3A Public Hearing 2010 0517 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Livermore, Kathleen From: R. Wheeler [zapahh@gmail.com] Sent: Thursday, April 29, 2010 12:06 AM To: Livermore, Kathleen Subject: Yes! Let's Study BRT! You are being asked to vote on what you would like AC Transit to study in their Final Environmental Impact Report for Bus Rapid Transit (BRT). Please, vote to study it and do not kill BRT now. I am a long-time Berkeley resident who is a regular biker, walker and transit rider. I recently chose to get rid of my car, to see if I could live without it. I like riding buses and often do, but right now, riding the bus is often slow and uncomfortable. I'm excited about the possibility of bringing world-class transit to the East Bay. I want to know that my transportation future can continue to be carfree and comfortable. That taking the bus can be a speedy, comfortable and clean choice for me and others. Not the last resort for those who don't have other options. Please join Oakland in keeping all of your options open by studying dedicated lanes and platform stations in Berkeley and San Leandro along the proposed BRT route. I've heard that there has been opposition to the project, but I'm also confident that much of this opposition is built on mis-information, and a lack of clarity on what the project is. By voting on the study of a full-build BRT system, we will have a clearer idea of what the project really will mean to the communities along the route. I understand that your vote in favor of a study of a full-build BRT system is not a vote in favor of the project. It will simply be a vote to study the impacts and to begin to identify mitigation to concerns that have come up with respect to the impacts of the proposed dedicated lanes and stations on parking and traffic. However, before you vote, please consider the following: 1. While opponents are quick to point out complaints about BRT in other cities, they refuse to acknowledge the successes of BRT. In every other city where BRT has been implemented, ridership has gone up, businesses are thriving, and more pedestrian activity has been created along the routes. You can confirm this by looking at recent publications about Cleveland's BRT line and Eugene Oregon's BRT line: 2. There are 20,000 bus riders on this corridor everyday. There will likely be more in the future. Please consider their needs for reliable service to get to schools, jobs, and medical services that can only be provided by dedicated lanes. Without changes to the way this route operates, AC Transit's operations costs for this line will continue to escalate, which could lead to additional fare hikes or service cuts. 3. You can always vote against this project in the Fall if the concerns you are hearing are not appropriately mitigated in the Final Environmental Impact Report. I am confident that AC Transit will do it's best over the next several months to address the concerns being raised. I hope you will give them a chance, for the sake of the 20,000 current and future transit riders, and in your search for alternatives to the status quo in light of our growing awareness of climate change. Again, please vote in favor of keeping our options open by studying a robust BRT system with as much dedicated lane as possible. Sincerely, R. Wheeler i