Color Page “The Voice of the Waterfront” July 2012 Vol.13, No.7 A Weekend of Sailing Ferries to the Rescue Short Trip, But Long on Fun Ships Pick Up BART’s Slack Victory Ship in Richmond SFPUC Creates Landmark WWII History Comes to Life A Model for Green Construction Complete Ferry Schedules for all SF Lines Color Page TASTING ROOM OPEN DAILY FROM 11AM TO 6PM TASTE, TOUR RELAX Just a short ferry ride across San Francisco Bay lies the original urban winery, Rosenblum Cellars. Alameda is our urban island with no pretension. Our tasting room is a true gem, with a rustic urban charm that attracts fans from around the world to enjoy the unique, relaxed atmosphere. TWO FOR ONE TASTING with this ad. $10 value www.rosenblumcellars.com 2900 Main St. Suite 1100 Alameda, CA 1-877-GR8-ZINS Please enjoy our wines responsibly. © 2011 Rosenblum Cel Alameda, CA www.DrinkiQ.com 2 July 2012 www.baycrossings.com Come Aboard The New San Francisco Bay Ferry The launch of the San Francisco Bay Ferry, which operates the Alameda/Oakland and Harbor Bay ferries, is the latest step forward by the regional Water Emergency Transportation Authority (WETA) to provide comprehensive, dependable, convenient and environmentally-friendly public water transit to the Bay Area. Learn more about the new routes, facilities and service enhancements that WETA has planned at www.watertransit.org. Visit www.SanFranciscoBayFerry.com for schedules, fares and info on service between Harbor Bay, Alameda, Oakland and San Francisco. CRUISES Private Charters & Hop-on Bus Tours Available GOLDEN GATE BAY CRUISE® The Original for 70 Years! Sail under the Golden Gate Bridge and around Alcatraz, and discover San Francisco’s history in 12 languages. 8 -14 daily sailings starting at 10 AM. CALIFORNIA TWILIGHT CRUISE® Enjoy views of the spectacular city lights, live guitar entertainment and hearty appetizers from the buffet on this relaxed 2-hour cruise. 12 LANGUAGES Pier 43½ Fisherman’s Wharf redandwhite.com 415-673-2900 www.baycrossings.com July 2012 3 columns features 09 WHO’S AT THE HELM? 12 WEEKENDING Capt. Tom Harlan A Fabulous Vacation by Matt Larson Not Far From Home by Marianne Armand 17 10 BAYKEEPER Summertime on the Bay GREEN PAGES guides by Deb Self 14 SFPUC’s New HQ Raises WATERFRONT ACTIVITIES Bar for Green Buildings 22 Our recreational resource guide 11 SAILING ADVENTURES by Bill Picture SS Red Oak Victory 24 WETA FERRY SCHEDULES by Captain Ray news Be on time for last call AROUND THE BAY CULTURAL CURRENTS 26 20 Express Lane Network To see, be, do, know SFMOMA Expansion 06 To Ease Congestion by Paul Duclos by John Goodwin ON OUR COVER 07 Ferries Step In During Emergency BART Outage July 2012 Volume 13, Number 7 Bobby Winston, Proprietor WATERFRONT NEWS Joyce Aldana, President 08 Joel Williams, Publisher Patrick Runkle, Editor Bay Area Exporters Get ADVERTISING & MARKETING Some Good News Joel Williams, Advertising & Marketing Director by Patrick Burnson GRAPHICS & PRODUCTION Francisco Arreola, Designer / Web Producer ART DIRECTION AMERICA’S CUP Francisco Arreola; Patrick Runkle; Joel Williams 16 COLUMNISTS Oracle Team’s AC72 Captain Ray Wichmann; Paul Duclos; Patrick Burnson; Arrives in Bay Area Deb Self; Matt Larson WRITERS & PHOTOGRAPHERS Hammer Finds Oracle Bill Picture; Joel Williams; John Goodwin; 17 Marianne Armand Racing 2 Legit 2 Quit With a pack of 15 boats of charterers, members and friends of ACCOUNTING Club Nautique, sailor Marianne Armand recently headed up the Cindy Henderson picturesque Petaluma River to spend a magical weekend in the Jack London Square Hosts Advertising Inquiries: 18 downtown Petaluma turning basin. Check out pages 12 and 13 (707) 556-3323, [email protected] July Waterfront Activities for her account of the roaring good time she spent sailing not Bay Crossings SF Ferry Building Store to distant shores, but rather very close to home. (415) 362-0717, Clipper customer service center The Outsiders Featured in (877) 878-8883 19 Photo by Club Nautique - Rod Witel For Transit Information – Dial 511 Sausalito Art Exhibition Bay Crossings Ferry Building, #22 San Francisco, CA 94111 Bay Area Fireworks Fests Corrections & Letters www.baycrossings.com 21 A Division of Nematode Media, LLC Brighten Fourth of July We appreciate the opportunity to publish our readers' comments, letters or requests for corrections, which can be sent to [email protected]. 4 July 2012 www.baycrossings.com PRESENT THIS AD AND RECEIVE A COMPLIMENTARY HARD ROCK SOUVENIR WITH $25 PURCHASE. Not valid with any other offer, one per person per visit. Valid only at San Francisco Location. SAN FRANCISCO PIER 39 BEACH ST. & EMBARCADERO +1-415-956-2013 HARDROCK.COM ©2011 Hard Rock International (USA), Inc. All rights reserved. SeeTheShow™ Gourmet food trucks are back ® at the Larkspur Ferry Terminal every F ERRY weeknight from 4 pm to 8 pm. www.goldengate.org www.baycrossings.com July 2012 5 TRANSPORTATION NEWS Growing Express Lane Network Delivers Congestion Insurance for Bay Area Travelers emission vehicles with valid BY JOHN GOODWIN and 880 corridors in Alameda, Contra Costa and Solano counties, as well as access stickers will continue the East Bay approaches to and from the to have toll-free access to the arking the biggest Dumbarton and San Mateo-Hayward Express Lanes. advance in Bay Area bridges. T h e C a l i f o r n i a freeway operations Also known as high-occupancy/toll Transportation Commission since the launch lanes, Express Lanes allow solo drivers who last fall greenlighted MTC’s o f t h e Fa s Tr a k choose to pay a toll to take advantage of proposal to add 290 miles electronic tolling system, the Metropolitan unused capacity in high-occupancy vehicle of Express Lanes to the 280 Photo by Noah Berger MTransportation Commission (MTC) is now lanes. Tolls, which are paid electronically miles of Express Lanes already Tolls for solo motorists who use Express Lanes are paid via moving to add 290 miles of Express Lanes via FasTrak, vary with congestion levels to authorized under state law in FasTrak and vary according to real-time traffic conditions. to the region’s freeways in the coming years. keep the lanes free-flowing at speeds of 45 Alameda, Santa Clara and The new Express Lanes will be established miles per hour or higher. Carpools, buses, San Mateo counties to create primarily along the Interstate 80, 680 motorcycles and qualifying low- or zero- a seamless regional network totaling TheTransportation 2035 Plan adopted 570 miles by 2035. Plans call for the by MTC in 2009 calls for using Express conversion of 150 miles of existing carpool Lane revenues to close gaps in the Bay Area’s lanes plus select freeway widening projects existing carpool lane system in order to: 128 29 to accommodate another 120 miles of • boost travel time savings for Sonoma new Express Lanes. The remaining 20 carpools and buses miles involve both directions of Interstate • increase the efficiency of freeway 128 116 505 101 80 880 through Oakland — a corridor that operations; and 12 Santa Napa 121 cannot physically accommodate Express • provide reliable, congestion-free Rosa 29 Vacaville 116 12 113 Lanes per se, but is targeted for a variety of transportation. Solano advanced operational strategies to smooth “Express Lanes provide a form Napa Petaluma Fairfield 12 traffic flows. of congestion insurance,” explained 116 121 29 12 Though transportation agencies in Alameda County Supervisor and MTC Rio Novato 680 37 Vista Orange and San Diego counties have Commissioner Scott Haggerty. “Usage 37 Vallejo 780 operated Express Lanes for more than a data shows that the typical solo driver in Marin 1 80 decade, and similar lanes also have been the I-680 Express Lane uses the lane just 101 4 4 San Concord established in metro areas as diverse as once or twice a month. We presume these Rafael Richmond 580 Brentwood Walnut Denver, Houston, Minneapolis/St. Paul customers are using the adjacent toll-free 24 Creek 4 and Seattle, the Express Lane concept is lanes on other days, and that they opt to Danville Contra Regional 13 still somewhat novel for many Bay Area use the Express Lane when they absolutely, 80 Oakland Costa San 580 Express Lane 680 205 drivers. The region’s fledgling network positively can’t afford the unpredictability Francisco 880 Network 238 580 580 took a small but important step forward that comes with congestion.” Livermore Pleasanton this spring with the Santa Clara Valley MTC expects capital costs for the 84 Currently open San 238 92 Mateo Transportation Authority (VTA)’s late design, construction and operation of the Open prior to end of: Fremont 280 Alameda March opening of a three-mile Express 290-mile regional Express Lane network to 2015 2030 101 84 680 Lane segment connecting Interstate 880 total $3 billion to $3.6 billion, depending 92 880 2020 2035 82 on the speed of implementation. While it is 35 Palo 237 and State Route 237. This marked the Alto 2025 Post-2040 first new addition since Express Lanes far too early to determine actual toll rates, Operational San 130 Jose made their Bay Area debut in late 2010 MTC’s analysis shows the new Express gap closure 84 280 San 87 Santa Clara along a 14-mile stretch of southbound Lanes will be financially feasible based 9 Mateo 85 on toll rates of 14 cents to $1 per mile in N 1 35 Morgan Hill Interstate 680 over the Sunol Grade 17 101 from State Route 84 to State Route 2020. This range is comparable to current Miles 237. The next additions are slated tolls on the I-680 Express Lane, where the 0 10 20 30 Kilometers 0 10 20 30 for Interstate 580 in eastern Alameda average peak-period toll for the entire 14- 152 Express Lane Network-Opening Dates County, State Route 85 in Santa Clara mile corridor is $3, and on the State Route Street base map © Thomas Bros.