SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA: Transit/Transportation News

[homebucket]

About time! Now that this is finally underway, let's focus on getting that Second Transbay Tube and Geary Subway built!

Construction begins on BART’s extension to the South Bay
Project is expected to take more than 12 years to complete



By KRISTIN J. BENDER | Bay Area News Group, Oakland Tribune, Mercury News
PUBLISHED: June 14, 2024 at 4:42 p.m. | UPDATED: June 17, 2024 at 4:18 a.m.

Thirty years in the making and stalled by escalating costs and repeated delays, construction on BART’s extension to Silicon Valley finally started Friday.

...

When the line opens in 2037, officials said riders on the BART system will save an average of 30 minutes for a 50-mile commute compared to driving. The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) is designing and building the South Bay extension. BART will operate and maintain the line. Construction on the extension started on Brokaw Road in Santa Clara — which runs between the Caltrain station and San Jose International Airport — and officials said businesses in the area should expect dust and disruptions.

Local officials have secured $15 million to help mitigate some of the construction disruptions, said Cindy Chavez, a Santa Clara County supervisor and chair of the VTA board. The budget will provide marketing, signs and technical assistance to help businesses during major construction. There is also a grant program to provide some impacted businesses up to $10,000 per year. Chavez said the BART project will create 75,000 jobs, most of them union jobs with good pay and benefits.

https://www.siliconvalley.com/2024/0...the-south-bay/

[homebucket]

Two-Item Tuesday: Oakland/Alameda Water Shuttle Almost Ready
By Roger Rudick
3:28 PM PDT on June 18, 2024



A little more news on the planned Woodstock water shuttle service between Jack London Square and Alameda Landing. From the Alameda city page: Boat modifications are complete! Woodstock now has a new open floorplan with bike racks and some benches, along with wide folding gangways. ADA ramps have been purchased for the Alameda and Oakland docks. The service launch is still planned for this summer, and a specific date will be set and announced when external approvals are assured.

That last sentence seems to be the rub now, for a service that was supposed to start this month but now seems to be delayed until at least July. Streetsblog has requested more details, but the city's web post says that "final approvals from the U.S. Coast Guard and the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC)" remain pending.

When launched, the little yellow boat will run between Alameda Landing and the foot of Oakland's Broadway (see map). It's supposed to run Wednesdays through Sundays, for about twelve hours per day. It's a two-year pilot, but Streetsblog is hopeful that will be extended, and that the service will eventually run seven days a week for closer to 18 hours a day, so it can become a reliable, regular, always-on-call conveyance for people on bike and on foot connecting Western Alameda to Oakland, as well as BART and Amtrak.

https://sf.streetsblog.org/2024/06/1...water-shuttle-

[homebucket]

And the route map:



https://sf.streetsblog.org/2024/06/1...e-almost-ready

[wwmiv]

For 850’, a pedestrian bridge would be more cost effective, no?

[homebucket]

Originally Posted by wwmiv

For 850’, a pedestrian bridge would be more cost effective, no?

There is a bicycle and pedestrian bridge being planned. However, there's some fairly big cutters from the US Coast Guard that navigate these waterways, so it'd have to be a lift bridge or a drawbridge, which is why it's taking awhile to plan and design. This is just an interim solution.







https://sf.streetsblog.org/2023/03/0...mn-complicated
https://www.pacificarea.uscg.mil/Our...rs/cgcWaesche/

[llamaorama]

Maybe they could build a tunnel using the same tube method as the adjacent road tunnels in that location? There are underwater pedestrian tunnels in Europe and the UK.

I guess that raises security concerns but a bridge would have the same problem. Either solution would involve elevators and long ramps.

A lift bridge would have long term maintenance costs just as a tunnel would.

[homebucket]

World’s First Entirely Hydrogen-Powered Ferry Welcomes Passengers on July 19 in San Francisco Bay

San Francisco, CA — July 12, 2024 — Today San Francisco Bay Ferry and a group of private and public sector partners launched the MV Sea Change, the world’s first commercial passenger ferry powered 100% by zero-emission hydrogen fuel cells. The vessel will begin service to the public on July 19, offering free transportation between Pier 41 and the Downtown San Francisco Ferry Terminal.

The Sea Change represents an enormous milestone toward efforts to decarbonize the maritime industry. It will operate as a part of the San Francisco Bay Ferry network for a six-month demonstration period designed to showcase the application of fuel cell technology as a viable strategy for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving air quality. The vessel emits only water vapor, a portion of which is remineralized and used in the onboard water fountain, making it the only vessel in the world with drinkable emissions.

The vessel is owned by SWITCH Maritime, and was developed by the company with support from a grant provided by the California Air Resources Board (CARB). The demonstration service is made possible thanks to sponsorships from a group of partners including Chevron New Energies; the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway, and Transportation District; and United Airlines. The service will be operated by San Francisco Bay Ferry’s contract operator, Blue & Gold Fleet.

https://sanfranciscobayferry.com/new...-francisco-bay

[homebucket]

A nice video of it:

• Video Link

[homebucket]

Oakland/Alameda Water Shuttle Already Proving Popular
A water shuttle update
By Roger Rudick
5:25 PM PDT on July 19, 2024

Some 60 people lined up in Oakland for a ride on Woodstock, a ferry designed to carry just over 30, on the first day of operations Wednesday afternoon. They were also there for a start-of-service party.

...

More than 775 passengers crossed the Estuary by boat instead of in a vehicle, along with 183 bicycles. The Water Shuttle’s capacity is 31 individuals and 14 bikes. Crews noticed damage above the water line on the vessel on one of the final runs that evening and suspended service immediately. Special thanks to the welders who worked overnight to make repairs and get the shuttle back up and running.



If it continues to draw so many people, the service is going to double as a strong argument for building a bridge across the estuary. From Streetsblog's view, it's also a strong argument for cancelling the Oakland Alameda Access Project, which is vainly trying to increase car capacity in the Posey and Webster tubes. Clearly, people want alternatives to driving, not more traffic. That money would be much better spent fully funding the water shuttle so it can run seven days a week (currently it doesn't run on Monday or Tuesday because of budgetary constraints). There also should be a second boat, so that when there's a problem, the service doesn't have to be cancelled.

https://sf.streetsblog.org/2024/07/1...roving-popular

[homebucket]

Caltrain To Hold Public Hearing on Reduced Cost Youth Fares on July 22
07/18/2024

Caltrain will hold a public hearing on the proposed reduced fare for youth riders on Monday, July 22. A staff presentation and final action will follow at the Board of Director’s meeting on Thursday, August 1.

Caltrain launched four fare promotions in September 2023, with the $1 one-way youth fare being the most successful at driving ridership increase. During the promotion, the fare only applied to Clipper users, and Clipper youth ticket sales was up 43% year over year, compared to 18% overall ticket sales increase during that period. People who begin riding public transit in their youth are far more likely to continue to use it as adults, making increasing youth ridership vital for Caltrain in the long term.

If adopted, as of Sunday, September 1, a $1 All Zone One-way Youth fare will be available on all fare payment methods, a $2 All Zone Day Pass will be available on Caltrain Mobile (while available) and at Caltrain ticket vending machines, and upon the Clipper Next Generation launch, expected in 2025, a $24 All Zone Monthly pass will be available on to anyone with a Youth Clipper Card.

https://www.caltrain.com/news/caltra...-fares-july-22

[veep]

Geary/19th subway projected to carry 300,000 riders per day!



• Video Link

https://www.sfcta.org/projects/geary...lic-engagement

[Busy Bee]

Yep. But they've known this for like 80 years.

[craigs]

Hmm, 300,000 riders seems like a bit of a stretch but there would definitely be high ridership.

[Nouvellecosse]

Originally Posted by craigs

Hmm, 300,000 riders seems like a bit of a stretch but there would definitely be high ridership.

Maybe, although the Bloor line in Toronto has daily ridership of about 500k and it's 26km while based on their suggesting routing this line would be about 15km or 60% as long. So it's not too big a stretch for it to also have about 60% the ridership of Bloor considering that SF proper has a similar size and density to the core part of Toronto.

[homebucket]

I think that ridership estimate is taking into account a connection to the East Bay via a second Transbay Tube as well as to San Mateo County via a connection to the Daly City BART station and the increased ridership as a result of improved regional connectivity.

[homebucket]

Neighbors Want a BART Stop in San Antonio
It's one of the most densely populated parts of the Bay Area. BART goes right through it. So why not stop there?
By Roger Rudick
5:00 PM PDT on July 18, 2024

San Antonio in Oakland is one of the densest neighborhoods in the Bay Area, with about 16,000 people per square mile. It has a BART line—trains going from San Francisco and downtown Oakland to Berryessa and Dublin/Pleasant shoot right through. But while residents of San Antonio and the surrounding communities can see and hear BART, they can't easily take it.

"There's no BART station for the almost three miles between Fruitvale and Lake Merritt," said ten-year-San Antonio resident Ben Matlaw and a member of the advocacy group San Antonio Station Alliance (SASA), in an interview with Streetsblog. "They're expanding BART into the exurbs, to new, far-flung developments, but what about the dense neighborhoods that already exist?" SASA members want a new BART station at Oakland's 14th Avenue. "It's at grade, so it should be cheaper to build a station there," said Matlaw.

...

Adding a new BART station may sound like transit "pie in the sky," but Matlaw said it is being considered as part of the planning process for the Link21 project, a multi-billion dollar effort to greatly expand transit throughout the region. "I think the most encouraging news we heard recently is that Link21 has stated publicly [that a] San Antonio station will still be considered as an infill priority," wrote Rowley.

https://sf.streetsblog.org/2024/07/1...in-san-antonio

[homebucket]

BART extension to Silicon Valley gets $5 billion federal boost
by: Alex Baker, Charles Clifford
Posted: Aug 2, 2024 / 01:17 PM PDT

(KRON) — In the South Bay, the long-held dream of connecting San Jose to BART took a big step forward on Friday. Transportation officials announced that the Federal Transit Administration would award a $5.1 billion grant toward a planned BART Silicon Valley extension.

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The entire project is expected to cost about $12.7 billion. The federal funding combined with existing funds covers most of the cost for the project. However, there is still a $700 million gap in funding that will need to be closed. VTA said the work to find that money will begin immediately.

...

“I extend my deep appreciation and gratitude to the FTA for responding so positively to our request for funding of this legacy project,” said State Senator Dave Cortese. “This five-mile transit project will ease traffic congestion, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve pedestrian public safety and connect an estimated 54,600 South Bay passengers on a daily basis to the rest of the Bay Area by 2040.”

https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/...federal-boost/