Related articles:

Sierra Club: Road-tax plan shortchanges mass transit

Other articles by Andrea Kelly:

Road Runner by Andrea Kelly : Legally, 'intersection' has specific meaning Dump your car for a bicycle or bus? Yep — and here's whyWaiting was a bummer, but overall, I'd ride moreCan you dump your car and still have a life? City could get arts warehouses in swap Sun Tran seeks express-route input Road Runner by Andrea Kelly : Countdown signals for traffic are on the way Motorists find nowhere to drive with I-10 closed Road Runner by Andrea Kelly: Parking tickets another reason to reduce car use I-10 shuts down Thursday for lane shift

Driver/Transportation
Winroc Corp
Drivers Health Care
Sonora Behavorial Health
Executive Assistant Health Care
VALOR HOSPICECARE
ON-CALL NURSE General
VALLEY PROTECTIVE SERVICES
SECURITY OFFICERS Driver/Transportation
Pioneer Landscaping
Dieel Fleet Mechanic Health Care
Mountain Land Rehabilitation
Physical Therapist Administrative & Professional
Pima Prevention Partnership
Administrative Assistant

A long-range plan that can be accomplished only if a 1-cent sales tax makes it to the ballot and gets voter approval in November was approved Thursday by the State Transportation Board.

While the approval is for a government plan separate from a citizen initiative that may appear on the ballot later this year, the state will not have enough money to pay for the projects in Thursday's plan unless an outside funding source is available. That's where the 1 percent sales-tax proposal comes in.

Backers have until July 3 to gather more than 150,000 signatures to get the initiative on the ballot, and if voters approve it, the money would pay for the projects in the plan approved Thursday.

During a public hearing about the government plan here Thursday, two dozen people spoke, and less than a handful were opposed to it.

Most of those in favor of the plan were assorted local government officials from Southern Arizona.

Elected officials and staffers from Oro Valley, Casa Grande, Yuma, Pinal County, Pima County, the Central Arizona Association of Governments, the city of Maricopa, Tucson and Gilbert spoke in favor of the government plan.

It would would supplement the Regional Transportation Plan approved by Pima County voters in 2006, said John Bernal, deputy county administrator for public works.

He also said he appreciated the state routes in Pima County that were included in the plan, including the eastern extension of Barraza-Aviation Parkway and better connection between other state routes and Interstate 10.

One man suggested an alternate plan that would spend $27 billion on transit over a 10-year period. The state's plan is expected to cost about $43 billion over 30 years, and would be spent on local projects, state highway projects and transit.

The alternative takes into account the slower production of petroleum around the world and reduces pollution, said William Gaither, the civil engineer who proposed it.

The ever-present issue of a proposed I-10 bypass was not on the agenda for the meeting, but it worked its way into two public comments.

Catherine Gorman, of the Winkelman area, said she might be able to support the Statewide Transportation Investment Strategy, which is the state's name for the long-term plan, if it doesn't include the bypass. It currently does not, said Victor Mendez, state transportation director.

Janice Przybyl, who spoke on behalf of the Sky Island Alliance, said she wanted assurance the money that could pay for the long-term project plans would not be used for other projects, such as the bypass.

The majority of the comments were in support of the plan, including praise for the revisions added after the three other public hearings this month. The State Transportation Board approved the plan and the associated revisions unanimously.

If the separate initiative for funding makes it to the ballot and is approved by voters, the board would have to approve the plan again and the 1-cent sales tax collection wouldn't start until 2010.