Ferrying Commuters to B’game?

July 5, 2019

A letter to the Daily Journal reminded me of a longstanding discussion about having ferry service to the B'game Bayfront. A local resident named Orhan Kurt writes:

Regarding the idea of ferry terminals, my friends and I here in Burlingame are shocked to watch as Foster City aggressively pushes to be the regional hub and to be part of the upcoming Water Emergency Transportation Authority (WETA) study (June 17 edition of the Daily Journal).

Why does Burlingame wait on the sidelines? A regional hub should be right next to SFO. Burlingame has officially recognized the need and accepted the ferry hub concept for Burlingame as was approved in the latest general plan. So where is the follow-up Burlingame? Our own general plan consultants have encouraged us to connect the rail and SFO to the ferry system.

This seems like a) a no-brainer to decide to do and b) pretty easy given what we already have at the Bayfront right next to the Facebook/Oculus complex under construction. Check out this landing option that used to house The Sherman. Mr. Kurt may be expanding on what the General Plan says deep on page 154

M-4.8 Water-Based Transportation

Consider emerging water-based transportation options to improve multimodal access options to the Bayfront. [AC, SO}

But he's on the right track, or is it tack?

Posted in Bayfront Development, City Council, Planning, SamTrans-Caltrain

3 responses to “Ferrying Commuters to B’game?”

icrito

July 14, 2019

Ferries are for tourist. On the Bay the average “windchill” would be 40 degrees so it is a stretch to imagine people lining up to see the Peninsula skyline.
J. Mir

August 29, 2019

Never understood why its so hard to run a ferry here. Seattle area has hundreds I think. We got way more water & people than they do too, probably
On another note, finally got around to reading the Bayfront Specific Plan in entirety. I had no idea those giant water slabs along the Bay Trail were parts of old San Mateo bridge, put there after it was demolished to make a boundary for the bay fill. Always wondered what the heck those giant slabs were!
Lynn the Runner

September 9, 2019

I am not big on the pollution of ferry systems. They produce NOx which is a generic term for the nitrogen oxides that are most relevant for air pollution, namely nitric oxide (NO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO
2).These gases contribute to the formation of smog and acid rain, as well as affecting tropospheric ozone.
The Bay is way too sensitive to open it up to this deadly gas.

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