Transit Times Volume 1, Number 2

8/14/2019 Transit Times Volume 1, Number 2

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T r a n s i t Ti 1 n e s

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A Strike EndsT he co n tract se t tlement recen tl y con

cl uded by Key System and m em b ers of

the Canne n's Union was, i n deed, jus treason for a full sense of relief reg isteredby East Bay ci t ize n ry, bo th in the interests of th e convenience of the r iding public an d th e p reven t ion o f fur th er economic hardship to business an d indu stry.

Ye t th e Ala med a-Con tr a Costa TransitD istrict cannot h elp bu t join with themany far t h inking individua ls who, aswell, continue to view th e tr ansportat ionsituation in this area w it h deep co n cern .

Because of the vital importance o f public transportation to the communities an dthe wide public int erest served by thetra n spo rt a t ion company and its employees, the T ransi t D istr i ct over the p astseveral weeks cl osely re-examined thelaws under whic h it m us t opera te; thee xp loration, as th oro u gh as i t was, failedto disclose a method by whic h t he D is-t rict cou ld lega lly in tervene in th e la b ornegotiations, o r to seize an d ope ra te the

pr operties of th e pr iva te tr a n spo rtationcompa n y.Research into the letter as well as th e

spiri t of the T rans it Distric t law reaffi nn ed tha t the Di str ict was created byth e Legisla t ure w it h b ut the single p u rpose to develop and operate a p u buclyowned tr a nsit sys tem .

T o this end, t h e Dir ectors of the T ransi t Dist ric t are followi n g a ch arted courseof action designed to attack the area'soverall transi t problems. The D irectorshave:

E m ployed a widely recognize d finn(Continued on Page 4)

BE RK ELEY, J U N E, 195 8

Future TransitNeeds Are Cited

Pu b lic transit is essen t ia l t o the economic and socia l well-be ing of Alame d a

an d Con tr a Cos ta counties, a n d must bedeve loped to the degree it is attractiveenough to induce people to leave the ircars at home.

This is the considered opinion ofCharles De Leuw, p rom in ent transit engineer, who rece n tly addressed a me e tin g of the Tr ansit Dis trict's E n gineeringAdvisory Committee.

De Leuw, p res ident of t h e D e L euw,Cather & Company, in t erna t iona l ly

known consulting enginee ri ng finn , toldth e committee that ci tizens of th e EastBay area as well as their elected pub licofficials "must come to realize t hi s fact."H e added :Rapid G rowth

"T h e amazing growth of the area tha tis forecast for the nex t 30 years-abou t2J,l times th e prese n t p op ulat ion - will, bynecessity, force so m e of the cars off th efreeways an d their riders in to public t ran

sit vehicles."The De Leuw, Ca the r finn is being employed by th e Distric t to d ra w up a maste r transit plan as the basis of a prog ramto be offe red to the voters b y the TransitD istric t in Novembe r .

De Leuw told the ' assem b led c ity andcounty engineers tha t "something has tobe done to ge t the people out o f th eircars an d into th e future tra ins, buses O fothe r vehicles of the Transi t D istric t."

And, he added, his finn's lo n g-range planning for the Trans it Dish-jet is attemp t in gto do jllst that

"We are going into the long -range im-


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2 T R A NS I TT I M E Splications to take care of th e transit needswithin th e District that can still be coordinated with the planning of th e BayArea Rapid Transit District," he said.

De Leuw said, in response to questioning, that he could no t conceive of an effective transit system in th e long-termview without some use of rails for th erapid movement of people. But, headded, that is only a part of it. Ridersstill must be transported between th e major rails links and their homes, he said.

The transit planner said that it is "nota hopeless task" to reverse the downwardtrend in mass transit use. He cited transitsystems in numerous cities includingToronto, Chicago and Cleveland, where,for example, he said residents have beensuccessfully diverted from their cars topublic transit.

Suit Against District

Nearer to DecisionEfforts of the Transit District to obtain

a speedy hearing and judgment in a lawsuit brought against th e District by fiveContra County taxpayers resulted thismonth in a pre-trial hearing.

Th e taxpayer suit seeks to exclude fromth e District the cities of Richmond, SanPablo and unincorporated areas of the

county.The hearing was scheduled for June 16

in th e Marin County Superior Court,which was selected by both parties asneutral ground.

Contention of th e suit is that th e absentee ballots for the specific areas inContra Cotsa County were improperlycanvassed in 1956 when th e District wascreated. Robert E. Nisbet, attorney forhe District, said in his answering briefthat th e voting procedure followed by th eAlameda an d Contra Costa boards of supervisors was entirely in accordance withState laws.

CITIES HELP WITHTRANSIT PLANS

Informal meetings between representatives of th e Transit District an d th ecounties and cities within its borders arebeing held to help develop th e District'smass transit plan.

Transit consultant J. R. Worthington ismeeting individually with city an dcounty engineers to obtain first hand information on local transit needs.

Th e engineers are members of the Engineering Advisory Committee which recently was formed by the Transit Districtto serve as a valuable liaison between th eDistrict and th e cities an d counties.

Worthington is reviewing with the engineers th e initial transit planning thatwill directly affect th e individual cities.Th e conferences ar e giving th e engineersan opportunity to participate in th e planning program, and, are helping to assurethat th e transit plan will as closely as possible reflect th e needs and wishes of th epeople of each locality.

Members of the committee, who wercappointed by their respective agenciesand met for an initial organizationalmeeting recently at th e Claremont Hotel,include:

Olof E. Anderson, Alameda Countysurveyor; Lawrence R. Blair, Haywardtraffic engineer; F. R. Brown, Contra

Costa County deputy public works director; Robert W. Crommelin, San Leandrotraffic engineer; G. Homer Hamlin, SanLeandro public works director; MarkJ. Hanna, Alameda city engineer; S. C.Jacka, Berkeley public works director.

Paul W. Larson, assistant Haywardcity engineer; Wayne McAuley, Albanycity engineer; Lawrence W. Milnes, Walnu t Creek public works director; JohnMorin, Oakland city engineer; L. H. Taylor, Piedmont city engineer; CosmoTedeschi, EI Cerrito public works director, and Martin Wallen, Richmond traffic engineer.

What the EditorsSay About Transit

IICHRONICLE" NOTES GAIN IN

EAST BAY TRANSIT PROGRAM

The Alameda-Contra Costa TransitDistrict, which has been working hardan d long to bring satisfactory publictransportation to the East Bay, has embarked on a highly useful undertaking forthe education of th e voting public; an informal, monthly news letter, TransitTimes, is being distributed to keep citizens informed an d interested in th eprogress of transit planning.

Th e first number (May, 1958) reportsthat a detailed, mass transit plan is being prepared by De Leuw, Cather & Co.,consulting engineers, with assistancefrom a special advisory committee whichis canvassing th e public's transportationneeds and desires.

Thus information will be gathered toward the establishment of traffic servicesthat will be attractive enough on th escores of speed, comfort, conveniencesand cost, to win patrons away from th eprivate automobiles that no w congest th ehighways and demand expensive parkingspace.

When a transit plan evolves, it will bewidely and thoroughly discussed at public hearings. Th e District is hopeful thatsuch a plan, in the form of a bond issuefor th e purchase of equipment, may beoffered to th e voters in November.

This kind of procedure is wise an d prudent, an d highly encouraging to prospects of a publicly built and publicly operated system that will be both adequateand prosperous. The success of such aventure would inevitably promote construction of th e projected Bay Area Transit system which is of such vital importance to th e entire metropolitan district. Itwould likewise contribute to th e patronage of such a system when in operation,for authorities generally agree that re-

T R A N S I T

T I M E S 3gional mass transit needs to be supplemented by local or feeder systems if it isto prosper an d fulfill its purpose.

This newspaper, which differed withth e Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District on th e issue of removing rails fromth e Bay Bridge is heartily in accord withits aims in providing decent public transportation within its East Bay confines; wewish it speedy success an d hopefully anticipate th e day when its operations willbe integrated with a system that servesth e entire Bay Area. - San FranciscoChronicle.

Merchants Transform

Downtown into 'Park'

A first-hand glimpse of what it wouldbe like to have a downtown shoppingcenter that is traffic-free-and serenelyembellished with trees, chairs, rock gardens and landscaping-was given residents of Rock Island, Ill., recently duringa three-day retail merchants' sales event.

All vehicular traffic was prohibitedfrom two central blocks which weretransformed into malls for th e convenience an d pleasure of shoppers. Buseswere diverted to two parallel streets.

A park-like atmosphere was created inth e malls, replete with shrubbery an dplants, benches and soft music. Free busrides were provided during morninghours.

City officials said the "Mall Days"event, claimed a success by the merchants, served as a test for a proposeddowntown redevelopment plan whichwould give th e city a modern businessarea sometime in th e future. Th e planno w calls for creation of fringe parkingfacilities, removal of certain paved streetsand landscaping.

High school students helped conductan on-street poll among shoppers to seeif they like the shopping malls. Th e results, yet to be tabulated, will be used inproposed downtown revitalization plans.


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4 T RA N S I TT I M E SA Str ike Ends(Continued from Page 1)

of transportation engineers, to devise abasic and improved transit plan fo r th eentire District which is due to be completed within the next several weeks;

Instituted valuation proceedings withthe State Public Utilities Commission todetermine a reasonable market value ofcertain useful and necessary properties ofKey System;

Announced the District's intentionsof submitting the transit plan and a bondissue to the voters in November;

Determined that upon approval bythe voters, the District will attempt toacquire the useful and necessary properties of Key System, and, together with afleet of entirely new equipment, proceedin an orderly manner to put the plan intooperation in order to provide improved,dependable transit service.

Though the District, together withthe communities within its boundaries, issteadily moving forward with such planning, the likelihood of future transportation shutdowns must continue to exist until local transit operations in th e tw ocounties becomes in fact the legal responsibility of the Alameda-Contra CostaTransit District; only then will the Dis-

T r a n s i t T i m e s

Alameda-Contra Costa Transit DistrictSuite C, Claremont Hotel

Berkeley-Oakland, California

Form 3547 Requested

Tr a n s i t Ti m e s

Published monthly by the

Alameda-Contra Costa Transit DistrictSuite C, Claremont HotelBerkeley-Oakland, California

Alan L. Bingham, EditorTelephone THornwall 5-6610

OfficersRobert K. BarberWm. J. Bettencourt .Robert E. NisbetGeorge M. Taylor

PresidentVice President

Attorney-SecretaryAdministrative Officer

Directors

Robert K. BarberJ. Howard ArnoldJohn l. McDonnellWm. J. BettencourtPaul E. Deadrich .Robert M. CopelandClair W. Macleod .

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Ward IWard IIWard IIIWard IV

Ward VDirector at LargeDirector at Large

trict be in position to invoke automaticarbitration provisions given to it by th eLegislature and thus prevent the very

kind of emergency that so recently disrupted community life.

Until that time arrives and publictransportation in the East Ba y is nolonger subject to periodic interruption,the Directors of the Transit District willnot consider that they have fulfilled th eclear mandate of the people who votedthe District into being.

BULK RATE

U.S. POSTAGE

PA I D

Permit No. 288

Berkeley, California

Documents

Transit Times Volume 1, Number 2