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Clogged roads, bridges in S.F. Bay area
Transit strike causes more traffic backups
September 9, 1997
Web posted at: 1:34 p.m. EDT (1734 GMT)OAKLAND, California (CNN) -- A transit strike slowed the morning rush hour to a crawl again Tuesday as more than a quarter-million commuters who rely on the Bay Area Rapid Transit System, or BART, had to find other ways to get into San Francisco.
The strike by 2,600 workers began Sunday over a pay dispute. Informal talks between BART management and striking workers were to be held in San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown's office. Ironically, one report said the meeting might be delayed, because traffic might prevent participants from arriving on time.
The two sides also met with Brown on Monday. A state mediator was trying to help solve the impasse.
A L S O :
Commuters lose heart in San Francisco
With 275,000 rail system riders left to find another way around, the strike made a mess of Tuesday's commute, just as it did the day before.
The strike at the commuter rail system has forced residents of San Francisco's eastern suburbs to find alternate means of transportation. BART does not serve communities to the north and south of San Francisco.
People who got in their cars Tuesday got stuck in traffic for hours, in some cases, many of them waiting to cross a bridge into San Francisco.
At 8 a.m. PDT (11 a.m. EDT) the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge was jammed solid and long lines formed at ferry boats as residents scrambled to find ways across the San Francisco Bay.
Some commuters, however, got an early start Tuesday to avoid the lines. A live report on CNN at 4 a.m. PDT showed heavier than usual traffic -- and no delays -- on the bridge.
Jeff Weiss, a spokesman for the California Department of Transportation, told CNN he expected Tuesday's commute to be heavy "but not horrible."
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Weiss predicted long waits to cross the Golden Gate or San Francisco-Oakland Bay bridges into San Francisco.
"(Drivers) should be leaving about now (4:30 a.m. PDT) if they want to squeeze through before heavy, heavy traffic and waits of 40 minutes or longer," he said in a live interview.
San Francisco Bureau Chief Greg Lefevre contributed to this report.
Related stories:
- Commuters lose heart in San Francisco - September 9, 1997
- Bay Area braces for Day 2 of transit strike - September 8, 1997
- Mass transit strike clogs San Francisco traffic - September 8, 1997
- Mass transit strike hits San Francisco area - September 8, 1997
Related sites:
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- BART Derails Commuters - KRON, Newscenter 4
- KTVU - Traffic WebCams
- BART Derails Commuters - special report from the San Fransisco Examiner
- Bay Area Rapid Transit District - official site
- The Metropolitan Transportation Commission - the transportation planning, financing and coordinating agency for the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area
- Service Employees International Union - labor union with 1.1 million members
- Amalgamated Transit Union - representing transit workers in the United States and Canada
External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.
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