Measure RR BART bond on track for victory

BART’s $3.5 billion bond measure is holding on to the required combined two-thirds approval in the transit district’s three Bay Area counties as of early Wednesday morning.

Measure RR has a combined total of 71 percent of voters backing the bond measure and 29 percent of voters against it.

In San Francisco, 81 percent of voters in The City approved Measure RR while 71 percent of voters in Alameda County voted in favor of the bond measure. Voters in Contra Costa County showed less enthusiasm for the measure, with 59 percent of voters approving the bond measure.

The bond measure will pay for upgrading BART’s 44-year old aging infrastructure, which include replacing 90 miles of worn-out tracks, old train control systems, repairing walls damaged by water, refurbishing train yards and making sure BART can withstand the next big earthquake.

Property owners in the three counties will pay higher property taxes to pay for the $3.5 billion bond.

One of the more vocal opponents of Measure RR has been state Sen. Steve Glazer. He wrote in an op-ed piece in the East Bay Times that BART’s problems did not happen overnight and questions why the transit agency did not deal problems with overcrowding and infrastructure problems sooner.

Jerold Chinn

Jerold serves as a reporter and San Francisco Bureau Chief for SFBay covering transportation and occasionally City Hall and the Mayor's Office in San Francisco. His work on transportation has been recognized by the San Francisco Press Club. Born and raised in San Francisco, he graduated from San Francisco State University with a degree in journalism. Jerold previously wrote for the San Francisco Public Press, a nonprofit, noncommercial news organization. When not reporting, you can find Jerold taking Muni to check out new places to eat in the city.