• The argument against Measure T
• The rebuttal to this argument

Argument Against Measure T

We are coastside residents and small business owners. We know from personal experience how devastating the loss of Highway One at Devil's Slide can be. Each time the road closes, our businesses are devastated and hundreds of us lose our jobs. In addition, the health and safety of our loved ones is threatened because emergency vehicles can't get through. That's why we need a quick and permanent solution to Devil's Slide. Unfortunately, Measure T is not the solution.

Read the fine print, and you'll find:

• Measure T takes away voter choice forcing the county to make the tunnel the only alternative to the current road on Highway 1. All other options are blocked.

• Measure T does not provide any funding for a tunnel. It simply states that a tunnel should be given "high priority" for highway funds. Yet, out local elected officials have admitted they cannot guarantee federal funding for a tunnel. There is funding for a bypass, but if Measure T blocks consideration of this option and under federal law if we don't use those funds specifically for the bypass, we lose them.

• Measure T does not guarantee a tunnel will ever be constructed. If Measure T passes, and Devil's Slide collapses, out businesses will fail, our homes will drop in value, and our families will lose immediate access to emergency services like ambulances and additional fire protection.

• Measure T makes unproven claims about the tunnel. An independent study is currently underway. It doesn't make any sense to limit our options to a tunnel before voters have had the opportunity to review the completed analysis.

The simple fact is Measure T is not a quick or permanent solution to Devil's Slide. That's why we urge you to Vote No on Measure T. The future of our families and businesses depend on it.

Measure T is supported by residents, businesses and by a majority of coastside civic leaders who recognize that preventing the devastation wrought by the freeway bypass is good for business, good for families, and good for the environment.

• A tunnel can be built sooner than the freeway bypass because it has no major environmental impacts.

• Tunnels with modern state-of-the-art lighting, ventilation, and safety systems are proven and recognized worldwide as safe, reliable, and ideally suited for environmentally sensitive areas like Hwy 1 at Devil's Slide.

• Construction costs for a tunnel will be comparable to the freeway bypass, but when all of the costs are considered, the tunnel will be less costly because it will save our State Park, and avoid taxpayer costs from flooding, landslides and fog-related accidents.

• The freeway bypass is NOT funded. Only a fraction of the funding is available and the rest is not guaranteed.

Deborah Ruddock Mayor, Half Moon Bay	Jim Rourke Retired California Highway Patrolman
Ellen Castelli Mayor, City of Pacifica	Lennie Roberts Chair, Save Our Coast
Rebekah Donaldson Citizens for Reliable and Safe Highways (CRASH)

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