Alameda Mayor Beverly Johnson: On Board with the
San Francisco Bay Area Water Transit Authority (WTA)
 |
| Mayor
Johnson proudly displays her Alameda ferry ticket |
Mayor Beverly Johnson practices
law in her hometown, Alameda. In 1995, then-Mayor Ralph Appezzato
appointed her to the Alameda Planning Board; she was elected to
serve on the City Council four years later and was elected Mayor
this past November. Mayor Johnson recently took time out of her busy
schedule to talk with Bay Crossings about her championship of
the Water Transit Authority’s plan to expand Alameda’s ferry
system. An excerpt of her interview follows.
Q: Mayor Johnson, many of our
readers may not be familiar with Alameda. Could you give a quick
description of Alameda for their benefit?
| Oakland
Mayor Jerry Brown Favors Ferries in Oakland’s Future
In comparison to the rest
of the Bay Area, Oakland’s economy is doing well.
"The state of the
State may be bad, but the state of the City is good,"
said
Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown
to a gathering of 300 businesspeople. He commented further
on the benefit of expanding Oakland’s ferry system to
support Oakland’s strong economy. Mayor Brown said,
"Oakland’s waterfront is as important to our future
as it has been to our past. With Oakland’s Port already
one of the largest in the country, we are looking to
transport people, as well as cargo, along our
waterfront."
Oakland’s job density
coupled with new development, highlights its potential as
not just an origin but also a destination for water transit.
Mayor Brown, taking this vision one step further, said,
"With the Oakland airport carrying about a quarter of
the Bay Area’s air traffic and growing at a rate of about
6% per year, Jack London Square may eventually become a
gateway for our airport, as well."
On Oakland’s behalf,
Sen. Don Perata has proposed using a portion of the proposed
state-owned bridge toll increase to help fund additional
boats for Oakland/Alameda’s ferry service. n |
BJ: Alameda is an island in San
Francisco Bay. Three bridges and a tube on the east side of the
island connect to Oakland. The Bay Farm Bridge connects Bay Farm
Island, which is also part of Alameda, and Oakland, in the area of
the Oakland Airport. Coast Guard Island is also part of Alameda. The
population is about 74,000. We’re in the process of working with
the federal government to gain title to the closed Alameda Naval Air
Station, and hopefully we’ll get title and we’ll be able to
redevelop that base, which is about a third of our island.
 |
| Mayor
Johnson socializing with riders on the Alameda ferry |
Q: Being that Alameda is an
island, is this why ferries have played such an important and
colorful role in its history?
BJ: Oh, absolutely. I’m so glad
that we got the ferry started again. Throughout Alameda’s history,
ferries have been an important mode of transportation. When my
grandmother was a teacher in San Francisco, she took the trolley
through Alameda and then the ferry to San Francisco. This was before
the San Francisco bridge was built. It’s such an addition to our
transportation because getting on and off the island is one of the
issues that we have because of our limited ingress and egress.
Q: The Alameda ferry played a
mighty important role in the earthquake. Do you think about that in
terms of 9/11 and disaster scenarios and emergency preparedness?
BJ: Yes, because in the event of
an emergency, if bridges or a tunnel were destroyed and we had to
get people off the island, we would really rely on ferries.
Q: Your predecessor, Mayor
Ralph Appezzato, was a founding member of the San Francisco Bay Area
Water Transit Authority, the new state authority created to study,
plan, develop, and operate a regional, comprehensive regional ferry
system. Will you be continuing Ralph’s work?
BJ: Yes, I will. The City Council
has approved my nomination to serve on the WTA’s Community
Advisory Committee and I hope to succeed Mayor Appezzato on the WTA’s
Board of Directors.
 |
| Alameda
Mayor Beverly Johnson with Alameda Point’s developer and
transportation commissioner, Aidan Barry |
Q: That’s good news. One of the
plans that WTA is studying is the possibility of a ferry that would
go from Harbor Bay to the South Bay, opening up a connection between
the East Bay and the South Bay. What do you think of that notion?
BJ: I like the idea. I think that
we can’t just keep widening freeways and adding more cars – and
even buses; they have to drive on the freeway, too. I think we need
to take advantage of all forms of transportation. We are so
fortunate in the Bay Area to have the opportunity to have ferries.
So, the more places we can serve people with ferries, the better.
Q: Alameda is served by buses from
AC Transit, which is part of our regional network. Yet its ferry
system is supported directly by Alameda, along with the Port of
Oakland. Doesn’t it make more sense for the ferry system to
eventually be part of a regional network that is supported
regionally, since it benefits the region?
BJ: It’s my understanding that
that’s one of the issues the Water Transit Authority is looking at
as a regional system for the ferries. And I think it would be good
to coordinate it regionally, just like I believe the other forms of
transit should be coordinated regionally. Then, we can serve people
most efficiently and make it more convenient so that more people are
likely to take it. One of the things we’ve been trying to do in
Alameda is integrate the different forms of transportation and
transit so that they work together more seamlessly.
.jpg) |
| Aerial
of the Alameda Ferry Terminal (courtesy Bob Ecker,
photographer) |
Q: You mentioned earlier how
redevelopment plans are a pretty big deal in Alameda with the Naval
Air Base. Do ferries stand to figure in those plans?
BJ: Yes, it’s something that we’re
definitely looking at and trying to make our ferry service even
better.
Q: Alameda seems to be gentrifying
pretty quickly. Is that creating problems?
BJ: Well, housing of all kinds,
especially affordable housing, is an issue in the Bay Area, not just
Alameda. I know that many people have moved over from San Francisco
because housing in Alameda is more affordable than it is in San
Francisco. But it’s still unaffordable for many people. And so,
yes, the City has required that 25 percent of the new housing
developments, including housing at the airbase redevelopment, be
affordable. It’s earmarked for different income categories.
 |
| Oakland
Mayor Jerry Brown |
Q: State Senator Don Perata is the
ferry champion. He led the effort to create the WTA and the concept
of a comprehensive regional ferry system. Right now he is involved
in the all-important work of examining the possibility of raising
bridge tolls. The Golden Gate Bridge, as you know, has raised its
toll to $5, and the rest of the state bridges are still at $2, which
seems incongruous. The plan is to increase them to at least $3 and
dedicate a portion of that increase to a comprehensive regional
ferry plan. Will you support that plan?
BJ: Yes, I will, because money is
very limited. Drivers sometimes raise the issue of subsidizing
ferries. I think they forget that even driving your car is a
subsidized form of transportation because somebody has to pay for
the roads and the Highway Patrol and all those things that go along
with it. And so it’s expensive too – if you’re going to drive
and commute to San Francisco over the bridge. I support the concept
of using that opportunity to collect more money to provide more
ferry service and other new transit projects throughout the Bay
Area. It will get more people out of their cars, hopefully, and off
the bridge, so those who do wish to continue driving will have a
less hectic trip.
 |
| Mayor
Johnson poses with a group of Alameda ferry riders on the
Alameda ferry deck |
Q: A couple thousand or so
Alamedans are choosing to ride the ferry even though it’s less
convenient and more expensive. Who are these people? Why do they do
this?
BJ: It’s a very nice way to
commute to work. If I commuted where I could take a ferry, I would
definitely do that. I just think it’s such a pleasant way to go to
work. I just think that, once people start riding the ferry, they
kind of get hooked. And I’m glad to see that.
