Election 2004: Bridge toll hike means millions for transit Election 2004: Bridge toll hike means millions for transit (March 10, 2004)

** Among them: Dumbarton rail, Caltrain extension in San Francisco, and ferries.

By Marion Softky
Almanac Staff Writer

When drivers start paying $3, instead of $2, to cross seven Bay Area toll bridges, they will start raising $125 million a year of local money to support transit projects designed to ease traffic on those bridges. (Drivers on the Golden Gate Bridge already pay $5 tolls.)

Regional Measure 2 passed by 56.6 percent in the seven counties. San Mateo County voters supported it 70,726 to 58,068 in unofficial returns.

Most important for the Midpeninsula would be a new rail link across the Bay, and extension of Caltrain to a new Transbay Terminal in downtown San Francisco.

The list of projects to be funded by RM-2 includes $135 million towards the capital costs to rebuild the old Dumbarton railroad bridge, built in 1914, to provide commuter rail service between the East Bay and the Peninsula. This would allow riders to reach San Jose and San Francisco on the west, and connect with BART and Amtrak lines on the east. The measure also allocates $5.5 million a year to operate the new service.

Mainline Caltrain service would benefit by $150 million spent for the new Transbay Terminal at First and Mission streets in San Francisco. This project also includes money toward the long-cherished goal of extending Caltrain from its present terminus into downtown.

Train expert Art Lloyd of Portola Valley, who serves on the Caltrain board, warned that the bridge toll money represents just part of the total cost. These funds will be used to attract federal and state funds to complete the projects. "This is only the beginning," he said. "But it is a beginning, and a foot in the door."

Other projects benefiting Peninsula travelers would include regional express buses, TransLink tickets good for all systems, and access improvements for bicycles and pedestrians.

Projects in other parts of the Bay area include BART extensions in the East Bay, regional express bus service, a new bore through the Caldecott Tunnel in Berkeley, and seismic strengthening of the BART tube under the Bay. The program includes $84 million for new ferries that could serve South San Francisco and Redwood City as well as San Francisco and East Bay ports.

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