Bus Rapid Transit is on the road to East Bay

The Sierra Club's Northern Alameda County Group is looking forward to release of the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for AC Transit's plan to implement Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) service on the Telegraph Avenue-International Boulevard-East 14th Street corridor between downtown Berkeley and San Leandro. The report is expected at the end of this year or early in 2007.

As BRT makes buses speedier, more reliable, and more frequent, bus ridership along the corridor is expected to increase by 30 - 40%, with corresponding reductions in traffic, as people who currently drive switch to transit. BRT will thus bring reductions in auto pollution and emission of global-warming gases.

How will BRT provide faster, more reliable service? BRT buses will travel in dedicated bus-only lanes and will have priority for getting green lights at intersections. Stops will be rail-like stations with shelters, benches, real-time bus-arrival information, and platforms for faster, level boarding. Stations may have ticket machines, and there may be other ways to process tickets more quickly.

Stops will be more widely spaced than for regular buses to reduce stopping time and can serve as nodes of concentrated activity for transit-oriented development and neighborhood revitalization.

Issues in implementing BRT

Although the Group welcomes BRT, we have so far endorsed this project only "in concept" because much depends on how it is actually implemented, and this will be revealed only when the EIR is released.

The specific alignment in Berkeley has yet to be determined, and some portions of the route in downtown San Leandro and on a few blocks of Telegraph Avenue near UC Berkeley may be too narrow to allow dedicated lanes for buses. In Berkeley, BRT buses could travel in both directions on Telegraph, Bancroft and/or Shattuck Avenues, or buses could use pairs of parallel streets for opposite directions: Telegraph and Dana (between Dwight and Bancroft); Bancroft and Durant; and Shattuck and Oxford.

One BRT option that has generated controversy is the creation of a bus-pedestrian mall in Berkeley, excluding cars from Telegraph north of Dwight. This would allow buses to travel in both directions on that narrower stretch of Telegraph. Local merchants have expressed fears that such lack of car access would drive away customers; proponents argue that the improved pedestrian and bus access would in fact be good for business, as well as general transportation flow.

Other issues include the removal of some on-street parking spaces along the route. AC Transit plans to replace the parking at nearby locations, and with more people using transit, parking demand should go down. Station locations and spacing are issues in some portions of the route.

BRT is also supported by the Transportation and Land Use Coalition, which has been organizing support for BRT in Oakland.

WhatYouCanDo

When the EIR is released, the Group will analyze it and decide on taking a position on the specific project details. To be involved in this process, or to find out the Group's position and detailed comments, contact or (510) 848-0800, ext. 304

In Berkeley, a new group called Friends of BRT has been formed to support BRT. Its web site at http://www.friendsofbrt.org contains more information, and will include updates on when the EIR will be released and on when and how people can submit comments. The site also allows you to sign up for an alert list.