7 key Bay Area transportation projects likely to lose funding
Seven Bay Area transportation projects that could untangle congested interchanges, make East Bay BART stations brighter and more comfortable, create better routes for bicyclists and smooth the drive for commuters may be delayed for years, regional transportation officials decided Wednesday.
A committee of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission reluctantly identified a $71.3 million collection of projects to lose financing for at least five years to cope with a massive cut in state funding blamed on plummeting gas tax revenues and a lethargic Legislature that has failed to heed the governor’s call for a transportation funding fix.
Kenneth Kao, an MTC planner, said the agency will work with state officials to make any cuts above the $71 million.
BART plans to upgrade its 1970s-era stations with brighter colors, new lighting, wider concourses and waiting areas and easier access.
[...] lawmakers failed to come up with a plan to raise taxes or fees to close a yawning funding gap.
Transportation officials say the state needs an additional $5.7 billion a year to maintain the roads, bridges and other infrastructure that already exist.
“When gas prices go down, it causes driving to go up, which causes more wear and tear on our roads,” said Scott Wiener, a San Francisco supervisor and commission member who’s running for state Senate.
The commission could keep some projects moving by lending the state money, a strategy it has employed in the past.
[...] Steve Heminger, the agency’s executive director, said that was a bad bet since there’s no sign the state will get a windfall healthy enough to pay back the Bay Area.
The solution to the crisis, he said, lies with the Legislature.
[...] transportation planners simply have to scratch projects for which they expected funding.
The project’s funding plan leans heavily on money from Contra Costa County’s transportation sales tax, she said, even though the interchange is part of the state highway system.