Thursday, March 29, 2007
Ana Morales is losing sleep over Caltrain. She used to get up at 5 a.m. to walk to the 5:30 a.m. train at the Broadway station in Burlingame. Now that the station is closed on weekdays, the San Francisco police officer has to get up at 4:30 a.m. and walk a mile to the Millbrae station to get to her shift on time. "The Caltrain shuttle from Broadway doesn't come that early," she explains. Nor does it run in the mid-afternoon, so she walks another mile home.
Judi Allen would like to take public transit from her Belmont home to her volunteer job as a cancer patient advocate at UCSF's Mount Zion campus, but it would take her at least two hours each way. Her day would begin with a brisk, 30-minute walk from the Alameda to the Belmont train station, where one train an hour runs to San Francisco during commute times. Fifty minutes later, she would need to catch a bus across town. Instead, she goes through a tank of gas every few days and pays $1.75 every 20 minutes to park.
The Caltrain schedule on the Peninsula, which emphasizes "Baby Bullet" express trains, is built around the philosophy that speed is more important than convenience. There's no question that the "reinvented" schedule emphasizing express trains has attracted new customers and has helped narrow Caltrain's shortfall from $13.5 million in 2005 to the current $5 million deficit. But other factors such as higher gas prices, more congested highways and the improved economy also account for increases in passenger counts. Ridership is up nationwide. The American Public Transportation System recently reported that Americans took more trips on local public transportation in 2006 than during any year since 1957.
At a time when people are eager to help the planet by getting out of their cars, Caltrain is failing to serve passengers who want convenience. Trains that used to come every 30 minutes during commute times now come only once an hour, weekday service has been suspended at two stations and shuttles only function during peak hours. It's impossible to travel between some points, such as Belmont and Sunnyvale, during commute times.
Eleven current and former City Council members from San Mateo County believe it is time to revisit Caltrain's schedule so that it better meets the needs of passengers and attracts more riders. It is entirely possible to add back some stops with minimal impact to express trains and provide more local service along with Baby Bullet trains. The Coalition to Expand Transit Service is urging city councils throughout San Mateo County to ask Caltrain to retain an outside consultant to optimize the schedule, to complete promised safety improvements and to work together with cities to improve connectivity among transit services.
Instead of moving toward a model of a few transit hubs ringed with acres of concrete and huge parking structures, we envision pedestrian-friendly transit in the heart of our cities. That's the model that has served the Peninsula well for more than 100 years. On the Peninsula, we have been transit oriented far longer than the term "transit-oriented development" was coined. As cities lose transit, they also lose their ability to attract new development near transit corridors, and businesses and residents in the vicinity suffer.
Click here to read this complete Open Forum piece in the San Francisco Chronicle.
Ana Morales is losing sleep over Caltrain. She used to get up at 5 a.m. to walk to the 5:30 a.m. train at the Broadway station in Burlingame. Now that the station is closed on weekdays, the San Francisco police officer has to get up at 4:30 a.m. and walk a mile to the Millbrae station to get to her shift on time. "The Caltrain shuttle from Broadway doesn't come that early," she explains. Nor does it run in the mid-afternoon, so she walks another mile home.
Judi Allen would like to take public transit from her Belmont home to her volunteer job as a cancer patient advocate at UCSF's Mount Zion campus, but it would take her at least two hours each way. Her day would begin with a brisk, 30-minute walk from the Alameda to the Belmont train station, where one train an hour runs to San Francisco during commute times. Fifty minutes later, she would need to catch a bus across town. Instead, she goes through a tank of gas every few days and pays $1.75 every 20 minutes to park.
The Caltrain schedule on the Peninsula, which emphasizes "Baby Bullet" express trains, is built around the philosophy that speed is more important than convenience. There's no question that the "reinvented" schedule emphasizing express trains has attracted new customers and has helped narrow Caltrain's shortfall from $13.5 million in 2005 to the current $5 million deficit. But other factors such as higher gas prices, more congested highways and the improved economy also account for increases in passenger counts. Ridership is up nationwide. The American Public Transportation System recently reported that Americans took more trips on local public transportation in 2006 than during any year since 1957.
At a time when people are eager to help the planet by getting out of their cars, Caltrain is failing to serve passengers who want convenience. Trains that used to come every 30 minutes during commute times now come only once an hour, weekday service has been suspended at two stations and shuttles only function during peak hours. It's impossible to travel between some points, such as Belmont and Sunnyvale, during commute times.
Eleven current and former City Council members from San Mateo County believe it is time to revisit Caltrain's schedule so that it better meets the needs of passengers and attracts more riders. It is entirely possible to add back some stops with minimal impact to express trains and provide more local service along with Baby Bullet trains. The Coalition to Expand Transit Service is urging city councils throughout San Mateo County to ask Caltrain to retain an outside consultant to optimize the schedule, to complete promised safety improvements and to work together with cities to improve connectivity among transit services.
Instead of moving toward a model of a few transit hubs ringed with acres of concrete and huge parking structures, we envision pedestrian-friendly transit in the heart of our cities. That's the model that has served the Peninsula well for more than 100 years. On the Peninsula, we have been transit oriented far longer than the term "transit-oriented development" was coined. As cities lose transit, they also lose their ability to attract new development near transit corridors, and businesses and residents in the vicinity suffer.
Click here to read this complete Open Forum piece in the San Francisco Chronicle.
- Written by Terry Nagel
The Mayor of Burlingame just doesn't get it. She thinks that the number of 11 former and current council members is something to shout about. If there are 1,000 current and former council members, that is 1.1%. She is upset that a "survey" wasn't done before the bullet train was introduced. Now that we have 20 20 vision after the fact, what does the information tell us? The train system is now carrying more customers than ever. So her point is? Speed is convenience. Burlingame has a Mayor who wants to run things using the lowest common denominator, yet when it comes to sharing services with Millbrae, she can't go there because Millbrae is not Burlingame. They are beneith her.
How successful is Broadway Burlingame now that the train station has been closed? How succesful in Burlingame Avenue now that train stopage has decreased? Both are booming.
Burlingame Mayor Nagel, please stay out of regional issues and just stick with your town, or do you let the opinions of 1.1% of your residents dictate what decisions you make for that town? By example, can we all say SAFEWAY.
Posted by: Andrew | April 02, 2007 at 12:48 AM
ELEVEN FORMER AND CURRENT COUNCIL MEMBERS TOLD TO HIT THE ROAD
Train service spat leads to new talks
By Dana Yates
A handful of city council members looking for expanded local train service were sent back to the negotiating table after the Caltrain board of directors rejected their request for an outside consultant to review the current schedule yesterday.
Ultimately, however, the dispute may be quelled by Caltrain's movement toward electrification, a goal train officials would like to see happen by 2014.
It's not just a new power source, it's a whole new paradigm,? said Caltrain Executive Director Mike Scanlon.
In the meantime, the Coalition to Expand Transit Service, a group of 11 current and former council members from San Mateo County is calling on Caltrain to hire an outside consultant to review its schedule. The group wants to increase local service after Caltrain changed its daily trains to 96 a day about two years ago while closing Burlingame's Broadway and Atherton stations on weekdays and cutting weekend service elsewhere. The schedule change implemented more baby bullet and express trains while decreasing frequency at other stations.
The change increased ridership on the rail and increased revenue from $19 million before the baby bullet to an estimated $35 million this year. The current schedule leaves little room to add stops without adding time to baby bullet trips. The Caltrain Joint Powers Board with members from San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties said it was hard pressed to hire another consultant to review the schedule which appears to be working well. Instead, it suggested the group renew meetings with Caltrain staff to discuss the issues.
Yesterday's two-hour debate included threats to revoke funds from Measure A a countywide half-cent sales tax for transportation improvements and accusations of the board playing politics.
Santa Clara County supervisors Ken Yeager and Don Gage argued against the group's request because it consists of just San Mateo County officials and appears aimed at improving service only in this county. Gage, from Gilroy, argued that his city lost weekend service altogether and if there is anything restored, it should happen first in his county.
The entire board stressed that cuts were made in each county for the betterment of the entire region.
We can't service everyone and it's very tough to acknowledge that,? Yeager said.
However, Burlingame Mayor Terry Nagel insists there is room for improvement to bring service back to less popular stations such as Broadway in her city. The decision to cut service was made when the board declared a fiscal emergency and did not allow for proper public input or study, Nagel contended.
Our economic viability, frankly, depends on it,? Nagel said. When you start cutting service at our stations you are hurting us economically.?
Cities stand to lose out on multiple state incentives available to cities who create transit-oriented development, which promotes high-density housing near transit hubs.
Burlingame was considering development near the Broadway station before the station closure in 2003. Interest from developers dropped off considerably since the station closure, Nagel said in an interview last month.
A recent economic study of the area near Burlingame Avenue showed property within one-half mile of Burlingame Station worth $100 million more than property further away, Nagel said.
Nagel even made accusations that politics played a large role in deciding what stations to close. When pressed by Jerry Hill, JPB member and San Mateo County supervisor, to explain her comment she pointed to the meeting more than a year ago when more than 100 students and parents from Bellarmine College Preparatory High School in San Jose flooded a meeting to save the stop close to the school.
Only a handful of public officials and business owners showed up at that same meeting to campaign for service at Broadway and Atherton.
Former Atherton Councilman Malcolm Dudley threaten to revoke certain Measure A funds if more citizens aren't serviced.
The threat didn't sit well with Scanlon.
You can't stand up here and threaten to take away measure A money if you don't get what you want,? Scanlon told Dudley. Scanlon also offered to sit down with the group and continue discussions that dropped off early last year.
Posted by: Gee, why didn't Fiona post this one? | April 07, 2007 at 05:35 PM
You can't stand up here and threaten to take away measure A money if you don't get what you want,?
YES YOU CAN.
Posted by: just looking | April 08, 2007 at 03:24 AM
"Nagel even made accusations that politics played a large role in deciding what stations to close."
Politics seem to have played a large role in this coalition. It is keeping the mayor's name in the papers prior to the election.
Don't the county supervisors control Measure A funds? Wouldn't the threat need to be made by them in order to have any substance? I don't think they will be doing that.
And who do you think you are representing when you threaten to shut down the north/south transit system for the entire peninsula?
Posted by: just snoozing | April 08, 2007 at 02:26 PM
Actually, I think the most important thing Nagel has said is that she wants to see the electrification of Cal Train. So we understand what that means, a 20 foot wall will go down the train tracks all of the way through Burlingame, just like Belmont and San Carlos. She wants to really divide the town. The other side of the tracks will now mean something. Stay tuned for her flip flop.
Posted by: Andrew | April 09, 2007 at 04:10 AM