From EBBC:
The final votes for East Bay Bus Rapid Transit come up July 16, 7:00pm at San Leandro City Council and July 17, 5:30pm at Oakland City Council. We need supporters in attendance ready to boost councilmembers who want to vote yes, but who need our backup.
Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) is a system that takes the best features of light-rail and applies them to transit. Dedicated bus lanes, level boarding at stations for reliable headways every 5 minutes, safer pedestrian crossings, and bike lanes along the route. BRT will dramatically improve current service for existing riders, while also attracting new transit riders out of their cars. BRT will also stripe bike lanes on E. 12th Street to Fruitvale and on International/E. 14th St to downtown San Leandro. Most importantly, BRT will bring investment to under-served communities while modernizing transit service to those who most rely on it.
We have joined with Transform and made the call for you to join us over the years, and we are so grateful for your support, attendance, and comments at past hearings. Indeed, the East Bay BRT project would never have made it this far without your support. However, these final hearings will be the most important hearings of this entire process, and it is critical that we attend these last meetings to demonstrate support for a robust BRT project. While it is likely that some version of a project will pass, it is uncertain how robust of a project will be supported by the City Councils. The project could be watered down by concerns brought up over some of the parking or travel lanes for single-passenger cars that will need to be converted into a right-of-way for the proposed bus lanes.
If you have any questions about attending one of these City Council meetings, please contact EBBC Program Director Dave Campbell.
