What Do the Two New BART Directors Need to Know?

Two new BART directors were sworn in Thursday at the agency’s HQ in Oakland. Zakhary Mallet, who represents District 7, said one of his priorities is to investigate the possibility of a new station that would serve San Pablo, Pinole and Hercules. The new District 3 rep, Rebecca Saltzman, said her top priority was to keep BART running smoothly, according to the Bay City News Service.

What would be your top priority for BART: bikes, parking, new lines, cleaner trains, more trains during commute times, safer stations, 24-hour service, or something else?

After Mallett and Saltzman were sworn in, the board elected director Tom Radulovich of San Francisco as its president and Joel Keller of Brentwood to be its new vice president.

Keller said BART needs to make sure it raises enough money to pay for its long-term capital needs, which he said are at least $7.5 billion.

He said one way to accomplish that goal is to get state leaders to lower the two-thirds threshold currently needed to pass bond measures that benefit transit agencies and other governmental entities.

"The two-thirds threshold is such a high burden that even balanced measures have a tough time passing," Keller said.

He said the threshold should be lowered to as low as 51 percent.

-Bay City News Service contributed to this report.