Joint effort in Berkeley to ease crowded streets

by Janet Huseby

Martha Jones watches the steady stream of cars pass her home and sighs. For 44 years she has lived on Derby Street and has seen it change from a quiet street to part of the "Belrose-Derby-Warring Corridor," a major traffic route into Berkeley from the southeast. "I remember a time when a neighborhood dog actually used to sleep in the middle of the street," she says. "Today he'd be road kill within 10 minutes."

While most Berkeley residents sense that traffic is getting worse and parking more difficult to find, the source of the problem is more complex than it seems, and not everyone agrees on what to do about it.

Three years ago, UC Berkeley and the City of Berkeley signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) coordinating planning to address the many issues confronting the city's southside and downtown, including the overriding issue of crowded streets. Out of this agreement has come a jointly financed Transportation Demand Management (TDM) study, which looks at where and how traffic is generated and recommends possible approaches to reducing the problems. The first report, issued last spring, documents existing conditions, trends, and statistics.

Some of the findings are surprising. For example, while Berkeley's population dropped by 10,000 over the last 30 years, the number of cars owned by Berkeley dwellers increased by 10,000. At the same time, the number of new jobs grew an astonishing 50%. With virtually no increase in private housing since 1970 and a sky-high real estate market, new Berkeley jobholders are often out-of-town commuters.

It is no wonder that many residents complain that Berkeley streets are crowded and getting worse. But there is hope-an aggressive approach by UC to encourage transit use shows that traffic can be reduced.

Cal has been working hard over the last 15 years to cut dependency on the single occupancy vehicle. Financial incentives for transit users and increasing rates for limited campus parking have reduced the drive-alone rate for faculty and staff from 60% in 1985 to 50% in 1996. This "mode split" makes the university one of the most successful East Bay employers at getting its workers out of their cars.

To make walking, biking, and transit use more attractive, UC provides free night safety shuttles, escort services and an emergency "guaranteed ride home" program. Campus bus shuttles run around the university's perimeter, into the downtown, and to campus facilities in the hills. This spring, an express bus will link the campus to the Rockridge BART station during morning and evening commute hours. This pilot program is the result of meetings convened by Councilmember Polly Armstrong to encourage better coordination among AC Transit, UC Berkeley, and LBNL.

By far the most exciting program UC has implemented is the Student Class Pass. While overall city bus ridership declined from 17% to 7% between 1980 and 1990, UC student bus use was given a huge boost in the fall of 1999 with the implementation of this special pass. The Class Pass-actually a sticker on each student's registration card-allows students unlimited trips on all AC Transit routes including transbay service. The program, approved by a vote of UC students, is funded by an annual assessment on student registration fees. By December 2000, over 24,000 students were using the Student Class Pass. Last year the program received an Award of Merit from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission and the Program of the Year Award from the California Public Parking Association.

"Traffic congestion and parking in the city can be improved," says UC Planner Jennifer Lawrence, "by a joint commitment between the city and campus to utilize best practices and strategies, like smarter parking management, encouraging bike riding and public transportation, and expanding housing opportunities."

Currently 85% of UC students either walk to campus or use alternative modes of transportation. But with a soaring real estate market these numbers are not stable. If students are pushed further away from campus for affordable housing, more will end up driving to school. According to the study, students who live five to 10 miles from campus and faculty who live 20 to 40 miles from campus are those most likely to drive in alone. Both the city and the university want to increase the area's housing stock to decrease the number of commuters. For its part the university is adding 870 beds as part of the southside Underhill Area Projects. Other sites close to campus or on transit lines are being considered for additional housing.

In Berkeley, parking is the issue where the needs and desires of commuters, merchants, shoppers, visitors and residents often come in direct conflict. Deborah Badhia, executive director of the Downtown Berkeley Association, calls it the "2001 Parking Space Odyssey." She notes that a thriving downtown is important to the city's economic health, yet historic downtowns like Berkeley were not built for the car. Berkeley merchants are competing directly with Emeryville and El Cerrito, both of which feature ample and free parking. "I think everyone agrees that we want less congestion and more public transportation," says Badhia. "The controversy is between those who want a net increase in parking and those who want a decrease. We believe there is a need for increased parking as well as for better coordination of existing parking facilities."

UC staff and students would agree. In surveys and meetings of campus staff and faculty, many have complained that their UC parking permit is merely a "hunting license," not a guarantee of finding a parking space. While some staff walk, bike or take transit to work, others must use their cars because of childcare and other commitments. UC students who live within two miles of campus are not allowed to purchase a campus parking permit without demonstrating exceptional need, such as a medical condition or job commitment that requires a car. But even those who are allowed to purchase a permit may not find campus parking available by mid-day.

While the TDM study does not specify the optimum amount of parking, it does suggest that one approach to the dilemma is better coordination of the city, university and private resources, including parking lots. Currently, UC lots on the edge of campus are used on evenings and weekends for southside and downtown theater, cinema, restaurants and shopping. Through an Events Coordination Committee set up under the 1997 MOU, representatives from the downtown and southside meet monthly with campus and city staff to discuss major events on and off campus and to coordinate parking and traffic plans.

The TDM study process has included a series of public meetings, workshops, and interviews with city and campus stakeholders. The final report, expected to be released in February, will provide a menu of options for the city and campus to consider, including transit-preferential measures on key corridors (College, Telegraph, Shattuck, University, Bancroft), extending BART service hours, offering a program to city residents similar to the student class pass, creating better bike routes through and around UC, coordinating parking lot management, and more.

Improving the livability and vitality of Berkeley's core for all who live, work, shop and visit the area is the key goal of the TDM study. In the end, traffic congestion is a common burden shared by all, where innovation, cooperation, and our individual choices, one bus or car trip at a time, combine to make all the difference.