Editor:
RE: I-580 editorial 4/30/99. It's been reported that I support a CalTrans study of potentially lifting the ban on heavy trucks on I-580. In fact, the opposite is true. I oppose any such study.
CalTrans has an ongoing obligation to provide the Metropolitan Transportation Commission and other local authorities with the most current and scientific data to make any number of local transportation decisions with.
But in this case, I think a study would be unnecessary. Lifting the ban would be a move that would head us in the wrong direction. I-580 was never designed for use by heavy trucks and we should keep our commitment to the community to leave it that way. The ban keeps a major residential area in Oakland safe, clean and queit.
In the coming weeks, I will be working with CalTrans, the Highway Patrol and local officials to find ways to better manage traffic on I-880 and make other improvements to increase safety on that stretch of freeway. As the chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Bay Area Transportation this will be one of the highest priorities on my agenda.
Don Perata
State Senator, 9th District