San Francisco City officials, anticipating traffic chaos as a result of the Bay Bridge retrofit, are trying to persuade Caltrans to fund stopgap ferry service connecting Treasure Island to San Francisco.

Access to and from Treasure and Yerba Buena islands is severely constrained by very limited capacity on the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. In order to reduce traffic on the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, the Treasure Island Development Authority has made public transit a priority. Yet current MUNI service to San Francisco does not meet demand and there is no public transit service to and from the East Bay.

Access to and from Treasure and Yerba Buena islands is severely constrained by very limited capacity on the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. In order to reduce traffic on the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, the Treasure Island Development Authority has made public transit a priority. Yet current MUNI service to San Francisco does not meet demand and there is no public transit service to and from the East Bay.

The Treasure Island Development Authority recently issued an RFQ for a master developer for the islands. Any plan for redevelopment will be based on the July 1996 Draft Reuse Plan endorsed by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. The plan states that "Ferries will bring visitors…to Treasure Island".

Vehicular access to Treasure Island is poor due to traffic congestion on the Bay Bridge and the substandard configuration of the on and off ramps. The Reuse Draft Plan estimates that 90% of patrons of the visitor-oriented attractions will use ferry service. Also, the Draft Reuse Plan states that the proposed development plan for TI is only feasible if a ferry transit system is utilized and moreover that development should be limited to those uses which can be accommodated primarily by ferry.

It is estimated that the redevelopment of former Naval Station Treasure Island will generate more than 5,000 permanent jobs, almost twice the number that were lost with Base closure. Construction activity and interim reuse for film and event production will create almost 5,000 short-term jobs. Workers will travel from both the City and East Bay and regularly scheduled ferry service addresses those needs.

Treasure Island’s present population is currently 3,500 and growing. Five thousand residents are expected by the end of next year, including renters on Treasure and Yerba Buena Islands, students and staff of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Job Corps, the Life Learning Academy, and the Treasure Island School (K through 8).

Currently water transit is used for "special events", shuttling attendees to Treasure Island for large weddings, parties and other activities. During Labor Day in 1998, approximately 65,000 visitors came to Treasure Island by ferry from both sides of the Bay. Many East Bay ferry riders waited two or more hours in heavy winds despite the availability of buses to whisk them back to the McArthur BART station.

Future redevelopment plans include an exposition gardens area, enlarged marina and other larger scale developments. Current plans for the Marina show an increase in the number of slips from 108 to 400 as well as a public access pier, restaurants, boat storage and other landside attractions.

An allocation of $2,000,000 "to establish a regional water transit system beginning with Treasure Island" was approved by the California Legislature as part of Governor Davis’ Traffic Congestion Relief Program. These funds must come through the Bay Area Water Transit Authority and the California Transportation Commission.

Further, an earmark for $879,000 to the Treasure Island Development Authority was awarded from Federal Ferry Boat Discretionary funds. A match of $121,000 must be secured.

The Regional Ferry Plan Capital Program of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission’s San Francisco Bay Area Regional Ferry Plan Update (1999) contains $2.5 million for capital improvements for a ferry dock for Treasure Island.

However, none of these funding sources provides for operating subsidies needed to mitigate the impacts of bridge construction. Without operating subsidies, no operator will initiate or maintain service.

Caltrans’ plans for replacement of the existing east span includes five to six years of construction affecting the flow of traffic on the Bay Bridge. Without additional public transit, bridge workers traveling to and from Yerba Buena and Treasure Island, residents and others who work or go to school on Treasure Island will be severely impacted by bridge construction work.