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$7 Golden Gate Bridge toll plan moves forward, hearing set
(The Marin Independent Journal Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) May 9--The Golden Gate Bridge District Board of Directors voted 13-2 Friday to move ahead with a hearing on a proposal that could increase the toll to $7 during peak periods.
But one Marin County representative on the board had concerns about setting a toll that high.
"I have a problem going to $7," said board member and Marin Supervisor Charles McGlashan at Friday's meeting. He joined Gerardo Sandoval of San Francisco in voting against holding a hearing. "My concern is for the low-income working person who has to find $7 to go to work."
Motorists, who now pay a $5 cash and $4 FasTrak toll all hours of the day, will likely see an increase of $1 -- possibly as soon as Sept. 1 -- to help erase the district's five-year, $91 million deficit.
A new "congestion" fee could increase the cash toll by another $1 and the FasTrak toll by 50 cents or $1. The extra toll would be charged between 7 and 9 a.m. and between 4 and 6 p.m. weekdays and between 3 and 7 p.m. on weekends and holidays.
Board member Barbara Pahre of Napa said drivers could sign up for FasTrak and pay $5.50 or $6 to cross the span during peak hours.
"You can get a break by getting FasTrak," she said.
If the congestion toll comes to pass, commuter Judy Gilbert of Mill Valley said she would try to change her work hours to avoid the higher toll.
"I'd see if I could come in later and make sure I pass over the bridge at say 9:02 a.m.," said Gilbert, who works in education research in San Francisco. "The tolls just
keep going up, it kind of never stops."
That's what the federal government officials have in mind: to reduce the amount of traffic during peak commute periods.
The congestion toll would have to go into place no later than September 2009 to satisfy requirements of a federal grant that will bring $158 million to the region, including $12.8 million for a parking garage at the crowded Larkspur Ferry Terminal.
Last August, U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters announced her department would award $158 million to the Bay Area as long as it accepts the idea of charging a congestion toll in the Golden Gate Bridge corridor -- between the Waldo Tunnel and Lombard Street in San Francisco -- that makes peak-hour commuters pay more. The goal is to get the average speed not less than 10 mph below the posted speed limit for 90 percent of drivers in the corridor.
Beyond the congestion pricing, drivers who cross the bridge could eventually face a second toll.
San Francisco transportation officials are still looking at the possibility of charging their own toll for bridge users to help finance a $1.1 billion Doyle Drive reconstruction project.
The hearing on both proposed toll increases will be held at 7 p.m. June 11 in the Board of Supervisors' chambers at the Marin Civic Center in San Rafael. A final decision could be made by July 11.
Contact Mark Prado via e-mail at mprado@marinij.com
To see more of The Marin Independent Journal or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.marinij.com/.
Copyright (c) 2008, The Marin Independent Journal, Novato, Calif.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
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