Bay Area, California, Regional Measure 3, "Traffic Relief Plan" Bridge Toll Increase (June 2018)
| Regional Measure 3: Bay Area "Traffic Relief Plan" Bridge Toll Increase |
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| The basics |
| Election date: |
| June 5, 2018 |
| Status: |
 Approved
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| Topic: |
| Local transportation |
| Related articles |
| Local transportation on the ballot June 5, 2018 ballot measures in California Multiple County, California ballot measures Local transportation on the ballot |
| See also |
A bridge toll increase for transportation projects was on the ballot for voters in nine counties in the Bay Area, California, on June 5, 2018. It was approved.
| A yes vote was a vote in favor of raising bridge tolls in the Bay Area—excluding tolls for the Golden Gate Bridge—by $3 over six years to fund the Bay Area Traffic Relief Plan, including a $4.5 billion slate of transportation projects. |
| A no vote was a vote against raising bridge tolls in the Bay Area to fund the Bay Area Traffic Relief Plan. |
Regional Measure 3 was on the ballot for voters in the city and county of San Francisco and the following counties: Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, and Sonoma.
Voters in Contra Costa and Solano counties rejected Measure 3, and voters in the other seven counties approved it. The vote margin was closest in Napa County, where voters approved the measure 50.7 percent to 49.3 percent. To see a county-by-county breakdown of the votes, click here.
Election results
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Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) Regional Measure 3 |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
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876,815 | 55.07% | ||
| No | 715,416 | 44.93% | ||
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- Results are officially certified.
- Source
Measure design
Regional Measure 3 was designed to increase bridge tolls for all Bay Area bridges excluding the Golden Gate Bridge according to the following schedule:[1]
Toll increases
- $1 increase on January 1, 2019
- $1 increase on January 1, 2022
- $1 increase on January 1, 2025
Two-bridge discount
The measure included the following provision:[1]
| “ |
Under RM 3, commuters (including carpoolers) who pay tolls electronically on two of the region’s seven state-owned toll bridges (Antioch, Benicia-Martinez, Carquinez, Dumbarton, Richmond-San Rafael, San Mateo-Hayward and San Francisco-Oakland Bay bridges) during commute hours will receive a 50 percent discount on the RM 3 portion of the toll paid on the second crossing within a one-day period.[2] |
” |
Projects
Regional Measure 3 was designed to fund 35 projects with the goal of "reliev[ing] traffic and enhanc[ing] public transit in bridge corridors." All of the projects fell into one of four categories: regionwide improvements, improvements in the central bridge corridor, improvements in the northern bridge corridor, and improvements in the southern bridge corridor.[1]
Regionwide improvements
Regionwide improvements mentioned in RM 3 included:[1]
- New Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) railcars
- Conversion of high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes into express lanes and construction of new express lanes across multiple counties
- Upgrades to ferries, ferry terminals, and ferry service
- Reduction in truck traffic
- Bicycle and pedestrian access improvements
- Capitol Corridor rail services improvements
- Improvements to the Clipper fare payment system
- Enhancements to the Transbay Transit Center in downtown San Francisco
- Transbay express bus service
Central bridge corridor improvements
The central bridge corridor referred to the San Francisco-Oakland Bay bridge corridor.
Northern bridge corridor improvements
The northern bridge corridor referred to the Antioch, Benicia-Martinez, Carquinez, and Richmond-San Rafael corridor.
Southern bridge corridor improvements
The southern bridge corridor referred to the Dumbarton and San Mateo-Hayward bridge corridor.
Text of measure
Executive summary
The executive summary for Regional Measure 3 was as follows:[1]
| “ |
Between now and 2040, the Bay Area’s economy is expected to add one million jobs, while our population is expected to grow by two million residents. To improve the quality of life and sustain the economy, Regional Measure 3 (RM 3) invests in projects that will reduce congestion and enhance travel options in the Bay Area’s seven state-owned bridge corridors as provided in Sections 1 and 7 of Senate Bill 595 (Beall, 2017). If approved by a majority of all voters in Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano and Sonoma counties and the City and County of San Francisco, RM 3 will implement the Bay Area Traffic Relief Plan (the Plan), a set of 35 projects and programs to reduce auto and truck traffic; relieve crowding on BART; unclog freeway bottlenecks; improve bus, ferry, BART and commuter rail service; and enhance bicycle and pedestrian mobility in the bridge corridors. [2] |
” |
Impartial analysis
The following impartial analysis was prepared by the office of the San Francisco County Counsel:[3]
| “ |
Regional Measure 3 (RM3) would increase the tolls on all Bay Area toll bridges except the Golden Gate Bridge. The tolls would increase by $1 in 2019, an additional $1 in 2022, and an additional $1 in 2025, for a total increase of $3. After 2025, tolls could be increased for inflation. By law, the Bay Area Toll Authority (Authority) would have to use not more than 16% of the funds from these toll increases to pay for up to $60 million in designated annual transportation operating programs. The Authority would have to use the remaining available funds, which the Authority estimates will total $4.45 billion, for designated transportation capital projects throughout the Bay Area. The largest projects include:
The Authority would be allowed to provide discounts to high-occupancy vehicles or vehicles that pay tolls without using cash. The Authority would be required to provide a discount for certain commuters who cross two bridges. RM3 will be on the ballot in all nine Bay Area counties, including the City and County of San Francisco and the counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, and Sonoma. To pass, RM3 requires approval by a majority of votes cast on the measure in all nine counties combined. An independent oversight committee would monitor how funds from the toll increases are spent. This committee and the Authority would be required to submit annual reports on use of the funds to the State Legislature. A “yes” vote is a vote to increase the toll on all Bay Area toll bridges except the Golden Gate Bridge by $1 in 2019, an additional $1 in 2022, and an additional $1 in 2025. A “no” vote is a vote to not approve the proposed toll increase.[2] |
” |
| —San Francisco County Counsel | ||
Full text
The full text of the measure is available here.
Support
Proponents
Yes on Regional Measure 3—Keeping the Bay Area Moving campaigned in favor of Regional Measure 3. The group was sponsored by Bay Area Civic Leadership Associations, with committee funding from KP Financial Services, Salesforce, and Dignity Health.
The group lists elected officials, organizations, and community stakeholders who supported the measure here.
Arguments
- Yes on Regional Measure 3 stated the following on its website:[4]
| “ |
As Bay Area traffic grows to crisis levels, the State Legislature authorized a bold, coordinated, region-wide traffic relief plan called Regional Measure 3 that will be on the June 5, 2018 ballot. The RM3 plan builds on improvements from past local transportation measures and adds to them by including funding to replace BART’s obsolete railcars, extend BART to San Jose and Santa Clara, ease some of the worst freeway bottlenecks in the East Bay and Peninsula, significantly expand and improve ferry service, accelerate planning for a second Transbay rail crossing and improve other critical regional rail systems like Caltrain and SMART in the North Bay, among others. The plan also calls for robust public oversight and accountability measures.[2] |
” |
- Jim Wunderman, president and CEO of the Bay Area Council, Gabe Metcalf, president and CEO of the San Francisco Bay Area Planning and Urban Research Association, and Carl Guardino, president and CEO of Silicon Valley Leadership Group, stated in San Francisco Business Times:
| “ |
The traffic congestion in San Francisco and the Bay Area can no longer be ignored. By voting yes for the passage of RM3 on June 5th, we are contributing to the progress and future of our city.[5][2] |
” |
Opposition
Opponents
The following individuals opposed Regional Measure 3:
- Rep. Mark DeSaulnier (D-11)
- Linda Koeling, former mayor of Foster City
- David Schonbrunn, president of transit organization TRANSDEF.org
Arguments
- Rep. Mark DeSaulnier stated in The Mercury News:[6]
| “ | It demands that bridge commuters take hundreds of dollars out of their paychecks to fund a grab bag of transportation projects cobbled together by state lawmakers behind closed doors. By 2025, typical commuters would pay about $700 more each year, but would see little to no improvement in their commutes.[2] | ” |
- Linda Koeling stated in the Benicia Herald:[7]
| “ |
We are definitely not steering a common-sense course for the Bay Area when it comes to growth and development in our cities and communities. Raising bridge tolls through RM 3 is only a band aid solution to a bigger problem, a lack of appropriate infrastructure to accommodate the massive push to urbanize all the suburban areas in the Bay Area.[2] |
” |
- David Schonbrunn stated in The Mercury News:[8]
| “ |
The only way to avoid gridlock is a substantial shift of travel choices from driving alone to shared travel.[2] |
” |
Path to the ballot
Regional Measure 3 was introduced in the state legislature by Senator James Beall Jr. (D-15) as Senate Bill 595, which Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law on October 10, 2017. The Metropolitan Transportation Commission’s (MTC) Bay Area Toll Authority (BATA) gave approval to place the measure on the ballot in the nine Bay Area counties on January 24, 2018.[9][10]
See also
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 SFgov.org, "Regional Measure 3," accessed April 12, 2018
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ San Francisco Elections, "Regional Measure 3," accessed May 21, 2018
- ↑ Yes on Regional Measure 3, "Home," accessed April 20, 2018
- ↑ San Francisco Business Times, "Guest opinion: Get behind RM3, the Bay Area depends on it," March 22, 2018
- ↑ The Mercury News, "DeSaulnier: Why I oppose the Bay Area $3 bridge toll hike," April 13, 2018
- ↑ Benicia Herald, "Linda Koeling: Regional Measure 3 will bring empty promises," April 15, 2018
- ↑ The Mercury News, "Opinion: RM3 would condemn Bay Area to gridlock," April 14, 2018
- ↑ Metropolitan Transportation Commission, "Regional Measure 3," accessed April 12, 2018
- ↑ Streetsblog San Francisco, "Regional Measure 3 Heads for the Ballot," January 25, 2018
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