Published Thursday, November 15, 2001, in the San Francisco Chronicle

Editorial

Next stop: Mineta station

Credit is due to the South Bay leaders -- and voters -- who have
backed up their desire for BART service with sweat and dollars. Their
perseverance set the stage for an agreement, approved by BART
directors Tuesday night, that significantly advances plans for seven
BART stops in Santa Clara County.

South Bay transportation officials have raised almost 80 percent of
the cost of the extension, with $2 billion from a voter-approved
sales-tax measure and $614 million from the state. Santa Clara County
will, in effect, own the tracks and stations within its jurisdiction
and will pay BART $48 million a year to operate the trains.

The South Bay's aggressive pursuit of BART has caused some grumbling
from politicians representing Antioch and Livermore, two East Bay
cities that have been paying taxes in the BART district for many
years and are still waiting for stations.

But there is no question that the BART-to-San Jose extension is a
regionwide priority that addresses one of its most glaring gaps in
mass transit coverage -- and will have far-reaching benefits in
traffic relief and air quality. It needs to be done, and the pay-for-
itself deal assures that it will not grab dollars that otherwise
might have gone to Antioch or Livermore extensions.

The next stop for the South Bay leaders will be Washington, D.C.,
where they hope to secure the final $834 million in federal funds.
Transportation Secretary Norm Mineta, a former San Jose mayor and
congressman, has a history of advocacy for a BART extension, though
he made clear he must be fair to all applicants for federal funding.

"It's going to have to get in line with a lot of projects that are
being contemplated," said Mineta, adding there was "no way to
prejudge" how much money might be available from Congress.

We asked Mineta whether San Jose might enjoy at least a slight "home-
field advantage" in his department. "The fact that the airport was
named after me has absolutely nothing to do with it," he said with a
smile during a meeting with The Chronicle's editorial board last week.