Mayors of Bay Area's Biggest Cities Ride BART to Campaign for Bond

The mayors of the Bay Area's three biggest cities gathered for a BART ride this morning to implore voters to pass a $3.5 billion bond on the November ballot for repairs to the BART system.

San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee, San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo and Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf spoke briefly with reporters outside the 12th Street Oakland BART station near Oakland City Hall before heading downstairs to catch a 10:21 a.m. San Francisco-bound train.

"We need to fix this incredible system," Schaaf said. "We need a working transportation system to serve our working families."

The BART Board of Directors voted in May to put the infrastructure bond, Measure RR, before voters in November. The money would go toward replacing worn tracks and tunnels, upgrading aging computer systems and fixing failing electrical systems, among other projects.

An agency poll conducted last year showed broad support for the bond. Local government leaders, area business groups, bicycle advocacy organizations, nonprofits and community organizations have already expressed support for the measure before the three mayors started actively campaigning together this morning.

"All three of us got together because our collective interest in the region should be reflected by collective action," Lee said. "We've got to work as a region to make sure our transportation works for all of us."

BART doesn't currently serve San Jose, but expansion plans are underway that would bring BART to the city's Berryessa neighborhood as soon as next year and to downtown San Jose within the next decade. Liccardo said
that with the extension, daily BART ridership, currently at about 400,000, could climb to 500,000.

BART officials have said the bond would represent a total rebuild of the system, necessary because many of its components date back to its initial construction in the 1970s. While a fleet of new rail cars are on the way, the track, stations and other infrastructure needs extensive attention.

The agency has been criticized for not making reinvestment a higher priority in recent years, instead focusing on expansion, including the San Jose extension. That's changed in recent years, with roughly two-thirds
of BART's capital budget now devoted to system improvements rather than expansion.

It is only the third time BART has asked voters to approve a bond measure. The first was for its initial construction and the second was for earthquake retrofit projects about 10 years ago.

To questions about BART's fiscal responsibility, the three mayors agreed that the funding was necessary and responsible. Liccardo pointed to an independent oversight committee that would be created if the bond measure passes.

"It's fiscally responsible to not allow 90 miles of track to fail," Liccardo said.

By Bay City News

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