Supervisor candidate Hardcastle calls for inclusion of Route 239, connectors to Byron Airport, in county’s transportation plan
For job growth and reduction in commute traffic
Oakley City Councilman and candidate for District 3 County Supervisor Doug Hardcastle is calling for State Route 239, the route between Brentwood and Tracy, and connectors to the Byron Airport to be included in the Transportation Plan for Our Future, being developed by the Contra Costa Transportation Authority (CCTA).
State Route 239 has been on the state’s plans for over 50 years and is finally in the planning stages. As Chair of Transplan, the Eastern Contra Costa transportation planning committee, and Vice Chair of Tri Delta Transit, Hardcastle supports the construction of the road as part of the proposed Tri-Link project, which includes a four-lane highway and two lines of transit.
“In order to secure the future of job creation and economic development for East County, we need Route 239 between Brentwood and Tracy to connect our region to Interstate-5,” Hardcastle said.
At last week’s county transportation Authority meeting, a presentation was made by a coalition of “Environmental, Labor, Transportation, Housing, Social Justice, Faith, Civic and other Public Interest Groups” asking the authority board to prohibit Route 239, labeling it “sprawl-inducing.”
“Route 239 will help us have jobs in East County, so people who already live here can work here,” Hardcastle responded. “That will mean people can get out of the commute and no longer be forced to go to jobs out of the area.”
Plans for the Byron Airport include extension of the runway and locating a Fixed Base Operation (FBO), serving commercial pilots who bring their clients into the area for business appointments and pleasure trips. Two connectors are needed, one to the proposed Route 239 and another to Vasco Road, to provide better access to the airport.
“In addition to Route 239, the Byron Airport offers great potential for job creation in East County,” Hardcastle stated. “We need to make sure expansion plans for the airport and better access to it are included in the proposed county transportation plan. That will make the airport more economically viable and no longer require a taxpayer subsidy of $500,000 per year. It needs to be self-funding.”
“But, we need to give it the tools to do so,” he added
Ron Reagan, Chair of the county’s Aviation Advisory Committee and a member of the Contra Costa Land Use Commission, agrees with Hardcastle on the need for better access to the Byron Airport.
“We need better access to the Byron Airport from both sides,” Reagan said. “We need Doug Hardcastle’s leadership in transportation issues, to ensure the Tri-Link project and expansion of the airport are accomplished.”
“I encourage all residents in District 3 to speak out in favor of both Route 239 and improvements to the Byron Airport at the next CCTA Board meeting on January 20th,” Hardcastle added. “If you can’t attend you can contact the them by email at info@ccta.net or phone call at (925) 256-4700.
For more information on Route 239 and the proposed Tri-Link Project, visit www.trilink239.org. For more information on the Byron Airport visit www.co.contra-costa.ca.us/3802/Byron-Airport-C83. To learn more about the CCTA’s Transportation for Our Future planning process visit www.ccta.net/funding/our_future.
Doug Hardcastle was elected to the Oakley City Council in 2012 and just completed a year as Mayor. From 2000 to 2012 he served as a Director on the Ironhouse Sanitary District Board, for which he served as President in 2010-2011. He currently serves on both the Transplan Committee and the Tri Delta Transit Board of Directors. He and his wife Lyn own Hardcastle’s RV in Oakley. He’s a life-long resident of Contra Costa County. For more information visit www.doughardcastle.com.
Supervisor District 3 includes Oakley, Brentwood, Discovery Bay, Blackhawk, Diablo, Camino Tassajara, Bethel Island, Byron, Knightsen and part of Antioch. The election is on June 7, 2016.
Finally a political leader speaks out forcefully to promote the future of East County and the region as a whole. Where has the rest of our elected leadership been, asleep? The region needs the infrastructure to support the future with real freeways that connect the area to the Interstate Freeway system. Enough of the “Stack-and-pack” stealth leftists who pretend to speak in the interest of “the people”. Whenever I see a “plan”, such as was presented by “the group”, that includes words such as “coalition”, “comprehensive”, “smart”, consensus”, etc., I reach for my wallet. These Utopian plans that envision no more freeways or real homes are not real world plans to create new opportunity. Instead, they result in economic stagnation, fewer jobs and eventually produce lots of unhappy local “comrades”.