Bid to raise bridge tolls may boost Dumbarton rail Bid to raise bridge tolls may boost Dumbarton rail (May 07, 2003)

By Marion Softky
Almanac Staff Writer

Prospects for restoring commuter trains across the old Dumbarton railroad bridge will get a major boost if a new bill to raise bridge tolls passes the state Legislature and is approved by voters of seven Bay Area counties next March.

SB 916, sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Don Perata, D-Oakland, would raise the tolls on seven Bay Area bridges owned by the state -- not the Golden Gate Bridge -- from $2 to $3. Increased revenues of $125 million a year would be used to expand Bay Area transit systems by funding both capital and operating costs for railroads, buses and ferries.

The bill got off to a good start when it passed the Senate Transportation Committee by a 7-2 vote April 29. If it passes the Legislature and is signed by the governor, it could go to voters in seven Bay Area counties in March 2004. It would take a majority to pass.

The bill requires that funds from the added toll go only to projects that will reduce traffic that crosses bridges and their approaches, according to Sen. Perata's office.

For the Dumbarton Corridor, SB 916's expenditure plan calls for $135 million for capital costs to help rebuild the system, and connect it to BART and other rail lines in the East Bay. The bill would also provide $5.5 million a year to cover the operating deficit.

SB 916 would also allocate $150 million to build a Transbay Terminal in downtown San Francisco. This would connect to Caltrain and serve as a regional hub for an estimated 27 million transit riders a year.

Other projects covered in SB 916 include: seismic strengthening of the Transbay BART tube; other improvements to BART and commuter rail; express bus service and infrastructure; ferry service; and improvements in bicycle and pedestrian access.

Dumbarton

Ever since San Mateo County voters passed a half-cent sales tax for transportation in 1988, one of the top priorities of the Transportation Authority (TA) has been restoration of rail service across the old Dumbarton span to alleviate the growing congestion on the Dumbarton highway bridge.

The TA, which administers the sales tax, bought the bridge and rail corridor with Measure A money, has tentatively allocated $60 million to rebuild the bridge, and run trains between rail lines and communities on both sides of the Bay.

Tentative plans call for six trains going west in the morning and east in the afternoon. The trains would follow the Dumbarton line as far as Redwood City, where three would go north to Millbrae or San Francisco, and three would go south to San Jose.

Basic funding to restore the bridge and start the service would come from the three counties, transit advocate Jim Bigelow told a meeting at the Menlo Park Chamber of Commerce on April 22. The $130 million cost would be divided up, with San Mateo County putting up $60 million; Santa Clara County, $40 million; and Alameda County, $20 million, he said.

Meanwhile, Menlo Park, Palo Alto and East Palo Alto are studying a new southern highway approach to the Dumbarton Bridge. East Palo Alto wants a southern route to divert some of the bridge traffic that floods University Avenue through its downtown twice every day.

Palo Alto has defeated previous efforts to build such a "Southern Extension," which would traverse wetlands. One of the proposals under study would tunnel under the Baylands.

"A road under the wetlands would cost $760 million," said Mr. Bigelow.