The Bay Area’s big city mayors are teaming up to support a measure on the June ballot.
That measure will raise bridge tolls to pay for transportation projects, which are designed to ease congestion and expand public transit.
“As commuters here in the Bay Area, we are tired of being jammed up and delayed and kept from our families while stuck on Bay Area roads,” said Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf.
Schaff is speaking for many commuters fed up with the gridlock.
On Monday, she joined San Francisco Mayor Mark Farrell and San Jose Mayor Sam Licardo to promote what they believe is the solution — Regional Measure 3, which residents in the 9-county Bay Area will vote on in June.
“Regional Measure 3 will fund for traffic projects have shovels ready to hit the ground,” said Liccardo. “Like BART to San Jose and Santa Clara.”
In addition to the BART extension and 300 additional BART cars, Measure 3 will also expand ferry service on the Bay, complete the expansion of Highway 101 along the Novato Narrows, and improve a variety of highway interchanges.
But, it isn’t without costs.
“It helps every single county and if we could get it for free, it would be great, I think everything should be for free, but life is not for free,” said Jim Wunderman with Bay Area Council.
Wunderman represents the Bay Area Council, the measure’s primary sponsor.
He says to generate the $4.5 billion to pay for the improvements, tolls on all the Bay Area bridges except the Golden Gate will increase a total of $3 over the next 7 years.
“It’s not like we want to raise tolls or ask people for more money, but the reality of the situation is if we want to keep the Bay Area moving and have people live a better life this is the opportunity to do that and we have to kick in,” said Wunderman.
One of the things that may be working against the measure is that many people don’t even know this measure is on the ballot and may come face to face with this measure for the first time when they enter their polling place.