A state appeals court sided with the Bay Area Toll authority, Monday, to increase Bay Area bridge tolls by $3 over 6 years.
State-owned bridges in the Bay Area are set to raise fees. Tolls at every bay area bridge except the Golden Gate rose by a dollar at the beginning of 2019. They’ll increase by another dollar in 2022, and a dollar more in 2025.
The fees, approved by voters in 2018, are set to fund more than 30 projects, including the next phase of BART’s extension through San Jose. Parts of that extension have already opened.
But the money has been on hold until now. The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association sued the Bay Area toll authority soon after the ballot measure passed with 55% of the vote. The group arguedthat toll increases function as a tax, and therefore would need the support of two thirds of voters to pass.
A San Francisco trial court sided with toll authoritieslast year. On Monday, The First District Court of Appeals also rejected challenges to the measure. Representatives from the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association say they will most likely file a petition with the state supreme court to review the case.
