San Mateo County officials have a bone to pick with their bigger neighbor (in population, not area) to the north, San Francisco: don't charge us to drive there. Unlike drivers from East and North Bay counties, no bridge tolls separate the counties.
On Dec. 14, the San Francisco County Transportation Authority Board may select a congestion pricing plan for the city that could be enacted, if all goes well, by 2015. One of the plans involves tolling - during peak hours, what is known as the 'southern gateway', the only untolled entrance to the Peninsula city.
"Hillsborough Councilman Tom Kasten, who also sits on the board of San Mateo County's City/County Association of Governments, drafted a letter that local officials signed to urge the authority to eliminate the southern gateway option from further consideration.
"This would have a significant, negative impact on San Mateo County residents," according to Kasten's letter."
From San Mateo Daily Journal editorial: "Charging a fee at the city's major entry points to the south is unfair to residents of San Mateo County who work in the city and could create a burden for those who live in South San Francisco and Daly City since traffic will be forced onto surface streets.
The city of San Francisco has a history of making decisions that negatively impact San Mateo County - whether it be about its jail in San Bruno, its airport or its water delivery system. Let this not be another in that series."
FULL STORY: San Mateo County officials to San Francisco: Drop toll idea
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