News

West County Transportation Officials Abandon Discussion of BART Extension

Published

8 years ago

August 2, 2016

Special to the Post

Local elected officials who make up the West Contra Costa Transportation Committee recently decided to not study a possible BART extension along the I-80 Corridor from the El Cerrito Del Norte Station.

Transportation committee member Zachary Mallett, who is a member of the BART board, supported the study, but other committee members felt there have already been enough studies.

Earlier this year, the transportation committee decided to study four alternative solutions that include increased express bus service, Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), a BART extension from the Richmond BART Station and a fare revision on Amtrak’s Capitol Corridor.

Oddly enough a possible solution in their own back yard has not been included for consideration.

According to Ultra Light Rail Transit (ULRT) developer CyberTran International’s (CTI) Board Chairman Neil Sinclair, “Everyone wants to be second, nobody wants to be first. Therefore, transit innovation doesn’t move forward unless you’re some conglomerate like Tesla or Google. Nobody ever got fired for buying IBM.”

Transit officials are very conservative and will not take chances on their reputations.

In 2008, BART did a comprehensive study on the ULRT technology. It’s a system that has already been built and tested. BART concluded in comparison to their system, the ULRT system is approximately a quarter the cost to build and half the cost to operate and maintain.

CyberTran would not allow the study to be made public because the study included proprietary information. However, the study has been reviewed by federal officials at the US Department of Transportation, and a federal program has been developed to possibly fund final demonstration of the technology.

CyberTran President Dexter Vizinau says there should be not further extensions of the BART technology. Ultra light rail is less costly to build, less costly to operate and maintain, can go more places and give the public more for their tax dollars. The system also generates its own energy and will not tax the grid as BART does. he said, noting that BART is PG&E’s biggest customer.

When it comes to the four alternatives of the WCCTAC study Vizinau states, “You’ll never be able to get from Richmond to Sacramento in 40 minutes on a bus, or driverless car. Our system is designed to reach speeds over 100 mph and is non-stop no matter where you get on and no matter where you are going within the system.”

CyberTran Board Chairman Sinclair said, “If we really want to relieve traffic congestion on Highway 80 from Sacramento to the Bay Area ULRT is the best viable solution. Ultra light rail can be installed on the existing medium without having to widen the highway. The problem is our system is disruptive technology and the status quo does not want to see it move forward.”

!”

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Up Next

CyberTran’s Ultra Light Rail Transit Will Pay for Itself

Don't Miss

Night Out for Safety and Liberation on August 2

Oakland Post

1 Comment

Activism

S.F. Black Leaders Rally to Protest, Discuss ‘Epidemic’ of Racial Slurs Against Black Students in SF Public School System

Parents at the meeting spoke of their children as no longer feeling safe in school because of bullying and discrimination. Parents also said that reported incidents such as racial slurs and intimidation are not dealt with to their satisfaction and feel ignored.

Published

2 days ago

May 4, 2024

Oakland Post

Rev. Amos C. Brown, president of the San Francisco NAACP and pastor of Third Baptist Church. Photo courtesy Third Baptist Church.

By Carla Thomas

San Francisco’s Third Baptist Church hosted a rally and meeting Sunday to discuss hatred toward African American students of the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD).

Rev. Amos C. Brown, president of the San Francisco NAACP and pastor of Third Baptist Church, along with leadership from local civil rights groups, the city’s faith-based community and Black community leadership convened at the church.

“There has been an epidemic of racial slurs and mistreatment of Black children in our public schools in the city,” said Brown. “This will not be tolerated.”

According to civil rights advocate Mattie Scott, students from elementary to high school have reported an extraordinary amount of racial slurs directed at them.

“There is a surge of overt racism in the schools, and our children should not be subjected to this,” said Scott. “Students are in school to learn, develop, and grow, not be hated on,” said Scott. “The parents of the children feel they have not received the support necessary to protect their children.”

Attendees were briefed last Friday in a meeting with SFUSD Superintendent Dr. Matt Wayne.

SFUSD states that their policies protect children and they are not at liberty to publicly discuss the issues to protect the children’s privacy.

Some parents said they have removed their students from school while other parents and community leaders called on the removal of the SFUSD superintendent, the firing of certain school principals and the need for more supportive school board members.

Community advocates discussed boycotting the schools and creating Freedom Schools led by Black leaders and educators, reassuring parents that their child’s wellbeing and education are the highest priority and youth are not to be disrupted by racism or policies that don’t support them.

Virginia Marshall, chair of the San Francisco NAACP’s education committee, offered encouragement to the parents and students in attendance while also announcing an upcoming May 14 school board meeting to demand accountability over their mistreatment.

“I’m urging anyone that cares about our students to pack the May 14 school board meeting,” said Marshall.

This resource was supported in whole or in part by funding provided by the State of California, administered by the California State Library via California Black Media as part of the Stop the Hate Program. The program is supported by partnership with California Department of Social Services and the California Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs as part of the Stop the Hate program. To report a hate incident or hate crime and get support, go to CA vs Hate.