Pelosi Announces Funding for Transportation and Housing and Urban Development in San Francisco
Wednesday, June 14, 2006
Contact: Brendan Daly/Jennifer Crider, 202-226-7616
Washington, D.C. â€" House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi announced today that she helped secure more than $18 million for San Francisco Bay Area transportation, housing, and community development projects in the fiscal year 2007 Transportation-Treasury-HUD Appropriations bill. The bill includes nearly $16 million for San Francisco projects and an additional $2.4 million that Pelosi and her Bay Area colleagues requested to extend BART to San Francisco International Airport. This marks the final payment from the federal government to help fund the BART-SFO extension.
“These crucial projects will stimulate our local economy while providing the necessary resources to enhance and increase access to public transportation in the San Francisco Bay Area. Funding in this bill will reduce congestion and promote environmentally-friendly alternatives that will keep San Francisco beautiful,� Pelosi said. “Improvements and investment in our community’s housing and educational needs will strengthen our city and increase prosperity and opportunity.�
The following San Francisco-related projects were funded in the bill:
- $1 million for Hunters View Housing Project. Funds will support the demolition of dilapidated units and the construction of a 600-unit mixed-use, mixed-income community in Hunters Point.
- $500,000 for the Japanese Community Youth Council. Funding will enable the renovation and expansion of the organization’s youth center, located in San Francisco’s Japantown. The youth council provides services to more than 5,000 children and youth from many ethnic backgrounds and neighborhoods.
- $550,000 for City College of San Francisco and San Francisco State University. This initiative is a model joint-use facility for the students of the City College of San Francisco and San Francisco State University, supporting expanded opportunities for community health, child development, early child education, and teacher preparation.
- $5 million for the Third Street Light Rail. These funds will support preliminary engineering of the Third Street Light Rail Project (Phase 2), extending the subway line 1.5 miles underground through the South of Market Area and the Union Square shopping district and into Chinatown.
- $3 million for Muni Bus and Bus Facilities Upgrades. Funding will improve service and safety on the system for the fleet of 495 buses that carry nearly 282,000 riders each workday.
- $600,000 for the Center for Creative Land Recycling. Funding will provide technical assistance to neighborhood-based community development corporations that are working to clean up Bayview Hunters Point.
- $1 million for the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. This project will continue major improvements to the park’s trails, bikeways, trailheads, and links to public transportation.
- $300,000 for SFgo Market Street Improvements. Funds will support information technology improvements along the Market Street corridor, which will help alleviate congestion and reduce travel times for Muni patrons.
- $4 million for Doyle Drive. Funding will support design and right-of-way work for a project to provide a new southern access to the Golden Gate Bridge and access to the Presidio.
The House passed the bill today by a vote of 406 to 22. The Senate must now approve the legislation before it can be signed into law by the President.