San Francisco Bay Area

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.

Bay Area voters have passed Regional Measure 3 by 54% across the nine counties of the Bay Area. The Safe Routes Partnership endorsed RM 3, which will increase revenue from bridge tolls to support $4.5 billion in investments needed to improve quality of life and will connect BART and other commuter rail services, including via Safe Routes to Transit.

We co-sponsored SB 760 under author Senator Wiener, which would have required the State Highway Operations and Protection Program (SHOPP) implement Complete Streets near critical locations. As we reported in January, it was scaled back due to concerns over the effort to repeal last year’s increase in the Gas Tax. While we plan to reintroduce a bill with similar objectives next session, Sen.

Last week, California voters supported equitable transportation, open space and climate spending by large margins at the ballot box.

If your community is planning to apply for Cycle 4 of the Active Transportation Program, you have until July 31 to do so. Information and resources for applicants are available on the CalTrans website and at the Active Transportation Resource Center.

The Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) will be holding three workshops to discuss changes to the statewide and regional Active Transportation Program call for projects. Topics will include guidelines, scoring criteria, lessons learned from past cycles, and Q&A with MTC and Caltrans staff.

The Safe Routes Partnership urges a YES vote on the Bay Area’s Regional Measure 3, which will be on the June 2018 ballot. RM 3 is a $4.5 billion plan to make crucial investments needed to improve quality of life and will connect BART and other commuter rail services, including via Safe Routes to Transit  These improved connections between buses, trains, and bikes will help people get to work, school, and home more quickly and safely.

In early May, California Senior Policy Manager Jonathan Matz joined our partners in the Sustainable Communities for All coalition (SC4A) in Sacramento to lobby state lawmakers for an equitable portfolio of investments from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF). Among the programs SC4A would like to see funded from the GGRF this year are Urban Forestry and Urban Greening; the Low Income Home Weatherization Program; and transit passes for K-14 students in public education institutions.