Toll to Remain for Coronado Bridge Until ’95 : Transportation: State decision is a victory for Coronado, which wants toll fees to help pay for solutions to traffic problems in the city.

The $1 toll on the San Diego-Coronado Bay Bridge will remain in place until at least mid-1995, the California Transportation Commission decided Thursday, ending months of speculation about the future of the fee.

In a meeting in San Luis Obispo, the commission voted 5-0 to retain the toll until June, 1995, and use the funds for improvements on the bridge and along Coronado’s congested roadways, said Mariana Mejia, a Caltrans spokeswoman. The commission sets state transportation policy.

The toll question will be reviewed again in January, 1995, Mejia said.

The toll already has provided sufficient funds to cover the construction costs of the 21-year-old bridge, one of San Diego’s most recognizable landmarks, which stretches from near downtown across San Diego Bay to Coronado.

Some critics had wanted the toll scrapped, contending that it was too burdensome.

But Coronado city officials and others feared that rescinding the toll would prompt more people to use the bridge, thus worsening the city’s already substantial traffic problem. Pro-toll advocates backed retaining the fee and using the proceeds for road and bridge improvements--the precise option chosen Thursday by the state commission.

The tolls are expected to generate $25 million in gross revenues between now and 1995, Mejia said.

“Mostly we hope it (the toll) will help with some of the traffic issues,” said Jacqueline Wilson, deputy Coronado city clerk. “Traffic seems to be Coronado’s biggest problem. What are we going to do with all those cars on the roads?”

In Barrio Logan, the low-income San Diego community most impacted by the bridge, many favor using toll funds for improvements in their inner-city neighborhood.

Councilman Bob Filner, whose district includes Barrio Logan, said he planned to approach state officials about directing toll monies toward community projects. Among the possible options: Use the funds to help alleviate bridge-related neighborhood traffic congestion or for the upkeep and expansion of the acclaimed murals painted on the bridge columns in Chicano Park.

“If they’re going to keep the toll, we should pay what’s due to a community that has has suffered from it,” Filner said.

To this day, construction of the bridge is remembered bitterly by many in Barrio Logan, who say that the structure split one of southern California’s oldest Chicano communities, displacing many families. Chicano Park was born amid that controversy, symbolizing to many the determination of area residents to fight back after the devastation inflicted by the bridge construction.

The decision is a victory for Coronado Mayor Mary Herron and the Coronado City Council, who have gone on record in support of a continued toll. Mayor Herron testified Thursday in favor of retaining the fee, as did councilman Michel Napolitano, according to Mejia, the Caltrans spokeswoman.

The elegant, 2.23-mile long, 246-feet high bridge, which was was officially opened on Aug. 2, 1969, was financed through the sale of almost $48 million in construction bonds. The accumulated tolls paid off the bond bill by 1986, some 17 years ahead of schedule.

The $1 bridge toll is charged only to westbound vehicles. (The toll had been $1.20 until it was reduced in 1988.) Car-pool vehicles are exempt. Commuters may purchase books of 20 tickets for $12, or 60 cents per round trip.

Bridge traffic has been increasing by 2% to 5% per year, according to Caltrans. The numbers of vehicles using the bridge in both directions rose from almost 50,000 during the 1984-85 fiscal year to 62,000 during the 1988-89 fiscal year, the most recent year for which data are available, Caltrans said.