Vote no on Berkeley Measure KK to save East Bay Bus Rapid Transit

Measure KK on Berkeley's November ballot could jeopardize funding for AC Transit's most important project for modernizing and improving its service.

AC's long-awaited East Bay Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project, on the drawing boards since 2001, would create what many planners and community leaders across the country are hailing as the new face of public transportation: a fast, convenient bus system that:

thus bypassing the traffic congestion that increasingly has rendered buses slow and unattractive to those who have better alternatives.

Now either operating or in planning in 25 U.S. cities including Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, San Jose, and Eugene, BRT has been described as "light rail with rubber wheels". It has most of the features of light rail at a fraction of the construction cost. BRT has real potential as an alternative to the private automobile, especially to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions.

The East Bay BRT route would begin in San Leandro, travel on International Boulevard and Telegraph Avenue, and terminate in downtown Berkeley. The Sierra Club has supported the basic concept since AC released its Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) last year, but 15 months later the project has become engulfed in controversy, mostly in Berkeley.

BRT opponents have placed Measure KK on the November ballot, an initiative that would require voter approval for any major change to a street in Berkeley to accommodate "bus-only" or high-occupancy-vehicle lanes. It would also require an extensive study of proposed changes prior to the vote. In a July 2008 report to the City Council, Berkeley city manager Phil Kamlarz concluded that the combination of the special study and subsequent election could cost the city between $600,000 and $1.2 million. The required election could add up to two years of further delay to the project's approval. The city attorney concurred, adding, "The proposed ordinance is a significant impediment to implementing General Plan goals and policies relating to promoting alternatives to automobiles and improving public transit."

Helen Burke, vice chair of the Northern Alameda County Group, points out that "The initiative would permit `planning by initiative'. That undercuts the city's power to plan and zone for itself, and is a bad way to do business. Imagine a counter-initiative that said any time the city did anything to promote car use, like add more parking, that action would have to go to the voters. Both seem unduly restrictive and burdensome and don't make any sense."

The Sierra Club is part of a growing list of organizations and leaders opposing the initiative, including the Transportation and Land Use Coalition (TALC); the League of Women Voters of Berkeley, Albany, and Emeryville; the Bicycle-Friendly Berkeley Coalition; KyotoUSA; Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates; and Berkeley Councilmembers Max Anderson, Laurie Capitelli, Linda Maio, and Kriss Worthington.

Planning efforts well under way

In Berkeley the ballot initiative has overshadowed the ongoing work on the BRT project by the city's planning and transportation staff and by the Transportation and Planning Commissions. All of these have been involved in discussions designed to produce a Locally Preferred Alternative (LPA). This term describes each city's recommendations for specific routings, modifications, and mitigations in response to the options outlined in the DEIR. The process of developing an LPA in each of the three cities along the route will ultimately lead to a revised plan to be presented in the Final EIR sometime in 2009.

Oakland and San Leandro are also working on choosing LPAs. The San Leandro City Council was initially skeptical about dedicated lanes there, but councilmembers and staff have been working with AC Transit in the past few months to solve problems. According to Joel Ramos, a TALC staffer who has been closely involved with the BRT project, "Both Oakland and San Leandro are working with AC Transit to develop an LPA that will be sufficient to all of the independent councilmembers' and community concerns. Each planning department submitted comments on the DEIR. AC responded to the initial concerns, and they've been having meetings and conversations with the two cities to work out problems. People are getting better educated and informed about the project all the time." In contrast, notes Ramos, the process in Berkeley has been dogged by controversy and opposition.

San Leandro Councilmember Michael Gregory, who represents the downtown area, is another who has been working to make BRT successful in his city. Gregory acknowledges that initially the City Council was skeptical about the project and concerned about the impact of dedicated lanes in the downtown. Now, he says, "I'm reconsidering all my views on this. We've devoted a great deal of time to an award-winning transit-oriented development plan for our downtown. We've allowed the cars to take over everything. Gas prices will climb and people will be screaming at us if don't we have BRT. There's not enough capacity on BART to do what we want to do to succeed with mass transportation. I've done a complete 180° turnaround. The need for BRT is so clear to me."

WhatYouCanDo

The campaign to defeat Measure KK needs volunteers for a variety of tasks such as phone-banking and leafleting. To help, contact Chapter legislative director or call (510) 848-0800, ext. 316

 

© 2008 San Francisco Sierra Club