Central Valley

The Safe Routes Partnership will be convening Active Transportation Networks (ATN) alongside partner coalition meetings in San Joaquin and Stanislaus counties. On October 17, the ATN will meet in conjunction with the Stanislaus Sustainable Communities Coalition in Modesto, at which there will be a presentation of a Safe Routes to School Action Plan developed by the Airport Neighborhood Collaborative. Then, on November 13, the Network will convene in Stockton at a meeting of the Healthy Neighborhoods Collaborative.

With the end of the 2017-2018 legislative session, it’s an opportune moment to review the fortunes of some of the bills we have supported this year.

Hundreds of applications were submitted for the recent Cycle 4 of the Active Transportation Program (ATP), and only a small percentage will be successful.  Our new publication, California’s Active Transportation Program: A Step-by-Step Guide to the Application Process, can help you work through the process. This 22-page document offers a road map to all five application categories of the ATP in a digestible form.

In November, voters will consider Proposition 6, which would roll back the additional transportation funding approved by SB 1, the transportation and gas tax law. Millions of dollars of transportation funding and important investments in active transportation and Safe Routes to School—including a significant expansion of the state’s Active Transportation Program—would be rolled back. The Safe Routes Partnership has taken a position against Proposition 6 and urge a no vote.

This week, leaders from around the world are gathering in San Francisco for the Global Climate Action Summit. As a counterpoint, It Takes Roots is organizing a series of events throughout the week to call attention to the impact of climate change on low-income communities of color and calling for climate solutions that support environmental justice.

SB 1 funded a variety of new programs, and the California Transportation Commission (CTC) is having workshops to get input on the guidelines for two of these programs:

Advocates in the Central Valley, including the members of the Stanislaus Sustainable Communities Coalition, submitted comments on draft amendments to