BART should extend to the Richmond District, says SF supervisor

The Richmond District has always been a tricky part of San Francisco insofar as public transportation goes. Covering a huge swath of the city, no underground transit runs to and from this large western chuck. Unfortunately, whenever an idea like this seems close to becoming a reality, a local business or resident shoots it down.

Now District One Supervisor Sandra Fewer, who has lived in the Richmond for over 50 years, is making it know that she wants BART to extend to her domain. According to a report in the San Francisco Examiner, Fewer and the San Francisco County Transportation Authority’s have requested a study on the possibility of BART expanding to the Richmond District.

“My residents can’t be connected to the East Bay easily. How long do you think I can ask my constituents to do that?” she told the Examiner, noting that public transit to Oakland from the Richmond requires a (grueling) 38-Geary bus ride to BART downtown. Hence one of the many reasons area residents prefer to drive.

As SFist points out, “a recent study by the MTC revealed that approximately 16,200 Richmond District residents commute downtown on a public transit system designed to serve a maximum of 16,800.” And the number is expected to shoot up to an estimated 18,000 by 2040.

Were BART or Muni to snake to this part of the city, building height limits along the line might also increase; another potential bonus. But this is all a pipe dream for now. While Fewer’s request is in its nascent stage, the odds of it ever happening are pin thin.

Fewer’s request, as the Examiner explains, “is part of a Bay Area-wide planning process for Regional Measure 3, a potential ballot measure to request a toll increase of Bay Area bridges between $1 and $3 that's now being explored by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission."

• Supe requests funding to study BART extension to the Richmond District [SF Examiner]
• SF Supe Wants BART To Go To The Richmond District [SFist]