Chapter 1. Title Of Act And Policy of California Public Utilities Code >> Division 10. >> Part 12. >> Chapter 1.
This part shall be known and may be cited as the "Santa
Clara Valley Transportation Authority Act."
It is necessary that a transit district be established in
the County of Santa Clara in order to meet the public transit
problems of that county. Because there is no general law under which
such a district could be formed, the adoption of a special act and
the formation of a special district is required.
The Legislature hereby finds and declares:
(a) Since the formation of the Santa Clara County Transit
District, unprecedented growth has occurred in the San Francisco Bay
area and in Santa Clara County in particular. It has become apparent
that additional measures are required in order to deal more
effectively with the resultant serious traffic congestion and to
foster the development of trade and the movement of people in and
around the Santa Clara Valley and throughout the entire bay area.
(b) Transit and other modes of transportation are inextricably
intertwined, and improvement and maintenance of the road and highway
structure in conjunction and coordination with transit improvements
are essential to optimize the ability of the authority to deal more
effectively with serious traffic congestion.
(c) The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority, having been
designated as the Congestion Management Agency for Santa Clara
County, and already authorized to construct and improve state and
local highways pursuant to Section 100115.5, is uniquely positioned
to implement programs to achieve the goal of a balanced approach to
solving transportation problems.
(d) This goal is best achieved in Santa Clara County by vesting in
the authority the ability to plan, design, construct, maintain, and
repair road and highway improvements, as well as bicycle, pedestrian,
and other transportation facilities, under the conditions set forth
in this part.
The Santa Clara County Transit District is renamed the
Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority. Any reference in this
part, or in any other provision of law or regulation, to the Santa
Clara County Transit District shall be deemed to refer to the Santa
Clara Valley Transportation Authority. Nothing in the act that added
this section alters, impairs, or terminates the district's status as
a transit district, and as an ongoing legal entity, or any of its
legal obligations.