Collaboration key to improving safety at San Mateo County BART stations

BART, the cities and the county have the mutual objective to increase ridership, make the stations safer, cleaner and to combat fare evasion with the installation of these new fare gates.

In March, because of a unanimous vote by the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors in a special meeting, a $10.3 million bridge loan was offered by the county to BART that was most cost-effective use of taxpayer dollars to get the fare gates installed as quickly as possible.

The bridge loan was contingent on BART applying for and receiving a grant from the SMCTA Measure W Regional Transit Connection Program, which we are happy to say was approved by the SMCTA Board of Directors at its June 5 meeting.

BART received the full grant amount of $10.3 million from the TA, which allowed the agency to purchase the 82 fare gates at the county’s five stations with the county’s bridge loan at a favorable cost.

Together, we both pushed to expedite this process and the results will bring a new look and improved experience at the stations, offering state-of-the-art technology that will boost safety by reducing fare evasion, enhance access for people in wheelchairs and those who bring bikes and strollers on BART.

And BART officials have stuck to their word of cleaning the stations, conducting site visits with county staff and documenting the work in pictures.

The deal the county struck with BART also ensures the upgraded security gates will be maintained after installation and that the agency will discuss strategies with the cities and county for increasing fare enforcement and BART police presence.

Of the 82 new fare gates, 29 of them will be installed at the Millbrae station, an intermodal transit station that links BART with Caltrain, SamTrans and shuttles to San Francisco International Airport.

The stations are immediately adjacent to the Gateway at Millbrae, a new mixed-use development that will soon be the headquarters to SamTrans and Caltrain.

The improvements have been sought for many years, and we would be remiss not to acknowledge former Millbrae Mayor Gina Papan, who currently serves the county on the Metropolitan Transportation Commission.

Papan played a key role in getting officials across multiple agencies to sit down and hammer out a deal.

One of those officials is BART’s Deputy General Manager Michael Jones, who approved a memorandum of understanding with the county to get the fare gates installed in San Mateo County as it undertakes the entire systemwide $90 million project across four counties.

The MOU stipulated that BART maintain the upgraded security gates after they are installed; coordinated with cities to discuss strategies for increasing fare enforcement and BART police presence; improve the level of maintenance at each BART station in the county including graffiti abatement and bathroom cleanliness; and to discuss the possibility of retail operations at the stations.

All of this work has been done solely with the rider in mind. It is incumbent we grow ridership on public transportation to pre-pandemic levels and projects such as fare gate improvements are investments meant to do just that.

Oftentimes, transit projects have a reputation for taking at least twice as long, costing at least twice as much and triggering at least a few rounds of finger-pointing over who’s to blame.

That’s why we want to highlight these recent decisions here in San Mateo County that flipped that script. It shows that real progress can happen when public officials work together to make the common good their top priority.

This is a win for BART, the cities and the rider and we can’t wait to celebrate the completion of this project later this summer.

David J. Canepa is president of the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors and legislation chair of the Metropolitan Transportation Agency. Rico E. Medina is mayor of the City of San Bruno and serves on the Board of Directors of the San Mateo County Transportation Authority.