Great Communities
The Great
Communities Collaborative is helping Bay Area communities plan
for neighborhoods near transit. With 1.7 million new people
expected over the next 25 years, the Collaborative's goal is
that half of new homes are in walkable neighborhoods that are
near transit and rich with jobs and services. We will work on
the ground in 25 city planning processes and develop a number
of tools to promote great, vibrant communities. |
World-Class
Transportation
An
interconnected system of efficient, cost-effective
transportation modes is the only way to resolve the
Bay Area's transportation crisis.
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Regional Transportation Plan 2009 update
The Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) is
the Metropolitan Transportation Commission’s
25-year, $100+ billion blueprint for how
transportation funding will be spent in the
Bay Area – and a huge opportunity to shape
how the Bay Area grows. This update of the RTP is especially
exciting because MTC has stated their
interest in prioritizing climate change and land use in
decision making. |
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Transportation Fund for Climate Protection:
AB 2744
TALC is sponsoring AB 2744,
a bill that would give Bay Area residents the opportunity to
create a Transportation Fund for Climate Protection. |
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Protect
Public Transportation Funding: 2008-09 State Budget
The 2008-2009 budget process promises to be at least as tough for public
transit as last year's. The state is faced with a $10 billion
shortfall. With gas tax revenue (transit’s source of state
funding) likely to be very high, transit funding is very
likely going to be targeted to help balance the budget. |
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 Safe Routes to
Schools
TALC launched a Safe
Routes to Schools pilot program in 2006. Since then, the Alameda County
Safe Routes to Schools Partnership, spearheaded by
TALC, has received funding to help make it possible to
bring the comprehensive Safe Routes to Schools program
to much of Alameda county, starting in September 2007. |
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 Safe Routes to
Transit
The SR2T Program awards $20 million in
grants to facilitate walking and bicycling to regional transit.
The program is funded by Regional Measure 2, and is administered
by TALC and the East Bay Bicycle Coalition. By improving the
safety and convenience of biking and walking to regional transit,
SR2T will give commuters the opportunity to leave their cars at
home, and reduce congestion on Bay Area bridges. |
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 TravelChoice
TravelChoice provides households with personalized
transportation information with the goal of reducing solo
driving trips by increasing transit usage, biking, and
walking. The program is modeled after numerous successful
projects in the United States and abroad. TALC's 2006
TravelChoice pilot project achieved an impressive 14%
reduction in drive-alone trips. |
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High Speed Rail
If we picture California 30 or 40 years from now, with upwards
of 60 million residents, it is clear that to accommodate this growth
while protecting agricultural and open space, we need a state of the
art transportation system integrated with regional land-use
planning.
TALC has been hired by the California High-Speed Rail
Authority to spearhead outreach to environmental and social
justice organizations across the state. Input from these
groups is being used to help shape strong land use policies,
and ensure that all communities benefit from the project. |
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Bus Rapid Transit
BRT is a revolutionary new approach to public
transit that offers the speed, style and dignity that it
will take to attract a tremendous number of new transit
riders, while dramatically improving service for existing
passengers. A BRT line is currently being planned for the
East Bay along International Boulevard and Telegraph Avenue from Bayfair BART in San Leandro to
downtown Berkeley. TALC is working with East Oakland
residents to make sure residents are fully
informed about the new BRT line and are able to
help shape it to fit their needs. |
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Raising Reliable,
New Transportation Funding
The Transportation Funding Working
Group researches, plans, and leads campaigns to secure funding
for important transportation needs. Past efforts have included
campaigns for Regional Measure 2 (the bridge toll increase),
county sales taxes, and a vehicle license fee. In 2006, TALC led
a successful campaign for dedicating Prop 42 and Spillover
funding to transit in the state budget. |
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Bicycle and
Pedestrian Access and Safety |
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South
Bay/Santa Clara County
The Valley Transportation Authority (VTA)
has announced widespread bus and light rail cuts. 65 out of
72 lines will be negatively impacted. These are on top of
last years cuts, but they may just be the beginning of
another round! |
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Transportation
Equity and Community Health (TEACH)
TEACH is a comprehensive effort to promote
transportation access, equity and better health for
low-income and people-of-color communities by
increasing participation in transportation decisions
and investments. |
Legislation
Based on requests from Coalition Member
Groups,
TALC takes positions on transportation and land use bills that
specifically affect the nine-county Bay Area. |
PAST CAMPAIGNS
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2007 |
Protect
Public Transportation Funding: 2007-08 State Budget
TALC faced a tough fight when the Governor’s initial budget for
2007-08 proposed to cut more than $1.1 billion in dedicated
public transit funding. TALC fought hard against the Governor's
proposal. TALC made major inroads with legislators in identifying
the structural budget problems that make transit funds
vulnerable. Unfortunately, by the end of the budget process,
nearly $1.2 billion in transit funds were redirected to general
fund purposes. |
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2006 |
AB 2444 --
vehicle registration fee for transit
In 2006, TALC sponsored AB 2444, a bill to reinstate the $10
vehicle registration fee. It was passed by the legislature and
would have raised $50 million a year for priority transportation
improvement and environmental protection projects. However, it
was vetoed by the Governor. |
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2005 |
Transit-Supportive Land-Use Campaign |
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2004 |
2004 Regional
Transportation Plan
In 2004, MTC once again updated the RTP, which is called
Transportation 2030 and covers the years 2005 through
2030. The RTP update represents a tremendous opportunity to
plan how we invest in our transportation infrastructure. |
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2004 |
Yes on Measure A - Marin County
TALC endorsed Measure A, Marin County’s transportation sales
tax, which appeared on the November 2004 ballot. The measure
has a strong focus on local transit and an unprecedented
commitment to Safe Routes to Schools. If passed, Marin County’s
transportation sales tax can serve as a great model for other
counties. |
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2004 |
Yes on
Measure
J - Contra Costa County
TALC endorsed Measure J (formerly known as Measure C).
The existing Measure C is a transportation sales tax initiative that was approved by voters in Contra Costa County in 1988. Though the sales tax does not expire until 2009, the Contra Costa Transportation Authority (CCTA)
has created a new spending plan and growth management program,
known as "Measure J," that will appear on the November 2004
ballot. |
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2004 |
Regional Measure 2 - the Bridge Toll
Increase for Transit
TALC played a
leading role in developing Regional Measure 2, a one-dollar
bridge toll increase to fund public transit. Many of the top
objectives from TALC's
World
Class Transit for the Bay Area report became part
of the plan, including over $10 million per year for a regional
express bus system, funding for the extension of Caltrain to a
new Transbay Terminal, and Bus Rapid Transit in the East Bay. It
also contained two TALC proposals: All Nighter late-night bus
service to connect BART stations, and the first-ever Safe Routes
to Transit program. TALC played a leading role in building
grassroots and media support for the plan, which was passed by
voters by 56%. |
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2004 |
Stopping Governor Schwarzenegger's cuts to AC Transit and BART
TALC
stopped damaging cuts to transit that
Governor Schwarzenegger had proposed.
The Governor agreed to dramatically
scale back cuts to AC Transit, BART and
the Marin County Transit District. |
| 2003 |
AC Transit Bus Passes for low-income
youth |
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2002 |
 All Nighter: late-night bus service
to connect BART stations
In 2001, TALC proposed and began
advocating for the All Nighter because
BART is unable to offer all-night service.
To help bring the All Nighter from concept
to reality, TALC played a leading role
in developing Regional Measure 2, which funds a number of projects, including the All Nighter.
Today, the All Nighter's late-night bus service connects
BART stations with convenient timed transfers between
routes. |
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2002 |
Solano County Sales Tax
The Solano Transportation Authority placed a new $1
billion, 20-year transportation sales tax on the
ballot in November 2002. Deciding what to include in the
sales tax offers Solano County an unprecedented
opportunity to choose investments that will expand
transportation choices and build a safer and more livable
county. Initial planning documents suggested STA's plan
would focus largely on highway construction, but elected
officials and community groups have demanded a balanced plan
that invests in mass transit and planning incentives
for smart growth. |
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2002 |
BART Budget Crisis
With
plummeting ridership and decreased tax revenue, BART faced
an anticipated $28.1 million shortfall. With BART proposing fare
increases and service cuts, TALC came up with a different solution: parking fees.
That's because free parking encourages
driving, increases neighborhood congestion, and worsens air
pollution. BART adopted some of the components of TALC's
proposal and today there are limited parking fees at some stations. |
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2002 |
Hayward
Bypass
The
devastating "Hayward Bypass", proposed by Caltrans
as a new freeway bulldozed through neighborhoods and open
space, was defeated, primarily by the efforts of the Hayward
Area Planning Association. |
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2001 |
2001
Regional Transportation
Plan
After a nine-month effort to shift
funding priorities in MTC’s 2001
Regional Transportation Plan
turned out hundreds of community
advocates, MTC Commissioners
responded by including several
TALC priorities: tripling the
Transportation for Livable
Communities and Housing Incentive
Programs to $27-million per year,
the extension of Caltrain to
downtown San Francisco, and a
region-wide express-bus network. |
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2000 |
Alameda
County Measure B
In
1998, social justice and
environmental groups were at odds
over Measure B, Alameda County’s
transportation sales tax, and it
failed at the ballot box with 58%
(needing a two-thirds vote). TALC
was called in to develop a strong
common platform and unite these
groups during the next attempt to
pass the tax in 2000. With a
unified environmental/community
alliance, TALC was able to shift
$186 million in the new
expenditure plan to public
transit, paratransit, and bicycle and
pedestrian safety. In total, over
80% of the investments in the $1.4
billion initiative were part of
the Coalition platform. The new
measure got consensus support and,
following a grassroots campaign
led by TALC, Alameda County voters
passed it with a record-breaking
81% yes vote. |
Update:
05/08/2008 |
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