FRESNO, Calif. \u2013 A Fresno County sales tax measure is one step closer to reaching the November ballot. Organizers of the proposal known as \u201cBetter Roads, Safe Streets\u201d submitted their petition to the Fresno County Elections office on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are submitting 32,000 signatures to qualify today, and the Registrar of Voters will have 30 business days to validate the signatures,\u201d said Veronica Garibay, one of the measure\u2019s organizers and the co-executive director of the non-profit Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The proposal was created to replace Measure C \u2014 the current a half-cent sales tax in Fresno County that funds transportation and road projects. Since it was first approved 40 years ago, Measure C has raised more than $2 billion for freeway expansions, bike lanes and road maintenance<\/a>.<\/p>\n That measure is set to expire next year. Community groups and a handful of mayors put forward \u201cBetter Roads, Safe Streets\u201d earlier this year<\/a> as a successor to Measure C.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’ll make our neighborhood streets and roads safer with better lighting, better intersections; make it easier for emergency services to get to you to help us reduce crashes and accidents; and make sure that all road users are safe in our community,\u201d Garibay said. \u201cAnd lastly, we are doing this without raising taxes.\u201d<\/p>\n If approved, the measure will appear on the November ballot.<\/p>\n