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For Immediate Release:
June 7, 2005
Contact: David Schonbrunn, TRANSDEF
Margaret Okuzumi, BayRail Alliance
Advocates File Legal Brief
Seeking
Relief for Transbay Terminal Project
San Francisco, June
7, 2005—A host of environmental
and transportation groups are gathering today to announce
the filing of a “friend of the court” brief in support of
the Transbay Terminal Project. The amicus brief filing is in
response to a recent ruling by Judge Ronald Quidachay that
found the environmental impact report for the Transbay
Terminal incomplete. The ruling, in favor of a private
developer, halts preliminary planning and engineering for
the Project. The groups are asking the Court of Appeal to
stay the court order that delays pre-construction work on
this important public works project, and to expedite the
appeal.
The Sierra Club, Train Riders Association of California, San
Francisco Tomorrow, Transportation Solutions Defense and
Education Fund (TRANSDEF), BayRail Alliance, Transportation
and Land Use Coalition (TALC), and Regional Alliance for
Transit were among the amici.
“The ruling, if allowed to stand, will create irreparable
harm to the Transbay Project in the form of delay costs,
harming the public interest,” said David Schonbrunn of
TRANSDEF. “Delaying pre-construction work on the Transbay
Project will cost the public up to $170,000 per day.
Proceeding with these activities doesn’t hurt the private
developer who filed suit, but it does level the playing
field for negotiations while the appeal is pending.”
“The Transbay Terminal Project is the western U.S.’s most
important chance to create a thriving neighborhood with new
places to live, work, and play, integrated with a facility
that will serve millions of travelers from all over the
city, region and the state,” said Margaret Okuzumi of
BayRail Alliance. “This private developer had no legal
interest in the disputed parcels until after environmental
documents for this public project were published, yet the
ruling enables him to profit from the project at public
expense. It’s imperative that pre-construction activities
for the Transbay Project be allowed to proceed and for the
appeals court to make a decision about the appeal as soon as
possible.”
“Last week we celebrated Green Cities as part of World
Environment Day. This week, we come together to stand behind
our region’s most green project—the Transbay Terminal. It
has been affirmed as a priority many times by the voters of
this region.” said John Holtzclaw of the Sierra Club. “Just
as we watched our state introduce legislation to decrease
greenhouse gas emissions and increase recycling, we must
focus on another key element necessary for the future of our
planet: convenient, accessible, and safe public
transportation in close proximity to housing.”
The Transbay Terminal project will replace the current
seismically unsafe bus terminal with a new multi-modal bus
and rail terminal on the current site at First and Mission
streets. The six-story terminal will feature
environmentally-friendly design principles and increase
public transportation ridership by bringing nine
transportation systems, including California high speed
rail, into one central hub, connecting residents to the
entire region and State.
A recent report from the Public Policy Institute of
California found that traffic congestion in some of
California’s most populated cities, including San Francisco,
would become the worst in the nation by 2025 and that there
is an urgent need to develop alternatives such mass transit.
The Transbay project is projected to serve over 45 million
passengers annually, removing more than 8,000 daily auto
trips from Peninsula Corridor freeways and improving air
quality by decreasing 260,000 vehicle miles per day.
A press conference is being held today by the Transbay
Project supporters at City Hall in San Francisco at 12:30
PM.
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