Stop the OAC: Urge the Oakland City Council to pass a resolution opposing this boondoggle

28 Sep

UPDATE: Please call and email the Council today! Contact info, phone scripts, and email templates can be found here.

Disclosure: I am working on a part-time, short term basis for TransForm on the Oakland Airport Connector campaign. However, the thoughts expressed in my posts on this subject are my own and should not be construed to be those of TransForm.

On Tuesday, October 6th, the Oakland City Council will vote on a resolution expressing opposition to the Oakland Airport Connector (OAC) project.

On September 15th, the Oakland Public Works Committee questioned BART about the OAC and moved the resolution to the full Council because committee members have come to see that this project is bad for Oakland and bad for regional users of Oakland’s airport.

Make an immediate impact. Call your Council Member today to ask them to vote to oppose the OAC and FOR: (see numbers below)

A Stronger Economy: A bus rapid transit connector would have intermediate stops and would be affordable to all Oakland residents.

More Jobs: Reverting OAC funds back to transit agencies would create more jobs than building the OAC.

Better Transit: A bus rapid transit connector could be as fast as the OAC, AND the money saved would stop transit service cuts throughout the Bay Area.

Costs for the Connector have ballooned from the voter-approved $130 million in 2000 to $522 million. Riders are projected to pay up to $12 roundtrip (in addition to the price of a rider’s BART ticket) for a slow (possibly 27 mph), three-mile journey. All of the stops that would serve the local community have been eliminated, removing the economic development aspects of the project. Meanwhile, there is a fast, affordable alternative to the project.

After spending months trumpeting Oakland’s support of the OAC, BART is now saying that Oakland’s opinion doesn’t matter:

But Oakland is going to weigh in, and its voice will matter. This vote is one of our last chances to stop the OAC and to secure a better connector, and we need your help!

There are three ways you can make your voice heard to the Oakland City Council:

Join us on Tuesday, October 6th at 7pm at Oakland City Hall, 1 Frank Ogawa Plaza to speak in support of the Council’s resolution and in opposition to the current Connector. RSVP and spread the word on Facebook. Note that the OAC item will be heard after the debate about parking meter times, so it’s going to be a bit of a long night. Come, fill out a speaker card and give me your number – then you can enjoy the evening and I’ll call you when our item is coming up. But whatever you do, make sure to fill out a speaker card by 8pm, or better yet, fill it out online ahead of time. Even if you’re terrified of public speaking, please fill out a speaker card because you can cede your time to someone else who could use it.
Call your Council Member to encourage him/her to support the resolution (find contact information below). Calls are very effective, and Oakland councilmembers are usually very responsive.
Email your Council Member to encourage him/her to support the resolution (find contact information below). If you’re too nervous to call, an email is the next best thing. Councilmembers read their own email so this is an effective means of communication.

Tell the City Council to vote YES on the Nadel/Kaplan resolution.

For more information on the Connector and TransForm’s proposed alternative, please visit www.OaklandAirportConnector.com.

Contact information for Oakland City Council:

Rebecca Kaplan, At-Large
RKaplan@oaklandnet.com or 510-238-7008

Council President Jane Brunner, District 1
JBrunner@oaklandnet.com or 510-238-7001

Patricia Kernighan, District 2
PKernighan@oaklandnet.com or 510-238-7002

Nancy Nadel, District 3
NNadel@oaklandnet.com or 510-238-7003

Jean Quan, District 4
JQuan@oaklandnet.com or 510-238-7004

Ignacio De La Fuente, District 5
IDeLaFuente@oaklandnet.com or 510-238-7005

Desley Brooks, District 6
DBrooks@oaklandnet.com or 510-238-7006

Larry Reid, District 7
LReid@oaklandnet.com or 510-238-7007

Previous posts on the Oakland Airport Connector:

Tags: BART, Oakland Airport connecter

Comments 3 Comments
Categories Activism, City Council, Oakland, Politics, Public Transit, Urban Planning

3 Responses to “Stop the OAC: Urge the Oakland City Council to pass a resolution opposing this boondoggle”

Scott Mace September 28, 2009 at 9:15 am #

Very effective YouTube clip. Good luck!

Reply
gregor September 28, 2009 at 10:07 am #

I emailed De La Fuente.

Keep up the good work. It’s hard to believe we have to organize to oppose this thing, it’s so ridiculously overpriced and offers so little value. It makes me despair.

Reply
AustinOAK September 28, 2009 at 12:04 pm #

I e-mailed good “OLD” Larry Reid – my Council Critter. His zealous advocacy of the OACand non-stop vocal public support has been very telling. When it comes to listening to what I just said about the OAC being terrible for our district in my e-mail I am sure his only response will be “la la la la la la la” . Just like he is with so many issues and requests in this district. My wish is by next time he is up for re-election that we have identified a very strong candidate to run against him. The tide is turning against him – person-by-person here. I know it.

Reply