TRAFFIC RANKING POINTS TO URGENCY FOR BIG INVESTMENT

Not that Bay Area residents need a reminder of how urgently we need to invest big on regional traffic relief, but a ranking released this week by congestion research firm INRIX put some jaw-dropping numbers to the problem. The Bay Area ranked third in the U.S. as the most congested urban area, with traffic costing each driver $2,250 a year and costing the region $10.6 billion. Among cities, San Francisco ranked fifth worldwide for snarled roads and highways. The report comes as the Bay Area Council partners with the Silicon Valley Leadership Group and SPUR to win voter approval in June 2018 for a ballot measure—Regional Measure 3—that would invest $4.5 billion on key projects to ease gridlock, including improving critical highway interchanges where our worst bottlenecks occur, closing gaps in carpool lanes, improving BART service, expanding regional ferry service and other vital mass transit systems, improving connections between local and regional transit and enhancing bicycle and pedestrian corridors. Polling shows that RM3 can win with a strong campaign. To support our RM3 campaign and help move the Bay Area far down on the INRIX ranking, please contact Senior Vice President Michael Cunningham.