Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Oakland Council Backs Airport Connector
Business / People / Politics / Transportation Robert Gammon — Wed, Oct 7, 2009 at 9:56 AM
The Oakland City Council reaffirmed its support early this morning for a controversial and expensive tramway from the Coliseum BART station to Oakland International Airport. The council voted 5-2 in favor of the connector, which could cost more than $500 million to build, and turned back a proposal by transit activists and Councilwoman Rebecca Kaplan to oppose the project. Opponents had argued that the automated tramway was a boondoggle and that the city and airport would be better served by a rapid-bus system that would cost about one-tenth the price.
But several councilmembers, including President Jane Brunner, decided to voice their support for the connector - which will not require city money - because of concerns that most of the funding for the project would leave Oakland if it was scrapped. Randy Rentschler of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission said at the meeting that most of the public money earmarked for connector would go to other transportation projects and operations around the Bay Area. In addition, Councilwoman Jean Quan argued that if the connector was killed, it would be several years before a rapid-bus system could gain approval - and there was no guarantee that it ever would.
Ultimately, the council majority decided to back a resolution by Vice Mayor Ignacio De La Fuente in support of the connector that included a demand that BART construction contractors be required to hire Oakland residents to help build the project. Currently, BART only has "goals" for local hiring. Also, De La Fuente's resolution called on BART to build a station along Hegenberger Road if the bids for the project are less than what the transit agency estimated. Currently, there are no plans for a station to serve the Hegenberger businesses.
Although the council's vote is non-binding on BART, if it had voted against the connector, it would have sent a strong message that Oakland didn't want the project. On the other hand, the council's support for the project means that opponents now have almost no chance of defeating it. Council members Brunner, Quan, De La Fuente, Larry Reid, and Pat Kernighan voted to support the connector, while Kaplan and Nancy Nadel voted to scrap it. Councilwoman Desley Brooks was absent, although if she had been there, she likely would have voted against the connector. Mayor Ron Dellums, by contrast, supports the tramway.
Comments (2)
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John, it's inaccurate to say they "voted to withhold their support..." Here is the exact motion passed by the council majority, according to Vice Mayor Ignacio De La Fuente:
"To reject the proposed Resolution opposing the Oakland Airport Connector and reaffirm the Oakland City Council's support for this project with the following conditions:
1. The Agreement shall require that 50% of all hours worked on the project, on a craft by craft basis, be worked by Local Area Residents and that 25% be worked by Oakland Residents. The Agreement also shall establish a goal that 20% of all hours worked be by apprentices and 50% of those hours shall be by Oakland Residents.
2. The project shall include one intermediate stop on the Heggenberger corridor, to be funded by any savings from lower than estimated bids.
3. BART shall conduct a meaningful, timely evaluation of the impact of the project's fare rates with regard to their affordability for working people."
-- Robert Gammon
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It's nuanced, but I wanted to clarify that the council did not support the current project and demand additions to it. They voted to withold their support until the project met three conditions which includes BART funding and building an intermediate stop on Hegenberger with the first phase.
It will be interesting to see if BART is interested in Oakland's support or not.
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