Jan 24, 2008 3:41 pm US/Pacific
Public Meetings Planned To Discuss GG Bridge Toll
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS 5 / BCN) ―
Three public information sessions about a proposed toll increase on the Golden Gate Bridge have been tentatively scheduled to be held during February and March in various Bay Area locations.
The Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District's Board of Directors' Finance-Auditing Committee is recommending the meetings be held Feb. 28 at the Fort Mason Conference Center, Landmark Building A in San Francisco; the Petaluma Community Center March 13; and the Pickleweed Park Community Center in San Rafael March 26. All the meetings will start at 5:30 p.m.
A public hearing on the proposed toll increase will be held at 7 p.m. April 24 at the San Rafael City Council chambers if the full Board of Directors approves the committee's recommendations Friday morning.
The 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. 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.
The district's board will not make a decision on the toll increases until May. The toll increases would fully fund a projected five-year, $91 million shortfall.
The district said the five-year shortfall has been reduced by 80 percent since 2002, from $454 million to $91 million.
District spokeswoman Mary Currie said the shortfall is due to a reduction in ridership and revenue after the dot-com bust in the area in 2002, inflation and rising security and insurance costs after Sept. 11, 2001. The deficit projection is updated every year, she said.
The district raised the bridge toll in 2002, reduced bus and ferry service between 2003 and 2005, increased fares between 5 and 40 percent to close the deficit gap, officials said.
Other cost saving measures included reducing the work force 21 percent, reducing employee health benefits, imposing a two-year wage freeze and cutting board meeting expenses 50 percent by reducing the number of meetings, according to district officials.
Revenue was increased through more bridge paid parking, leases, gift sales and a new bridge ornament program.
The district said it still made critical capital improvements during this time including Phase II of the bridge seismic retrofit project, major under-deck repainting and repairs and expansion of security systems. Currie said those improvement projects did not cause the deficit.
(© CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Bay City News contributed to this report.)
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
Comments