HIGHLIGHTS:
GROUPS WANT MORE MONEY FOR TRANSPORTATION
ENERGY BILLS SMALL COMPARED TO CA DRIVING COSTS
HOUSING PROJECTIONS CHANCE FOR SMARTER GROWTH
PEDESTRIAN PROGRAMS TO GET BIG BOOST IN COMING YEAR

STATE BRIEFS:
Central valley pedestrian safety summits
CHP listens to traffic ideas
Amtrak misses chance in fed budget deal
new CA coalition hiring staff
VMT fee to replace gas tax?
Quotable

GROUPS PUSHING NEW TRANSPORTATION FUNDING MEASURES; SEVERAL PROPOSALS MAY BE IN PLAY

State lawmakers, interest groups and Davis administration officials are all reportedly considering their own versions of new funding for statewide transportation projects in 2001 due in large part to revised financial projections that could translate into a state budget surplus upwards of $10 billion. Despite the Governor's 5 year, $6.8 billion proposal approved by the legislature in 2000, transportation agencies and advocates alike continue to press their cases for additional financing.

Top administration officials may be mulling a one- time expenditure of a billion dollars or more from the budget surplus, while local agencies and city and county representatives are building support for locking in the temporary 5 year shift of the sales tax on gasoline included in the Governor's Traffic Congestion Relief Plan (AB2928). Worth nearly $1 billion a year, the capture of sales tax on gas was folded in to the Governor's plan as a compromise with local officials and GOP lawmakers with a 40%-40%-20% split among capital (STIP) funding, local streets and roads and the Public Transportation Account (PTA). At the same time, the Planning and Conservation League and others are developing a major funding proposal for a broad range of transportation programs and projects that many feel have been overlooked both in the Governor's plan as well as within traditional transportation spending programs. The measure would likely contain new funds for air quality, transit, rail freight, bicycle, pedestrian and transit- oriented development projects and may be unveiled as early as January. For more details on the PCL proposal contact Eddy Moore at 916.444.8726 or emoore@pcl.org, or visit http://www.pcl.org.
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TRANSPORTATION TAKING HUGE BITE OUT OF CALIFORNIAN'S HOUSEHOLD BUDGET; SPRAWLING COMMUNITIES COST CONSUMERS MORE

A new study co-authored by the Surface Transportation Policy Project and the Center for Neighborhood Technology names transportation as the second highest household expense for most Californians, greater than all personal spending on health care, education and utilities combined. The report, titled Driven to Spend, determined the average household in the Bay Area, Los Angeles and San Diego usually spends over $7,000 a year on transportation, 98% of which is dedicated to vehicle ownership and operation.

Yet a more detailed analysis of the Bay Area and Southern California shows enormous variations in spending depending on where people live. Families living closer to transit and in more walkable neighborhoods typically own fewer cars, drive one-fourth as many miles and can save as much as $6,000 a year over their counterparts in more sprawling, spread out communities. That differential has prompted several financial institutions to begin factoring transportation costs into their monthly debt calculations, rewarding homebuyers in more transit- accessible neighborhoods with as much as $60,000 in increased purchasing power through a higher mortgage. Dubbed the "Location Efficient Mortgage (LEM)", the pilot program has been unveiled in the Bay Area, Los Angeles, Chicago and Seattle through Fannie Mae and Countrywide Home Loans. The study calls for expanding the LEM in addition to the development of mileage-based insurance, car sharing programs and the construction of affordable housing near transit. To read the report visit http://www.transact.org/ca/.
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STATE REQUIREMENTS FOR NEW HOUSING SEEN AS CRITICAL OPPORTUNITY FOR INFILL DEVELOPMENT

New projections for "fair share" housing needs published by the state Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) are angering some local jurisdictions but energizing housing and environmental advocates who see an opportunity to help ease California's housing crunch while promoting more compact growth patterns. HCD is releasing its figures based on state Department of Finance population estimates for the next six years region by region through the councils of governments (COGs). Local jurisdictions in each area in turn receive numerical targets that must be incorporated in an update of their housing elements within twelve months.

The Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) recently released their nine county housing need targets based on a sophisticated jobs-housing balance formula that aims to provide a range of affordable housing opportunities closer to work sites and in existing urban areas.

Acutely aware that plans to develop infill housing will be strongly opposed by vocal neighbors, the Bay Area Transportation and Land Use Coalition has launched a campaign to support infill development, zoning for higher densities along transit corridors and streamlining of the local approval and permitting process as each of the Bay Area's jurisdictions prepares to redo its housing element by December 31, 2001. Jurisdictions within the five county region covered by the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) were supposed to have completed housing element updates by December 31st of this year, but so far have fallen 66,000 units short of its 504,000 unit target. Failure to meet targets or revise housing elements can result in a loss of federal or state funds, though housing advocates say the penalties need to be stiffer. Central Valley and Monterey Bay counties will be the next to receive regional housing need targets and will have until June 2002 to revise housing elements. The remaining California counties must have their updates completed by June 2003. For a full schedule of housing element revision deadlines visit http://www.hcd.ca.gov/hpd/hrc/plan/he/he_time.htm. For more information on the Bay Area fair share housing campaign, contact Tim Iglesias at the Nonprofit Housing Association of Northern California, 415.989.8160 x15
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NEW PEDESTRIAN FUNDING, POLICIES, ON TAP FOR 2001

After two consecutive years of successful state legislation and millions of dollars in new funding, pedestrian safety advocates are hoping for another big year in 2001. The landmark Safe Routes to School bill signed by Governor Davis is up for renewal as the two year pilot program expire will in December 2001. After winning election to the State Senate largely on a Safe Routes to School platform, the bill's original author, former Assemblywoman Nell Soto (D-Pomona), has already introduced Senate Bill 10 to reauthorize the legislation. Advocates are hoping to make the program permanent and increase its size from $20 million to $50 million annually with an infusion of general fund revenues from the state budget surplus. Caltrans is also preparing to solicit applications from local governments for the second round of Safe Routes to School grants due in April 2001. In addition, and as a result of the passage of the STPP-sponsored AB2522 (Shelley), an additional $8 million will be made available to local governments for more general pedestrian safety projects and education programs.

A similar competitive grant process and application procedure for the new fund will be released by Caltrans in the coming weeks -- applications will likely be due in May 2001. AB2522, the Pedestrian Safety Act of 2000, also contains several provisions that will become effective January 1st 2001, including a new law that requires at least 30 days of public notice before a crosswalk can be removed with a provision for citizens to request a public hearing. In addition, AB2522 requires at least one question on pedestrian rights on every drivers test and related curriculum in traffic schools, a new ‹due careŠ clause for drivers approaching pedestrians in crosswalks, prohibitions on vehicles blocking crosswalks except for right turns on red, and new fines for blocking or failing to yield to pedestrians in crosswalks or on sidewalks in front of driveways. Language for AB2522 can be found at http://www.assembly.ca.gov under ‹legislation.Š Caltrans guidelines and application forms for both Safe Routes to School funding and the new pedestrian safety fund will soon be available through the Office of Local Programs or by visiting http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/LocalPrograms/.
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Central valley pedestrian safety summits

STPP, in collaboration with local officials and grassroots networks across the Central Valley, is convening a series of pedestrian safety forums scheduled for March 8-10 in Fresno, Sacramento, and Modesto in order to engage the public in meaningful dialogue with decisionmakers; the forums will bring together stakeholders and citizens from a variety of backgrounds to help build consensus on pedestrian safety solutions and develop a community action plan (more info: Julie Rosenberg, STPP, 415.956.7835)
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CHP listens to traffic ideas

The California Highway Patrol wrapped up a series of traffic congestion and road safety forums in December designed to seek public input on the Governor's $6.8 billion Traffic Congestion Relief Plan; the CHP will be assembling comments in a document they hope to release to the legislature by July (Fresno Bee 12/17).
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Amtrak misses chance in fed budget deal

A potentially lucrative proposal to authorize $10 billion in federal bonding authority for Amtrak that could have benefited several intercity rail corridors in California was dropped at the last minute from the final omnibus FY2001 budget deal; US Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-MS) refused to include the item but agreed to take the matter up shortly after the 107th Congress convenes in January.
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New CA coalition hiring staff

A new statewide transportation coalition including STPP, the Planning and Conservation League, Latino Issues Forum, the California Futures Network, Odyssey 2020 and others are hiring a fulltime staffperson to build the coalition, conduct outreach and develop a statewide public education campaign; more info: emoore@pcl.org or visit http://www.transact.org/ca/ for full job description
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VMT fee to replace gas tax?

California has joined eight other states and the Federal Highway Administration in a study concerning whether mileage- based user fees could provide a realistic alternative to the gas tax; the study will be examining the potential for global positioning systems (GPS) to charge drivers based on distance driven and replace the surcharge at the pump (Contra Costa Times 12/18)
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QUOTABLE

It is the intent of the Legislature that all levels of government in the state, particularly the Department of Transportation [Caltrans], work to provide convenient and safe passage for pedestrians on and across all streets and highways, increase levels of walking and pedestrian travel, and reduce pedestrian fatalities and injuries.
new language added by Assembly Bill 2522 to the California Vehicle Code Section 21949 (b) effective January 1st, 2001.

Affordable housing is a critical environmental issue. Precious farmland and open space are being paved over as people desperate for housing are forced to move farther and farther out just to put a roof over their family's head.
Greenbelt Alliance Executive Director Tom Steinbach at the unveiling of the Bay Area Transportation and Land Use Coalition's "fair share housing" campaign." As quoted in the San Jose Mercury News, 11/26/00.
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