I think BART should stay along the 580 corridor because of the convience it offers commuters. Putting the station downtown will only add to the conjestion of getting through Livermore after 4:00 pm. I understand the issue with the requirement that BART be accessible to a certain number of housing, but maybe the statistics could emphasize the environmental impact of less cars going through Livermore to get to the Pleasanton BART station provided there will be a parking lot built with the Livermore station. Please build it before I retire in 5-7 years.

BART would best serve commuters and the community if it stayed on 580. That is what Livermore voters are saying. Seeing that there are thousands of more signatures on the measure than required, Council should adopt the measure. If it means extending urban boundaries, I am sure - faced with the choice between BART being downtown or on 580 - that taxpaying voters will choose to extend the boundaries. That was not the case in 2005. The issue of a BART station is a new ingredient to the mix, and taxpaying voters have the right to change their minds from 6 years ago and extend their urban boundaries in order to build a better community rather than have a small group of self-serving individuals make their choices for them, which is what Kamena is doing by forming a coalition to fight what taxpaying voters want.

Growth boundaries need to be changed, because the city NEVER challenged the housing unit numbers by the MTC on the basis that Livermore has paid into BART for decades before the ruling and should have been exempt from the new housing unit ruling. The council also failed to negotiate a deduction of the number based on the current population of Livermore, the abundant supply of houses on the market, and that TOD experts acknowledge that location of transit close to work is also critical in the use of transit.
An Isabel Station can be built quickly with people actually able to use a BART within their lifetime. The station meets the criteria of being close to homes, businesses, and exceeds the criteria by being located next to a community college. Las Positas is a large employer and attracts many students to the campus. Since the Isabel station would be busy days and evenings with commuters going to work, classes, and enjoying the many performance events at Las Positas, the station would have the high pedestrian traffic needed to encourage transit use in the suburbs. A location like Isabel could benefit BART with commuters riding throughout the day & evening which creates a more efficient use of transit.
Isabel is the right location for BART because it can be built quickly, has high ridership, easy access for commuters, and is lowest in cost. The location of BART needs to be Isabel for the good of BART & Livermore.

Marchand fails to mention that the General Plan currently includes BART at Greenville with an already approved population at that site of up to 3,971 units. Using his methodology, only about another 2,400 units are needed between Greenville and Isabel. In reality, the Downtown Specific Plan calls for a review at 1400 units because the 3259 additional units seemed like way too many - but Marchand wants to skip the review and just go for the max with no review.
Instead of severely impacting limited infrastructure and creating problems in Downtown; running BART through established neighborhoods; creating a housing, traffic, and maintenance yard nightmare on the Vasco side of town; and using the largest amount of tax payer money , the 580 route offers BART without these issues.
It would be nice to see some LEADERSHIP instead of the constant "can't, can't, can't." We wouldn't have had the joint bond that gave Livermore its current public library, community center and school facilities if Livermore's past leadership had not been willing to work with our legislative representative to get a law to allow the joint bond that voters approved to build these amenities. This valley needs BART from Livermore to Dublin in order to get cars off the road, so let's work with our elected officials to make it happen. LET'S ELECT LEADERSHIP WHO WILL COMMIT TO WORK TO KEEP BART ON 580 SO THAT LIVERMORE DOES NOT HAVE TO REINVENT ITSELF FOR BART!

The City Council supports huge ventures like the second performing arts theatre and BART to downtown without listening to its constituents. They listen instead to those few who mysteriously have a lot of influence over them. Why do they have so much influence? Money? Friendship? Cliques? Hey, let's jack up our garbage rates while you're at it. Oh wait, you've done that TWICE in a year. Thanks, Council members, we'll remember what you've done the first Tuesday in November!

Let's get these clowns out of office.

It is ridiculous to have BART going through neighborhoods. Do we want to be like Oakland and Hayward.

John "Bound by the Truth" Marchand has a way of distorting the facts until they support his version of the truth.

City Councilmember and mayoral wannabe, John Marchand, claims “the petition drive was built on false information.” However, Marchand is quite economical with the truth. He fails to mention that several hundred of the 3259 planned maximum downtown units are outside the ½ mile radius requirement. He also claims that by adding 1,400 units (1,515 is the correct number) to Vasco, they’d be done; ignoring the 729 units already planned for that area.
Vasco’s station is now taking on the “cram ‘em and stack ‘em” of the downtown BART scenario: 2,244 new housing units, 5,100 BART parking spaces (more than three East Dublin BART parking structures), and a huge maintenance yard. The plan also calls for this area to hum with new industrial and commercial activity as part of the city’s much-touted I-Hub. I’m sure the nearby residents will appreciate the impacts.
Marchand also neglects to mention that the city’s General Plan already includes ~4,000 units for a Greenville BART area. While these may need to be placed on the south side of I-580 rather than the north, they’re still part of the city’s projected housing growth. Marchand continues to selectively choose his misleading numbers.

The vote against sprawl did not only happen with Measure D six years ago. Every time it has gone to the ballot, Livermore voters have supported an urban growth boundary (UGB) and voted against sprawl. Livermore sued to stop what was nick-named "Geldertown" in 1975 and voters stopped "Las Positas New Town" in 1985. In 1987, the voters overturned a general plan amendment that would have put housing on vineyard lands. In 2000, voters approved the Alameda County Measure D to save agricultural and open space lands. In 2002, a citizen-led intitiative led to the establishment of the current UGB. In 2005, after Pardee collected 10,000 signatures, almost three-quarters of Livermore voters voted against Pardee/Weyerhaeuser's Measure D which would have put 2500 homes outside of the UGB. For the past 33 years, Livermore voters have steadfastly voted against sprawl, favoring infill development where the infrastructure is already in place.

According to the MTC, the two "BART on 580" stations will require building 6,400 homes outside of the current UGB. Yes, housing units were originally proposed in for the area around the Greenvile Station. However, in 2010, the U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife stated, "The Service strongly recommends removing Alternatives 1, 1a and 1b (the Greenville Station and Yard) from consideration due to significant adverse effects to listed species and their critical habitat." The Vasco Station would be used to intercept the Altamont traffic.

It is the high TOD numbers that were not effectively opposed by the current city council that are problematic regardless of alignment! It is not satisfactory to build cheek and jowl condos downtown and enormously huge and ugly parking garages and cookie cutter high-rises at Vasco and proclaim that this monstrous growth meets government standards (along with the desires of influential downtown developers and the politicians that take their money).
Livermore should not sprawl, but neither should it be stuffed with a BART maintenance yard and the 80 decibel levels of steel against steel screeches 20 hours a day. Political supporters of downtown want to make it appear as if voters have to choose between hideous infill or sprawl, but the choice is a city council that promotes the agendas of a few or a city council that effectively insures and preserves quality of life for all Livermore citizens.

We should be amazed that City Council members seem clueless that running BART through established neighborhoods and building massive structures that will impact the lives of many current residents is causing a great deal of concern. But they have been strongly backed in their political campaigns by Joan Seppala, owner of the Independent, and they seem to be serving her personal agenda. (Note their recent approval of the massive taxpayer-backed regional theater with a refusal to include language to only sell bonds when Redevelopment money was assured - their action was completely contrary to city staff and consultant advice). Seppala's newspaper property only stands to increase in value as Livermore is pushed toward this "cram 'em and stack 'em" effort. Livermore's leadership has lost touch with many Livermore residents. Where is the leadership that won't simply roll over, but will work for reasonable requirements so that massive BART related growth does not define Livermore? Where is their outrage that Livermore has played by the BART rules for years, but now must redefine itself, with some very negative outcomes, in order to have the long promised BART? Our city council is bought and owned by special interests.

I don't see why we should feel obliged to build a bunch of transit oriented development, so we can get Federal money, so we can spend three times the amount to build a BART station downtown.

Mr. Tullman's statement that "every time it has gone to the ballot, Livermore voters have supported an urban growth boundary (UGB)" is not true. The 1999 Livermore CAPP initiative UGB was soundly defeated (61.5%) by Livermore voters.

I have just realized that I got all excited and worked-up on the 580 vs downtown thing all for nothing. All of the keep-it-on-580 folks can rest assured that come judgement day(Nov ballot time) the pro downtown groupies/city council incumbents are going down and going down HARD! There is nothing like a good-guy beats bad-guy ballot sh-lacking to warm my heart! Relax and let the doomed Mayor, city council and special interest do all the worrying.

Here are some links to photos of Oakland BART station neighborhoods. Would you want your downtown to look like this or your home?
http://andreainspired.tumblr.com/post/249764510/graffiti-on-a-wall-in-west-oakland-near-the-bart
http://walkingthebay.blogspot.com/2011/05/oakland-7th-st-may-11-11.html