Let’s Widen the 101

I am a Santa Barbara business owner who voted for Measure A and am very grateful that Sara Miller McCune wrote the excellent op-ed published in your newspaper. As one of the silent majority, I salute Ms. Miller McCune’s courage and clarity in standing up to Mayor Schneider.

For two years, many of us have watched in bafflement and frustration as the mayor has relentlessly sought to delay this voter-approved initiative that is so desperately needed to relieve the 101 gridlock that is endured by the many thousands of commuters.

Some of us have despaired at The Independent‘s coverage of this unnecessary and costly mess. For the first time we feel that our voice is being heard in your paper: 79 percent of the voters, 11-2 of SBCAG members (with only Schneider and Peter Adam dissenting), and 5-1 of the mayor’s own City Council, which rejected her bid to sue Caltrans.

These startling statistics cannot be mentioned too often.