.A Tram to Nowhere?

The Oakland City Council votes to support a $500 million airport project, despite evidence it's a boondoggle. Plus, Oakland rolls back meter hours.

East Bay transit activists suffered a setback last week when the
Oakland City Council voted to reaffirm its support for a
half-billion-dollar tramway from the Coliseum BART station to Oakland
International Airport. The council voted 5-2 in favor of the airport
connector and turned down a proposal by Councilwoman Rebecca Kaplan and
transit activists to oppose it. Project opponents now have virtually no
hope of derailing it.

Critics had made a strong argument that the city and airport would
be better served by a rapid-bus system that would cost about one-tenth
the price. But several councilmembers, including President Jane
Brunner, decided to voice their support for the connector because of
concerns that most of the funding for the project would not be spent in
Oakland if it was scrapped. In addition, Councilwoman Jean Quan argued
that if the connector was killed, it would be several years at least
before a rapid-bus system could gain approval.

Ultimately, the majority backed a resolution by Vice Mayor Ignacio
De La Fuente in support of the connector that included a demand that
BART construction contractors hire Oakland residents to help build the
tramway. To date, BART only has set “goals” for local hiring. Also, De
La Fuente’s resolution called on BART to build a station along
Hegenberger Road if the bids for the project come in at less than what
the agency estimated. Along with Kaplan, Councilwoman Nancy Nadel
opposed the connector.

The council also voted 6-1 to roll back parking meter hours from 8
p.m. to 6 p.m. after enduring months of outrage from local retailers
who said the decision in June to extend meter hours, raise parking
rates, and increase parking ticket prices had hurt business. The
council had made the changes to help balance the city’s massive budget
deficit, and didn’t expect they would create such a strong
backlash.

The council hopes to regain the estimated $1 million in lost revenue
from the rollback by adding parking meters throughout the city and
possibly erecting a giant new billboard near the Bay Bridge. The
council, at the urging of Councilwoman Pat Kernighan, also voted to
conduct a study of the city’s parking program. Among other things, the
study would examine whether to adopt market-based pricing, in which
parking meter rates would be tied to demand and could be priced
differently throughout the city and change depending on the time of
day.

No More Buses from Hell?

The AC Transit Board of Directors will consider a resolution on
Wednesday that could spell the end of the agency’s controversial
partnership with Belgian bus-maker, Van Hool. The so-called “Buy
America” resolution by board member Elsa Ortiz would direct the
agency’s staff to “employ its best efforts” to procure goods made in
America in the future, and give “first priority” to California-made
products “when possible.” According to the Berkeley Daily
Planet
, the board’s three-member Finance and Audit Committee
approved the resolution last week.

AC Transit has come under heated criticism in recent years for
purchasing hundreds of Van Hool buses even though they’re more
expensive than some American models and despite the fact that the
agency has repeatedly slashed service and raised fares. The buses have
proven dangerous for the elderly and people with mobility problems, and
many bus drivers dislike them because they handle poorly. In addition,
last month AC Transit officials acknowledged that some models have been
accident prone.

According to agency documents, state Senator Loni Hancock of
Berkeley also supports the Buy America resolution as does the Alameda
Labor Council. The resolution notes that California and the nation are
experiencing extremely high unemployment rates and that local public
agencies should do all they can to promote domestic manufacturing and
jobs. The resolution could be a boon for Hayward-based bus maker Gillig
and the hundreds of union workers it employs.

Governor Calls Off Veto Threat

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger abandoned his threat to veto more
than 700 bills over the weekend, saying legislative leaders had made
significant progress in solving the state’s water problems. The
governor then called a special legislative session to deal with the
controversial water issues, which include proposals to build a series
of new dams and construct a large peripheral canal around the fragile
Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta.

Among the hundreds of bills the governor signed was legislation that
will force first-time drunk-drivers to install ignition locks that test
blood-alcohol content. The locks won’t allow drivers to start their
cars if they’ve had too much to drink. The program begins in several
jurisdictions, including Alameda County.

Three-Dot Roundup

The Bay Area’s supply of swine flu shots won’t arrive until the end
of the month, raising concerns that they may come too late to do much
good. … Gay marriage opponents are attempting to throw out a federal
same-sex lawsuit brought by a lesbian couple from Berkeley. … Books
Inc., a San Francisco-based independent bookstore chain, opened a new
store on Fourth Street in Berkeley, not far from where Cody’s Books
used to be. … The Napa County District Attorney’s Office is deciding
whether to file charges and arrest Oakland Raiders’ head coach Tom
Cable for allegedly breaking the jaw of one of his assistants. … And
the Oakland City Council decided to appeal a court ruling over Measure
Y, the citywide crime-prevention initiative, because it would force the
city to make at least $10 million in debilitating budget cuts and possibly assign
rookie cops to community policing positions that they’re not capable of
handling.

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