BART General Manager Grace Crunican to retire in July

OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) -- BART General Manager Grace Crunican unexpectedly announced Thursday that she will retire in July.

This means walking away from a job that pays her more than $500,000 a year.

Previously, Crunican served for eight years as the director of Seattle's Department of Transportation. She also worked as a deputy in the federal transit administration.

RELATED: BART Police Chief announces retirement after just two years on the job

BART director Debora Allen, who represents Walnut Creek, calls Crunican a strong leader and says she had no idea the retirement was coming.

However, according to Allen, Crunican had clashed with a trio of board members who didn't like her idea to beef up law enforcement in the stations.

State Senator Steve Glazer, a long time BART critic, says the resignation of BART Police Chief Carlos Rojas earlier this month could have been a clue.

BART's approval rating has hit a record low. Customer satisfaction was down to 56 percent this past year. A reinvestment plan called Horizon 2027 was aimed at improving the rider experience. This year there will be major changes like the Silicon Valley extension, a youth fare discount program, more than 40 new escalators, 24 new canopies, 1,200 new cars and possibly an ambassador program.

Crunican said her last day will be on July 9.

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