Supervisor's transportation plan was timed for the election

The long-term vision for transportation planning put forth by Ventura County Supervisors Linda Parks and Steve Bennett is fluff.

The supervisors are trying to score points with voters by talking about a problem that is already being addressed. Parks and Bennett give no credit for what's already been done. They fail to note the Regional Transportation Improvement Plan adopted by SCAG (Southern California Council of Governments) in 2004 calls for more than 34 highway improvement projects in the county, 60 local roadway improvements and more than 100 transit projects.

Parks and Bennett also fail to mention that the county is currently updating the transportation and circulation element of the General Plan. It already calls for goals to reduce vehicle trips, improvements in the countywide bus transit system and for other measures to improve traffic congestion.

Parks faces reelection this spring. Bennett wants her reelected and her vote on the board to further his agenda.

What they (really) need is a radical makeover for Parks to cover up the absence of real accomplishments for her past three years in office.

Parks promotes herself as a planner, yet her vision demonstrates her lack of practical knowledge in the field.

Parks election-year vision (lacks) practical considerations and ignores the study and recommendations of experts over several years.

Parks dismisses Keith Millhouse as "sour grapes" because the proposed county transportation improvement tax failed at the polls. It should be noted that she voted against the measure, stating that "road widening induces growth."

When the governor made transportation money available last year, and Parks realized she'd have to campaign this year, she abruptly reversed course and has been claiming credit for obtaining funds for the widening of the 23 Freeway and improvements to Lewis Road--both of which were called out in the measure and would be halfway through construction by now.

She claims to have taken "a leadership role in supporting these" but, as many of the Ventura County Transportation Commission (VCTC) commissioners will attest to, (she) was only at the meeting in Sacramento for the photo opportunity when the state approved the funding.

It is on Parks' "watch" that traffic congestion has worsened and road conditions have deteriorated that now the county is ranked among the 20 worst in the nation (Road Improvement Project 2005).

What has she done since being elected in 2002? Why hasn't Parks come forward while in office to implement the projects presently on the books to improve traffic flow and reduce congestion? How can we believe in her vision for the future when she has failed so completely in the past and why is it only now that it is election time that a "vision" surfaces? Joe Gibson Newbury Park

Gibson is challenging Parks in the June primary.