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| Written by PI Editorial Staff | |
| Saturday, 15 September 2007 | |
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Show us the money — and the support It’s too early to tell what the outcome of the state infrastructure bond application process will be, but it appears the Port of Oakland likely won’t stump for an industrial project at the Crows Landing Air Facility. That could be a major roadblock. After all, a key component of the proposed project at the former naval airfield would be an intermodal station that would ship goods to and from the Oakland port by short-haul rail. If the port’s response to the project is tepid, it’s unlikely this train will pick up steam when it’s time to apply for I-bond cash. A port spokeswoman said this week that short-haul rail is a long-term concept that doesn’t make sense without other long-haul fixes in place first. Randy Rentschler of the Bay Area’s nine-county Metropolitan Transportation Commission was a bit more blunt when discussing the impact the agency felt West Park would have on alleviating traffic congestion: “We need real solutions.” During most of the public workshops PCCP West Park hosted across the county last month, an attendee typically would ask lead developer Gerry Kamilos what he planned to do if state infrastructure bond money didn’t come through. There was never a straight answer. Kamilos would discuss the wonders of interregional partnership, the rarity of Bay Area and Central Valley entities coming together and the fact that rail bond money always has gone to Southern California in the past. With that spirit of cooperation, how could the state possibly not fund the project? Now, it appears Central Valley and Bay Area interests are more splintered than he indicated. Both the port and the MTC are concerned with getting funding for the port’s intermodal facility and for long-haul projects, a package that would require more than $500 million in bond money. Meanwhile, even the Central Valley itself is divided on I-bond transportation priorities, which were hotly debated by a few Stanislaus Council of Governments board members Wednesday. At this point, it would be an amazing feat if Kamilos could secure bond money for the project by the time supervisors vote on it next year. A true interregional spirit of cooperation will be needed if the project is ever to be successful. That includes buy-in from people here on the West Side. Hopefully, the board of supervisors will take that all into consideration — while using some good old-fashioned common sense — when it comes time for a final vote on the future of the airfield.
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