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Dear Editor,
As a resident who was unable to join the Meet and Greet “Tea and Conversation” event with Supervisor Lisa Gauthier and Redwood City Mayor Elmer Martínez Saballos earlier this month, I am glad to have read the article by Michelle Iracheta to learn about how it went. I appreciate that other members of my community were able to voice out their concerns, especially regarding public transit in Redwood Shores. It made me feel less alone in my concerns: I live in Redwood Shores and have lived in the Bay Area for most of my childhood. I’ve relied on public transit – from BART, Muni, SamTrans, and Caltrain – to this day. While I am happy to see transit improvements throughout the Bay Area, I am disappointed that it has taken so long for an improved transit system, and that there is still much to do.
There has been a lot of discussion around the regional transit funding measure, SB 63.
SB 63 would help prevent service cuts to our existing transit system, and so, it is critical for San Mateo County, particularly SamTrans, to be on board with this and recommend joining the funding measure by August 6, and fully ‘opt in’ by August 11. Opting into this measure would ensure that our transit system in the Bay Area remains funded, and SamTrans would coordinate closely with other transit agencies for more seamless operations. This would be to the benefit of residents here in the county who rely on public transit, from children, working people, families, to senior citizens.
As someone who works in Palo Alto and must commute from Redwood Shores, a
community that has limited access to public transit, I know that this funding measure will improve our own local transit. My hope is that the Shores can have more buses than can support not just our students but also working people year-round. The current Redwood Life shuttle does not extend far enough to support those who live beyond its stops and rely on Caltrain or BART to get to and from work. I also see many seniors walk to and from our only grocery store; a bus that regularly operates will greatly help them. It is ridiculous that for many of us who live less than two miles away see driving to our local grocery store as the only feasible option, due to our buses operating even less in the Summer, with the current line only serving the part of the Shores closest to the 101 freeway. This is just an example of one community in San Mateo County, and I am certain there are others who would appreciate more transit options to get around.
I hope that SamTrans opts into SB63 because I know that the County can do better. Bay Area residents need reliable public transit to keep us moving and keep congestion off the roads. Driving should not be our only option, especially since we have the existing transit infrastructure to improve upon.
Thank you,
Patricia Delara / Shannon Way, Redwood City
