Improve Fresno County roads and keep skilled workers employed by supporting Measure C

Anyone who has lived in Fresno County long can attest to the rapid growth of our region. For the past 35 years, Measure C has provided the locally controlled funding necessary to make sure our streets, roads and highways have kept pace with our growth County. Measure C funding has increased the overall quality of life for local residents by making roads safer, reducing congestion and improving air quality. This has contributed to Fresno County’s economic growth and made our county a better place to raise a family and an attractive place to do business.

Anyone who has ever driven, taken the bus, biked or walked in Fresno County has felt the impacts of Measure C. It has kept our region strong by providing funding to fill hundreds of thousands of potholes, keep local roads and highways in good condition, build out four major freeways and improve traffic flow on 1,200 miles of local roadways.

Working families now have access to more local jobs than ever before, thanks to the expansion of our road network and the programs that provide transportation options to all, including the region’s first bus rapid transit system and vanpools for agricultural workers in rural areas. These improvements have kept everyone in our county moving.

Working families rely on being able to travel quickly and safely from their homes to their work to the schools and parks where their kids learn and play. Safer roads mean one less thing parents have to worry about. More streetlights and sidewalks mean easier access to parks and schools. Less congestion means less time spent on the road and more time spent at home with family. Workers in Fresno County have much to juggle already, and need a transportation system that increases their quality of life, not the other way around.

Our communities need to renew Measure C to continue to support our county’s growth. Highway 99 needs major improvements to help improve traffic flow, eliminate congestion and upgrade safety, while Highway 180 and Highway 41 South need upgrades to better connect our rural communities. Renewing Measure C would also support students, seniors, veterans and individuals with disabilities by keeping and expanding low-cost transportation options and making public transit safer and more reliable.

Economists estimate that freeway, street, public transit systems and bridge improvement projects funded by extending the measure will create tens of thousands of high-paying jobs with excellent benefits that provide career building for our local residents — including apprenticeship programs for traditionally disadvantages residents. When those workers spend money locally, it will generate tens of millions of dollars in revenue for Fresno County’s local businesses. That’s good for Fresno workers and their families.

With Measure C, workers can feel good about where their tax dollars are going because the use of these funds includes strict accountability, including a Citizens’ Oversight Committee, independent annual financial and performance audits and public disclosure of all spending.

By law, all the money generated from Measure C will continue to be used for maintaining and improving Fresno County’s transportation system only, and cannot be diverted to other purposes or taken or redirected by the state or federal governments. This is money that will be reinvested in our local economy to help build 21st century infrastructure and provide 21st century jobs.

Fresno County voters have overwhelmingly voted in favor of this local funding source twice in the past 35 years because they know it is good for workers and the local economy. It’s time to continue to put workers first and support the renewal of Measure C.