San Francisco's municipal transit agency unveiled new models of an ambitious downtown subway plan last year. The SFMTA's stunning, comprehensive vision is that neighborhoods along the bayshore will one day be linked by an underground subway stretching from Bayview to North Beach. With the growth of UCSF along outer 3rd Street, it makes sense on the surface, so to speak. It will link up with regional BART trains and city buses.
But now, a civil Grand Jury has blasted the project as an unworkable solution. The original plan was for the subway to be completed in 2011, but construction hasn't even begun. The new completion date is projected for 2019. Is this another impossible vision?
Your can read the new 2011 Grand Jury report online, which states in summary:
The SFMTA is in the final stages to obtain full funding to build a subway of 1.7 miles. The current cost of this project is $1.578 billion, or $176,000 per foot of construction. It is the most expensive public transit project currently considered for federal funding under the New Starts Program.
The Civil Grand Jury has concluded the Central Subway project should be redesigned.
The Jury believes SFMTA is currently unable to adequately maintain its fleet in good working order. Adding a new capital project while struggling to meet current needs could overwhelm the agency’s ability to deliver service.
The Jury believes the SFMTA could design a better system to more fully address transit needs along the Chinatown/Financial District corridor.
Fortunately, San Francisco local taxes represent less than 10% of the funding for this massive project. The cost over-runs from phase one of this plan were 200%. The remainder of subway costs will be funded by State and National transportation budgets, but who will fund the cost over-runs?
Let's hope the project design gets fixed, and that construction finishes on budget and in our lifetime.
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