A wish list for transportation

1). A permanent source of funding for Caltrain. It is the only major transit agency without regular dependable revenue other than fares. Caltrain depends on the generosity of its Joint Powers Board members, San Mateo, San Francisco and Santa Clara counties. San Mateo County, usually the most reliable, relies on SamTrans for this funding and SamTrans, the county bus system, struggles to stay afloat with too few passengers and high labor costs. San Francisco’s main priority is MUNI, another bus system which is always short on funding and Santa Clara County has been focused on building expensive BART to San Jose. Caltrain, which connects commuters from San Jose to San Francisco with both express and local service, was the orphan transit system without much county or regional attention and support until very recently.

That all changed with the surge of traffic on 101, the introduction of the baby bullet which cut the commute time between San Jose and San Francisco in half, and the growing number of commuters who prefer speedy rail to a slow subway ride. The orphan rail line has gotten a big boost from a grassroots organization, Friends of Caltrain, which has successfully put Caltrain’s needs on the agenda of its sponsoring agencies and their respective Boards of Supervisors. Caltrain carries 80,000 daily riders who otherwise would be on Highway 101.

The proposed solution is a three-county, eighth-cent sales tax, which would have to be approved by San Mateo, San Francisco, and Santa Clara county voters, to provide that permanent source of funding.

2). Electrification of Caltrain. What a wonderful sight to see Gov. Jerry Brown, U.S. representatives Nancy Pelosi, Jackie Speier and Anna Eshoo, state senators Scott Weiner and Jerry Hill, San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee, Assemblyman Kevin Mullin and Carl Guardino, CEO Silicon Valley Leadership, gather to celebrate groundbreaking for electrification and the recent victory to secure needed funding to make it a reality. This is the most important upgrade in 153 years for the historic track which has been running on old-fashioned diesel. It will boost ridership by 80 percent.

3). Dumbarton rail. A rail system across the Bay would help relieve traffic not only on the Dumbarton Bridge but also the San Mateo and Bay bridges and State Route 92. We don’t need another auto crossing which would bring even more traffic onto 101 on the Peninsula and the Nimitz on the East Bay.

Dumbarton rail was first seriously proposed in the toll hike of 2004 as the most cost effective new Bay crossing. But the money allocated for that project went instead to Alameda County to build BART to Warm Springs. Now after many studies, Facebook, whose Menlo Park office is near the bridge’s approach, has come to the rescue by funding a new study. Support for such a rail link comes from many elected officials and it looks as if Caltrain, whose main priority has been electrification, may now be willing to take this project under its wing. It has always lacked a transit agency sponsor.

The Metropolitan Transportation Commission, which oversees the region’s bridges, is now considering another toll hike. While there will be much competition for these funds, it is only right that the highest priority should go to relieve traffic for toll payers. And Dumbarton rail would go along way to achieving that goal. The project has never been a favorite of MTC so our county representative on this regional body, Supervisor Warren Slocum and Redwood City Councilwoman Alicia Aguirre, will have to do some heavy lifting to the get the agency’s support. Just the way former county supervisor Adrienne Tissier kept the pressure on MTC for Caltrain electrification.

These projects will help address our nightmare commutes. As more and more offices and housing units are built along the rail line, a modernized Caltrain will be the way to go. A rail line across the Dumbarton bridge connecting to Caltrain will also significantly reduce State Route 92 bridge traffic.

Let’s make it happen instead of complaining about traffic. These are the most critical investments for San Mateo County.

Sue Lempert is the former mayor of San Mateo. Her column runs every Monday. She can be reached at sue@smdailyjournal.com.