, SPUR, Orinda Progressive Action Alliance, Contra Costa Young Democrats, and others, support it.

Why does Save Mount Diablo support Measure J?

Measure J increases protection for wildlife and habitats, maintains and strengthens Urban Limit Lines, and fights climate change. These improvements were hard won over several years of continued advocacy by many organizations. Some highlights are

1. Each city in the county will need to adopt policies to guide the use and protection of hillsides, ridge lines, wildlife corridors, and creeks in order to receive return-to-source funds from the Contra Costa Transportation Authority (CCTA).
2. It includes funding for an Advanced Mitigation Program that will lead to coordinated, comprehensive land protection and restoration on a regional scale to mitigate for development impacts.
3. Urban Limit Line policies that prevent urban development beyond the Line remain in place and are slightly strengthened.
4. Most Measure J funds would go to making transit faster and more effective, and making other alternatives to cars, like biking, a better choice than driving. This reduces both traffic and greenhouse gas emissions, which helps stop catastrophic climate change.
5. An innovative Vehicle Miles Traveled mitigation program would be created that could serve as a model for other states and countries to reduce the impacts of driving and increase funding for alternatives to cars.
6. Measure J prioritizes safety and access for people who walk, bike, and use public transportation by requiring all roadway funding to abide by new Transit, Complete Streets, and Road Traffic Safety policies.
7. It creates a stronger and more powerful Public Oversight Committee to ensure more accountability and public involvement in the measure’s implementation, including adding four seats for representatives for disability rights, transit, low income, and climate change.

You can read all the details in CCTA’s Transportation Expenditure Plan.

We need your help to pass Measure J. Learn more about how you can make a difference, and sign up to volunteer.

To reduce traffic, increase wildlife and habitat protection, and fight climate change, on March 3rd, join more than a dozen community organizations and Vote Yes on Measure J for Contra Costa County.