To: City Council Members

I'm encouraged that this Tuesday's agenda will include the Dumbarton Rail project. I'm very pro-mass transit where it makes sense, but am disturbed about several aspects of the current state of this project, including:

- No funds for mitigation

- 100% increase in projected costs over the last year

- Vague, difficult to understand cost and projected ridership numbers (that have troubled a number of the Policy Advisory Committee members themselves)

- A rather narrow focus on a heavy rail option, when other far, far less expensive options like expanding the popular Dumbarton Express bus service over the existing auto bridge is not even being considered

- No realistic estimates for freight use of the line (the current estimate is zero)

I have high hopes that our town can develop a formal position on Dumbarton and a subsequent resolution that demands that the Polciy Advisory Committee make smartest, most effective use of scarce transportation dollars to serve commuters while ensuring that reasonable mitigation of project impacts to MP citizens is delivered.

Respectfully,

Jon Hazard
Received on Sun May 20 21:18:32 2007