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Livermore, Kathleen <br />From: Christine Geiser [chrisgeiser@sbcglobal.net] <br />Sent: Sunday, May 02, 2010 2:22 PM <br />To: Livermore, Kathleen <br />Subject: Yes! Let's Study BRT! <br />I urge you to collaborate with Oakland in keeping all of your options open for the proposed <br />Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system by studying dedicated lanes and platform stations in Berkeley <br />and San Leandro along the proposed BRT route. <br />I live in south San Leandro one block from the bus stop at 148th Avenue and E. 14th Street. <br />It would be short-sighted if the proposed BRT system does not serve south San Leandro and <br />adjacent areas by continuing to the Bayfair BART station. <br />We can learn from mistakes that were made when BART was built. A BART station was originally <br />planned for Albany at Solano Avenue, a nexus of transportation, shops, businesses, and <br />services. Instead, local objections resulted in building the station in the middle of an <br />isolated North Berkeley residential neighborhood. Similarly; local objections nixed plans to <br />build BART down the Peninsula.. It took decades and considerable expense merely to build a <br />BART extension to San Francisco Airport. <br />Please consider the following: <br />1. While opponents are quick to point out complaints about BRT in other cities, they refuse <br />to acknowledge the successes of BRT. In every other city where BRT has been implemented, <br />ridership has gone up, businesses are thriving, and more pedestrian activity has been created <br />along the routes. You can confirm this by looking at recent publications about Cleveland's <br />BRT line and Eugene Oregon's BRT line: <br />2. There are 20,000 bus riders on this corridor everyday. There will likely be more in the <br />future. Please consider their needs for reliable service to get to schools, jobs, and medical <br />services that can only be provided by dedicated lanes. Without changes to the way this route <br />operates, AC Transit's operations costs for this line will continue to escalate, which could <br />lead to additional fare hikes or service cuts. <br />3. You can always vote against this project in the Fall if the concerns you are hearing are <br />not appropriately mitigated in the Final Environmental Impact Report. <br />I urge you to vote in favor of keeping our options open by studying a robust BRT system and <br />of including the Bayfair BART station in the system. <br />Sincerely; <br />Christine Geiser <br />1268 Margery Avenue <br />San Leandro, CA 94578-3535 <br />1 <br />