2024 Capital Improvement Sales Tax Extension

Positives of the Capital Improvement Sales Tax Extension

• Sidewalk improvements would receive $4.1M, the largest allocation within the Improvement category.

• Traffic safety would receive $3M, which will be matched by the Safe Streets for All Federal Grant.

• All projects that involve road widening also incorporate multimodal infrastructure.

The Capital Improvement Program has a significant emphasis on road widening projects, approximately 64% of the total streets, sidewalks, & major maintenance projects.

~8.4 miles of road widening at a cost of approximately $53M, averaging about $6.4M per mile.

Road widening promotes urban sprawl, fails to address congestion, increases road maintenance costs, and is inconsistent with Columbia's: Climate Action and Adaptation Plan, Vision Zero Policy, Strategic Plan, Community Health Improvement Plan, Columbia Imagined, Livable Streets Policy

Traffic calming would receive a budget allocation of only $250,000.

This is insufficient to meet community needs and requests.

There are 112 potential calming projects identified in the city’s Neighborhood Traffic Management Program, with a projected total cost of $3.36M.

The city completes about 3-5 projects annually, at this rate, it will take 22-37 years to complete all the identified projects.

The city frequently underspends on these projects, suggesting opportunities for more extensive traffic calming measures.

The ​​$4.1M allocated for sidewalks falls short of the budget needed for sidewalks, despite Columbia citizens consistently stating sidewalks and sidewalk repair as one of their number one priorities.

At the current funding rate it will take at least 80 years to build all 41 sidewalks identified in Columbia’s Sidewalk Master Plan.

Columbia’s Sidewalk Master Plan identifies nine priority 1 sidewalks, with a total cost of $13.4M.

For the cost of the Sinclair Road widening project ($12.1M), the city could fund nearly all Priority 1 sidewalks on the Sidewalk Master Plan.

Overall, the concern with the City’s Capital Improvement Program is the focus on expansion, rather than maintenance and improvements as they relate to Columbia’s citizen-identified priorities, plans, and policies.