Livermore Mayor John Marchand hopes proposed commuter rail line can connect BART with San Joaquin Valley
LIVERMORE -- An East Bay mayor who once fought hard for a BART extension to Livermore no longer believes the troubled transit system is the city's best option.
Right now, the valley is coming up with its own solution. It is a missing link that could be a win for both BART and commuters.
Back in 2018, there was a good deal of discussion about a proposed BART extension to Livermore that would run along Interstate 580 from the Dublin/Pleasanton station. Livermore Mayor John Marchand was a big proponent.
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"We have been working to bring five miles of BART for forty years. It's time!" he said in a 2018 interview. But the BART Board decided it wasn't time and voted against the extension.
Fast forward five years and Marchand's view on BART has changed dramatically.
"BART is a train wreck," said Marchand.
We talked to Marchand just after he took BART from Pleasanton to Oakland to attend an Alameda County Transportation Commission meeting.
"There was a guy smoking crack in my car," Marchand said. "I saw him fold it out and start smoking."
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Marchand said he would still like to see more public transit options, but he is joining other residents who are convinced BART isn't the best option for them.
"I would use it if I felt like it was a viable option, that it was safer," explained one woman, who said she hadn't ridden BART for a year and a half.
"People no longer think of BART as safe," said Marchand. "BART used to be fun. But BART has become an ordeal."
However driving through often heavy traffic on I-580 between the Tri-Valley and the San Joaquin Valley is also an ordeal, with the busy freeway often getting snarled at the height of the morning and evening commutes.
"I think BART is in a death spiral," said Marchand. "And I think one of the saving graces for BART is another project that I'm working on, and that's Valley Link."
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Valley Link is a proposed commuter rail service that would cover the gap between the Dublin/Pleasanton BART station and the San Joaquin Valley adding stops along 580 in Livermore, Mountain House, Tracy and North Lathrop. The Tri-Valley San Joaquin Regional Rail Authority is leading the effort.
Kevin Sheridan with Valley Link said they are moving full speed ahead in the environmental and preliminary engineering phase.
"Our goal is to complete construction by the end of 2027. There are currently approximately 200,000 vehicles a day going over the Altamont Pass coming from the San Joaquin Valley," Sheridan said. " This is much like an [electric] BART-style train, except it would not be run by BART. It would be delivering the commuters to BART's front door and that -- in essence -- would bring their fare revenues back up because we are bringing the customer to their front gate."
Marchand believes it is just the link BART needs.
"The real saving grace is going to be transit and that is going to be Valley Link. A hydrogen-powered train, zero pollution, coming over the Altamont Pass carrying thousands of people to connect with BART."
Marchand said that he believes that this link is vital because so many people live in San Joaquin Valley for the affordable housing there and they spend hours commuting in their cars to work in the Bay Area.