Published Thursday, February 9, 2006, in the San Francisco Examiner

Newsom wants Transbay Terminal project to pause
Time to study funding needed, S.F. mayor says

By Emily Fancher

SAN FRANCISCO -- Mayor Gavin Newsom is demanding that decisions
about the rebuilding of the Transbay Terminal be halted until
financial questions about the $4 billion project are answered.

In December, the Transbay Joint Powers Authority, the body
overseeing the project, unveiled an ambitious new plan for how to
proceed with the complex reconstruction.

But city officials are worried that the project's funding -- a mix
of federal, state and local money -- is uncertain. A proposed state
bond to build high-speed rail was expected to fund much of the
terminal project, but it's not clear when the bond will be placed
on the ballot.

One of the most costly projects in the Bay Area, the terminal is
expected to be a regional transit center with high-speed rail, bus
and Caltrain connections at First and Mission streets.

Newsom said in a letter to the TJPA that he is concerned $40 million
of The City's "scarce transportation resources" were sunk into the
project despite lingering questions about the funding, engineering
and timetable.

If San Francisco officials are ultimately not comfortable with the
project, they can withhold more of the voter-approved sales tax
funding currently paying for engineering work.

In the letter, Newsom and Supervisor Jake McGoldrick, chairman of
the San Francisco County Transportation Authority Board, announced
the formation of a task force to study the issues and report back to
the mayor and Board of Supervisors.

But Adam Alberti, a spokesman for the TJPA, criticized the creation
of the task force as a costly and "counterproductive" step that
excluded regional stakeholders.

He said the board of the TJPA, not the mayor, will determine the
best course of action and said answers to some of these concerns
will be addressed at the next meeting Feb. 16.

City officials and transit advocates have also questioned if the
recent proposal to build a bus terminal first, followed several
years later by an extension of Caltrain, would jeopardize the rail
extension's prospects.

"The voters voted to bring Caltrain downtown," said Bruce Balshone,
a member of the Transbay Citizens Advisory Committee. "I'm concerned
that won't happen."

But Margaret Okuzumi, executive director of Bay Rail Alliance, a
transit advocacy group, criticized the mayor for slowing down the
project. "Delays only increase the cost," she said.

Michael Cohen, a board member of the TJPA appointed by Newsom, said
city officials believe taking time now for an analysis "ultimately
can save the project a lot of time and perhaps a lot of money."


[BATN: See also:

SFCTA staff, Newsom work to destroy Transbay agency
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BATN/message/28815

Letter: SFCTA should stop sabotaging Transbay project
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BATN/message/28072

Transbay Terminal: trying to build the Grand Central of the West
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BATN/message/28028 ]