Just Repair the Highway Mess

Wayne King, of Drivers for Highway Safety, scolds The Times for its support of Measure M, the half-cent sales tax for transportation improvements in Orange County (Letters, Jan. 13). Mr. King calls Measure M a waste of money, and claims that it was sold to the voters by a “disinformation campaign.”

Early in the campaign, polls revealed to those of us who supported Measure M that citizens are willing to tax themselves for known, specific, needed transportation improvements.

In addition, we found that voters want a balanced menu of transportation alternatives: additional freeway lanes, better super-streets and local roads, more public transit, and stabilized fares for seniors and the disabled.

Far from waging a disinformation campaign, we simply told the voters exactly what Measure M would do, and we created a citizens’ oversight committee to ensure that it will deliver what it promises.

Mr. King should give the voters credit for knowing what they want and need. Measure M passed by a margin of 10%. I assume that not every voter found every element of Measure M equally attractive, but a strong majority of us felt that the balanced menu approach is the most acceptable way to solve Orange County’s urgent transportation needs.

Mr. King, on the other hand, is so dedicated to just one alternative (general purpose highway lanes) that he is willing to sacrifice the entire plan because it doesn’t fit the narrow vision of Drivers for Highway Safety.

The court challenge to Measure M will fail. But in pursuing it, Mr. King and a handful of other single-minded individuals will waste a lot of the public’s time and money. By approving Measure M, the voters said clearly that they would rather get on with the job of fixing our transportation mess.

REED L. ROYALTY, Chairman, Yes on Revised Measure M Committee