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Published
Friday, April 18, 2003
By Lisa Vorderbrueggen
OAKLAND -- An East Bay state senator unveiled a $1.6 billion
transportation project list Thursday he hopes will persuade
voters to shell out an extra buck at Bay Area toll bridges
next year.
Sen. Don Perata, D-Alameda, outlined a transit-heavy program
to link BART to Livermore and East Contra Costa County, expand
the ferry and express bus network and retrofit the seismically
vulnerable Transbay Tube.
The plan would dedicate $50 million to defray cost overruns
for the new Benicia bridge construction.
Perata has tied the spending plan to SB916, draft legislation
that places a $1 toll hike question on the March 2004 ballot
in the seven Bay Area counties with state-owned bridges. A fee
increase, the measure requires two-thirds voter approval.
"We've seen in the Bay Area that voters will support fees if
we lay out a specific plan for how the money will be spent,"
Perata said. "We're not saying, 'Trust us.' We're saying,
'This is what your money will buy.'"
The bill appears to have hefty Bay Area political support.
Leading labor, environmental and regional transportation
officials flanked the senator at a packed press conference
Thursday.
Many of them participated in and emerged successful from a
yearlong series of hearings during which Perata's staff
received and evaluated billions of dollars in requests.
Metropolitan Transportation Commission Executive Director
Steve Heminger heartily endorsed the toll hike as a critical
cash infusion for the region's underfunded transportation
budget.
"How do you spell congestion relief?" asked Transportation and
Land Use Coalition executive director Stuart Cohen. "SB916."
Cohen's group, a coalition of environmental, labor and social
justice groups, would receive $20 million to improve bicycle
and pedestrian access to transit centers.
Perata and his consultant, Ezra Rapport, selected projects
they say quickly benefit people who travel the bridge
corridors.
It includes $22 million to expand the universal fare card
called TransLink; $1.5 million to develop a common zoned
monthly transit pass; and $20 million to create a regional
rail master plan.
The program also dedicates money for express bus operating
costs.
Before voters have their say, the spending plan must survive
the Legislature and win the governor's signature.
Perata vowed to try to protect the list from Sacramento
raiders seeking to lard it with pork.
But he is optimistic that the Legislature, even his anti-tax
Republican colleagues, will endorse the bill.
"The Republicans will vote for it because it places the toll
on the ballot where the voters can decide for themselves,"
Perata said.
"The Legislature generally supports local communities that
want to help themselves. We know Sacramento doesn't have the
money to help us."
BRIDGE TOLL PROJECTS
If the Legislature and the governor place a proposed $1 bridge
toll hike on the March 2004 ballot and if voters in the seven
counties with state-owned bridges agree, here are a few
projects that would
receive cash:
Project Funding; (millions $); Year of construction
---------------------------------------------------
BART Transbay Tube seismic retrofit; $143; 2005
Ferry service in Berkeley/Albany; $12; 2009
E-BART* in East Contra Costa County; $96; 2011
Rail or express bus connectors to BART from Livermore; $65;
2010
Interstate 80/680 improvements in Solano County; $100; 2010
Car pool lane link from I-680 to Pleasant Hill BART; $15; 2007
* E-BART refers to the use of lighter-weight diesel
locomotives on an existing railroad line with direct platform
connection to BART's Pittsburg-Bay Point station.
Lisa Vorderbrueggen covers transportation and growth. Reach
her at
925-945-4773 or lvorderb@c... |
