Community Rallies to Become New Ferry Terminal Site
Existing parking facilities near Oyster Point harharbor
By Wes Starratt, Senior Editor, "Bay Crossings"
Published: November, 2001
Oyster Point, a small harbor, nestled off Highway 101 between South San Francisco and the Airport is an economic success story, attracting major corporations to its shoreline. Oyster Point is now positioning itself to become a new ferry transit hub for the region to serve its booming workforce.
Oyster Point was named for the oyster camps of the 1870’s. By the pre-World War II years, it became part of South San Francisco’s "Industrial City," hosting steel mills and a wide range of other industries, from paints to pasta.
In recent decades, the area’s transformation has been dramatic and complete. Gone is the heavy industry, and, in its place, Oyster Point has become what the South San Francisco Chamber of Commerce calls the "Biotech Capital of the World," with dozens of biotechnical firm.
Some 80 companies in biotechnology and related fields now do business out of Oyster Point, Brisbane and South San Francisco, providing jobs for 24,000 employees. The largest company is Genentech, Inc. with more than 3,000 employees.
Expansion at Oyster Point continues with construction of more office buildings underway. By 2020, 54,000 employees are expected. The new office buildings have drawn hundreds of employees commuting from all parts of the Bay Area. Many Oyster Point workers live in the East Bay and remote locations where housing prices are more affordable than the Peninsula. Employees lack direct transit connections between the East Bay and San Mateo County. Traffic on Highway 101 and the San Mateo Bridge are typically gridlock making this a very rough commute – sometimes almost an hour and a half.
North San Mateo County businesses and City officials have rolled up their sleeves and come up with creative ways to fill the transit void. They have privately financed shuttle bus service connecting with rail services provided by Caltrains and BART. Parking shuttles and large tour buses are now a common sight at BART stations in Colma, Glen Park and CALTRAIN station.
The area is now turning to the water as the next option for moving workers and patrons to its booming commercial center. "We are very pro-ferry service in South San Francisco. Our businesses are all very excited about it, and we need to do everything we can to make it happen," says Greg Cochran, Executive Director of the South San Francisco Chamber of Commerce,
South San Francisco City Council member Pedro Gonzalez added, " We are very concerned about traffic congestion on Highway 101. I’d rather have a ferry terminal before adding more lanes on the freeway. It is about time that we had ferries in San Mateo County to link to other parts of the Bay. We are a new center for jobs. Ferries shouldn’t just stop in Downtown San Francisco."
The San Mateo County Harbor District is positioning itself to be among the first communities to initiate new ferry service. The Harbor District operates a 600-berth marina for pleasure craft at the Oyster Point Marina. It has plunged into the lead in planning for ferries to support the economic plans of South San Francisco and other neighboring cities.
This November, the Harbor District plans to release the results of a study "A Vision for Ferry Service at Oyster Point." The study examines what it will take to bring ferry service to Oyster Point Marina. It will include information on ridership, impact of ferries coming into the marina, recommendations for docking facilities, parking needs, and road access, and shuttle/bus connections.
Harbor Master Johnson points out that, "With this document, we will be able to request financial support from various granting agencies on the state and federal levels and finally have a ferry terminal at Oyster Point Marina."
This $500,000 study was the culmination of efforts by the "Water Transit Task Force" comprised of local business and government leaders. The task force is a partnership between the City of South San Francisco, the San Mateo County Harbor District, and the Peninsula Congestion Relief Alliance.
Supervisor Mark Church said, "Solving our transportation dilemma is the biggest challenge of the decade. We need to explore all of the alternative modes of transportation." San Mateo County has taken significant steps to make ferries a transportation priority. Water transit is a part of the San Mateo County-Wide Transportation Plan to the Year 2010.
Wasting no time, the Harbor District plans to redesign its breakwater to enlarge the entry to the boat marina . This will make the marina safer and more accessible for future ferry operations. It is expected that the redesign will be paid for with Federal dollars from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
"We are looking at 100-ft-long, 149- passenger catamarans and have been talking with the Angel Island-Tiburon Ferries, as well as Red & White and Blue & Gold. At the same time, we are cooperating with Redwood City in its program to develop ferry service and believe that both services should be developed at the same time," said Harbor Master Robert Johnson.
Peter Grenell, Manager of the San Mateo County Harbor District and member of the WTA’s Technical Advisory Committee pointed, "Interest in water transit at Oyster Point continues to grow. With continued hard work, ferry service at Oyster Point may soon become reality!
The local community’s interest for ferries was evident at a meeting held this past Summer at Oyster Point with WTA officials. An enthusiastic group of business and community leaders reiterated the investment their community has made in water transit. The importance of ferry service to the East Bay and Downtown San Francisco was mentioned. South San Francisco business officials commented that there are many hotel patrons in the South San Francisco area that could benefit from ferry service to Downtown San Francisco.
"Oyster Point’s enthusiasm and accomplishments to establish ferry service is impressive," said WTA’s CEO, Tom Bertken. "Their work is very helpful to the WTA in demonstrating the underserved transit needs of some communities. We hope to show that ferries can be a cost effective solution for linking Oyster Point with the East Bay," added Bertken.
Oyster Point was initially identified as a potential site for ferries in a study performed by the Bay Council; the WTA will continue to study Oyster Point as a site for future ferry terminals. Oyster Point will be analyzed in the WTA’s environmental review, ridership surveys, intermodal connections and other technical studies. The WTA’s recommendations will be submitted to the Legislature in December 2002.
AT THE STARTING LINE!
WTA SEEKS PUBLIC COMMENTS OF NEW FERRY ROUTES
Starting in November, the WTA will hold a series of eight meetings to get public comments for its environmental studies of its plan to enhance water transit in San Francisco Bay. Meetings will be held during the evenings throughout the Bay Area to make it convenient for people to attend them after work. A late afternoon meeting is scheduled in San Francisco on Tuesday, November 27, 2001 from 3-6 pm to attract current ferry riders.
"The California Legislature gave the Bay Area an incredible opportunity to plan enhancements to our region’s public transit system with more ferries. The WTA wants the public’s input from start to finish. We are starting the environmental review studies. It is very important for the public to take the time to give us their comments during these meetings," said Veronica Sanchez, Manager, Community and Government Relations.
The WTA is required to submit a Draft Implementations and Operations Plan ("The Plan") for submission to the California Legislature by December 2002. The purpose of the WTA’s Plan is "to increase Bay Area regional mobility and transportation options by providing new and expanded water transit services and related ground transportation terminal access in the San Francisco Bay Area." The WTA must also review the environmental impacts of its Plan, consistent with State and Federal laws.
The WTA will do a programmatic Environmental Impact Review (EIR) looking at four alternatives for expanding water transit. The WTA will look at system wide impacts — the "big picture!" It will not study the environmental impacts of specific terminal locations, which will be done after the WTA’s recommendations are approved by the Legislature. Also, inclusion of sites in the environmental review alternatives doesn’t ensure that sites will be automatically included in the Draft Implementation Plan submitted to the Legislature. At this time, it only means that proposed sites will be assessed for environmental impacts, level of ridership, and cost-effectiveness.
At the meetings, WTA staff and technical consultants will be on hand to discuss the four alternatives and the WTA’s technical studies. Examples of new starting points for new routes for study in the EIR are:
· Peninsula Corridor: Oyster Point, Redwood City, Moffett Field
· East Bay: Richmond, Benicia, Martinez, Antioch, Berkeley
· North Bay: Port Sonoma/Gnoss Field
· San Francisco: Mission Bay, Treasure Island
· Airport Connections: to San Francisco and Oakland Airports
· Recreational Connections: Linking GGNRA sites with San Francisco and East Bay locations
For detailed information regarding the four alternatives and environmental review process, see the WTA’s website: www.watertransit.org under Environmental Studies.
San Francisco Bay Area Water Transit Authority
Schedule Of Environmental Review Scoping Meetings
ALAMEDA COUNTY
November 13, 2001, 7:00 -9:00 pm
Metropolitan Transportation Commission Auditorium 101 Eighth Street
Oakland, CA
SAN MATEO COUNTY
November 14, 2001, 7:00-9:00 pm
County Office Building
Room 101
455 County Center
Redwood City, CA
MARIN COUNTY
November 15, 2001, 7pm –9:00 pm
Council Chambers
City of San Rafael City Hall
1400 Fifth Avenue
San Rafael, CA
SAN FRANCISCO COUNTY
(close to S.F. Ferry Terminals)
November 27, 200, 3pm – 6pm
Big Conference Room
Bay Conservation
& Development Commission
50 California Street Suite 2600
San Francisco, CA
CONTRA COSTA COUNTY
November 29, 2001, 7-9pm
City of El Cerrito
Open House Senior Center
6500 Stockton Street
El Cerrito, CA
NAPA/SOLANO COUNTIES
December 4, 2001, 7-9 pm
John F. Kennedy County Library
Joseph Meeting Room
505 Santa Clara Street
Vallejo, CA
SANTA CLARA COUNTY December 5, 2001, 7-9 pm
City Council Chambers
Sunnyvale City Hall
456 W. Olive Avenue
Sunnyvale, CA
SONOMA COUNTY
December 11, 2001, 7-9pm
Craft Room #1
Petaluma Community Center
320 N. McDowell Boulevard
Petaluma, CA
Excellent Oyster Point harbor facilities await ferry service to relieve commute hassles and increase quality of life for Peninsula biotech workers.
