“It’s not fair that the people who drive into San Francisco pay for everything,” Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District board of directors member John Moylan told Bloomberg News. The rest of the board was intrigued enough to vote Oct. 24 to study imposing fees on the pedestrians and bicyclists who cross the bridge each day. It is hoped that the new fees would help address a $33 million deficit.
State Assemblymember Phil Ting, whose district includes the bridge, said “While I understand the District has an obligation to maintain a responsible fiscal position, this should not come at the cost of public access to the bridge,” said Ting. “In fact, according to the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, past efforts to impose sidewalk fees indicate that a toll would generate little revenue and unfairly burden people biking and walking.”
From May 1937 until December 1970, pedestrians passed through a coin turnstile before they could cross the bridge.
