Skip to main content

BART Airport Connector: Just Build The Damn Thing!

 

More at Zennie62.com | Follow me on Twitter!




Coliseum BART Station rendering with connector


When BART was opened in 1972 one of the first station stops was at the "Coliseum", a station called Coliseum BART for the well-known sports complex. Almost from the day the station opened many asked why the BART line didn't have a spur to serve Oakland International Airport. These questions continued through the 70s, 80s, and then in the 90s a group of Oakland business leaders strongly pushed for "an airport connector" of some design. It was listed as an objective by the 500 Oaklanders who attended "Oakland Sharing The Vision" or as a few friends liked to call it, "sharing the ham sandwich."

Then when BART approved the San Francisco International Airport extention, a number of people in Oakland (including myself) just hit the ceiling. Why them and not us?

At any rate, there was always a constituency for the project and it was never considered wasteful at all. Moreover, the cost, first at $34 million, increased to $75 million in the early 90s and it seemed perhaps that alone would put it out of reach. Still, the advocates and planners pushed on.

Now, we have a plan and the first real possible end game for this project that's been a dream in the eye of Oakland boosters for three decades. The BART board finally approved $500 million for this much needed transportation system, only now at the 11th hour a few want to stop it.

Bad move; too late.

Yes, $500 million is a lot of money, but I totally disagree with the idea that $500 million is better used by giving it to existing transit agencies because the overall infrastructure of service would not be improved.

BART Connector at Oakland Airport

The BART Connector is a game-changer, giving Oakland Airport a competitive advantage over San Jose Airport, and making it the clear competitor with San Francisco International at a time when too many airlines have either stopped or curtailed service to Oakland. An airport connector would change that by increasing demand for service out of Oakland and create jobs at a time when they're sorely needed. The projected date of completion is 2013, just over three years from now. That means employment opportunities from the construction project will be active at the time they're most needed.

I know there are some opponents, many whom I respect, but they weren't here at all when this project was just a dream. Now that they live in Oakland they want to stop what we've worked for years to build.  In general, they have a low-ambition ethic that doesn't bode well for Oakland's future if they have their say.   If they have their way, Oakland will be forever a third-class city, always wishing for something rather than building it.

No.

Let's build the damn thing and get on with it.

Comments

Daniel Schulman said…
It's a "game-changer" possibly in that it will greatly decrease airport traffic. Interesting, that proponents of the automated boondoggle always fail to mention the $6 one-way fare and likely surcharge on airline tickets.

The proposed OAC is an inferior solution to the existing AirBART. If the two systems were side-by-side, I would certainly take the bus and save $3. More likely, though, I'd just fly out of SFO more often.

Popular posts from this blog

Alex Castro, Electronic Arts VP, Is Oakland’s “Fake Joe Tuman”, “Crocker Mom”

Alex Castro, is currently Vice President Of Product Management At Electronic Arts, and a fairly-well-known and legendary tech executive, regularly quoted in a number of industry publications. But Alex Castro’s also an Oakland resident who has the terrible habit of going online, making traceble email accounts from his Electronic Arts office, and posing as someone […] from WordPress http://ift.tt/1fVkWP9 via IFTTT

Event: Jog For Jill San Francisco Run September 12th Golden Gate Park

Cal Women's Rowing Team member Jill Costello passed away from complications due to lung cancer on June 24th 2010 and at the age of 21. A San Francisco event and run called Jog For Jill has been established and will be held this Sunday, September 12th at 5 PM. Two members of the Cal Women's Crew team were at the Cal vs. Davis football game wearing Jog For Jill shirts, and were kind enough to provide the video interview above. Below are the other details from the event website, where you're encouraged to pre-register here CLICK FOR SITE : Pre-Registration: Online/$25 Day of Registration: 4:00 p.m./$30 Shotgun Start: 5:00 p.m. After run/walk celebration: 6:00 p.m.- 8:30 p.m. Event Location: Golden Gate Park Music Concourse Bandshell S Tea Garden Drive San Francisco, California 94118 Participants are encouraged to pre-register. Only pre-registered participants will be guaranteed a walk/run T-shirt. T-shirts will be limited to the first 2500 day of regis

Oakland Mayor's Race: LWV Forum Draws Oakland's Older Folks

Oakland Mayor's Race Forum first take. (Which means, there's going to be more of these posts on last night, because a lot was happening.) This just in: The Oakland Tribune's out of touch with Oakland. A number of attendees of the 450 estimated said they learned of the Oakland League Of Women Voters via "the newspaper." All of the people who made that statement were over 50 years old. Still, the forum, which attracted every candidate except Dr. Terrance Candell, was a success. The auditorium at 300 Lakeside Drive seats 380 people, so if you do the math, it was about 70 over capacity. The crowd was a happy mix of supporters of candidates and long-time observers of the Oakland political scene. The one complaint they had was there wasn't enough time to hear what the candidates were about. That wasn't because there were too many candidates, but due to the format. Either Oakland Tribune Editor Martin Reynolds or the League of Women Voter