Monday, March 29, 2010

466. Bay Area Transportation Politics, 1991


466.


Published news story by Lurene K. Helzer, July 13, 1991, The El Cerrito Journal, “New BART Parking Garage.” Photo is of Golden Gate Bridge on its opening day in 1937. (Photo is from 1937 archive, was not running with this 1991 story.)

Lurene's email in 2014: lurenexyz@gmail.com

This story is about area parking near El Cerrito’s Del Norte BART station:


EL CERRITO – Commuters have taken advantage of the new parking garage at the El Cerrito Del Norte BART station with no delay, and with few complaints.

“Instead of parking half a mile away, I can park in here and still come to work later,” said Andrew Graves, a Hercules resident who works in san Francisco. Graves was returning to his car about 7 p.m. on Friday, July 19.

Some commuters have changed their habits because of the new parking structure, which officially opened July 12 and now makes it possible for 2,516 cars to park at the Del Norte Station.

Christa Cavanah of Richmond used to park near the El Cerrito Plaza BART station. Now, getting to work in San Francisco is faster since she doesn’t have to hunt for parking spots near the El Cerrito shopping hub. But would she pay a parking fee for the garage if fees were imposed?

“No,” said Cavanah resolutely. “We pay enough for BART.”

“I would seek parking elsewhere if it were available,” said Fletcher Alford of Hercules when asked if fees would prevent him from using the garage.

Whether commuters like it or not, however, the goal of local and regional transit officials is to encourage commuters to get to the city by use of public transportation. Recently, it was reported that traffic on the Golden Gate Bridge has decreased by five percent, and ridership on Golden Gate Transit has increased, since the new $3 toll was introduced. The eventual implementation of parking fees at the Del Norte garage might have a similar effect if they were to be imposed.

The new parking structure is the first part of BART’s $90 million program to streamline public transportation. The Urban Mass Transportation Administration, a federal agency, provided 75 percent of the funds for the new garage, which cost some $9 million.

Starting July 22, Key, Kearney and Hill streets adjacent to the Del Norte station will have four-hour parking limits reinstated, according to El Cerrito’s Community Development Department. The limits existed before the construction of the garage began.

“I personally have some questions about developing large parking at BART stations. I would personally prefer to promote the use of feeder system from the residential communities to the BART stations, such as AC Transit. However, there are circumstances where commuters can’t use the feeder systems. Those parking areas are needed,” said Contra Costa County Supervisor Bob Schroder, who serves on the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC).

Schroder says the MTC, which must frequently approve regional transportation projects and channel money from state and federal sources to local transportation agencies, has not discussed whether they would support a BART board decision to implement parking fees. “If paying for parking would discourage BART ridership, I’m sure the MTC would be opposed to it. However, if it was showed that it would not discourage ridership and the increased revenues would enhance BART service, I feel MTC would give consideration [to lending support],” said Schroder, adding that the final outcome would be decided by BART directors.

BART directors have not had to come to a decision on whether fees will ever be implemented, but the garage is built to accommodate a garage attendant near the entrance.

“I hear they are considering that. The East Bay directors feel that there should not be a fee charged. The West Bay directors feel that there should, obviously, because it’s not their constituency,” said Schroder.

“The bottom line of this whole scenario is twofold. It’s to encourage people not to drive their cars to save energy and to enhance air quality. The fewer automobiles on the road, the better air quality we have,” he said. “We have a lot of mental health problems in this society and I would venture to say that many of them are encouraged by the heavy traffic we have.”

--30—

No comments:

Post a Comment