Changing the Way We Travel

Already a tight-knit community, the East Bay’s connections are growing even closer, thanks in part to the efforts of the Alameda County Transportation Commission and local transit agencies.

There a number of key projects under way, which the ACTC shared with the public during the South County Transportation Forum, held Thursday at the .

Hosted by the ACTC and its Community Advisory Committee, the forum invited the public to learn more about vital projects that will change the way we travel through the region.

First on the agenda was the Alameda Countywide Transportation Planning Update, which presented their efforts to create a vibrant community linked through transit.

An ideal transportation system, ACTC representatives said, will promote sustainability, access, transit operations, public health and economic opportunities. 

The ACTC is focusing on a 25-year vision of future land use, which requires concurrent regional and countywide planning.

However, creating a premiere transit system requires funding. Many of the ACTC visions are funded by the half-cent sales tax authorized by the county’s Measure B in 2000. The tax expires in 2022. 

Yet the funding provided by Measure B has, like all monies, been affected by the recession, speakers said. Where the ACTC expected to receive $2.9 billion from the tax, they have only seen $2.1 billion. This significant gap of $800 million has left a shortfall in funding for programs such as Paratransit and bicycle programs, according to speakers at the forum. 

Among the vital projects highlighted at the forum was Union City’s , described by Mintze Cheng, director of Union City’s Public Works Department, as an “innovative, pedestrian friendly” project.

The intermodal station is currently being developed on more than 80 acres of unused land within a half mile of the Union City BART station. What was once unused land will become 1,636 units of high-density space once the development is completed.

Regarding high-density, presenters also spoke on congested freeways. To relieve the crowded morning commute, Caltrans will begin construction on express lanes on Northbound Interstate 680 and Westbound Interstate 580. The county currently has an express lane on Southbound Interstate 680.

The lane costs a fee to travel in and operates Monday through Friday from 5 a.m. to 8 a.m. Fees are charged to one’s FasTrak pass.

Other significant projects included the recently approved and the new Irvington BART Station, which are major capitol projects funded by Alameda County. 

The Warm Springs Extension Project will add 5.4 miles of new tracks from the existing Fremont Station heading south to a new station in the Warm Springs district. Another station will also be constructed in Fremont’s Irvington district, serving as a midway point between the current Fremont station and the new Warm Springs station.

The Warm Springs Extension Project will cost $890 million with a lion’s share of the cost, $630 million, going towards the construction itself. 

Despite fewer funds for paratransit, speakers noted, there are still a number of programs and services for seniors and those with disabilities, such as the Fremont Senior Mobility Programs.

There’s also the Tri-City Travel Training Program, which teaches people what they need to know in order to ride local transit confidently and safely. Seniors are taught in a classroom setting and then take their knowledge on to streets by riding the bus and BART, some for the first time ever. According to the presentation, there have been 29 workshops held so far, with 377 participants successfully trained in the art of riding public transit.  

Shawn Fong of Fremont’s Human Services Department, who gave a presentation on mobility services, also spoke about the Senior Walking Program, or Walk This Way, which encourages local seniors to get out and get active. By walking, seniors can regain mobility and independence, Fong said. Walk This Way also encourages walking as a mode of transportation.