Measure I marked the first time since 1959 that the city had a general facilities bond on the ballot, despite unsuccessful attempts at a similar initiative in 2018 and 2022. City officials estimated last year that Santa Clara had more than $600 million in unfunded infrastructure needs. The $400 million bond will be funded by levying roughly $19 per $100,000 of assessed property value each year from 2025 to 2060.
The state DOT recently announced that it was at least willing to ditch the most-controversial options for the diverter: two options that would have built a four-lane road to carry traffic and then remain in place for general traffic or a bus-only version. Now, the state is only considering two options: One would still include the four-lane diversion road, which would later be transformed into a bike and pedestrian-only path.
Now we're going to be coming to you for a small amount of money. We're going to beautify Washington. We're going to fix the roads, we're going to fix the medians. We're going to clean up the place. We're going to put new grass in all the parks. You don't know this. Grass has a life We have a life. It's so long. Guess what? It expired about 40 years ago in these parks.
The National Park Service reported a record 331.9 million visits in 2024, showing just how much we are all craving getting a little time outside with Mother Nature.