SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA: Transit/Transportation News

[M II A II R II K]

Electrifying Caltrain could generate up to $2.5 billion in long-term benefits for region


06/12/12

By Will Reisman

Read More: http://www.sfexaminer.com/news/2012/...enefits-region

Full Report PDF: http://documents.bayareacouncil.org/caltrainecon.pdf

Electrifying Caltrain could provide up to $2.48 billion in long-term economic benefits for the Bay Area, according to a study released Tuesday.

Construction on the project is slated to provide 9,581 news jobs, 90 percent of which would be located in the Bay Area, and state and local tax collectors would earn $71 million a year while the new infrastructure was being built, said the report, compiled by the Bay Area Council Economic Institute.

California’s gross state product would rise by $951 million during the construction phase, and nearby property values could increase by as much as $1 billion, the report said. Combining those factors, the institute estimated that the total economic benefit of the electrification plan could range from $1.44 billion to $2.48 billion.

.....

[ElDuderino]

New SFO control tower will have a torch-like air
John King
Updated 08:56 a.m., Wednesday, June 27, 2012



As the new control tower at San Francisco International Airport takes shape during the next two years, keep this simple phrase in mind: Flair follows function.

The end result will be a 221-foot aluminum-clad tower that's narrow at the base but slides out to the east as it rises, as though craning its neck for a view. At the summit an all-glass crown will pull back and pop up, the see-through finale to the show.

It has the makings of a stylized torch amid SFO's low horseshoe of domestic terminals, at least if reality matches the architectural renderings. But the designers and airport officials call the design a pragmatic response to the challenge at hand - squeezing into a narrow site between two terminals while crafting a perch where air traffic controllers can survey every nook and cranny below.

"We worked hard to keep the tower on a diet," said Alejandro Ogata, an architect with HNTB, the tower's design firm. "All the activities need to be at the top of the building, but nobody wanted a lollipop on a stick."

The $102 million project kicks off Thursday with a ceremony that will include Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood. The clearing of the site between Terminals 1 and 2 will be followed by the construction of a facility that should be completed in the fall of 2014. The Federal Aviation Administration will spend another year installing the navigation control equipment.

As might be expected, a tower of this nature is shaped by a multitude of demands. For starters, the FAA requires that SFO's be strong enough to withstand a magnitude 8 earthquake - larger than the 1906 temblor - and promptly resume operations. But it's not allowed to sway in high winds, lest a traffic controller be hit by airsickness.

The height and the upper floor's precise location are determined by the need to have a clear line of sight to all of the airport's critical runways and gates. Lightning protection cables will radiate down from rooftop antennas.

When the decision was made, for seismic reasons, to replace the current tower, which sits atop a 1950s block of offices at the north end of Terminal 2, SFO had to find a place within its existing buildings to insert a new one. That's not the case at most airports, which have enough land to set the control tower away from the terminals.

The one semi-convenient space proved to be a tight square now used mostly for docking and parking. At the same time, the compact dimensions required that the lower neck of the tower be as narrow as possible, since room was needed for a pair of corridors between Terminals 1 and 2, one for general visitors and one for passengers who already had passed through security.

Working within these constraints - and given a site that will be far more prominent from the Bayshore Freeway than the current control tower - the architects sought to enliven the tower without exceeding the budget set beforehand by the FAA, which will pay $69 million of the cost, with the balance covered by the airport.

The tower is shaped as though the aluminum-clad form unfurls from a central trunk of translucent glass; the trunk faces the traffic ramps inside the horseshoe and will glow at night. The base will be clear glass, an atrium-like space with the aluminum panels of the tower beginning their climb at the rear, another way of accenting the height.

The faux-atrium is where the nonsecure corridor will be, along with plants and seating and public art along the way.

"These projects are civic in nature," Ogata explained. "You want to strike a balance between (employee) safety and openness."

On the south edge of the base will be the most public gesture of all, a concession area to serve people waiting for incoming flights at Terminal 1. It's the first step in a planned upgrade to a structure that was built in the early 1960s and last remodeled in 1988 - more evidence that renovation work at SFO will never, ever truly come to an end.

More Pics: http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/place/...ir-3664702.php
Uploaded with ImageShack.us

[pesto]

Originally Posted by M II A II R II K

Electrifying Caltrain could generate up to $2.5 billion in long-term benefits for region


06/12/12

By Will Reisman

Read More: http://www.sfexaminer.com/news/2012/...enefits-region

Full Report PDF: http://documents.bayareacouncil.org/caltrainecon.pdf

Maybe I flunked economics (I didn't actually) but I'm confused: spending huge amounts of money may or may not generate benefits. But if it does, it isn't measured by how much you SPEND on labor, materials, etc.; it's measured by the benefits derived by the users of what you produce (that is, they save x amount of time or y amount of money over available alternatives).

So an enumeration of where the spending will go seems to be off-point for an article that is trying to argue that benefits will arise from the project. Without some indication that the project has value to users, this is just a transfer from taxpayers generally to a group of employees and suppliers. In and of itself this is a zero value-add.

[northbay]

SMART construction update:


















http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?s...8397555&type=3

It's great to see tangible progress.

[northbay]

another SMART update:


http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fb...type=1&theater

[northbay]

SMART construction updates from yesterday/today:

[CyberEric]

Very nice! Thanks for the updates.
Where will this first stretch be? And when will it go to SF?

[OhioGuy]

^^ It won't go to SF. It's only a north bay rail line. Originally it was supposed to end near the ferry dock in Larkspur, but unfortunately they don't have the money to complete the full line. So now it will connect San Rafael and Santa Rosa (and points in between). One will have to either take a bus from San Rafael to San Francisco, or take a bus to the Larkspur ferry to get to San Francisco. Not quite as convenient as taking the train to the ferry. Eventually they'll hopefully have the money to extend the line all the way to Larkspur for convenient ferry access to downtown SF. Regardless of the disappointment of being unable to fund construction of the originally conceived full line, it's still exciting to see construction underway!

[M II A II R II K]

Central Subway work starts amid problems


July 19, 2012

By Michael Cabanatuan

Read More: http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/articl...ms-3714932.php

.....

Construction crews are building the staging area on Fourth Street beneath the Interstate 80 skyway, where two tunnel-boring machines will start the excavation of the 1.7-mile subway to Chinatown and debris will be hauled out.

- But the Municipal Transportation Agency is still awaiting word on whether - and when - it will get a $942 million federal funding guarantee it's been awaiting for months, and the House of Representatives' transportation bill includes an amendment by Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Elk Grove (Sacramento County), that could take away future funding for the project.

- The subway also faces unanticipated challenges in Union Square, where opponents may sue to stop a station in the park, and in North Beach, where merchants are fighting plans to close lanes on busy Columbus Avenue, where the tunneling machines will be removed. Despite the plethora of problems, transportation agency officials say they're optimistic the Central Subway will move forward.

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[M II A II R II K]

Bay Area drivers could pay to drive each mile under tax proposal


07/17/2012

By Mike Rosenberg

Read More: http://www.mercurynews.com/peninsula/ci_21095536

.....

The Bay Area is considering a long-range plan to become the first place in the nation to tax drivers for every mile they travel, with an average bill of up to $1,300 per year. The proposal is a long way from becoming reality. But under the scenario, drivers would likely have to install GPS-like trackers on their cars to tally travel in the nine-county Bay Area, from freeways to neighborhood streets, with only low-income people exempted.

- Transportation planners know they would have a tough time selling such a radical plan but argue the goal of the so-called VMT (vehicle miles traveled) tax is to reduce traffic and pollution while raising revenue needed to fill potholes and bolster public transit service. "I don't want to say it's pie in the sky. A VMT charge is really an option for the future to be looked at and considered," said Randy Rentschler, spokesman for the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, the agency leading the effort. He said realistically the plan is so complex it might take a decade to implement if the public buys in. Under the early proposal, the VMT tax could cost up to a dime per mile, or the cost may peak during rush hour and bottom out, perhaps to less than a penny per mile, when the roads are mostly empty.

- County supervisors and city council members from around the Bay Area, as members of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission and the Association of Bay Area Governments, are set Thursday to authorize a study of the proposal, though they haven't yet weighed in on the actual merits of a VMT tax. If approved, officials would likely need the OK from voters and the Legislature.

- But first, they'd have to overcome major concerns about Uncle Sam reaching deeper into your pocket and Big Brother looking over your shoulder. Experts generally think VMT taxes have merit but won't be realistic until the primary source of transportation funding -- taxes on each gallon of gas -- dries up. "It really would be premature in the next five years to even think about trying something like this," said former presidential transportation adviser Bob Poole, who supports VMT taxes but called the Bay Area plan too "utopian" to be realistic. "There are a huge number of questions that need to be worked on."

.....

[sofresh808]

^ I dont see how that is any better than just raising gas taxes, unless cars are getting too fuel efficient to raise enough money these days (damn prius owners lol). Wouldn't want this entertained also unless pressure was put to create more middle income housing near job centers.

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by sofresh808

Wouldn't want this entertained also unless pressure was put to create more middle income housing near job centers.

How do you suggest this happen without subsidies? Housing near job centers is expensive because demand is high and the potential supply is low (neighborhood groups and planners themselves do not allow any kind of meaningful density).

Either SF residents must lower their expectations for apartment size and parking such that meaningful density can fit into midrise buildings, or the community opposition to tall buildings has to be overcome.

[northbay]

More SMARTness:

The Tamper, which 'surfaces' and aligns the tracks


Close-up

http://www.facebook.com/sonomamarintrain

[San Frangelino]

This excellent map of the old Key System and Southern Pacific Railway was just posted at San Francisco Cityscape; website of former forumer Steve Boland (aka J Church) which has an excellent collection of maps and pictures.


What once was, from San Francisco Cityscape:

[northbay]

7/26/12 Bay Bridge Skyway lighting test:

Drivers on the Bay Bridge at night may have noticed that lighting fixtures for the new East Span portion of the bridge are now being tested. The tests are being conducted on the Skyway segment of the new East Span, west of Oakland and adjacent to the section of the Bay Bridge that collapsed during the Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989. Seismic safety is the number one concern in building the new East Span, but Bay Area Toll Authority and MTC guidelines also include requirements that lighting the bridge be both functional and aesthetically pleasing.

...The final lighting system was designed by Musco Sports Lighting, from Oskaloosa, Iowa... Their LED lighting systems have been built in sports venues around the planet, including the official lighting for the 1984, 1996 and 2000 Olympic Games. The company flexed its lighting muscle outside the sports industry in a big way — Musco lit the Statue of Liberty for its rededication in 1986. Since then it has done lighting for the Washington Monument, the White House and now, the new East Span of the Bay Bridge.

...The LED bulbs use 50 percent less electricity than conventional lighting, and the bulbs are expected to last 10 to 15 years instead of the industry average of two years.

The 48,000 LED lights on the new East Span Skyway have each been individually aimed so that every inch of the driving deck of the bridge will have brilliant, even light. That means drivers won’t get the constant strobe-light effect that they experience on most other bridges and highways. The breakthrough design also means drivers won’t even really notice the lighting, because the lights are above and behind the drivers, illuminating the path ahead. Each pole does feature a single light at the top of the pole, which will visually guide drivers — eastbound to Oakland, and westbound to the self-anchored suspension tower and Yerba Buena Island.

While the lighting tests are now focused on the Skyway portion of the bridge (in the westbound direction, at first), the SAS tower will get its own lighting treatment after construction is complete. The lighting of the tower and its distinctive suspender cables also will be done by Musco Sports Lighting.

http://www.mtc.ca.gov/news/current_t...obb_lights.htm

[ardecila]

[Swede]

Originally Posted by http://www.mtc.ca.gov/news/current_topics/7-12/sfobb_lights.htm

The 48,000 LED lights on the new East Span Skyway have each been individually aimed so that every inch of the driving deck of the bridge will have brilliant, even light. That means drivers won’t get the constant strobe-light effect that they experience on most other bridges and highways. The breakthrough design also means drivers won’t even really notice the lighting, because the lights are above and behind the drivers, illuminating the path ahead.

Sounds great, if it works out it seems like a new standard for highway/motorway lights in the making.

[pizzaguy]

Beautiful

[fflint]

Caltrain To Add New Trains To Accommodate Historically High Ridership Level

Hannah Albarazi, Bay City News

With an average of more than 50,000 weekday riders, Caltrain has reached a historically high ridership level, according to the Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board.

In June the total number of riders on Caltrain was 1,319,404, an increase of nearly 11 percent over June 2011.

The increased ridership also means increased revenue for Caltrain, which reached more than $10 million this year, 22.1 percent higher than in 2011.

....
To respond to the increased demand Caltrain has announced that it will restore four midday trains, which were eliminated last year due to budget cuts. There will also be two additional evening trains. The new service will begin this fall, according to Caltrain officials.

Caltrain has attributed the significant ridership increase to the introduction of the Baby Bullet express service in 2004, which increased ridership by 17 percent within six months.

Caltrain also attributed the increase in ridership to almost double the number of express trains between San Francisco and San Jose, and the incorporation of transfers into service, which improved ridership by 9.4 percent in five months.

By 2019, Caltrain plans to operate electric trains to meet anticipated, future demand for reliable public transportation.
....

[NoTroubleMikeG]

All of this is making Bay Area transit more and more optimistic! The only thing that really gets me is that Geary Blvd. still has no decent form of transit, the buses aren't even trollies, they're just run-of-the-mill diesel articulating buses.