A coalition of leading planning, transportation, business and labor organizations has announced that it is actively supporting the Metropolitan Transportation Commission’s (MTC) Regional Measure 3 (RM3) that aims to bring much-needed improvements to the San Francisco Bay Area’s transportation and infrastructure network.
To help solve the Bay Area’s growing congestion problems, MTC worked with California’s state legislature to authorize a new ballot measure that could increase tolls on the region’s seven state-owned toll bridges for the first time since 2010.
In June, voters in the nine-county region of Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano and Sonoma will need to approve a toll increase of up to US$3, which would be used to finance a US$4.45bn program of highway and transit improvements in the toll bridge corridors and their approach routes. The new funds from RM3 will be used for multiple and diverse projects, from ferry service expansion to increased BART rapid transit capacity, to valuable upgrades in public transportation and congestion relief schemes on the area’s highway corridors.
The coalition supporting the RM3 plans includes:
• The Bay Area Council, which represents more than 275 of the largest employers in the region, acting as the voice of business and the public policy advocacy organization for the Bay Area;
• The Silicon Valley Leadership Group, which represents more than 370 of the region’s most respected employers on issues, programs and campaigns that affect the economic health and quality of life, including education, energy, environment, health, housing, tax policies, tech and innovation and transportation.
• The San Francisco Bay Area Planning and Urban Research Association (SPUR), a respected civic planning organization known for its holistic approach to urban issues and developing solutions to the big problems Bay Area cities face.
Each of these organizations has consistently been involved in regional transportation initiatives and local programs that improve the quality of life for those that live and work in the Bay Area. The coalition is working to move the region forward with the passage of RM3 through the approval of voters this June.
“Bay Area commuters battling record traffic are desperate for big investments in our transportation system that will bring meaningful relief,” said Jim Wunderman, president and CEO of the Bay Area Council.
“RM3 will clear highway bottlenecks, expand and modernize BART and bus and ferry transit services, and dramatically improve connections between buses, trains and bikes.”
