Blueprint - Phased Implementation Plan

Overview: Bay Area Transportation Blueprint --
Phased Implementation Plan

The Metropolitan Transportation Commission's (MTC) top legislative priority is -- and remains -- the passage of Senate Constitutional Amendment 3 or a similar transportation funding measure of equivalent magnitude. Authored by Senator John Burton, SCA 3 could generate $13 billion (in current dollars) for new transportation investment in the Bay Area. However, the region must also be able to seize more modest funding opportunities that may arise before the eventual passage of SCA 3 or a similar legislative vehicle. With the recent unveiling of his $5.3 billion statewide Traffic Congestion Relief Plan, Governor Davis has focused attention on the size and the seriousness of the transportation funding gap facing California. This implementation plan has been prepared for use by the governor and the Legislature as they work together to enact a consensus transportation program.

The vibrant Bay Area economy depends on a transportation system that works. The system must complement the environment of the communities it serves. Expansion of the system will be incremental, driven by the flow of new revenue. The size of the budget will depend on the breadth and depth of public support. These considerations frame our ability and need to deliver vital elements of the Blueprint. Yet many of the Blueprint proposals and ideas are still conceptual and must be better defined and subject to public review in order to earn the confidence of both the public and investors alike.

Thus we offer the following two packages for initial consideration.

Transit
The transit package summarized in the following pages and outlined in Appendix 1 is composed of three phases. Phase 1 is preliminary engineering and project design to be funded primarily by Assemblyman Tom Torlakson's $33.5 million FY 2000-01 state budget request announced in February. This will provide funds to define the scope and level of transit services to be funded in subsequent phases of the transit plan. Phase 2 is initial implementation of rail transit, rapid bus and lifeline transit projects that can be reasonably afforded within the budgetary constraints of the state and federal discretionary funding opportunities at hand. Phase 3 lists future upgrades in the rail transit and rapid bus corridors that might be feasible if significant additional local funding on the scale of SCA 3 were to become available.

Highway
The highway package also is composed of three parts; it is summarized in the following pages and outlined in Appendix 2. Part 1 comprises HOV-lane expansion projects that would enhance the rapid bus services proposed for funding in the transit package. Part 2 would accelerate highway projects already included in the 20-year Regional Transportation Plan (RTP), the majority of which were proposed for interregional funding in the State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP). It also would reserve funds to close gaps in regional bike lanes. Finally, in Part 3 MTC supports the highway project requests separately submitted to the governor and Legislature by our local transportation partners, provided that they are included in the RTP.

The following sections elaborate on the selected transit and highway projects outlined in the attached appendices.

NEXT: Transit Improvements

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