The Legislature hereby finds and declares all of the following: (a) In 1999, based on the findings and analyses in a study sponsored by the Bay Area Council, the Legislature created the San Francisco Bay Area Water Transit Authority for purposes of preparing a bay area water transit implementation and operations plan and operating a comprehensive regional public water transportation system. In 2002, after two years of study, public hearings, collaboration with existing bay area transit and public transportation ferry service providers, and peer review, the San Francisco Bay Area Water Transit Authority submitted the required plan to the Legislature. The plan included rationale for expanded ferries, ridership projections and routes, potential terminal locations, capital, operating and maintenance costs, vessel specification, and emergency and safety response capabilities. (b) While the efforts of the existing San Francisco Bay Area Water Transit Authority to develop a regional water transit plan are commendable, the country has seen several significant disasters, including the 9/11 tragedy and Hurricane Katrina, which have emphasized the need for coordinated emergency response. From the lessons learned from those events, it is apparent that the bay areaâs current emergency response infrastructure is not sufficient to respond to emergencies of the magnitude witnessed in the past few years and anticipated in the future. (c) In 2006, the Bay Area Council sponsored a study on the role a comprehensive public water transportation system would play in the bay areaâs emergency response infrastructure. The 2006 study found that a comprehensive water transportation system is vital to emergency preparedness and response for the region. If bridges, roads, highways, tunnels, and trains are out of service as a result of an emergency, only the waters of the bay are certain to remain open for traffic. However, current infrastructure and equipment capabilities are grossly inadequate. Ferry terminals exist in only a few locations on the bay, and the vessel fleet lacks the capacity to make up for even one out-of-service bridge. The few vessels that exist are in the hands of many different public and private owners and operators, and there is no detailed plan or identified leader to activate and coordinate them. (d) The study further urged that action be taken immediately to strengthen and expand the regional public water transportation system so that the bay area would be prepared in the event of a catastrophic emergency. The San Francisco Bay area is almost certain to experience moderate to severe earthquakes in the foreseeable future. A major earthquake or a series of earthquakes on any of the regionâs faults would have the potential of closing thousands of area roads and rendering some or all transbay bridges and mass transit lines impassable. With the regional transportation system disabled, first responders would be unable to help tens of thousands of homeless, injured, and starving victims. A failure of transportation would be particularly devastating to the most vulnerable of our population, the elderly, children, and the poor. The loss of any portion of the regional transportation system, from either a natural or manmade disaster, would place lives and property at risk and would seriously undermine the San Francisco Bay area economy. (e) It is the responsibility of the state to protect and preserve the right of its citizens to a safe and peaceful existence. To accomplish this goal and to minimize the destructive impact of disasters and other massive emergencies, the actions of numerous public agencies must be coordinated to effectively manage all four phases of emergency activity: preparedness, mitigation, response, and recovery. It is a matter of statewide interest to establish an expanded and coordinated regional water transportation system to provide necessary security, flexibility, and mobility for disaster response and recovery
‹ Prev All California sections Next ›
Lexace provides legal information, not legal advice, and no attorney–client relationship is created. Statute text is provided for general information and may not reflect the most recent amendments; verify against the official state code.