Plan to add toll to Highway 37 for safety funding faces opposition
VALLEJO - Between flooding during King Tides and everyday commute congestion, Highway 37 in the North Bay has long been a major concern of the State. Transportation officials have come up with a plan to fix the vital connecting road, but the method to pay for it is drawing criticism - and raising concerns about how future projects may be funded.
The roadway sits only a few feet above the water and has already experienced shutdowns due to flooding. So, the State's long-term plan is to turn the road into a four-lane "causeway," essentially, a low-level bridge that will span most of the 21 miles from Vallejo to Novato. It would include a bike and pedestrian lane and a rail line for the SMART commuter train. That will take billions of dollars and more than 20 years to complete. But there is also a short-term plan involving one section of the highway.
"That's roughly a ten-mile stretch, from Mare Island to Sears Point, and that's where the congestion problem is really centered," said MTC Spokesperson John Goodwin.
The Metropolitan Transportation Commission is recommending that part of the roadway be widened to four lanes, using the existing shoulder, to ease the traffic bottleneck. But to pay for it, they want to erect electronic toll gates on either end and charge people to drive on it.
"This would treat, if you will, the segment of Hwy 37 that we're talking about as an additional toll bridge in the Bay Area," said Goodwin.
It would be the first highway in the Bay Area to be designated as a toll road. They're proposing a discount for low-income drivers and one of the lanes would be a toll-free HOV lane. But data shows about 40 percent of the traffic on Hwy 37 is working class individuals commuting to service jobs in Marin and Sonoma Counties. Vallejo resident and activist Joe Feller said there has been almost unanimous opposition in town to the toll plan.
"I really do believe that there's a certain amount of economic injustice involved with this," said Feller. "They need to commute because they can't afford housing in Marin. So, you're taxing people to go to work, in essence"
Vallejo Mayor Robert McConnell agreed. He said the plan is setting up a class struggle between the counties.
"'We don't want to build housing for them on this side of the bay. Let them stay on that side of the bay and come work for us and go home at the end of the day.' That's how it comes across over here," said McConnell. "It's going to have an impact on people who are not in a position to fully afford that impact."
Filling up at a nearby gas station, resident Robert Gilbraith said low-income people are already choosing Hwy 37 as a route to avoid the expense of the bridges.
"A lot of people go that way to avoid paying tolls," he said. "Because that's the only way you can go and come back without paying."
The MTC says the road improvements are simply not possible without some kind tolling. But what does that mean for the future?
"Certainly, it would set a precedent of some sort," said Goodwin. "But I think that...I'm reluctant to read too much into that."
"Is it going to establish a precedent? I think it already has, actually," said Mayor McConnell. "Because now that this idea has become feasible in the eyes of MTC and the State Legislature, they're certainly going to impose it elsewhere."
The plan to fix Hwy 37 has been studied and discussed for more than 20 years, but now that there is a possible funding source, it is on a fast track. They say construction on the short-term fix could begin in 2025 and be completed by 2027 at an estimated cost of 430 million dollars. Final approval of the plan rests with the California Transportation Commission and that could come sometime in the next month.
