T-Third Phase 3

Another topic that was brought up at last night's SFCTA-CAC meeting was to look at the T-Third Phase 3 concepts. Phase 1 is what we currently are using. Phase 1 will be completed when the Mission Bay Loop is constructed in the coming year. Phase 2 is being built now and will open up the T-Third to Chinatown. Phase 3 would take the line from Chinatown all the way to North Beach and Fisherman's Wharf, but realistically wouldn't be constructed for another ten years at least.

While last night's discussion was only to present a few of the proposed ideas that came out of a 400-page study by SFMTA, a couple of D10-related issues popped out at me.

First, the study as presented to us on the CAC didn't seem to consider effects on the southern half of the T-Third line. Two-and-a-half minutes between trains on the Phase 2+3 portion of the line got me wondering about whether this meant that trains could be prioritized for the northern half of the line and if we in the Southeast would end up seeing the service levels we've been promised.

Second, the idea that potential funding could come from "Land Use Value Capture", including Infrastructure Finance District (IFD); Community Facilities District (Mello-Roos) (CFD); or a Special Assessment District (SpAD) got me thinking that if people on the wealthier northern end of the line were paying for this, then they might think that they'd be in their right to expect prioritization of trains at the expense of the Southeast.

Of course, SFMTA staff reassured me that we'll see improvements on the whole line, including the Southeast, once the Mission Bay Loop and Phase 2 are completed, with two-car trains and headways of 5-minutes to Mission Bay and 7.5 minutes to Bayview/Sunnydale. A community member also reminded us that MUNI won't be the only way to get from Bayview to downtown if we get a Caltrain station at Oakdale, Bayshore gets its improvements, or if a BRT to Balboa Park BART happens.

Despite these assurances, I will continue to impress upon SFMTA and the SFCTA the importance of including the Southeast's users of the T-Third in discussions regarding the northern end of the line so that we're all aware of what's going on and can make sure that our concerns are addressed.