Golden Gate Bridge District Vote Keeps Sidewalk-Toll Plan For Cyclists-Pedestrians On The Table
SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS)— A proposal to look into charging a toll for pedestrians and bicyclists to use the sidewalks on the Golden Gate Bridge will move forward after the bridge district board took a Friday vote.
The narrow 10 to 9 vote was against a motion that was introduced Friday that would have removed the sidewalk- toll proposal from its 2014 financial plan.
Despite more than 50 people who came to oppose the plan and offer public comment at the board's two-hour-plus meeting, the vote passed, allowing a study that looks at the impact of a sidewalk toll.
Golden Gate Bridge District Vote Keeps Sidewalk-Toll Plan For Cyclists-Pedestrians On The Table
About a dozen attendees gave public comment voicing displeasure with the recommendation that the toll be implemented to help close a projected $33 million deficit over the next five years.
"Anything that gets in the way of encouraging people out of their cars and walk and bike is something that we fundamentally oppose," Andy Perry with the Marin County Bicycle Coalition
Jeanie Orleano attended on behalf of several bike-rental companies said no one pays to cross iconic bridges in Paris and Brooklyn. "Why would we make our message that the Golden Gate Bridge is now only open to paying customers?"
The sidewalk toll is just one of the 45 points in the bridge district's financial plan.
