EL CERRITO, CA – At the December 12 meeting of the West Contra Costa Transportation Advisory Committee (WCCTAC), the committee Board voted unanimously to authorize the agency’s Executive Director to release a Request for Proposals (RFP) for a high-capacity transit study in West Contra Costa County.
The study will competitively evaluate different high-capacity transit modes that may offer viable transit options to Interstate 80 corridor travelers in West Contra Costa County. wBART – a concept of extending BART service to northern West Contra Costa County communities with either traditional BART technology or an alternative rail technology – was a campaign priority of Director Mallett’s and will be an option evaluated as part of the study. The study will also assess the costs and feasibility of improved express bus services and ferry services. Once completed, the study will deliver one or a combination of transit investment alternatives that can best provide high-capacity transit alternatives to driving for regional travelers in the study area.
Director Mallett expressed that “the Interstate 80 corridor between Highway 4 and the Bay Bridge has consistently been a top-five placer in most-congested travel corridors of the region, but has also consistently not received a fair share of attention when it comes to regional transit investments. This study is an important first step to bringing long-overdue relief to this heavily trafficked corridor.”
El Cerrito Councilwoman and WCCTAC Chairperson, Janet Abelson, highlighted a local benefit of the effort: “Investing in a high-capacity transit option for this corridor would help alleviate the high volume of parking at El Cerrito stations and better-enable our city to use the lands surrounding these stations for transit-oriented development, thereby achieving emission reduction goals.”
In the month of September (a historically highest riderhip month for BART), with an average weekday exit rate of 9,315 riders, the El Cerrito del Norte Station was BART’s highest ridership home-origin station in the East Bay. Past studies indicate that upwards of 60% of El Cerrito del Norte riders live in San Pablo, El Sobrante, or communities north of the Richmond city limits.
The study will include a community outreach component and is projected to cost approximately $1 million to complete. Funding contributors to the study include BART, WCCTAC, the Contra Costa Transportation Authority (CCTA), and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC). The RFP is expected to be finalized and released by January 2015 and the WCCTAC Board is anticipated to award a contract by February 2015 with the study being commissioned shortly thereafter.
# # #
