3A Public Hearing 2010 0517 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

Livermore, Kathleen From: Janet Arnold [RubinArnol@aol.com] Sent: Tuesday, March 16, 2010 11:26 AM To: Livermore, Kathleen Subject: BRT, Yes! You will soon be asked to vote on a "Locally Preferred Alternative" (LPA) for Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) for our region. Along with TransForm, I am asking you to please vote in favor of studying a robust BRT system with a maximum number of proposed stations and dedicated lanes (also being called a "full-build LPA"), but in awareness that voting for a full build LPA is not necessarily a vote in support of BRT. I am aware that some merchants have begun to express concerns about impacts to parking and that some residents have begun to express concerns about stop-spacing. However, I believe that BRT can be implemented in a way that addresses these issues. Existing bus stops at popular destinations for seniors and people with limited mobility could and should be improved by locating BRT stations in their place. Shelter, seating, lighting, and other security amenities would be welcomed at these stops as an improvement to existing (or lack thereof) facilities, and could attract even more riders. Our region can use BRT as an opportunity to improve existing parking conditions, such as implementing a "performance-based pricing" strategy for parking along the BRT corridor. Letting the market determine the cost of premium, on-street parking would lead to increased revenues, 100% of which could be re-invested in the district where the revenues were generated. Those new revenues could then be spent on a local shuttle service (like the Emery- Go-Round), transit passes for local workers (Eco-passes), more lighting, increased security, or other improvements desired by local merchants. Old Pasadena, and Redwood City offer incredible examples of how to do this, as described in Donald Shoup's book "The High Cost of Free Parking". Increased traffic and other issues have all but eliminated transit reliability while simultaneously increasing maintenance and operations costs. BRT offers a tremendous opportunity to address these issues. However, without a study of "how much" BRT could be implemented, we cannot know how to proceed. Again, please vote in favor of studying a "full-build LPA" for BRT, which will then help us determine which configuration, if any, would best serve the community. Thank you for your time and service to the City. Janet Arnold 1519 East 17th Street Oakland, CA 94606 1