The history of BART on the Peninsula

When the BART station in Daly City opened, it was without proper concern for the thousands of motorists who would park their cars and use BART. BART had no intention of solving this parking problem as they had committed themselves to the “legitimate concerns” of the county stations that were authorized to be in the system. Eventually a parking lot was built, but only after much anger and frustration.

All of the construction required money and the citizens were taxed repeatedly. Resentment was building up in the taxpayers. The East Bay property owners began paying property taxes in 1957 to fund BART. In 1969, a sales tax was added. In 1974, the San Mateo County Transit District (SamTrans) approved a county-wide bus system. A one-half cent sales tax was to fund this.

In 1978, Proposition 13 was passed by California voters, effectively stopping the excessive rise of property taxes.

In 1985, the voters of the San Mateo County voted 3-1 to build a passenger station in Colma with existing sales tax revenue. Officials of Colma objected, but it did no good. The BART station was built on unincorporated county property.

In 1987, 61 percent of the voters approved a “at SFO vicinity” extension by BART.

In January 1989, a sales tax increase was approved for train, street, highway, paratransit and bike path projects.

In March 1990, an agreement to pursue a $200 million buy-in to the existing BART District was approved and SamTrans was to apply for annexation of the San Mateo County to BART. SamTrans was to come up with 25 percent of the construction costs that were estimated to be $1.2 billion.

BART agreed to construct the BART tube underground through South San Francisco and San Bruno. In 1990, the process of building BART through San Bruno began and it would take eight years to complete the preliminary processes. Artichoke Joe’s, largest employer in San Bruno, would lose prime parking rights along the old # 40 line right-of- way, where Dennis Sammut was renting a space for his casino business. Eventually, he razed many buildings adjacent to his casino and built a new ground-level parking lot for his business.

In May 1992, groundbreaking ceremonies were held at Colma for the finished BART terminal. It was completed in December 1995 and it was opened in February 1996.

On Monday, Dec. 10, 1997, BART bids are opened and were $498 million. They went to Tutor/Saliba/Slattery Consortium, who also had the airport contract. The $498 million is higher than the projected $460 million. The project is expected to begin in July with utility line construction.

In December 1997, railroad ties and old Southern Pacific railroad tracks are being taken out along the route of BART, especially in San Bruno where Huntington Avenue will be realigned along the former Southern Pacific and # 40 line right-of-way. The new Huntington Avenue is to be beautified with trees and shrubs and this is to be paid by BART but, south of Interstate 380, the city must pay for improvements (The residents along the street must pay for undergrounding of the utilities, which began in mid-1998).

In April 1998, BART held groundbreaking ceremonies in Millbrae, adjacent to the newly completed overpass, for its inter-model station which will serve BART, Caltrain and SamTrans.

In a Sept. 1, 1998 Millbrae/San Bruno Sun newspaper article, Cyprus Lawn in Colma was haggling with BART about money it wanted for BART to go under the cemetery. The other cemeteries have settled the issue, but Cyprus Lawn is concerned that BART will disturb the peaceful image the cemetery projects.

On Saturday, Dec. 7, 2002, at 11 a.m., the Board of Directors of the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District and the Board of Directors of the San Mateo County Transit District and the city San Bruno had an open house and art unveiling for the new San Bruno BART Station.

Rediscovering the Peninsula by Darold Fredricks appears in the Monday edition of the Daily Journal.