In June, the state Coastal Conservancy Board voted to award the city $2.96 million for the project.In May, the Alameda County Transportation Commission voted to award the city $5.138 million to fund design, engineering, and environmental review for the Berkeley Pier and Ferry project.Today, we write to announce that the vision of restoring ferry service at the Berkeley Marina has reached three major funding milestones this year: At the culmination of a public engagement process that included focus groups, commission meetings, and community workshops, a preferred design concept was presented to the City Council in 2021. The city of Berkeley has partnered with the Water Emergency Transportation Authority (WETA), the agency that operates the San Francisco Bay Ferry, to develop a plan to share costs and deliver a pier that serves dual purposes: public recreation and ferry service. Costs that, realistically, the city cannot bear alone. Replacement costs for the pier are estimated to range between $20 million and $55 million. The pier became the municipal fishing pier we knew and loved for years until it was closed in 2015 due to structural issues. A decade later, after the opening of the Bay Bridge, ferry service ended. In 1926, our beloved Berkeley Pier was built for ferry service by the Golden Gate Ferry Company. And soon, the Berkeley Marina will enjoy a homecoming of a resource lost long ago: ferry service. But thanks to community advocacy, new investment from our City Council, and $15 million in state support, we have weathered the storm and are steadying the ship. Our gateway to the bay, the Berkeley Marina, has struggled for years with crumbling infrastructure and a deficient Marina Fund. Our beautiful city sits exactly opposite the Golden Gate Bridge, founded here for its unique position along the San Francisco Bay.
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