BART to go to voters in November with $3.5 billion request
More than a half-century after Bay Area voters taxed themselves to build BART, residents in three counties will be asked in November to come up with $3.5 billion to repair and rebuild the aging backbone of the region’s transportation system.
[...] the money will be for such mundane things as replacing tracks and ties, installing new electrical cables, waterproofing tunnels and control rooms, replacing sewer pumps and buying new escalators.
The big-ticket items include replacement of the computerized central train-control system, which would allow BART to increase the number of trains it runs through the Transbay Tube — from 23 per hour to 30.
Almost all of the revenue — 90 percent — would be spent on repairing and replacing aging parts of the rail system that BART officials say have reached, or are nearing the end, of their useful life.
About 90 miles of tracks would be replaced along with concrete rail ties, the electrical system that provides power to trains would be repaired and rebuilt, and various mechanical systems and stations would be modernized.
The remaining 10 percent of the bond money would be steered toward improving access to stations — things such as more bike parking, improved bus connections and better parking management at stations — and taking steps to deal with crowding and to increase capacity.
A parade of political, business and community leaders urged BART directors to place the measure, which has been under study for two years, up for a vote.
Stuart Cohen, executive of TransForm, a transit advocacy group that has been critical of BART’s spending priorities for the past two decades, said the bond measure is evidence that the transit system has mended its ways and is focused on rejuvenating the system.
Arlo Hale Smith, a BART director from 1986 to 1990, accused the agency of financial mismanagement, citing costly benefits and pensions.