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Projects Selected for the TRANSDEF RTP Alternative

The Water Transit Authority's proposed ferry routes are not included in this Alternative, due in part to their high costs per passenger. In addition, the proposed lines running parallel to US 101 in San Mateo County duplicate Caltrain, and offer no advantage to passengers. While there may be some demand for ferry service between San Francisco and Berkeley, the landside access in Berkeley is inadequate. Existing transit service between the two cities on both AC Transit and BART is adequate.

In the North Bay, the SMART train links Sonoma and Marin Counties, running from a new ferry terminal at San Quentin to Cloverdale. In Sonoma County, SMART replaces all Golden Gate Transit service. In Marin, Golden Gate service is increased, including 15-minute headways along US 101 between Novato and San Francisco. Rapid Bus lines run through the cities of Central Marin, and also in Novato. In Sonoma County, Rapid Bus lines run in Petaluma, Cotati, and Rohnert Park, along with a trunk Rapid Bus service from East Santa Rosa to Sebastapol. Ferry service from San Quentin to the Ferry Building operates on 30-minute headways, as does the bus connection between Marin and BART over the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge.

The State Route 29 corridor between Vallejo and North Napa is improved with DMUs on the existing rail line. They will start at a relocated Vallejo ferry terminal and serve the communities between Vallejo and Napa. They will go to a terminal on the north side of Napa. The Vallejo-Napa DMUs will connect to the ferry to San Francisco, to deliver tourists to the Napa Valley, where private coaches will circulate between wineries, hotels, and DMU stops. A new Rapid Bus line connects Mare Island, Vallejo, Benicia, and the Capitol Corridor trains. It meets the Vallejo-Napa rail service at the relocated ferry terminal at the foot of Lemon Street in Vallejo. Rapid Bus service also circulates from Capitol Corridor stations in Fairfield and Vacaville along improved arterials, connecting new infill growth to their traditional city centers. Central Contra Costa County cities are served by a looping Rapid Bus system, connecting Walnut Creek, Concord, Pleasant Hill and Martinez. All BART stations are served, along with a major new urban center developed on and around the Sun Valley Mall. Smaller community centers develop at existing strip malls and along underdeveloped arterials.

The Delta cities of Contra Costa County are tied into the region with a new Delta DMU rail system running between North Concord BART and Brentwood. Development in the eastern part of the county would be focused on this line. Clyde and Port Chicago, retired from military use, will support thousands of units of new transit-oriented development, with the potential to demonstrate sustainable development on a large scale. Under-utilized commercial and industrial land along the line will also see redevelopment, reducing the pressure to sprawl across the prime agricultural lands around Oakley and Brentwood.

In the Tri-Valley area, three new Rapid Bus lines serve Livermore, Pleasanton, Dublin, and San Ramon. Connections are made to all BART stations and the new Altamont HSR stations on Isabel Avenue in Livermore and at Vasco Road. All major employment centers are connected, including Bishop Ranch, Hacienda, and Lawrence Livermore National Labs. New development densifies formerly underused retail and commercial sites, and the excess parking facilities at many business parks are redeveloped for housing.

Santa Clara County's existing bus system is overlaid with a new Rapid Bus network serving the busiest lines. The Great Mall in Milpitas and Eastridge Mall in East San Jose serve as bookends to a revitalized corridor of homes and businesses. Midrise to highrise residential and commercial buildings replace the malls, with the Great Mall a new center of commerce and business in Silicon Valley, due to its role as the interface between the new HSR system and VTA light rail and buses.

Caltrain service between San Jose and the Transbay Terminal in San Francisco is converted to a mix of transit and express services, with local trains running every 15 minutes; enhanced "Baby Bullets" are express trains, running every 30 minutes. San Jose, Redwood City, Millbrae, and the Transbay Terminal in San Francisco also serve high-speed trains. They are the major focus of new commercial development on the Peninsula. Rapid Buses run along revitalized transit arterials through most of the Peninsula cities.

Like San Jose, San Francisco also has a new Rapid Bus network overlaid upon its busiest lines. In many places, continuous 24-hour bus lanes replace the existing patchwork of bus lanes. Instead of the extremely expensive Central Subway, a new C-Line Rapid Bus combines the three lines that serve Chinatown and North Beach (30, 41, 45). The new C-Line operates on exclusive lanes from Mission Bay and the Transbay area through SOMA, downtown, and Chinatown to North Beach. From North Beach, the line loops over Russian Hill into Cow Hollow and back via the Marina and Fishermen’s Wharf. Stockton Street in Chinatown is given over exclusively to delivery vehicles and transit service. Widened sidewalks allow merchants to expand their traditional outdoor sales and improve mobility for pedestrians, including persons with disabilities.

In the East Bay, several AC Transit Rapid Bus lines were overlaid on several of its busiest local lines from Fremont north to Albany, including on Hesperian, MacArthur and International boulevards. Rapid Bus will save money when compared to the high cost “BRT” project previously under consideration between San Leandro and Berkeley. Headways were improved on a number of lines throughout the two county service area. A special piece of the network in the East Bay is a new Rapid Bus line linking Hayward’s BART station to California State University, Hayward, supporting development of a smart growth corridor and boosting Cal State enrollment.