Bay CrossingsBay Round Up

Bay Crossings Staff Report

Golden Gate Bridge District Cuts Jobs

The Golden Gate Bridge District announced its intention to eliminate another 31 positions, including one vessel captain and some nine deckhands. Timetable service changes allowed the district to make the cuts which are all part of its attempt to close the gap on a projected $131 million shortfall over the next five years. The service reduction from Larkspur eliminates the use of Spaulding Class ferries and only one run. All services will be provided with high speed ferries, except for the 5:20 pm departure, which due to capacity issues, will still be made with the slower, Spaulding Class ferry. Sausalito service will be entirely made with Spaulding Class ferries and, despite minor schedule changes, actually increases by one trip. Reminder: On July 1st, fares increase by 10%.

Harbor Bay Ferry Stops Running

Broken steel pilings allowed the dock on the Alameda side at Bay Farm Island to move, which in turn destroyed the connecting ramp. As a result, there will likely be no service for the next 60 days, while repairs are studied and completed. Harbor Bay riders have the alternative of using AC Transit bus service or using the island’s other ferry service located at Main St. on the Island of Alameda.

BART Joins Caltrain in Bad Taste

BART has decided to emulate the bad taste of CalTrain in wrapping seven BART cars with ugly advertising. Unlike Caltrain, however, BART’s is a non-commercial ad promoting free BART service during the morning commute on the first five “spare the air” week days.

Art Ship Fight

Tied up at Mare Island is the former Art Ship which, until recently, had been moored at 9th St. in Oakland. When the Art Ship project collapsed for a lack of funds, the Port of Oakland was stuck with the 490 foot, 8,000 ton ship and elected to sell her for scrap for some $200,000. But the Art Ship has a lot of history, maybe too much for the likings of the Port. She was built in 1939 as the Del Orleans, a combination freight passenger vessel. With the advent of WWII, the navy changed the name to USS Crescent City and converted her into an attack transport for launching landing craft. The USS Crescent City participated in the viscous battle at Guadalcanal, earned 10 battle stars and a Navy Unit Commendation and is the last surviving ship from that battle and one of only two attack transport vessels left.

In the early nineties, she became a familiar sight to many commuters, as she was used by the California Maritime Academy as a training ship, and tied up near the Carquinez Bridge (renamed the Golden Bear). Whatever you call her, USS Crescent City, Art Ship or Golden Bear, she is now the subject of a lawsuit by a group of historians and veterans who wish to see the ship preserved and the scrap sale reversed. They claim that the intentional destruction of a historic vessel violates the California Environmental Quality Act and have the support of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. A temporary restraining order has been issued and, on July 1, she will be in the fight of her life, as she is judged in court upon her historical merits.

BART Proposes Bond Measure
For the second time in two years, BART has proposed to put a bond measure on the November ballot. This $980 million “Earthquake Safety Bond Measure,” will upgrade the tube, aerial structures and presumably the stations to ride out the largest expected earthquake. Additional funds from the recently passed RM-2 and other sources dedicate a total of $1.3 billion for this project. The bond would be paid by a $7.00 per $100,000 assessed value property tax increase, assuming the voters in Contra Costa, San Francisco and Alameda pass it. Two years ago, the voters in Contra Costa said no and killed the request for funds.

AC Transit, BART Cuts Lowered in Sacramento
AC Transit had been facing dire budget woes, as the Governor’s proposed budget intended to strip $20 million a year out of AC Transit and some $9 million from BART. Local legislators achieved a compromise, reducing AC Transit’s bill to $1.5 million and BART’s to $600,000.

Whale of a Sale

The Golden Gate Bridge District is retiring a bus specially painted with the likeness of Humphrey, the wayward whale. The District is using E-Bay for this sale while using its regular bidding system to dispose of its very first ferry, the MV Golden Gate on July 9th.

July 1st Security Deadline
Everything from ports to ferry terminals must be in compliance with new security rules on July 1st. Signs have gone up at Alameda ferry terminals and elsewhere around the Bay, warning that commuters and other ferry users may be subject to search procedures at random times. Each ferry service must have a written plan to correspond to each security alert level. At the second level, 20% of the passengers would be scanned and at the highest level, all passengers need to be screened or searched. There is no estimate how this might affect ferry schedules.

New Transbay Terminal

While Bay Crossings has some sympathy for the gloomy and brooding Russian-style fortress that is the current and historic Transbay Terminal, it remains an unworkable design, with the waiting rooms on the first floor and former train departures (now bus services) on the third floor. Even Muni abandoned streetcar service to this historic edifice, with the extension of the F-Line to Fisherman’s Wharf. Amtrak moved out due to a lack of security. Now, the San Francisco Supervisors have cleared the EIR to proceed, further blocking a late-comer development that appears designed to impede rail access to the new and undeniably unattractively designed terminal.

It appears that interconnectivity trumps design, as one could change from a proposed electric Peninsula Caltrain, to BART, MUNI, SamTrans and AC Transit. But opponents claim that two thirds of the funding must come from the approval of the $35 billion high speed rail bond. Actually, the $4 billion Transbay plan relies on $475 million from the High Speed Rail Bond. Anyway you stack the numbers, it’s 11% and change, not two-thirds. Even Bay Crossings can figure this out.
Bill Dodd to Chair Napa County Agency

A new chairman has been elected to the Napa County Transportation Planning Agency, County Supervisor Bill Dodd. In the past, he has pushed for a half cent sales tax to fund transportation improvements.

Vallejo Ferry Service Notes

Monday, July 5th, Baylink will operate a normal weekend schedule. Please check for special service on July 4th. Vallejo tickets can be purchased at the Bay Crossings Ferry Building store now opened for new hours, weekdays from 6:00 am to 8:00 pm, with a 10% discount on merchandise for all 10-ticket pass holders and above. The MV Solano, (hereinafter, Bay Crossings will drop the designation “MV” on account that no ferries are steam operated and we invite the reader to assume that all ferries are diesel and “MV” stands for the archaic practice of identifying a “Motor Vessel, ”unless, of course, the walking beam steamer, Eureka, is restored to service.) after inspections, US Coast Guard Certification, corrections and crew training the new vessel will likely be in service after July 19th. Please check the web-site for the interim use of the slower Vallejo on some runs. Due to some fraudulent passes in circulation, there will be random ticket and pass inspections. Please remove your ticket or pass from its plastic holder to facilitate a close inspection. It is hoped these inspections will reduce ticket fraud, as revenue funds nearly 80% of the ferry operational costs.

Most Ferry Services Have Special Schedules on the 4th of July

There are special schedules in effect on the 4th of July and each service is different and designed to allow you to attend the fireworks and return. Please check with your service provider for their schedule.