PEDESTRIAN DEATHS INCREASE
IN STATE; REPORT RANKS MOST DANGEROUS PLACES
A
report co-released by the California offices of STPP and the newly
formed California Walks coalition says that pedestrian deaths are on the
rise in California, increasing five percent from 2000 to 2001.
"Five Years of Progress and Pitfalls: Pedestrian Safety in
California" represents STPP California's fourth annual analysis of
the state's injury and fatality data for pedestrians. The report names
Solano, Sacramento, Los Angeles, Contra Costa and San Joaquin counties
as the most dangerous in California for pedestrians, with Vallejo,
Ingleside, Oxnard, Oceanside and Modesto ranking as the most dangerous
cities.
The report finds a
strong correlation between the most dangerous places for pedestrians and
rapid population growth. Hospital records
also show that African-American and Latino pedestrians are most at risk,
as research from STPP and the Latino Issues Forum has shown in past
years. The report does highlight some good news, documenting a
groundswell of civic support for pedestrian safety and walkable
communities at the local level throughout California, as seen in the
formation of 14 new local pedestrian advocacy groups in just the last
five years. The study also lauds local pedestrian initiatives and
programs in San Jose, Sacramento, San Diego, Carlsbad, Pasadena and
Santa Ana.
Read the press
release, the full STPP/California Walks report,
or view tables that rank the most dangerous cities
and counties in California.
LEGISLATURE
WRAPS UP SESSION; KEY BILLS HEADING TO GOVERNOR'S DESK
State
lawmakers concluded their work for the year by approving a budget
agreement that was hammered out in the waning hours of the 2001-02
legislative session and contained a GOP-backed proposal (ACA11
- Richman) for a constitutional amendment to dedicate one percent of the
state's budget to infrastructure projects in years of surplus beginning
in 2006. While the measure will still need to be approved by voters in
2004, it represents yet another significant move to lock up the state's
general fund for the purposes of infrastructure (Prop
42 approved in March and Prop
51 appearing on the November ballot both do the same) while backing
off the more traditional "user fee" approach of raising
gasoline taxes or tolls. Lawmakers also scrapped several controversial
proposals to balance the $23B budget deficit -- including a significant
increase in the state's car tax.
While
2002 was a tough year for legislation all accounts, a handful of key transportation and smart growth
bills are nevertheless heading to the Governor's desk. A multi-year effort by the California
Futures Network (CFN) -- and many others including STPP -- to develop an explicit
state growth and land use policy was given a massive boost when both the
State Senate and Assembly approved AB857
(Wiggins/Sher) in the last days of
the session. The bill establishes
state growth priorities that favor infill development and more compact suburban
growth. Despite strong opposition from the building industry, the measure benefited from the broad support of environmental,
labor and social equity groups, and is heading to the Governor's
desk. An additional last-minute compromise is also sending so-called
"construction defect" legislation to the Governor. The
measure, strongly backed by builders, realtors and housing interests,
aims to reduce litigation around condo construction and is seen by some
to be a crucial move towards reducing one of the many barriers to infill
development.
SB1636 (Figueroa), an STPP-sponsored bill to relax
another major barrier to infill development -- state-mandated traffic "Level of Service" (LOS) standards
around transit stations and along bus rapid transit corridors throughout
the state -- also won approval from the Assembly earlier in August and is
awaiting the Governor's signature. And release of state pedestrian fatality and injury numbers by STPP and
California Walks gave SB1555 (Torlakson) a needed boost. The bill, sponsored by the California Bicycle
Coalition and also on its way to the Governor,
will tack on a $5 penalty to driver license renewals carrying two or
more points and create a bicycle and pedestrian safety education fund
worth $3.25 million a year.
The
Governor must take action on all bills by September 30th. Click here
to view a more detailed legislative history of each bill or read the
California Budget Project's final analysis
of the FY03 state budget agreement.
TRANSPORTATION
SPENDING MEASURES TO APPEAR ON NOVEMBER BALLOT
Voters
will face a flurry of funding measures on this November's ballot,
including a massive statewide transportation initiative that will heavily favor spending on mass transit,
environmental mitigation, air quality and community safety projects. If
approved by a majority of the state's voters, Proposition 51 (sponsored
by the Planning and Conservation League) would capture
a portion of the existing sales tax revenues on new car and truck
revenues -- worth roughly $800 million a year -- for a range of
transportation programs and projects. Voters
will also get to decide on a historic $2.1 billion affordable housing
bond proposal in November, in addition to a massive $13 billion bond
measure to fund school construction.
Local
transportation sales tax measures are also likely to appear on the
ballot in Fresno,
Riverside, Solano, and Merced on November 5th. Fresno County's measure, a
reauthorization of their existing half-cent 'Measure C' tax, has come
under fire from environmental groups and the local League of Women
Voters for not spending enough on air quality and mass transit projects.
Solano County's first attempt at a half cent transportation sales tax has struck enough of a balance between freeways,
transit, livable community and pedestrian safety projects that
environmental and community groups have removed any threat of
opposition.
So
what does it take to win unanimous support for local transportation
funding measures? Observers cite Alameda County's effort in November
2000 at a broad-based
transportation sales tax measure as one of the most diverse and
inclusive efforts ever for winning local transportation funding. There,
active support from environmental and social justice groups for the
measure due to their early inclusion and broad-based funding package helped
win over 81 percent voter
approval for the tax.
For a full
history of all local transportation sales tax votes in California, click
here. For more information about the PCL initiative, visit www.pcl.org.
AMTRAK
DODGES SHUTDOWN FOR NOW; STATE VOTERS MAY DECIDE ON RAIL BOND
The
nation's passenger railroad averted a systemwide shutdown in late June,
saved by stopgap funding measures and a new round of cost-cutting
actions that kept trains rolling throughout the nation and avoided what
could have been havoc for both Amtrak and commuter rail passengers
throughout California. Yet analysts say Amtrak's financial woes are far
from over, and the national railroad system has few, if any, financial
tricks left up its sleeve. Amtrak's future, as always, is subject to the federal appropriations bills
currently moving through Congress. But
whichever end of the federal funding spectrum Amtrak ends up on for
Fiscal Year 2003, observers note that the railroad will continue to
struggle without a complete organizational overhaul and a permanent,
stable funding source. Amtrak is currently prohibited from tapping any
federal transportation funds and must rely on general fund
appropriations from year to year in order to survive.
Yet
the future of passenger rail in the U.S. may be somewhat brighter than
Amtrak's own. Despite continuing technical difficulties, Amtrak's high
speed train service between Boston and Washington, DC, recently logged
more passengers than the competing airline shuttle services. And the
California legislature, in a move that surprised even the most
ardent high speed rail supporters, is poised to approve a massive $9.9B
high speed rail bond (SB1856)
that could bolster existing Amtrak service as well
as construct the first leg of 700-mile high speed rail system between
San Francisco and Los Angeles. "It's nothing short of a rail
renaissance in California," noted State Senator Tom Torlakson
(D-Antioch). California voters will likely get to decide on the high
speed rail bond sometime in 2004.
For
more information, visit the High Speed Rail Authority's web
site.
STPP
CALIFORNIA DIRECTOR TO HELP LEAD NATIONAL TEA-21 RENEWAL CAMPAIGN
STPP
has named its California Director, James Corless, to play a major role
in its national campaign efforts focusing on the renewal of the federal
transportation bill known as 'TEA-21'. Corless will serve as the Senior
Campaign Director beginning September 1st, and work primarily out of
STPP's Washington DC office through the end of December. He will
continue
to oversee the organization's field operations and its California work
in particular, and return in January 2003 where he
will direct the national campaign's field operations as well
as STPP's California, New Mexico and Pennsylvania field offices.
STPP's
California offices will be managed in the interim by Kristi
Kimball,
STPP's Northern California Campaign Manager. STPP California is in the
process of hiring a new state policy director who will join Trinh
Nguyen, STPP's Central California Campaign Manager, in the
organization's Sacramento office.
For
more information on STPP's efforts around the renewal of the federal
transportation bill, visit www.antc.net.
