By Brenda Kahn
Published: November, 2007
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has designated the San Francisco Bay Area as an Urban Partner, pledging $158.7 million in federal funds to implement and expand innovative traffic-relief programs in the region, the second most congested in the country. Plans for spending the grant money were highlighted in October when DOT Secretary Mary E. Peters traveled to San Francisco for an inspection tour.
Peters was particularly impressed with San Francisco’s plans for a new parking system that will charge varying rates according to the time of day and parking availability, and that will allow drivers to hunt for a free space from their desktop or PDA before hitting the streets. Frustration ebbs and traffic flows when you implement this type of technology, she said.
Innovations in how drivers pay for parking also are in store. No quarters, no problem, Peters said. Drivers will be able to pay with their credit and their debit cards or their smart-trip cards [like the MTC-sponsored TransLink® card], or even text in a payment with their cell phones.
High-tech parking is just one piece of the San Francisco Bay Area Accelerate proposal submitted by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) and partner agencies for the federal grant. Another key element is the Doyle Drive Value Pricing Program, which calls for using variable tolls to manage congestion on Doyle Drive, the elevated access road connecting the Golden Gate Bridge to Downtown San Francisco. The grant funds and tolls also will help pay for the aging facility’s replacement with a modern, earthquake-safe parkway. The fees would be collected electronically via FasTrak®, using overhead sensors rather than a separate toll plaza.
Related Accelerate elements include expansion of SFgo, the city’s real-time traffic information and management system to smooth traffic flows, provide transit priority at signals and manage traffic incidents, and enhancements to ferry service between Marin County and San Francisco. The package also calls for expansion of MTC’s 511 real-time traveler information systems and development of an online, multimodal trip planner.
The Bay Area grant is conditional upon securing authorization from the state Legislature to implement a congestion toll on Doyle Drive.
This Urban Partnership award from U.S. DOT clearly recognizes MTC’s and the Bay Area’s national leadership in promoting transit, technology and tolling, said MTC Executive Director Steve Heminger.
The Bay Area is one of five areas around the country to benefit from the grants.
