Es Ley

Yes, BART, Title VI is indeed the law.  It's comforting that BART got the memo, but this doesn't seem to be an accurate sign of what's to come.

OAC 2010, Port-mortem

Radio station KALW has an excellent summary of what went down between the FTA and BART in the last few months of the Oakland Airport Connectors all-too-long life.

Got questions about the project? Then read and listen to the piece above, as well as Transbay Blog's thorough writeup on this 'blingfrastructure' project.

$70 Million of Federal Money Redirected from OAC to Struggling Transit Agencies

Word just in from Transform that the FTA has rejected BART's plan to bring its Oakland Airport Connector project into compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. From the FTA's letter to BART and the MTC:

Since my letter of January 15th, FTA staff and BART have worked diligently but unsuccessfully on the development of a corrective action plan that might be acceptable. I am required to now inform you that your plan is rejected.

This means that the $70 million of Federal stimulus funds will instead be distributed to regional transit agencies. Muni's chunk: $17.5 million rebuild the trucks on its light rail vehicles and add ADA-compliant voice announcements to those LRVs.

In unrelated(?) news, Rachel Gordon reports in today's Chronicle Comical that the SFMTA Board of Directors has postponed their upcoming meeting to discuss the doomsday fare hikes/service cuts. The meeting, which was to be held this coming Tuesday, will now take place two weeks from today at 9am, Friday, February 26th in Room 400 of City Hall.

Let the MTC Know: the OAC is not OK

As I hope you've heard, BART and the MTC are in some deep federal trouble as a result of their handling of the Oakland Airport Connector.

In short: BART mismanaged their planning of the project, changing it extensively over the years without adequately reviewing the changes. The MTC gave a large chunk of the federal stimulus money it received to the project, because the MTC totally hearts BART. Some local transit advocacy groups complained to the feds. The feds took a look at the project and were all like, 'Woah, we can't give money to a project that hasn't been thoroughly vetted under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act,' and told BART and the MTC to meet the Title VI requirements by March 5th or give up the money.

BART has pledged to meet the March 5th deadline and proceed with the OAC as planned. But the MTC is really the agency with the right to the money. They could choose to stand with BART and risk losing the money if the feds aren't happy after the deadline. Or they could re-appropriate the money to other regional transit projects so agencies like Muni and AC Transit don't have to make some seriously awful service cuts.

What do you think they should do?

Tell the MTC Commissioners themselves:

Wednesday, January 27

9:00am

MTC Headquarters

101 Eighth Street, Oakland

More info from Rebecca Saltzman after the jump

Quote of the Day

In a post about the Oakland Airport Connector:

[BART] couldn’t care less whether Oakland gets trashed, as long as they can whisk suburban commuters to downtown San Francisco or the airports with minimal contact with Oakland soil. Elevated BART tracks carry passengers over Oakland’s neighborhoods while elevated freeways carry drivers over Oakland’s streets—a separate transportation grid several dozen feet above ground level, which “sidesteps the mess” below. -Fragmentary Evidence

BART Moves OAC Forward, Apparently at Staff's Request

Rachel Gordon reports that the BART Board of Directors has approved the funding plan for the Oakland Airport Connector. The OAC has come under fire from transit riders and community groups because its price tag ($552 million) might better be spent avoiding cuts to service. Gordon reports:

The decision came after a five-hour public hearing at BART headquarters in which more than 70 people - split almost evenly for and against the project - testified. -Rachel Gordon (via SF Chronicle)

But how many of those who testified for it were BART staff?