HIGHLIGHTS:
TRANSPORTATION FUNDING PROPOSALS FORWARDED
NEW TRANSPORTATION BILLS INTRODUCED
LAKE TAHOE'S DISAPPEARING CROSSWALKS
BYPASS CONTROVERSY DIVIDES NORTH COAST TOWN

PLUS:
Bold TOD plan for San Jose
School bus emissions targeted
Crumbling bridges
Sprawl threatening CA wildlife
San Diego Housing Project
Quotable

INTEREST GROUPS INTRODUCE NEW TRANSPO FUNDING PROPOSALS; ADVOCATES CALL FOR SMART GROWTH LINKAGE

In an attempt to inject additional state funding into transportation projects, several legislative proposals have been advanced to pump an additional $1B to $2B a year into road, highway and transit projects statewide. AB227 authored by Assemblymember John Longville (D-Rialto) would make permanent the five year shift of the sales tax on gasoline towards transportation projects. The capture of the sales tax on gas generates roughly $1 billion annually. Without a change in the existing formula agreed to as part of the Governor's Traffic Congestion Relief Plan (AB2928 of 2000), the revenues would be split 40% for local street and road repairs, 40% for highway projects, and 20% for transit projects (see CTR v02n01). Yet many transit and transportation reform groups are calling for a shift in the formula funds that would favor transit and smart growth efforts. The California Transit Association is sponsoring SB829, introduced by Senator Betty Karnette (D-Long Beach), to split the sales tax revenues equally among the existing programmatic categories, with each receiving one-third of the funding after 2006. A letter to the Governor and the legislature sent by over 50 groups in early February also urges stronger smart growth and housing linkages connected with any new transportation funding. The letter proposes splitting the future revenues equally among local street and road repairs, transit and smart growth measures. Finally, the Planning and Conservation League (PCL) has introduced a transportation funding proposal worth more than $1.9 billion a year. Capturing the sales tax revenues on new car and truck sales that currently flow into the general fund, the PCL proposal (AB321, Vargas) would redirect the funds towards a variety of programs including commuter rail, urban transit, transit-oriented development, clean fuel programs and highway repairs. Yet the chances that the PCL proposal or any other new transportation funding measures will prevail this year appear to be getting slimmer as the energy crisis and a worsening economic outlook distract lawmakers and chip away at the potential budget surplus. Legislative hearings on all the measures will begin in late March or early April. To view the full text of the legislative measures mentioned above visit www.leginfo.ca.gov To see the 50+ group sign on letter to the governor and the legislature click here
Back to Top

DOZENS OF NEW TRANSPO BILLS INTRODUCED BEFORE DEADLINE

A flurry of new transportation bills were introduced before the February 23rd legislative deadline, including everything from the creation of a new state Pedestrian Safety and Access Commission to including traffic congestion as an eligible "state of emergency". In addition to several new funding measures (see previous article), other recent legislative proposals focus on transit-oriented development, broadening funding eligibility, establishing performance measures and school transportation needs. The California Transit Association and STPP are co-sponsoring AB381 (Papan) to provide incentives for building housing near transit. The bill, modeled after a popular San Mateo County pilot program (see CTR v01n03), would provide incentive grants to local governments for transit-oriented housing, as well as matching funds for local and regional agencies willing to set aside highway funding for TOD programs. The landmark Safe Routes to School bill of 1999 will be reauthorized and made permanent under SB10 (Soto) co-sponsored by STPP and the California Bicycle Coalition. Several other measures addressing school transportation problems include SB568 (Morrow), SB999 (Torlakson), AB1213 (Liu) and SB1068 (Speier) that would issue a $200 million bond to reduce emissions and improve safety of school buses. Senator Karnette has also introduced SCA3 (ironically the same bill number as Senator Burton's 1999 effort on local transportation sales taxes) to remove restrictions on state gas tax revenues and allow funding for transit capital and operations. The bold measure would reverse the state constitutional prohibition on funding transit operations and equipment from gas tax revenues, a restriction that was inserted into many state constitutions in the 1920s and '30s at the insistence of emerging auto clubs and highway interests. While California relaxed its restrictions on gas tax revenues to allow rail construction expenditures (so-called "fixed guideways") through the passage of Proposition 5 in 1974, legislation to allow broader eligibility encompassing all operating costs for transit will undoubtedly draw vehement opposition from construction interests and highway groups. For more additional bills and further details on state legislation click here
Back to Top

TAHOE TOWNS WIN BACK CROSSWALKS

Several towns on the shores of Lake Tahoe have succeeded in reversing Caltrans policy and winning back several key crosswalks that serve as critical connections between commercial areas, lodging and beaches all along the west and north shores of the lake. With each winter's snow, the area's lakeside towns lose all their pavement markings to snowploughs, crosswalks included. But beginning several years ago, more than a dozen key crosswalks at unsignalized intersections along state highways 28 and 89 were dropped from the spring restriping activities. Although consistent with a Caltrans policy discouraging crosswalks anywhere other than intersections with signals or stop signs, residents were nonetheless upset at the prospect of losing critical pedestrian crossings in several towns where signals or stops signs are few and far between; so upset that they took matters into their own hands and quietly repainted several crosswalks late at night. Caltrans finally agreed to restripe three of the missing crossings after a growing number of local business and newspapers took on their cause and California Highway Patrol officers complained about spending a majority of their time stopping traffic for pedestrians. "We were paying CHP officers $50 an hour overtime to be crossing guards," explains Truckee-North Tahoe Transportation Management Association Director Jennifer Merchant. "They helped us convince their colleagues that it wasn't worth it, that we needed the crosswalks back and more." Lakeside towns are promoting more visible crosswalk designs and are still trying to get at least a dozen other missing crosswalks repainted. For more information contact Jennifer Merchant at the Truckee- North Tahoe Transportation Management Association: tnttma@thegrid.net.
Back to Top

NORTH COAST COMMUNITY SPLIT OVER BYPASS PROPOSAL

A plan to bypass the Mendocino County town of Willits with a four-lane freeway that's been on the books since the 1950s has deeply divided a community unsure of the road's impacts on local businesses, quality of life, and nearby natural habitats. US Highway 101--a Caltrans-owned and operated facility that sweeps through and around hundreds of towns from the Oregon border south to Los Angeles--also serves as the town's main street, dumping traffic and trucks onto the community's main commercial thoroughfare morning, noon and night. Yet the alternative seems even more disruptive to many local residents and business owners who fear a draining of local commerce and jobs away from downtown and out to new establishments at the bypass interchanges. With only 7,000 vehicles a day of through traffic, some town residents and business owners have proposed a smaller version of the bypass, a two-lane facility designed mostly for trucks and longer haul passenger traffic. Yet both Caltrans and the Mendocino Council of Governments are defending their plans for a $117 million, 4-lane freeway. Officials cite engineering design standards, safety concerns and the state's "route concept report" for a continuous 4-lane facility for the entire length of highway 101. And building a freeway style bypass, they say, will anticipate future traffic increases that could climb to 14,000 vehicles a day by 2020. But others believe the time has come to question whether bigger bypasses are really better. "This is Caltrans trying to shape the community to accept a traditional four-lane freeway, rather than shaping the road to accept the existing community," explains David Drell, founder of the Willits Environmental Center and one of the two-lane bypass proponents. "They still want it to be the north coast I-5, that's how it was planned back in the 1950s...they're not willing to let the old vision go." For more information on the two-lane bypass proposal contact David Drell at the Willits Environmental Center, 707.459.2643.
Back to Top

Bold TOD plan for San Jose

San Jose recently approved setting aside 100 acres of land around the city's growing light rail system for the future construction of 7,000 new homes; 11,000 housing units have already been built or are under construction along the city's Guadalupe light-rail line and last year alone building permits for multifamily homes outstripped single-family permits by a ratio of more than 2-to-1 (SJ Merc 2/21)
Back to Top

School bus emissions targeted

the South Coast Air Quality Management District is mulling a proposal to require school districts to switch to natural gas buses as they replace or expand their fleets; the requirement for new fueling facilities along with vehicle purchase costs that can much as 30 percent higher has drawn strong criticism from local school transportation coordinators, although public health advocates and others are pointing to transportation revenues as a possible funding source (Riverside P-E, 2/22)
Back to Top

Crumbling bridges

A national survey by the Associated Press found that 29 percent of the nation's 587,000+ bridges are structurally deficient, California's bridge conditions are identical to the national average; a separate report from Transportation California--a lobbying group representing the state's road construction industry--ranked California's road pavement conditions 47th nationwide (SF Examiner 2/20)
Back to Top

Sprawl threatening CA wildlife

A new report by the National Wildlife Federation ranks urban sprawl top on its list of threats to endangered species in California; development imperils 188 of the 286 listed species in the state according to the group, while nationally threats from non-native species tops the list and sprawl ranks second (http://www.nwf.org/smartgrowth/pavingpress.html; LA Times 2/21)
Back to Top

San Diego Housing Project

The Solana Beach City Council approved a new housing project within walking distance from the San Diego suburb's commuter rail station in late February, including 22 new houses and three below-market apartments; while touted as "smart growth" the development was scaled down from an original proposal of 45 homes and a 10-unit affordable apartment complex due to neighborhood opposition (SDUT 2/22
Back to Top

QUOTABLE

More and more places are realizing if they want to grow smartly, to deal with all these concerns of slipping quality of life, transit's got to play a significant role. --UC Berkeley Professor Robert Cervero, commenting on the recent approval of a $7 billion transit plan for San Diego County that will focus largely on express and local bus networks. As quoted in the San Diego Union Tribune, 2/21/01.

Back to Top