BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 40
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Date of Hearing: April 13, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION
Jim Frazier, Chair
AB 40
(Ting) - As Amended April 15, 2015
SUBJECT: Toll bridges: pedestrians and bicycles
SUMMARY: Prohibits the imposition of tolls on pedestrians and
bicyclists on toll bridges in California that allow pedestrian
and bicycle access.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Establishes the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway, and
Transportation District (GGBHTD), which, among other functions
and duties, owns and operates the Golden Gate Bridge.
2)Authorizes the California Department of Transportation
(Caltrans) to build toll bridges
3)Authorizes Caltrans to consider the inclusion of bicycle and
pedestrian facilities on toll bridges.
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown
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COMMENTS: California has eight toll bridges, all located in the
San Francisco Bay Area. Seven of those bridges - the Antioch
Bridge, the Benicia/Martinez Bridge, the Carquinez Bridge, the
Dumbarton Bridge, the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge, the San
Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, and the San Mateo Hayward Bridge -
are owned by the state. The eighth, the Golden Gate Bridge, is
owned and operated by the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and
Transportation District (GGBHTD). The Golden Gate Bridge and
four of the state-owned bridges - the Antioch, the
Benicia-Martinez, the Carquinez, and the Dumbarton - allow
bicycles and pedestrians to cross. In addition, the new eastern
span of the Bay Bridge includes a bicycle and pedestrian path
that will eventually extend from Oakland to Yerba Buena Island
but will not extend across the entire bridge to San Francisco.
Currently bicyclists or pedestrians do not pay a toll to cross
any of these bridges.
When the Golden Gate Bridge first opened in 1937, pedestrians
had to pay 5 cents to cross. The sidewalk toll eventually rose
to 10 cents before it was abolished in 1970. Pedestrians and
bicyclists have been able to cross the bridge for free ever
since. GGBHTD, the owner and operator of the bridge, has
explored reinstating a toll for use of the sidewalks several
times since then but has never elected to impose the toll.
GGBHTD is currently facing an operating deficit of $32.9 million
over the next five years as well as $209 million in unfunded
capital needs and recently adopted a 45-point plan aimed at
keeping the district solvent. One point in the plan is to
evaluate sidewalk access fees.
AB 40 would prohibit GGBHTD from imposing a toll for pedestrians
or bicyclists to cross the Golden Gate Bridge. The bill
additionally prohibits pedestrian and bicycle tolls on
state-owned toll bridges. According to the author, the bill
would promote non-vehicular forms of transportation across
bridges that improve air quality, combat climate change and
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encourage physical activity. The author also argues that
maintaining free access to the Golden Gate Bridge's sidewalks is
critical to preserving overall access to the extensive network
of parks, paths, and trails that connect the North Bay to the
South Bay, of which the bridge is a part.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
California Bicycle Coalition
California Travel Association
Save our Recreation
Walk San Francisco
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by:Anya Lawler / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093
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