Two-Item Tuesday: Failure to Fund Transit Would Double Bay Bridge Traffic
Here are two quick stories of interest to the safe and livable streets community.
If you like awful traffic, don’t vote to fund transit
If you’re a driver who thinks Measure RTM, the regional transit funding measure that will appear on the November ballot, doesn’t affect you, think again. “Bumper to Bumper,” a new study from SPUR and infrastructure consulting firm Jacobs, finds that if the regional measure fails, traffic delays on the Bay Bridge could double. From a “Connect Bay Area” campaign statement about the study’s takeaways:
- Bay Bridge delays could more than double. Average morning and weekday evening traffic commutes would both increase – with evening bridge commutes reaching one hour and 15 minutes.
- Caldecott Tunnel delays could more than triple. Westbound morning peak delays are projected to rise from 7 minutes to 27 minutes, while eastbound evening peak delays could increase from 13 minutes to 40 minutes.
- Highway 101 could nearly double in peak-hour delays. BART and Caltrain station closures and transit service cuts could potentially add 30 minutes to the drive between San Francisco and San Carlos.
- East Bay highways commute times could spike. Evening traffic on I-580 at 680 in Dublin would double (13 minutes to 27 minutes) and I-580 at SR-13 in Berkeley would more than double (8 minutes to 20 minutes)
- SR-4 congestion could more than double (13 minutes to 27 minutes in the morning) in areas impacting Antioch, Pittsburg and eastern Contra Costa County.
The consequences extend beyond traffic. The SPUR-Jacobs Study estimates:
- $3,280 in additional annual transportation costs for displaced riders
- $476 million annually in lost productivity across the region
- 184,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide annually
- 430,000 people would lose direct station access, losing the ability to walk, roll or use some form of micromobility to reach a station.
“Whether you ride transit or not, no one will be spared the dire impacts from the dramatic service cuts that will occur if we fail to pass the Regional Transit Measure,” said Libby Schaaf, President and CEO of the Bay Area Council and former Mayor of Oakland. “From store clerks to security guards, nurses to teachers, students to seniors, everyone will feel the pain and cost of a region with less transit.”
For more, check out the San Francisco Chronicle and past Streetsblog coverage.
City of San Mateo wants to raise speed limits in front of schools. Really.
While cities around the world work to reduce speeding and make streets safer, the City of San Mateo is poised to make them more dangerous by increasing speed limits. From Peninsula advocate Mike Swire:
On Tuesday evening, family members and concerned residents will descend on the San Mateo City Council meeting to demand immediate safety improvements on Alameda after a child was hit and injured in front of Aragon High. They are outraged that the City Council is considering raising speed limits here and in front of other schools.
Last Monday a young driver hit and injured an Aragon student in a crosswalk on Alameda in front of Aragon High School. Alameda has been the site of several deadly crashes in recent months and parents are demanding the City do more. Parents and other residents have sent almost 5,000 emails to City leaders, expressing concern for their children. Street safety has become the #1 issue in the local City Council race.
In addition, the City Council will be considering raising speed limits on 19 street sections in San Mateo. Residents are up in arms as the proposal includes increased speed limits near Aragon High (site of last week’s crash), San Mateo High (where, in March, a driver hit a family of three in the crosswalk, sending a father to the ICU and crushing the skull of an eight-year-old), and Nueva High School. The City is considering raising speed limits to 50 mph on J Hart Clinton, adjacent to the Ryder Park Playground. Higher speed limits will increase driver speeds, increasing the likelihood and severity of crashes. Parents and residents have sent over 900 emails to Council in opposition to the proposed increase in speed limits.
If you live or work on the Peninsula, add your name to Swire’s Action Network page, comment at city hall, and support safe streets.
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