STPP - Surface Transportation Policy Project                              v04n02  July 1, 2003

A Smart Vision for Coyote Valley: Responding to the City of San Jose's plan to permit office park development in Coyote Valley, a 6,800-acre tract of open space and agricultural land on the city's southeastern edge, Greenbelt Alliance is spearheading an alternative proposal to build a “new town” in the same location. Based around the concepts of “new urbanism,” the town would feature dense neighborhoods where people could walk or ride a bike to work, school, stores and other locations. Developed after a year-long series of workshops with a broad range of stakeholders and consultations with environmental, land-use and transportation experts, Greenbelt’s new town vision could be a statewide model for efficient “greenfield” development. The plan is outlined Greenbelt’s “Getting it Right” report. More info: Greenbelt Alliance’s Jeremy Madsen at (415) 398-3730. Bay Area's Smart Growth Vision Wins Award: The Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU) recognized several of its 2003 Charter Award recipients last month at the 11th Annual Congress in Washington, DC. Among the 15 award winners was the San Francisco Bay Area's Smart Growth Strategy/Regional Livability Footprint Project, a 20-year visioning project for the nine-county region. For information about the Smart Growth Strategy/Regional Livability Footprint Project, see here  For information about other award winners, see http://www.cnu.org. Citizens Reject L.A. Freeway Expansion Plans: In a striking example of the growing public consensus that widening existing freeways or building new ones may not be the best ways to alleviate traffic congestion, transportation agencies have killed plans to expand sections of the Long Beach (710) and Ventura (101) freeways in Los Angeles County.  The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) voted 10-0 in May to halt plans to reconstruct two of the three most-congested interchanges on the Long Beach Freeway, a proposal that would have required the demolition of nearly 1,000 homes and businesses. Outraged homeowners living near the freeway had actively opposed the freeway plan, not only because it would displace local residents but also on grounds that it would increase noise and air pollution.  Opposition from community activists also played a role in Caltrans’ May decision to shelve plans to add two carpool lanes in either direction on the Ventura Freeway from Studio City to Thousand Oaks. This project would also have displaced many nearby homes and businesses. In a Los Angeles Times article that appeared the day after the Long Beach Freeway plan was terminated, Los Angeles County Supervisor Gloria Molina is quoted as saying those who design and build roads don't think about the impact their work will have on communities. (Los Angeles Times, 5/23/03) New BRT Corridors in L.A.: LA's Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has approved five new Metro Rapid bus corridors for the San Fernando Valley that will link riders to other major transit lines, such as the Red Line subway. The corridors, chosen by the MTA board in late May after a series of community meetings, are spread across the valley from Canoga Park and Woodland Hills in the west to Pacoima and North Hollywood in the east.  All five lines will connect with the new Valley Metro Rapidway, an east-west dedicated bus corridor located just north of the Ventura Freeway that is set to open in 2005. MTA officials say the new routes are needed to ease traffic congestion and serve the valley’s growing population, which is expected to jump 30%, to 1.7 million people, by 2025. Metro Rapid’s limited-stop bus service has experienced dramatic ridership gains in other parts of the city where it has been introduced. (Los Angeles Times, 5/23/03) Bakersfield, Sacramento Sprawl Reports: In a special report published June 14, The Bakersfield Californian identifies urban sprawl and automobile emissions as leading sources of air pollution in Kern County. The report can be accessed by clicking here.  Additionally, a series of articles published June 29-July 1 by the Sacramento Bee examines urban sprawl and the lack of affordable housing in the Sacramento region. Click here to see the series’ first article. AC Transit To Cut Free Bus-Pass Program: Faced with a $50 million deficit in its operating budget, the East Bay’s AC Transit has announced it will eliminate a popular free bus-pass program for poor children who ride the bus to school.  In a June 18 meeting, AC Transit’s board voted 4-3 to kill the program on July 16 unless Alameda and Contra Costa counties can provide $3 million to help subsidize it. Youth advocates and community leaders have rallied in defense of the year-old discount program, which is credited with boosting bus ridership among East Bay schoolchildren who are so poor they qualify for lunch vouchers.  But AC Transit officials say the program costs the cash-strapped bus agency $4 million per year. For more information on the campaign to save the free bus-pass program, contact Kim Miyoshi, executive director of Kids First, at (510) 452-2043, or contact Lara Bice in the office of Alameda County Supervisor Keith Carson, at (510) 272-6685. In addition to nixing the free bus-pass program, AC Transit plans to reduce or eliminate service on 22 of its 122 regular routes beginning June 29. Another 32 routes, and possibly as many as 48, may be cut back in December to save money. (Contra Costa Times, 6/18/03, Oakland Tribune, 6/19/03) Bay Area Transit Woes Continue: AC Transit isn’t the only Bay Area service provider facing financial difficulties. Throughout the region, transit agencies are cutting service, raising fares and laying off employees to balance their budgets, which have been crunched by the sluggish economy and resulting declines in sales tax and fare revenues.  Among the hardest hit is the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA), which is considering elimination of numerous bus routes, including line 65 from the Almaden light-rail station to San Jose State University. Golden Gate Transit, which operates buses and ferries serving Marin, Sonoma and San Francisco counties, is considering scaling back all late-night bus service. And in San Francisco, MUNI plans to raise its $1 fare by a quarter on September 1. (San Francisco Chronicle, 6/4/03) BART Reaches SFO: After decades of planning, numerous construction delays and enormous cost overruns, BART opened a new 8.7-mile rail line into San Francisco International Airport on June 22. The project, which includes four new BART stations, has topped the Bay Area’s list of priority transportation projects since the early 1980s. The new service makes SFO, the nation’s fifth-busiest airport, the first airport in the West with direct train service to an air terminal. Additionally, the new station in Millbrae links BART with Caltrain and the San Mateo County SamTrans bus system, transforming the San Mateo County city into a major transit hub and creating a new way for people to travel between the East Bay and the Peninsula. Indeed, the linking of these transit systems is already causing some people to dismiss as redundant proposals to extend BART completely around the San Francisco Bay. New Resource for Rural Communities: The Sierra Business Council has published a new book, Investing for Prosperity, which offers hundreds of ways to achieve long-term prosperity in America’s rebounding rural regions. Announced July 2, the book brings together many of the latest innovations that rural communities across North America are using to grow their economies, improve their towns, and build their “social capital.” For more information, contact the Sierra Business Council at (530) 582-4800 or www.sbcouncil.org. ROUNDTABLE: 7/15 - Local Government Commission (LGC) hosts a roundtable that will explore solutions to increase the production of infill housing at the USC Sacramento Center in Sacramento. More info... REGIONAL DIALOGUE: 7/16 - A Sacramento Regional Dialogue on EGPR/AB 857 Implementation will be held July 16 from 2 to 4:30 p.m. at the Sierra Health Foundation, 1321 Garden Highway in Sacramento. More info: OPR’s Anya Lawler at (916) 324-7941... CONFERENCE: 7/16 - The Economic Alliance of the San Fernando Valley hosts a Housing Needs Conference on July 16 at 8 a.m. in Studio City, CA. More info: Lori Brogin at (818) 379-7000, ext. 109. LEG RECESS: 7/18-8/17 - California Legislature summer recess, contingent upon passage of budget. More info... CTC MEETING, 8/13-8/14 - The California Transportation Commission’s August meeting will take place Aug. 13-14 in Sacramento. More info... LEG DEADLINE: 9/12 - Last day for each house of state legislature to pass bills. More info...  CTC MEETING, 9/24-9/25 - The California Transportation Commission’s September meeting will take place Sept. 24-25 in Sacramento. More info...   CONFERENCE: 9/25-9/26 - The 15th Annual Envisioning California Conference. Sheraton Universal Hotel in Universal City, CA. More info... CONFERENCE: 9/25-9/27 - The Sierra Business Council’s 9th Annual Conference (“Partnering for Success in Gateway Communities”) will convene September 25-27 at Mammoth Mountain, CA. More info...  LEG DEADLINE: 10/12 - Last day for Governor to sign or veto bills. More info...  CONFERENCE: 10/15-10/18 - The Walk/Bike 2003 Conference sponsored by the California Bicycle Coalition and the City of Oakland, in association with California Walks, will take place October 15-18 in Oakland, CA. More info...  CTC MEETING, 10/29-10/30 - The California Transportation Commission’s October meeting will take place Oct. 29-30 in Redding. More info...

BUSINESSES PRESS FOR INFRASTRUCTURE FUNDING  COALITION RALLIES TO SAVE PLANNING FUNDS 'SAFETEA' BILL DANGEROUS FOR CALIFORNIA BILLS TAKE AIM AT SCHOOL SPRAWL  STATE MOVES ON 2002 SMART GROWTH LAW LAWMAKERS MEET ON PROP 42 FUNDS  PLUS: smart growth in silicon valley; LA rejects freeway proposals; central valley papers hit sprawl hard; BART reaches SF airport... BUSINESS LEADERS PRESS FOR COMMUNITY INFRASTRUCTURE FUNDING Driven by concerns that the state budget crisis will only make it more difficult for cities and counties to fund much-needed infrastructure improvements - and encouraged by the passage three years ago of a statewide ballot initiative that lowered the voter threshold for local school bonds - Democratic lawmakers in Sacramento have introduced a slew of bills that would make it easier for voters to approve local taxes and bonds to pay for transportation, affordable housing, community parks and other infrastructure needs. All of the new proposals - there were eight at last count - would allow local tax and bond measures to pass with 50 or 55 percent of the vote in elections, replacing the two-thirds majority that has been required since the passage of Proposition 13 in 1978. To win approval, each of these measures will require thumbs up from two-thirds of the state’s legislators. Measures that clear the Legislature will be placed on statewide ballots next year, where they will require a simple majority (anything above 50 percent) of the vote to pass. Most of these proposals would raise money through new taxes or bonds for specific infrastructure projects or for a single category of projects such as transportation, education or law enforcement. Standing apart from the crowd are two bills - Assembly Constitutional Amendment 14 (Steinberg) and Senate Constitutional Amendment 11 (Alarcón) - that would authorize local or regional governments to pass local bonds and sales taxes to simultaneously fund a broader package of transportation, affordable housing, parks and green space projects. For more information, see the attached ACA14/SCA11 fact sheets and Sacramento Bee editorial. The various tax and bond measures - all are either Assembly or Senate constitutional amendments - have received support from a wide range of groups, including builders, labor and “smart growth” advocates. However, Legislative Republicans, who oppose any effort to raise taxes, have vowed to block all proposals to lower the vote threshold - which they can do because these proposals need six GOP votes to pass in the Assembly and two to clear the Senate. Responding to this threat, supporters of lower vote thresholds are considering bypassing the Legislature and placing a constitutional amendment on a statewide ballot, where it would need only a simple majority to pass. The San Jose-based Silicon Valley Manufacturing Group (SVMG) is among the groups publicly discussing the ballot alternative. At a June press conference, the influential business group announced that it has raised $1.5 million for a campaign to gather enough voter signatures to put a measure on the ballot if the Legislature does not approve one of the proposals now before lawmakers. As of this writing, the SVMG has not said which of the threshold-lowering proposals it favors. Smart growth advocates are hopeful that the SVMG initiative would permit local and regional governments to invest in affordable housing, community parks and green space, in addition to traditional transportation infrastructure. For more information, contact STPP’s Charles L. Mason, Jr. at (916) 447-8565 or cmason@transact.org.  COALITION RALLIES TO SAVE COMMUNITY PLANNING FUNDS IN STATE BUDGET Responding to a budget proposal that would slash funding for three important community planning and environmental mitigation programs administered by the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), a coalition of more than 250 groups has mobilized in support of the threatened programs. Marshaled by the California Alliance for Transportation Choices (CATC), the Surface Transportation Policy Project, Rails-to-Trails Conservancy and the California Futures Network, the broad-based coalition has weighed in repeatedly with state legislators, Caltrans directors and other state officials in recent weeks, urging them to restore funding for the Environmental Justice (EJ) Context Sensitive Planning Grants, Community Based Transportation Planning (CBTP) Grants and the Environmental Enhancement and Mitigation Program (EEMP). The budget proposal submitted by Gov. Davis early this year would eliminate nearly all funding for the three programs, which together receive about $16 million each year through the State Highway Account. The three programs reflect Caltrans’ growing commitment to improving safety and access for all modes of transportation, especially non-motorized modes which have traditionally been overlooked. In recent years, they have proven essential to the planning and implementation of numerous transportation projects that have boosted public involvement in local transportation planning, increased transportation alternatives, and reduced congestion and pollution. The EJ grant program has had a significant impact in reaching out to minority and low-income communities to ensure their participation in transportation planning and create greater equity in transportation investment decisions. Thanks in large part to the coalition’s efforts, the Legislature moved recently to restore all three programs at half their current funding levels. Under this plan, the EEMP would receive $5 million in annual funding, while $3 million would be divided annually between the CBTP and EJ programs. Gov. Davis still has the option of gutting funding for the three programs when the Legislature’s 2003-2003 budget bill lands on his desk. Supporters of the EJ, CBTP and EEMP programs hope the will of the Legislature and the broad public support these programs have received will prompt the governor to restore their funding in the budget he signs. (To view the support lists click on EJ & CBTP and EEMP.) STPP joins CATC, Rails-to-Trails Conservancy and the California Futures Network in thanking all who have called or sent letters in support of the three Caltrans programs. Your efforts have made a difference! But we now need your help to help “seal the deal” with Gov. Davis. Please take the time to call and/or send letters urging Gov. Davis to restore funding for these programs. Read the sample letter and fact sheet for more information. For more information, contact Laura Cohen of Rails-to-Trails Conservancy at lcohen@transact.org, STPP’s Trinh Nguyen at (916) 447-8880 or tnguyen@transact.org or CATC’s Janet Henderson at (916) 448-1687 or janet@odyssey.org. "SAFETEA" THREATENS TRANSIT FUNDING, CLEAN AIR PROTECTIONS California could end up one of the biggest losers if Congress approves the Safe and Flexible Transportation Efficiency Act of 2003, or “SAFETEA,” the Bush Administration’s proposal for renewing the nation’s surface transportation law. Unveiled in May, SAFETEA proposes a total spending level of $247 billion for highway and transit programs and contains a number of proposals that weaken protections for clean air, historic preservation, parks and wildlife habitat and funding commitments to public transit. The bill would, for example, dilute funding for the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program (CMAQ), a move that would have an especially crippling impact on clean air programs in California. Because it has the nation’s most polluted air, California has been the largest recipient of CMAQ funds since the program’s inception, and is arguably the program’s biggest beneficiary. SAFETEA’s proposed reduction in transit funding through lower matching ratios and less guaranteed money would also have a disproportionately harmful impact on California, a state where more than one-third of the population is not licensed to drive. For more information on the Administration’s SAFETEA proposal, see Tea3. For a detailed, section-by-section analysis, and other information, visit www.dot.gov. BILLS TAKE AIM AT SCHOOL SPRAWL A bill that could encourage the renovation of older neighborhood schools and strike a blow against “school sprawl” is winding its way through the state Legislature. The measure, AB 1244 (Chu), would allow school districts to apply for modernization grants every 15 years for existing schools. It would overturn a current law that permits only one modernization for schools that are 25 years or older. The bill, which is sponsored by the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), was approved by the Assembly and will be heard on July 9 in the Senate Education Committee. Letters in support of AB 1244 should be sent to your Senator and to Assembly Member Judy Chu, State Capitol, Room 2148, Sacramento, CA 95814. Meanwhile, another MALDEF-sponsored bill, AB 560 (Goldberg), that would phase out the use of the Concept 6 multi-track year-round educational calendar is also headed for the state Senate. By reducing the school year from the traditional 180 days to 163 days, Concept 6 enables school districts to increase student enrollment at existing schools and avoid having to build new schools, a situation that results in crammed classrooms and reduced learning opportunities for students. The vast majority of students on Concept 6 are low-income Latinos that do not speak English. AB 560 was approved by the Assembly, and was scheduled to be heard on July 2 by the Senate Education Committee.  For more information on AB1244 and AB560, contact MALDEF’s Francisco Estrada at (916) 443-7531 or festrada@maldef.org. DAVIS ADMINISTRATION MOVES TO IMPLEMENT SMART GROWTH BILL OF 2002 The Governor’s Office of Planning and Research (OPR) is making progress in drafting an Environmental Goals and Policy Report (EGPR), an important step toward implementation of AB 857. Signed into law last year, AB 857 establishes progressive state planning priorities, including promotion of infill development, protection of environmental and agricultural resources, and encouragement of efficient development patterns.  The statute requires the OPR to prepare an EGPR every four years, to guide state decisions relating to growth and environmental protection. Under AB 857, the funding portion of the state’s five-year infrastructure plan and individual state agencies’ functional plans are required to be consistent with the planning priorities of the EGPR by January 1, 2005. And EGPR goals must be consistent with new state planning priorities after January 1, 2004. (For more information, see the EGPR website at www.opr.ca.gov/envgoals/envgoals.html) The OPR is currently drafting the EGPR, and is in the process of meeting with staff from a long list of state agencies and departments to develop an understanding of the ways in which state government operates. OPR staff have also discussed the EGPR at a variety of meetings and events and have received input from a broad range of individuals and organizations across the state. The OPR is expected to complete a draft of the EGPR by late September. Among those providing input is California Futures Network (CFN), which has developed detailed comments regarding the EGPR’s content and structure. CFN plans to continue to provide strong involvement and leadership throughout the AB 857 implementation process. (For more information about AB 857, click here.) The next meeting of the Stakeholders Advisory Group will be on August 14 from 1 to 5 p.m. in Sacramento. The meeting will include time for comment on the draft chapters and a discussion of goals and policies. For more information, contact OPR’s Anya Lawler at (916) 324-7941 or Anya.Lawler@opr.ca.gov or CFN’s Julie Spezia at (916) 325-2533 or jspezia@calfutures.org. LEADERSHIP IN CAPITOL TO DECIDE ON PROP 42 CUTS Gov. Davis’ revised state budget proposal, announced May 14, would divert nearly $1 billion in Proposition 42 sales tax revenues from transportation projects to the state’s General Fund. Approved last year by 69% of California voters, Proposition 42 permanently earmarks the sales tax revenues on gasoline for improvements in the state’s highways, streets and transit systems, a move that effectively reinforces the Transportation Congestion Relief Program (TRCP) implemented in 2000. If passed, the governor’s budget proposal would have a disastrous impact on transit agencies (which have come to rely on funds provided through Proposition 42 to cover operating costs) and other transportation programs throughout California. It is estimated, for example, that the State Transit Assistance program (STA) would lose about $40 million in 2003-2004 if Proposition 42 is suspended. State legislators are currently discussing the amount of Proposition 42 transportation money they are willing to transfer to the General Fund. It is anticipated, however, that the governor’s controversial plan will be taken up by the so-called Big Five (Governor, Pro-Tem, Senate Minority Leader, Assembly Speaker and Assembly Minority Leader). We urge you to write your representatives in the state Legislature, urging them to restore as much Proposition 42 money as possible to transportation programs. For more information, contact Joshua Shaw or Tony Rice of the California Transit Association at (916) 446-4656.

The California Transportation Report (CTR) is a publication of the Surface Transportation Policy Project's California offices.  To subscribe, fill out the form available at www.transact.org/ca/submit.htm. STPP has offices in Sacramento, San Francisco, Pittsburgh, New York, Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Washington DC; visit www.transact.org/ca/contact.htm for full contact information.   The Surface Transportation Policy Project is a national coalition of over 200 organizations working for transportation policies and investments that protect neighborhoods, increase access to goods and services, promote social equity, preserve the environment, strengthen the economy, and improve quality of life.