Friday, July 16, 2004
Sierra Club Opposes BART to San Jose
The San Francisco Bay Chapter and Loma Prieta Chapter of the Sierra Club has written a letter to U.S. Representative Ellen Tauscher opposing the extension of BART rail transit from Fremont to San Jose. The Club also opposes a shorter extension to Warm Springs that has been proposed by BART.
San Jose and the region's transit agency, the Valley Transportation Authority (VTA), wanted a BART line to give commuters an alternative. But the $5 billion cost would sink the VTA, which is already burdened by debt and has made huge cutbacks to transit service in order to keep from defaulting on bonds sold to build rail lines.
The letter refers to a Santa Clara County grand jury report that recommended against BART and that also urged that VTA's board be replaced. The letter also notes that BART's line to the San Francisco Airport has been a failure. The Sierra Club still supports other rail service, such as commuter trains that now connect San Jose and San Francisco.
San Jose and the region's transit agency, the Valley Transportation Authority (VTA), wanted a BART line to give commuters an alternative. But the $5 billion cost would sink the VTA, which is already burdened by debt and has made huge cutbacks to transit service in order to keep from defaulting on bonds sold to build rail lines.
The letter refers to a Santa Clara County grand jury report that recommended against BART and that also urged that VTA's board be replaced. The letter also notes that BART's line to the San Francisco Airport has been a failure. The Sierra Club still supports other rail service, such as commuter trains that now connect San Jose and San Francisco.
Comments:
I would remind Mr. O'Toole that the Sierra Club also supports substantially upgrading existing rail services, e.g., the "Capitol Corridor". This would cost an order of magnitude less than the unneeded BART line.
Keep some perspective, please, Randal
Mike Setty msetty@publictransit.us
Keep some perspective, please, Randal
Mike Setty msetty@publictransit.us
The Sierra Club in general is also supportive of light rail. I am looking forward to see how their opposition to BART is spinned by anti-transit activists. Experience indicates that mention of their support of Caltrain as well as the Capitol Corridor will undoubtably be left out of future anti-rail activist pronouncements.
Post a Comment
