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Throughout the month of August, VTA is holding public scoping meetings to obtain input for a "supplemental" Environmental Impact Report (EIR). VTA is preparing a supplemental EIR to address changes in the project since the original state EIR was certified in December 2004.
SCVTARU has obtained a list of ten (10) questions VTA is circulating at the scoping meetings (PDF document download). The questions are listed below. VTA's answers to the questions below are under what VTA Says. The independent blog VTA Watch will give its answers to the ten questions under The Rest Of the Story.
Is VTA really giving you the full story on what is required to bring BART to Silicon Valley? You decide after seeing all of the information below.
VTA Says: Measure A was one of many options considered to fund transportation improvements; VTA will continue to pursue other possibilities in the coming months. The BART project remains a top priority, and VTA's responsibility is to deliver, as best we can, all the projects specified in 2000 Measure A. VTA will continue to be aggressive in seeking ways to meet our obligations.
The Rest Of the Story: VTA, along with the Silicon Valley Leadership Group (SVLG) and others, were counting on the 2006 Measure A 1/2-cent general sales tax measure to provide more funding to VTA. Instead of admitting the reality of voter rejection of policy by denying more sales taxes via Measure A's defeat, VTA is pretending nothing has happened with the hope that voters will pass another tax increase someday in the future. As the way it goes currently, VTA will continue to withhold no-new-tax alternatives as a way to pressure the voters to pass another tax; basically increase the tax for a lousy plan or increase the tax for a lousy plan.
2. Why is BART the best solution for this corridor?
VTA Says: A full evaluation of eleven different modes of travel (express bus, bus rapid transit, commuter rail, diesel and electric light rail, and BART) and various alignments and stations was completed. When compared with the other alternatives, the BART Alternative offered the fastest travel times to passenger destinations; the greatest congestion relief; the best access to jobs, education, medical, retail and entertainment centers throughout the Bay Area; regional connectivity with no transfers to the BART system; high community support and opportunities for transit-oriented development in conjunction with local land use planning efforts. The alternative also had the highest ridership projections.
The Rest Of the Story: BART is not the best solution for the corridor. The so-called "full evaluation" was performed in 2001 with the full and clear bias for BART in a specific alignment and against any other modes and alignments. All VTA had to do was to somehow make up the ridership numbers and cost to make the pre-determined politically-driven plan to work
Best access to jobs? It doesn't go to the job reach area bounded by Highway 237, U.S. Highway 101, and Interstate 880, the so-called the "Golden Triangle." Sure, no transfers to the BART system, but not a transfer-less trip to where the jobs are. What about a direct Tri-Valley and possibly an Altamont Pass connection, where it is rated as one of the most congested corridors in the Bay Area? Forget about it! Should this much taxpayer's money be spent on the BART extension that, for many Santa Clara County residents, means faster trips on transit to A's baseball games in Oakland?
VTA Says: In addition to the technical data in support of BART, the community continues to favor BART over commuter rail. In 2000, over 70 of Santa Clara County voters approved a local sales tax measure for BART and survey results by the Silicon Valley Leadership Group in 2005 show that 69 of County voters would continue to support a local tax measure to fund the BART Extension. BART is a high-quality regional system, supporting a regional economy, the BART system currently carries over 310,000 daily trips. The BART extension would add 111,500 daily trips by 2030, more than today's Caltrain, light-rail, express bus and ACE ridership combined. With six-minute headways, BART would provide more frequent sendee and greater capacity7 than Caltrain or ACE. In addition, in 2000, City of Fremont residents and council strongly rejected the Fremont/South Bay Commuter Rail project, which proposed extending commuter rail from the proposed Warm Springs BART Station south through the cities of Milpitas, San Jose and Santa Clara.
The Rest Of the Story: According to 2000 Measure A ballot language, an Altamont Commuter Express (ACE) upgrade is clearly listed as one of the projects eligible to receive Measure A funding. At that time, despite criticism, Measure A supporters claimed there was enough funding that the BART extension would not be impacting the upgrade of the ACE line. Today, VTA, following the pre-June 6, 2006 SVLG talking points and outdated/misguided poll numbers, is saying that the 2000 Measure A is all about BART and nothing about ACE and everything else.
Due to increasing slower freight train traffic, what ACE needs is a dedicated right of way to enhance speed and reliability. What VTA has is a dedicated right of way between Fremont and San Jose. Instead of giving ACE the use of a publicly owned right of way to improve reliability and increase ridership, VTA plans to leave it empty until the day when BART, which its tracks are 100% incompatible to ACE, is built.
The rail mode with no direct connection to the Tri-Valley and no connection over the Altamont Pass gets everything, and the one with direct connection to the Tri-Valley and the Altamont Pass gets nothing. Is it fair? Does VTA care?
4. Is BART to Silicon Valley really going to happen?
VTA Says: Yes, long-term thinking is going to pay off by providing the necessary transportation improvements for current and future Bay Area transit riders. The project is generally progressing on schedule through mandatory phases, which is typical for all capital projects of this magnitude. As of Spring 2006, preliminary engineering (PE) had reached over 80% completion, and is estimated to continue through 2006. Final design, which moves the project to the 100% engineering design level, will begin in 2007. Construction will follow with service targeted to begin in 2016.
The Rest Of the Story: If you're one of the contractors and consultants working on the project and would receive millions of dollars of payment from it, you will want to believe it will happen. The federal government, which VTA will require approval from before receiving any federal funding for final design and construction, is questioning this project. (101K Microsoft Word Document) Even if VTA has a new sales tax, BART to San Jose is by no means a slam dunk.
VTA Says: VTA elected to temporarily withdraw from the Preliminary Engineering phase of the New Starts funding process with the intention of re-entering the formal review process in Final Design/Construction, when federal funding is needed. During this time, VTA will work with FTA outside the formal process to improve the project's competitiveness against other New Starts projects. The project schedule should not be affected by this action. VTA will continue to move forward with preliminary engineering, environmental and planning work.
The Rest Of the Story: VTA withdrew from the Federal New Starts process knowing that the project will face certain rejection from the federal government. The BART to San Jose project would have been evaluated with other rail and bus expansion projects throughout the nation for federal funding. Rather than face rejection, VTA was hoping to get back to the process next year if the 2006 Measure A general sales tax ballot measure passed, which didn't happen on June 6. Even with a new sales tax, there is no guarantee that the federal government will approve BART to San Jose. VTA's financial plan and ridership projection for BART remain flawed whether there's a new sales tax or not.
6. How many people will ride BART to Silicon Valley?
VTA Says: VTA is projecting that more than 111,500 weekday riders will use the 16.1-mile extension of BART to Silicon Valley in 2030. The project will attract more riders because it will save them time and money. These numbers are based on modeling data required by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA). FTA requires that VTA use the region's official population and employment forecasts produced by the Association of Bay Are a Governments (ABAC). VTA used ABAG's 2003 Smart Growth projections.
The Rest Of the Story: VTA is projecting 111,500 daily riders, but it is a questionable projection. To put it into perspective, what VTA is projecting is about 1/3 of the total BART ridership today, which half of its transbay ridership, a corridor that has limited highway competition (one toll bridge). In addition, VTA projection is the nearly the same as the Red Line subway in Los Angeles, a system with twice as many station and lower fares, and a city with the population many more times than in Santa Clara County. Finally, VTA's projection for the BART line is more than the entire VTA bus ridership today! In comparison, the bus system in Los Angeles carries 10 times more riders than the Red Line.
It is not the first time a BART extension had questionable ridership projection. The latest BART extension to San Francisco International Airport (SFO) was built using phony projections and now SamTrans, who carries the responsibility of paying the BART operating subsidy in San Mateo County, is now suffering from low BART ridership.
7. The projected ridership numbers are great, but how can you be sure that people will ride BART?
VTA Says: BART provides a reliable, comfortable and fast way to travel. More people choose to ride BART than other modes. A recent University of California-Berkeley study commissioned by Caltrans found that 40 percent of people living near a BART station take BART.
The Rest Of the Story: The statement "more people choose to ride BART than other modes" is baloney beyond reason. People choose to ride transit because it goes where people want to go in a reasonble time and at a reasonable cost, regardless of how the train looks like or who operates it. Caltrain was able to increase its ridership by over 20% by offering express service. The ridership on the Orange Line (Bus Rapid Transit) in Los Angeles has grown beyond its original projections. Caltrain and the Orange Line in Los Angeles are not BART, but they're transit successes.
What made BART a success today is high density urban growth in San Francisco, and limited highway competition on the Bay Bridge. Neither case is true in Santa Clara County, but VTA expects the same number of boardings at a downtown San Francisco station to apply in downtown San Jose. As we all know, Mineta San Jose International Airport's landing path is limiting the building heights in downtown San Jose.
8. Will the project solve our traffic problems?
VTA Says: No single approach can solve the problem. The only way to address the region's transportation challenge now and in the future is to provide an integrated solution that maximizes the choices people have to make their trips including investments in BART, buses, carpools, telecommuting and roadways. BART, which provides more capacity than any other transportation alternative in the corridor, is essential to that solution.
The Rest Of the Story: According to the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), the second and third most congested spots last year were on the I-580 in the Tri-Valley area. The BART extension, unlike the Altamont Commuter Express (ACE), will not provide any alternative to this growing corridor.
9. How much will the project cost and who's paying for it?
VTA Says: The total project cost in 2005 dollars is estimated at $4.7 billion. The State of California will contribute 14% through the Transportation Congestion Relief Program (TCRP) and 2% through Proposition 42. Local sales tax through 2000 Measure A will contribute 56%, and federal grant funds (through the Federal Transit Administration) are expected to provide the remaining 16%. Another 12% will come from other sources.
The Rest Of the Story: What VTA stated omits the financing costs. When the financing costs, and other hidden costs, are accounted for, the cost will be in the range of $6 to 7 billion. The construction timing and method proposed by VTA for the BART projects require a large cash flow that VTA doesn't have without bonding. What is also not included are the 100%+ cost overruns that other BART extensions have historically experienced.
The BART extension simply is a new Bay Bridge East Span in the making, except that the politicians themselves cannot pass new taxes on you like bridge tolls. However, voters should not be pressured to pass a new sales tax if VTA runs out of money in the midst of digging a subway in downtown San Jose.
10. How does funding for the BART Extension relate to other VTA transit services and projects?
VTA Says: In March 2006, the VTA Board established the Project Advisory Committee (PAC) to work towards a consensus 2000 Measure A plan. The PAC held six meetings throughout Santa Clara County between March and June 2006 to gather input from community members, stakeholders, and policy makers. Following the meetings, the PAC developed a plan that preserves all the 2000 Measure A projects, as well as some additional transportation projects. The VTA Board approved the PAC's recommended plan in June 2006.
The Rest Of the Story: VTA has passed an expenditure plan, but it requires a new sales tax to be effective. Even so, the expenditure plan provides no guarantees and protection to other transit projects promised to you by VTA. Over the years, VTA has consistently used inflated tax revenue projections to make false claims that all projects are funded, and VTA has consistently refused to consider other scenarios where no new taxes are needed and projects that can fulfill all of the 2000 Measure A goals and beyond. As long as BART is in VTA's plan, all other non-BART projects are essentially screwed.
How Can I Give Input to VTA Management On the BART to San Jose Proposal?
Attend any of the public scoping meetings VTA is holding in Santa Clara and San Jose thru August 21. The meetings last from 7:00pm to 8:30pm:
Can't attend any of the meetings? Until August 25, you can address written comments to:
Tom Fitzwater
VTA Environmental Planning, Building B
3331 N. First
Street, San Jose, CA 95134-1906
email: vtabart.seircomments@vta.org
fax:
(408)321-5787
Hearing impaired (TDD) - (408)321-2330
In addition, send a copy of your input to the VTA's Board of Directors and SCVTARU via our DIY portal for contacting VTA management directly.
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