Issue date: November 17, 1999
By Sue Lempert
San Mateo County is a wonderful place to live. In fact, it may be the best place. Except for the awful traffic.
What can we do about it? Expanding highways won't help. Even when we build two new lanes on the Hayward (San Mateo) Bridge congestion is projected to increase, not decrease, by 2010.
The only effective solution is to entice more people to use public transit. Fewer than 10 percent of commuters do so currently. If usage can be increased to 15 percent there would be meaningful relief from traffic gridlock.
Public transit means spending money and San Mateo County faces two problems in competing for transportation funds.
** It is not the destination or origin of much of the traffic. Many of the cars clogging our highways carry commuters traveling from San Francisco or the East Bay to jobs in Silicon Valley.
** While the population in our neighboring counties has been growing, San Mateo's population has been relatively static. That means we have less voting power in the region and the state.
Here are some of my ideas on what we should do.
1. The battles between Caltrain advocates and BART advocates must stop. BART to the Airport is a done deal and should be accepted. But extending BART to San Jose from the new terminal at Millbrae is problematic.
In order for BART to run along Highway 101 to San Jose it would be necessary for San Mateo and Santa Clara counties to buy into the BART district. That would require an enormous lump sum payment and would need voter approval. Even if such approval could be obtained, construction would create significant problems on 101 and would present difficult engineering and access problems by locating stations between eight lanes of traffic. If BART replaced Caltrain along Caltrain's right of way, a new track system would be required because BART cannot run on Caltrain's tracks. There would be fewer stations along the line than Caltrain currently serves, thus forcing riders to travel further to reach the nearest station.
BART will eventually go to San Jose. But a more likely scenario is that the BART line will continue from Fremont and service East Bay residents who commute to Silicon Valley. On our side of the bay, a more practical and less costly option is to improve the current Caltrain system.
2. We need more efficient Caltrain service between San Francisco and San Jose. The ride now takes an unacceptable 70 minutes. We need more and faster trains, express service, and extension to a downtown terminal in San Francisco. Ridership on Caltrain has been growing. July ridership broke all records. But it is not enough to make a major impact on 101 traffic unless improvements to the system are made.
3. We need to provide monetary incentives for residents and workers to use nearby public transportation. All new housing and offices that are built along the transportation corridor should include some subsidy for their occupants to use public transit and not drive to work.
4. We need speedy and accessible public transit for workers who commute across the bridges to jobs in San Mateo County, including:
** Rail service over the unused portion of the Dumbarton Bridge with connections to San Jose and Millbrae.
** Express bus service over the Hayward (San Mateo) Bridge, the third worst traffic nightmare in all nine Bay Area counties.
** Ferry service to and from Redwood City and South San Francisco.
5. We need expanded bus/shuttle service connecting BART and Caltrain to Coastside and other major employment and housing centers. It is essential to provide bus service for residents and workers who are distant from the transportation corridors.
6. We need improved and safe access to BART/Caltrain stations for cyclists and pedestrians. More commuters are taking their bikes aboard BART/Caltrain. People who live within walking distances of Caltrain and BART need to be encouraged to walk and not drive to the station.
7. We should support High Speed Rail. High speed rail service will reduce airport congestion by offering a speedy and economic alternative to air service to L.A. It will also attract riders and remove automobiles by offering 30-minute train service between San Jose and San Francisco. It will make many of the improvements required for Caltrain. High speed rail will connect rapidly growing residential areas such as Gilroy and Los Banos to established job centers while avoiding the high environmental costs associated with long distance auto travel.
High speed rail can be funded with an 1/4 cent statewide sales tax, subject to Legislative and voter approval. It will be difficult to pass but it would be a real winner for the state and especially for the Peninsula. Many eastern States, most European countries and Japan have high speed rail. California should join them.
San Mateo County can maintain its quality of life if some of these transportation initiatives are implemented. It is time to get our act together and start advocating for them now. These are my opinions. Come express yours. The Metropolitan Transportation Commission will hold a workshop on the Blueprint for Transportation in the 21st Century on Thursday, Dec. 9, 1999, 6-7 p.m., 1250 San Carlos Ave., San Carlos.
Sue Lempert is a member of the San Mateo City Council, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, the MTC representative on the Joint Powers (Caltrain) Board; the San Mateo County Congestion Management and Air Quality Commission and the City/County Association of Governments of San Mateo County.
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