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 #447947  by Alco83
 
RailwayAge: Add San Francisco to the short list of U.S. cities seriously considering congestion pricing as one way to ease traffic congestion -- and help finance public transit. City officials are evaluating a proposal to charge Bay Area drivers using the city's most traffic-choked routes, including the Embarcadero, Van Ness Avenue, Broadway and Harrison Street. Doyle Drive, a major approach to the Golden Gate Bridge, is the first thoroughfare being examined.

In September federal officials awarded the Bay Area $158 million to tackle congestion. In return, local officials had to agree to charge a toll on Doyle Drive. That fee has yet to be determined, but officials are looking at $1 to $2 on top of the existing $5 bridge toll.

Also under consideration is an exit fee for drivers arriving from Treasure Island, San Francisco's newest neighborhood, in the middle of the bay, onto the city's mainland during rush hour.

Details of the congestion pricing initiatives under consideration in San Francisco have yet to be worked out. But city officials note the MUNI system needs an extra $100 million a year to make significant service improvements, and could benefit from a congestion pricing plan.