#caltrain

The November ballot will include a pair of transit funding measures.

"Political experts say a proposed $183 million parcel tax to fund Muni is likely to pass with ease, highlighting the city’s enduring support for public transit. "But a separate regional sales tax measure to fund BART, Muni, and 10 other Bay Area transit agencies faces a far more uncertain path. Both measures, slated for the November ballot, require a simple majority to pass."

Caltrain is crawling towards construction of that long-planned extension to the Transbay Transit Center in Downtown San Francisco. 

Where trains make that final turn towards 4th & King Station and spread out, they’ll enter a tunnel with 4th & King becoming a pass-thru subway station. That leaves a lot of property available to do something with.

“The real estate firm submitted an application Tuesday to the Planning Department for a redevelopment project that would remake a 20-acre site between 4th and 7th streets, currently a Caltrain railyard and station.  The proposal by Prologis — best known for renting warehouses to Amazon — is anchored by a mixed-use, 850-foot-tall tower at the site of the station, which would remain operational during construction and would eventually be incorporated into the base of the new building.  Prologis said the project, dubbed ‘SF Railyards,’ may total 8 million square feet at the end of buildout, which could take 20 years. Half the development would be for commercial use, including office, retail, and potentially a hotel. The remainder would include up to 2,500 housing units.”

If Caltrain accepts this proposal, there is still detailed planning and studies to be done. Major construction of the extension is probably still 5 years away.

Rider fares, fees, tax revenue, and grants that funded transit systems collapsed during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

70% of BART’s funding came from rider fares and parking fees that haven’t recovered. Transit agencies can’t provide pre-pandemic service with post-pandemic funding.

Ridership won’t recover by closing stations, the cable car lines, running fewer trains and buses, and ending service at 9:00pm. Sustainable service requires a more sustainable funding source.

“The campaign aims to put a parcel tax measure on the November ballot that, if approved by voters, would generate around $160 million for Muni annually in order to help stave off those cuts. I It’s one of two campaigns now underway to generate revenue for Bay Area transit agencies. The campaign for the Connect Bay Area Act, a regional sales tax measure that would generate around $1 billion annually for Muni, AC Transit, BART and Caltrain, among others, began gathering signatures in late January.”

Plans to bring Caltrain and California High-Speed Rail to downtown San Francisco have been in the works since 1994, and the project is getting close to starting construction.

A $590 million short-term state loan will save the SFMTA, BART, Caltrain, and AC Transit from drastic cuts, for now.

"This emergency loan is a critical band-aid. It holds off disastrous transit cuts until long-term, significant funding can come through from the Connect Bay Area measure," said Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), who championed the loan along with Senator Jesse Arreguin (D-Berkeley), in a joint statement. We spent much of the past year negotiating this loan with regional stakeholders and the Governor, and I’m immensely proud that we got it over the finish line."

Connect Bay Area is a regional funding measure that will add a half-cent sales tax in Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo, Santa Clara, and a full cent in San Francisco for 14 years.