September 12, 2007

County Report

Extensive rail system is the future of Bay Area transportation

By Santa Clara County
Supervisor Ken Yeager
Special to the Times

Bay Area commuters spend a total of about 144,000 hours creeping along in congested traffic on a typical weekday, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. As more people move to the Bay Area and its surrounding communities, commutes are growing longer and slower.

By 2050, the Bay Area’s population is expected to swell by 40 percent to more than 10 million people. To avoid pouring more cars onto congested freeways, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) has been working on a regional rail plan that would expand rail service to reach nearly every Bay Area resident and residents as far as Sacramento, Monterey and Sonoma. If approved at MTC’s September meeting, the plan would chart the course for rail service expansion through 2050.

Though 2050 may seem far away, it’s never too early to plan for the future. If transportation agencies don’t start work on these projects now, commuters may not have these options available when they need them.

During the nearly six years I have served on the Caltrain Board, I have seen an increase in demand for speedier and more reliable train service. An increase in rider ship on the Baby Bullet trains has shown that commuters are eager to embrace public transportation as a viable alternative to driving.

As chair of VTA’s Silicon Valley Rapid Transit Corridor Policy Advisory Board, I am dedicated to extending BART to Santa Clara County and expanding the commute alternatives in the South Bay.

That’s why I’m excited to serve on the MTC Board of Directors and work toward a unifying transportation plan that would make commuting more efficient and enjoyable.

Offering commuters alternatives through public transportation is key to relieving traffic and commute stress. The proposed Regional Rail Plan would encircle the entire Bay Area with BART and Caltrain lines so commuters could get to nearly every area without using multiple forms of public transportation.

The plan would extend BART from Fremont to San Jose to form a loop around the entire bay. Caltrain would be expanded to incorporate more tracks so its trains could run faster and more frequently.

Cities just outside of the nine counties traditionally associated with the San Francisco Bay are booming with increased Bay Area employees seeking more affordable housing. An increasing number of people commuting from cities such as Tracy, Fairfield and Stockton also will need transportation alternatives.

MTC’s Regional Rail Plan would take advantage of existing sections of unused railroad tracks to connect these cities with the Bay Area. The plan stretches even further east to encompass Sacramento and San Joaquin Valley. East Contra Costa County would be connected with “eBART,” which is envisioned as an extension using light rail equipment.

In addition to expanding east, the Regional Rail Plan would also reach north past Healdsburg and south to Monterey and Salinas. Going north, a bus and ferry connection would shuttle commuters from San Francisco to Marin County and link to a rail line that would pass through San Rafael, Santa Rosa and Healdsburg. Heading south, the rail service would pass Gilroy and split, with one branch linking Hollister and the other turning west to reach Watsonville and Santa Cruz, as well as Monterey and Sal-inas.

MTC planners hope they will be able to utilize high-speed rail systems that can minimize commute times from Sacra-mento, Modesto and Merced to San Jose. However, a regional body such as MTC could not decide on its own to build high-speed railways. The California High-Speed Rail Authority, a state agency, would make that decision. I am working with other local officials to convince the authority that the Bay Area needs high-speed trains.

The only way for the region to relieve freeway congestion is to focus on creating an extensive rail system. Without offering commute alternatives, commuters will suffer longer waits in traffic and a higher dependency on gasoline.