The San Mateo County Transportation Authority recently released “Investing in Our Future,” its progress report for 2006, and the news is rosy. Progress has been made on many fronts, ranging from local street maintenance, highway improvement and railroad upgrades to increased access to alternative transportation and expanded paratransit service.

The TA, which is funded by a voter-approved Measure A half-cent sales tax, brought in nearly $60 million during the fiscal year that ended June 30 and is pushing ahead with a wide range of projects to improve transportation throughout the county.

“The residents of this county can see the benefits they receive from Measure A,” said TA Board Chair and Mayor of San Mateo John Lee. “The TA continues to make positive contributions to transportation improvements in this county.”

Local cities and the county share 20 percent of the sales tax proceeds to make transportation improvements in their jurisdictions. These include road maintenance, like pothole repairs, making curbs accessible or widening streets.

The remaining 80 percent of funding is used for transportation improvements that benefit all county residents. The money can be used to leverage state and federal resources for transportation projects, which allowed the TA to provide funding for projects like the following:

Measure A was passed in 1988 by 61.7 percent of the voters in the county and was slated to stay in effect for 20 years. In 2004, 75.8 percent of county voters chose to extend the measure for an additional 25 years, through 2033.

To download the TA Progress Report, visit www.smcta.com/taprogressreport2006/, or call 650-508-7927 (TTY 650-508-6448) for a copy to be mailed to you.