Editor,
Near 1 a.m. Monday, after most residents had gone home, our City Council pressed forward with SMCTA’s 101/92 Connector briefing — a presentation that should have been deferred when the meeting ran long, to ensure the public visibility this project demands.
Removing homes from the demolition list doesn’t fix what’s fundamentally wrong here. It just makes an inequitable, ineffective project slightly less unconscionable.
The San Mateo Bridge has had zero transit service since COVID killed AC Transit bus service across it — with no restoration in sight. BART anchors the East Bay. Caltrain anchors the Peninsula. The bridge is the missing link. Meanwhile, Measure W Regional Connections funds collected specifically for this purpose have reportedly gone largely unspent.
A dedicated bus lane across the bridge, with frequent, comfortable coaches, would connect BART directly to Caltrain, giving East Bay commuters a fast, car-free path to San Francisco, Silicon Valley and every major employer on the Peninsula. It would boost ridership on both rail lines and make transit genuinely competitive with sitting in traffic.
Instead, SMCTA proposes to spend our money building infrastructure only for those who can afford steep user fees, or who have employers that reimburse them.
The council went on record opposing this project. That position should hold.
Before adding a single additional “limo lane” here, SMCTA owes us a funded commitment to restore and reinvent transit across the bridge it has neglected for half a decade. Pay-to-play is not a transportation strategy. It’s an abdication of one.
Kevin Simpson
San Mateo
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(2) comments
But, Mr. Simpson, if we don’t increase throughput across San Mateo bridges, how will toll revenue increase? Follow the money. Buses receive considerably discounted fares compared to individual cars. And if dedicated bus lanes across the bridge have not been re-implemented, perhaps there isn’t enough ridership to justify them. BTW, with public transit, you will continue to have the issue of the final mile. And of course, extended commute times.
The supposed point of the 101/92 project is to relieve traffic congestion. Since no modifications on the Hayward bridge are planned, adding the pay lane will only add more cars backing up to the bridge entrance. More pollution, more congestion, definitely disruption. It's a waste of $200 - $300M tax dollars on a project that the majority of our town doesn't want and would like to see the money better spent other transit options seems calculated to only care about the revenue the Pay Lane brings in instead of benefiting the people of San Mateo who has to suffer with the consequences of additional cars, pollution, noise etc. This project really needs to go away...
And since Im one of the homeowners that would have been impacted with imminent domain I speak for myself and my neighborhood it would be great if it never happens, because hoping that CalTrans keeps their word not to take homes and parks us something us still hanging over our heads here at Parkside.
Karen C.
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