From Oyster Camps To Biotech To Ferry Hub

Community Rallies to Become New Ferry Terminal Site

By Wes Starratt, Senior Editor, "Bay Crossings"

Oyster Point, a small harbor, nestled off Highway 101 between South San Francisco and the Airport is an economic success story, attracting major corporations to its shoreline. Oyster Point is now positioning itself to become a new ferry transit hub for the region to serve its booming workforce.

Oyster Point was named for the oyster camps of the 1870’s. By the pre-World War II years, it became part of South San Francisco’s "Industrial City," hosting steel mills and a wide range of other industries, from paints to pasta.

In recent decades, the area’s transformation has been dramatic and complete. Gone is the heavy industry, and, in its place, Oyster Point has become what the South San Francisco Chamber of Commerce calls the "Biotech Capital of the World," with dozens of biotechnical firm.

Some 80 companies in biotechnology and related fields now do business out of Oyster Point, Brisbane and South San Francisco, providing jobs for 24,000 employees. The largest company is Genentech, Inc. with more than 3,000 employees.

Expansion at Oyster Point continues with construction of more office buildings underway. By 2020, 54,000 employees are expected. The new office buildings have drawn hundreds of employees commuting from all parts of the Bay Area. Many Oyster Point workers live in the East Bay and remote locations where housing prices are more affordable than the Peninsula. Employees lack direct transit connections between the East Bay and San Mateo County. Traffic on Highway 101 and the San Mateo Bridge are typically gridlock making this a very rough commute – sometimes almost an hour and a half.

North San Mateo County businesses and City officials have rolled up their sleeves and come up with creative ways to fill the transit void. They have privately financed shuttle bus service connecting with rail services provided by Caltrains and BART. Parking shuttles and large tour buses are now a common sight at BART stations in Colma, Glen Park and CALTRAIN station.

The area is now turning to the water as the next option for moving workers and patrons to its booming commercial center. "We are very pro-ferry service in South San Francisco. Our businesses are all very excited about it, and we need to do everything we can to make it happen," says Greg Cochran, Executive Director of the South San Francisco Chamber of Commerce,

South San Francisco City Council member Pedro Gonzalez added, " We are very concerned about traffic congestion on Highway 101. I’d rather have a ferry terminal before adding more lanes on the freeway. It is about time that we had ferries in San Mateo County to link to other parts of the Bay. We are a new center for jobs. Ferries shouldn’t just stop in Downtown San Francisco."

The San Mateo County Harbor District is positioning itself to be among the first communities to initiate new ferry service. The Harbor District operates a 600-berth marina for pleasure craft at the Oyster Point Marina. It has plunged into the lead in planning for ferries to support the economic plans of South San Francisco and other neighboring cities.

This November, the Harbor District plans to release the results of a study "A Vision for Ferry Service at Oyster Point." The study examines what it will take to bring ferry service to Oyster Point Marina. It will include information on ridership, impact of ferries coming into the marina, recommendations for docking facilities, parking needs, and road access, and shuttle/bus connections.

Harbor Master Johnson points out that, "With this document, we will be able to request financial support from various granting agencies on the state and federal levels and finally have a ferry terminal at Oyster Point Marina."

This $500,000 study was the culmination of efforts by the "Water Transit Task Force" comprised of local business and government leaders. The task force is a partnership between the City of South San Francisco, the San Mateo County Harbor District, and the Peninsula Congestion Relief Alliance.

Supervisor Mark Church said, "Solving our transportation dilemma is the biggest challenge of the decade. We need to explore all of the alternative modes of transportation." San Mateo County has taken significant steps to make ferries a transportation priority. Water transit is a part of the San Mateo County-Wide Transportation Plan to the Year 2010.

Wasting no time, the Harbor District plans to redesign its breakwater to enlarge the entry to the boat marina . This will make the marina safer and more accessible for future ferry operations. It is expected that the redesign will be paid for with Federal dollars from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

"We are looking at 100-ft-long, 149- passenger catamarans and have been talking with the Angel Island-Tiburon Ferries, as well as Red & White and Blue & Gold. At the same time, we are cooperating with Redwood City in its program to develop ferry service and believe that both services should be developed at the same time," said Harbor Master Robert Johnson.

Peter Grenell, Manager of the San Mateo County Harbor District and member of the WTA’s Technical Advisory Committee pointed, "Interest in water transit at Oyster Point continues to grow. With continued hard work, ferry service at Oyster Point may soon become reality!

The local community’s interest for ferries was evident at a meeting held this past Summer at Oyster Point with WTA officials. An enthusiastic group of business and community leaders reiterated the investment their community has made in water transit. The importance of ferry service to the East Bay and Downtown San Francisco was mentioned. South San Francisco business officials commented that there are many hotel patrons in the South San Francisco area that could benefit from ferry service to Downtown San Francisco.

"Oyster Point’s enthusiasm and accomplishments to establish ferry service is impressive," said WTA’s CEO, Tom Bertken. "Their work is very helpful to the WTA in demonstrating the underserved transit needs of some communities. We hope to show that ferries can be a cost effective solution for linking Oyster Point with the East Bay," added Bertken.

Oyster Point was initially identified as a potential site for ferries in a study performed by the Bay Council; the WTA will continue to study Oyster Point as a site for future ferry terminals. Oyster Point will be analyzed in the WTA’s environmental review, ridership surveys, intermodal connections and other technical studies. The WTA’s recommendations will be submitted to the Legislature in December 2002. 

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