Jan 25, 2008 6:25 pm US/Pacific
Public Invited To Weigh In On GG Bridge Toll Hike
SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) ―
Golden Gate Bridge Highway and Transportation District officials are asking for public comment on a potentially contentious proposal to raise tolls on the bridge by $1.
"We know people aren't going to like a toll increase," bridge spokeswoman Mary Currie said today, "but we've got to balance the budget."
Officials say the increase would make up for the District's projected five-year, $91 million shortfall.
The District's board of directors is considering raising the cash toll from $5 to $6 for two-axle vehicles and increasing the FasTrak toll from $4 to $5. The per-axle toll for more than two axles would increase from $2.50 to $3 for cash transactions and from $2 to $2.50 for FasTrak motorists.
The toll for disabled people would increase from $1.50 to $3 for two-axle vehicles. The toll increases would not occur before July 1 at the earliest and may be as late as Jan. 1, 2009, according to District officials.
In preparation for a vote on the toll hike by the 19-member board of directors, which could come in May or June, the board this morning agreed to host three informational meetings for the public beginning next month.
The meetings will take place Feb. 28 in San Francisco, March 13 in Petaluma and March 19 in San Rafael, and will allow District officials to answer questions and hear public comments about the proposal.
A date for a formal public hearing, which would take place before a vote by the board, has not yet been scheduled.
At least 10 members of the District board, comprised of representatives from San Francisco, Marin, Sonoma, Napa, Mendocino and Del Norte counties, are required to approve the toll hike.
According to Currie, though the board will have the final decision, public comments will "weigh heavily" on their decision.
"I can't say it will direct the outcome," Currie said, "but I wouldn't want to discourage people from commenting, because the board does want to know what people feel before they take the action."
Currie said the District had already received about 50 public comments on the toll increase proposal via its Web site, only three in approval.
The bridge's last toll increase came in 2002, when the district had a projected deficit of $454 million, according to officials. Reductions in bus and ferry service, wage and employee cutbacks, expanded paid parking at the bridge, and halving the number of District board meetings also helped to reduce the deficit to current levels, officials reported.
The District's primary funding sources come from tolls, transit fares, government grants and advertising and concessions, according to officials.
The informational meetings will take place Feb. 28 in San Francisco at the Fort Mason Conference Center, Landmark Building A, Golden Gate Room; March 13 at the Petaluma Community Center, Assembly and Activity Rooms, 320 N. McDowell Blvd.; and March 19 in San Rafael at the Pickleweed Park Community Center, Multi-Purpose Room, 50 Canal St. All meetings will run from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
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