Features

Monday Meeting Focuses on BRT

By Richard Brenneman
Friday March 14, 2008

Fans, foes and the simply undecided can hear the pros and cons of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Monday night, thanks to the efforts of the Claremont Elmwood Neighborhood Association. 

The meeting, which starts at 7 p.m. in the Fireside Room of St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave., will feature both proponents and opponents of the AC Transit proposal. 

Plans call for service along Telegraph Avenue from the UC Berkeley campus to the San Leandro BART station, with a loop to downtown Berkeley—though final details have yet to be hammered out.  

The most controversial proposal would create dedicated bus-only traffic down the center of the heavily traveled Telegraph corridor, along with possible elimination of street parking. 

While proponents say the measure is a necessary step to get people out of their carbon-emissions-generating cars, critics claim the buses will be lightly used, since the route parallels BART, will harm business through lost parking and increased traffic on neighborhood streets. The meeting comes as the deadline approaches for Berkeley city officials to make their routing and alignment recommendations.