On May 12, at a community workshop on ferries co-hosted by the Berkeley Waterfront and Transportation Commissions, the San Francisco Bay Area Water Transit Authority (WTA) announced the results of a recent public opinion survey. Favoring ferries by 76%, those surveyed in Berkeley and Albany said that they think the ferry is “a good idea” and support new service between Berkeley/Albany and San Francisco.
Published: June, 2005
On May 12, at a community workshop on ferries co-hosted by the Berkeley Waterfront and Transportation Commissions, the San Francisco Bay Area Water Transit Authority (WTA) announced the results of a recent public opinion survey. Favoring ferries by 76%, those surveyed in Berkeley and Albany said that they think the ferry is “a good idea” and support new service between Berkeley/Albany and San Francisco.
Policymakers and Environmentalists Echo Support
“The time has come to bring ferries back to Berkeley,” said Mayor Tom Bates of Berkeley. “This public survey demonstrates what Berkeley residents have known all along – we need real transportation alternatives that get people out of their cars. Ferries are an important piece of the puzzle, and I’m committed to making this happen in the Berkeley Marina.”
The poll of 600 voters was commissioned by the WTA, the regional agency charged by the state to expand water transit in San Francisco Bay. Forty-nine percent of the respondents favored University Avenue as the preferred site for the new terminal, followed by Gilman Street (28%) and Buchanan Street in Albany (15%). Funding for Berkeley ferry service is included in Regional Measure 2 (March 2004) from new bridge tolls.
Norman LaForce, coordinator on Ferry Issues for the San Francisco Bay Chapter of the Sierra Club, said, “Environmentalists were pleased at the public’s support for ferry service from University Avenue. Among the discussed locations, it is the best site. It’s great to see that the people of Berkeley and Albany agree.”
Waterfront and Transportation Commission Participants React
Brad Smith, member of the Waterfront Commission, said, “The survey helped. It showed relatively strong support in both cities. Thank you for the work: before the survey, I assumed there was 50-50 support for ferry service.”
Apart from discussing opinion survey results, WTA presented its parking study of the University site and a schedule of the next steps necessary to making ferry service to the Berkeley area a reality. The crowd of Commissioners and other public attendees seemed to agree that parking will be the major issue in making ferry service happen in the Marina since parking is limited along the shoreline. According to WTA CEO Steve Castleberry, the WTA has maintained a policy to provide adequate parking and to encourage passengers to use alternative landside transit getting to and from the ferry terminal.
Next Steps
John Sindzinski, WTA Manager of Planning, presented a self-described “optimistic” proposed schedule for the next steps in the process.
• The Waterfront and Transportation Commissions discusses and selects a
preferred terminal site–May 2005.
• City staff, relevant Commissions and City Council update plans to include selected ferry terminal site–January 2006.
• WTA consultant prepares EIR for ferry service and terminal–June 2005 to
January 2007.
• WTA and City of Berkeley secure additional funding for terminal– June 2005 to June 2007.
• WTA constructs terminal– January 2008 to January 2009.
• Begin service 2009.
