For Whom the Bridge Tolls

On Thursday, April 17, Senator Don Perata invited press and regional transit advocates to join him in announcing the details of a comprehensive regional Bay Area traffic relief plan, Senate Bill (SB) 916. This bill, which proposes a dollar toll increase on state-owned bridges to fund regional transit projects, is scheduled to be heard by the Senate Transportation Committee on April 29. If passed through the Senate and then by the Assembly Transportation Committees and approved by the full legislature by majority vote, Bay Area voters in seven counties will get to weigh in on the plan during the March 2004 election. Specifically, voters in Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, and Solano counties will have an opportunity to approve the measure. Surveys showed that 66% of Bay Area voters would support the measure; passage only requires a 50% majority.

Senator Perata said, "We need to use every opportunity to strengthen the Bay Area’s economy. If this becomes law, we have a fighting chance to stay even with the growth of congestion." Referring to those who will pay the increased toll, he said, "Voters have shown overwhelming support for this plan. We’ve seen that [they] will support fees if we lay out a specific plan for how the money will be spent. We’re not saying, ‘Trust us.’ We’re saying, ‘This is what your money will buy.’"

Rallying support from around the region, representatives from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), BART, the Transportation and Land Use Coalition, local transportation and congestion management agencies, and transit unions spoke in favor of SB 916. Framing the issue, Steve Hemminger, MTC’s Executive Director, said, "What bridge commuters need is more choices."

The Senate Select Committee on Bay Area Transportation, chaired by Senator Perata, initiated hearings in 2002 on the subject of bridge tolls and formed an advisory committee. The final project list was developed through months of lengthy meetings and negotiations with transit agencies, congestion management agencies (CMA), environmentalists, and advocates and staffed by MTC. During Fall 2002, the Advisory Committee held 15

meetings to review proposed projects. The projects were evaluated based on performance measures such as number of new transit riders, impact on congestion, cost effectiveness, transit connectivity, project readiness, sustainability, environmental impacts, land use opportunities, safety, social equity, and other considerations. Commenting on that process, Dennis Fay, Director of the Alameda County CMA, said, "We tortured each other over several months presenting projects. Hopefully, this (SB 916) will be the path to success."

Christine Zook, President/Business Agent of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 192, said, "The only thing that working families spend more on than housing is transit." In mid-March, transit unions joined forces to lobby Sacramento legislators on the value of SB 916. Ms. Zook recognized members of that coalition who filled two rows of the packed press conference, wearing yellow t-shirts bearing their slogan, "TransitWorks: Labor Keeps Transit Moving."

Summing it up, Tom Margro, Executive Director of BART, pronounced Senator Perata’s bill "A bold vision for a bold plan.