Regional Measure 3 will ease Bay Area commutes

Bay Area congestion is unbearable. Opportunities to make improvements for the entire region are rare. It’s imperative that voters in the nine Bay Area counties support Regional Measure 3 on June 5 to build transportation infrastructure for the benefit of all.

RM3 authorizes toll increases on seven state-owned Bay Area bridges, raising an estimated $4.45 billion over 25 years for transit projects, highway improvements and better bicycle and pedestrian access. No better option exists to make this level of impact on what is the Bay Area’s highest priority. A simple majority vote is needed for RM3 to pass.

The ballot measure isn’t perfect. Increasing bridge tolls by $1 in 2019 and again in 2022 and 2025 will create hardships for drivers using them on a regular basis. Those commuters benefited directly in past regional transportation measures. All commuters — including those who pay tolls regularly — will gain if more people take transit, unclogging bridges and highways.

The South Bay has much to gain by passing RM3. It raises $375 million to bring BART to downtown San Jose, which is absolutely essential for keeping the region’s economy strong. Twenty-five years ago, no one would have believed that what was once a quaint little station would be capable of accommodating 600 trains a day by 2026. The project will make it possible for San Francisco and East Bay residents to commute to San Jose in roughly an hour, or less. And — here’s the important part — without getting in their cars and clogging freeways. Or paying a parking fee upon arrival.

RM3’s transit projects also include $130 million to extend the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority’s light rail from the Alum Rock station to the Eastridge Transit Station, $500 million for badly needed new BART cars, and $325 million to extend Caltrain from its current terminus at Fourth Street and King Street to the Transbay Transit Center in San Francisco.

The South Bay will benefit from $280 million worth of highway improvements, including the Dumbarton corridor ($130 million), Highway 92/ Highway 101 interchange ($50 million), Interstate 680/State Route 84 interchange reconstruction ($85 million) and an Interstate 680/Interstate 880/ State Route 262 freeway connector ($15 million).

All told, $985 million in funding will go specifically toward South Bay projects.

The ballot measure contains significant weaknesses. RM3 has no sunset provision, although it’s hard to believe there won’t be funding needs 25 years from now. RM3 creates an 18-member oversight committee, but it would permit BART’s board to nominate the person who would be the required inspector general. That’s less than ideal, given that BART’s board has a history of broken promises. But consider the benefits from Regional Measure 1 in 1989 and Regional Measure 2 in 2004. Those ballot measures helped fund the new Benicia Bridge, the Carquinez Bridge replacement, BART to Warm Springs, the widening of the San Mateo Bridge and more than a dozen other worthwhile projects.

Over the long haul, RM3 will carry equal or greater benefits. Vote yes on June 5.