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Posted at 10:03 p.m. PST Saturday, Nov. 3, 2001
BART-to-San Jose talks reaching crucial moment
BY GARY RICHARDS
Mercury News
Talks to extend BART to San Jose have picked up steam, and a deal to
iron out the financial terms could be completed this week -- beating a
critical deadline with hundreds of millions of dollars at stake.
Officials with BART and the Valley Transportation Authority must form
an agreement by Nov. 19 to be placed on the regional list of top
priorities for federal funding. But first the VTA must give its
approval at a board meeting Friday.
Negotiators, while saying progress has been made on sticky money
issues, concede that talks remain fragile and at a critical point. So
much so that the VTA has come up with a backup plan to build and
operate its own version of BART, one that would force riders to
transfer in Fremont.
``If everybody keeps their heads above water and on track, an
agreement is doable,'' said VTA General Manager Pete Cipolla. ``But it
is very dicey and I don't think you can characterize it any different
than that. . . . We're walking on a piece of crystal and if it cracks,
it all can break.''
The two agencies met Wednesday through Saturday, and have another
session planned for Monday. But after six months of talks, a stubborn
roadblock remains:
BART insists the VTA pinpoint where its funds will come from to help
defray daily operating and maintenance costs of running trains not
only from Fremont to San Jose but throughout the BART system. Some
East Bay leaders have been pressing for the VTA to consider a new
sales tax in the future.
``Somewhere along the line BART has to have a guaranteed source of
income from the VTA to operate the system or it's a deal breaker,''
said Tom Blalock, a BART board member from Fremont and a member of its
negotiating team.
The 21-mile extension will cost $3.7 billion to build, with county and
state funds covering nearly $2.9 billion of the cost. But the VTA is
$834 million short, money local leaders want from Washington.
Crucial meeting Friday
The Metropolitan Transportation Commission is set to vote on a
regional wish list in December but wants an agreement hammered out by
Nov. 19. Cipolla hopes to bring an agreement to the VTA board on
Friday. If not, a special meeting would need to be called to meet the
Nov. 19 deadline.
If there is a deal, the BART extension to San Jose almost certainly
would be at the top of the list, making it eligible for federal aid.
Transportation Secretary Norm Mineta said federal funding is unlikely
unless the region supports it.
``If there is no agreement,'' said Randy Rentschler of the MTC, ``the
options get harder and harder.''
Some progress has been made in recent talks. Where BART and the VTA
were once more than $50 million a year apart on how much the South Bay
should contribute to day-to-day costs, the gap has narrowed to less
than $25 million a year.
The VTA is worried not only about funding BART, but also its expanding
light-rail and bus service. The agency projects that it will need more
money by 2014 to pay for day-to-day costs for its entire transit
system.
``It's no secret that we need to find additional funding,'' said
Cipolla. ``This system hasn't grown much but over the next five years
we're expanding a lot. We can't continue to expand without finding
more money.''
Taxpayers in Alameda, Contra Costa and San Francisco counties pay
three-eighths of a percent sales tax for BART. Officials in Santa
Clara County are loathe to talk about a similar tax, since voters just
last fall approved a half-cent tax measure to build BART.
Instead, it may look toward higher fares and new gas tax funds, plus a
surcharge on BART tickets purchased in Santa Clara County, similar to
what riders in San Mateo County will pay when the extension to San
Francisco International opens next year.
``We have to come up with some new answers,'' said Santa Clara County
Supervisor Jim Beall. ``If it's going to cost $63 million a year to
operate BART to San Jose, we have to show where the $63 million is
going to come from. You don't build projects if you can't operate
them.''
But should talks stall, the VTA is preparing to consider building its
own line.
`BART-like' system
Think BART, but with the VTA logo written on the side of the cars.
This version would run along the same tracks, but be $435 million
cheaper to build, and $9 million a year cheaper to operate.
Trains would consist of six cars each compared to the 10 on current
BART lines. And all riders would be forced to transfer in Fremont from
BART to what has been dubbed the ``BART-like'' train. That five-minute
transfer could cut ridership by 17 percent.
Outside the VTA, the idea doesn't have much support.
``Thirty years from now people will say, `How could they do that? This
is really stupid,' '' said Fremont Mayor Gus Morrison. ``I understand
this may be a negotiating ploy, but . . . changing trains in Warm
Springs would be a mistake.''
The biggest backer of bringing BART to the South Bay is San Jose Mayor
Ron Gonzales. ``Let me assure you,'' he said in a speech last week,
``the BART train has left the station, and it's headed to San Jose.''
Aide Jim Webb said Gonzales' ``focus is on getting an agreement with
BART. We are not focusing on a BART-like connection.''
Construction could start in four years, with the line opening between
2010-2012.
But if talks break down and the VTA pushes ahead with its fallback
option, some believe Washington will lose interest.
``If that's the way the VTA wants to do it,'' said Blalock, ``my guess
is that they won't get any federal money. The MTC probably would not
support it and the feds would not support it.''
_________________________________________________________________
Contact Gary Richards at mrroadshow@sjmercury.com or (408)
920-5335.
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