Funding Vote Set for BART Airport Connector

OAKLAND, Calif. (KCBS) _ A Metropolitan Transportation Commission committee is set to vote on Wednesday on whether or not to allocate $20 million in state funds for BART's Oakland Airport Connector.

A group opposed to the extension showed its displeasure on Tuesday, holding a small rally at the Oakland Coliseum station parking lot.

It included using a wood chipper to shred pages of fake money that had been stapled to wood.

The transit advocacy group TransForm said this was symbolic of wasting taxpayer dollars.

"We are now talking about $500 million for a little three-mile cable car that takes you to a parking lot," said TransForm Executive Director Stuart Cohen. "And to help pay for it, BART is going to go into debt, and then charge a very high fare on top of your BART fare."

Cohen said a study the group commissioned recently supports an express bus alternative with a dedicated lane, a move that could save the region more than $350 million.

But BART spokesman Linton Johnson said the connector is an investment and will never cost less to build.

"It would bring up to 5,000 direct and indirect jobs to the area and it provides us with a comfortable, clean commute for decades to come," said Johnson. "And puts that airport on the map as a world-class airport like in San Francisco."

Voters and the MTC have already approved the project, but funding has not been finalized. BART expects to start construction of the connector this fall.