Bay Area voters opt to raise bridge tolls by $3 to reduce traffic (San Jose: tech jobs, wages)

[JJonesIII]

Replacing the eastern span of the Bay Bridge — a vital link between the East Bay and San Francisco — was originally projected to cost $250 million. By the time the span was completed, the project came in at $6.5 billion.

Yawn. What's that quote by PT Barnum about "every minute"?

Yep, the gullibility of the Bay Area voter is at an all time high. And the government loves it while they spend like drunken sailors. And to the voters who approved this, that picture of the guy cheering in the OP's article. Yeah, he's laughing at you...not with you.

At some point, maybe the light bulb will finally come on and the voters will say "no" to every single tax increase, bond measure, and toll increase until they receive complete transparency on each penny spent. And when the government can show that the process is competitive and the public is getting the best value from every dollar, then they'll receive funds. I get so bored with hogwash.

‘Remaking the Bridge,’ 25 years and $6.5 billion later | Berkeley News

Maybe the politicians can explain why it cost so much more to build roads here? Why we have 5x the administrative costs and 2.5x the national average?

https://reason.org/wp-content/upload...way_report.pdf

[shooting4life]

Originally Posted by sav858

Major capital projects receiving RM2 funding:
-Caldecott Tunnel Fourth Bore
-Interstate 80/680 interchange improvements
-State Route 4 widening and e-BART extension
-San Francisco Muni Central Subway
-San Francisco Transbay Transit Center
-BART Transbay Tube seismic retrofit
-BART-Oakland Airport connector
-BART Fremont-to-Warm Springs extension

Operations funded by RM2
-San Francisco Muni T-Third light rail
-AC Transit enhanced bus service on International Blvd. and Telegraph Ave.
-All-Nighter bus service on BART corridors
-San Francisco Bay Ferry
-Golden Gate Transit service over Richmond-San Rafael Bridge
-Napa VINE service to Vallejo intermodal terminal
-Clipper® transit-fare payment card.

RM1 Funded Projects
-Richmond Parkway construction — 2001
-New westbound Carquinez Bridge — 2003
-San Mateo-Hayward Bridge widening — 2003
-State Route 84-Bayfront Expressway widening — 2004
-Richmond-San Rafael Bridge rehab — 2006
-New northbound Benicia-Martinez Bridge — 2007
-Southbound Benicia-Martinez Bridge rehab — 2008
-Interstate 880/State Route 92 interchange replacement — 2011


Yeah what a total waste! Toll revenue does nothing and only benefits the rich out there in Antioch or all the landed gentry commuting between Solano and Contra Costa Counties! Traffic would be so much better without that additional northbound Benicia bridge or widened San Mateo bridge! What kind of idiots out there want to invest in infrastructure??

You have to look at the project for this round of taxes. None of them ease congestion on the bridges, the people who are actually going to pay for all these projects. Not to mention the increase gas tax that was supposed to be fixing all these issues.

All we will end up with is some more bart cars, bike lanes and regular lanes converted to toll lanes.

[sav858]

Originally Posted by shooting4life

You have to look at the project for this round of taxes. None of them ease congestion on the bridges, the people who are actually going to pay for all these projects. Not to mention the increase gas tax that was supposed to be fixing all these issues.

All we will end up with is some more bart cars, bike lanes and regular lanes converted to toll lanes.

They improve the alternatives to driving across the bridge and improve the corridors that feed traffic to the bridges. Better BART, bus, and ferry service helps keep additional vehicles off bridges so in that sense that do ease congestion on bridges.

Also they only convert carpool lanes to toll lanes, providing single occupant vehicles an option for a quicker drive. You don’t like options?

[shooting4life]

Originally Posted by sav858

They improve the alternatives to driving across the bridge and improve the corridors that feed traffic to the bridges. Better BART, bus, and ferry service helps keep additional vehicles off bridges so in that sense that do ease congestion on bridges.

Also they only convert carpool lanes to toll lanes, providing single occupant vehicles an option for a quicker drive. You don’t like options?

Replacing Bart car with new Bart cars doesn’t ease traffic. Only more Bart track will. The tracks run at mass capacity currently. The stations can’t handle longer trains at commute times. Helping North south traffic in Santa Clara county does close to nothing to help those using bridges (east/west travel).

If one group of people is going to be paying this tax they should be the one to actually benefit from it. The money should be going to expanding bridge size or adding another bridge. Helping the approaches to San Mateo and dumbartin bridge. Opening up rail line on the bridge already in place between union city and Redwood City. Instead the money is used to help those in Santa Clara, San Mateo and at counties the most even though they pay very little while the working class residents of the Bay Area, those traveling from coco and alameda counties into those areas see very little benefit while shouldering all of the financial burden.

[sav858]

Originally Posted by shooting4life

Replacing Bart car with new Bart cars doesn’t ease traffic. Only more Bart track will. The tracks run at mass capacity currently. The stations can’t handle longer trains at commute times. Helping North south traffic in Santa Clara county does close to nothing to help those using bridges (east/west travel).

If one group of people is going to be paying this tax they should be the one to actually benefit from it. The money should be going to expanding bridge size or adding another bridge. Helping the approaches to San Mateo and dumbartin bridge. Opening up rail line on the bridge already in place between union city and Redwood City. Instead the money is used to help those in Santa Clara, San Mateo and at counties the most even though they pay very little while the working class residents of the Bay Area, those traveling from coco and alameda counties into those areas see very little benefit while shouldering all of the financial burden.

They are EXPANDING the BART fleet, not just replacing existing cars. Either way replacing BART cars improves reliability of the existing fleet too. With the train control system modernization currently underway and the expansion of its fleet that significantly increases capacity. In addition RM3 is helping fund the design and engineering for a second Transbay Tube. These funds are doing exactly what you claim they aren’t, have you actually looked at the expenditure plan?

There are only so many bridges the Bay Area can build and that in itself is a terrible and inefficient use of resources considering the costs and the well known fact that you can’t build your way out of congestion with wider roads.

RM3 is funding Dumbarton corridor improvements which may or may not be rail, again look at the plan. And that rail bridge needs to be replaced btw.

Traffic on the bridges just doesn’t come out of nowhere, people come from all over from different corridors. The East Bay will benefit the more from these projects than Santa Clara or San Mateo since they are the ones who are commuting job centers.

[shooting4life]

Originally Posted by sav858

They are EXPANDING the BART fleet, not just replacing existing cars. Either way replacing BART cars improves reliability of the existing fleet too. With the train control system modernization currently underway and the expansion of its fleet that significantly increases capacity. In addition RM3 is helping fund the design and engineering for a second Transbay Tube. These funds are doing exactly what you claim they aren’t, have you actually looked at the expenditure plan?

There are only so many bridges the Bay Area can build and that in itself is a terrible and inefficient use of resources considering the costs and the well known fact that you can’t build your way out of congestion with wider roads.

RM3 is funding Dumbarton corridor improvements which may or may not be rail, again look at the plan. And that rail bridge needs to be replaced btw.

Traffic on the bridges just doesn’t come out of nowhere, people come from all over from different corridors. The East Bay will benefit the more from these projects than Santa Clara or San Mateo since they are the ones who are commuting job centers.

I’ve looked at the plan. All it does is spend a little money on “project planning”. None of it will actually go to expand transportation. SF just got a new bridge and another Bart tube, which this isn’t funding, doesn’t do anything to ease congestion in the one place not actually served by rail, the east bay to Silicon Valley.

Having more bart cars does nothing when they don’t fit in the stations. The trains cannot get any longer and they have no room for more capacity in SF unless they build a second line underground and all new stations which would take 40+ years to complete it it is even possible in this day and age of no growth.

The people crossing the bay benefit very little from the proposed projects. Most of the money goes to buses, Caltrain expansion and moving Bart down the 880 corridor. None of this addresses the people paying bridge tolls.

I wouldn’t have a problem with the plan if it wasn’t funded from a small subset of the poorest commuters and not giving them any benefit. Let everyone pay the tax and then it would be equitable.

[bmw335xi]

Originally Posted by brb going fishing

https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/06/...toward-victor/



Hopefully, this will encourage folks to live closer to job centers in San Francisco and Silicon Valley, rather than commuting in from the periphery of the East Bay.

All this does is further hurt working class people who cannot afford to live in city centers. Another typical liberal elite idea to hurt the working class. You think people really want to live on the fringes and spend hours in their car fighting traffic? You think increasing monthly expenses will help them afford to live in the city center?

[49erfan916]

Thank God I moved out of state. lol.

[SportyandMisty]

Originally Posted by 2sleepy

Don't you think they would already live closer to their job if they could afford to?

The objective is to make it so expensive to live elsewhere that they can't afford not to live close to their job.

[SportyandMisty]

Originally Posted by JJonesIII

Yep, and as they've shown you...they don't care. All part of the grand scheme...to make the Bay Area home to the elite.

I agree because everyone should be able to afford to live in Beverly Hills and drive a Porsche.