San Jose Will Explore Raising Taxes To Improve Roads

SAN JOSE (KCBS) – Many of San Jose's roads are in dire need of repairs, which has the city council looking at ways of finding the funding to improve the bumpy ride for drivers.

Many longtime San Jose residents like Robert Sandoval said at Tuesday's city council meeting that they've never seen the streets in such poor condition.

"I've been here since 1942 and these are the worst times that I have seen our roads comparing to those days back then," he said.

The city is already spending $20 million a year to fix bumpy roads, but Transportation Director Hans Larsen said that's not enough.

"We're at a point in the life of our streets where we need a much more significant level of maintenance to keep our streets in good condition," said Larsen.

That's why the San Jose City Council has voted to explore tax and bond measures to raise new road funds. That includes a possible quarter-cent general sales tax and a street repair bond measure.

But Ken Kelly with United Neighborhoods of Santa Clara County said some residents are already feeling overtaxed.

"One of my colleagues mentioned something called tax fatigue. I think it's something to keep in mind," he said.

After further polling, the city council is expected to come to a final decision sometime in October.

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