Coalition Update

Bay Area Transportation and Land Use Coalition: Spring 1998

The Bay Area Transportation and Land Use Coalition is comprised of over 30 member organizations. Together, we encourage public agencies, private developers, and groups of concerned citizens to promote policies and take actions leading to a Bay Area with intelligent, sustainable land use patterns and an efficient and equitable transportation system.

Coalition prepares for 1998 Regional Transportation Plan -- the twenty-year "blueprint" for Bay Area transportation investment

 The Bay Area Transportation and Land Use Coalition is gearing up for the 1998 update of the Regional Transportation Plan (RTP). The RTP, updated every two years by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), is the "blueprint" that will guide transportation investment in the Bay Area for the next twenty years. The 1998 RTP is projected to cover $88 billion in project and program funding.

On January 8, coalition members presented the MTC with five recommendations to help guide the RTP update. Already 31 groups (see page two) have endorsed the Coalition's letter with these recommendations.

It appears the Coalition's work is already paying off: members of the MTC's support staff have developed a proposal, now pending approval by the commission members, that echos the Coalition's call for increased funding for MTC's land use activities. The staff's proposal would increase the budget for sustainable land use activities from $150,000 this year to an eventual level of $5 million per year -- the exact amount recommended by the Coalition. Coalition members will continue to work with MTC to ensure that this program is effectively implemented.

The Coalition is now gathering support for the other recommendations, especially the idea of having clear performance goals in the RTP. Currently, the plan sets out a number of rather vague principles as its goals. The Coalition recommends that the RTP have within it clear, quantifiable goals and an analysis of which RTP alternatives meet those goals. Other regions of California, including Los Angeles, have adopted goals related to the performance of their Regional Transportation Plans.

MTC will be holding workshops covering the RTP on April 18, April 25, and May 2, each in a different part of the Bay Area. For specific information on the workshops or to be put on the MTC's mailing list, please call the MTC at (510) 464-7700. For more information on the Coalition, call Stuart Cohen at (510)740-3100.

Five Coalition Recommendations

For the 1998 RTP update, the Coalition recommends:

  • developing specific performance goals with regard to improving air quality, creating livable communities, and improving access to activities and employment for all Bay Area residents;

  • offering a range of actions to meet those goals;

  • developing additional funding for MTC's land use activities;

  • revising the project scoring criteria to more closely support the objectives of the RTP; and

  • expanding outreach efforts.

Groups Supporting the Coalition's RTP recommendations:

Albany/El Cerrito Access
Bay Area Action
Bay Area Transportation Choices Forum
Bus Riders Union
East Bay Bicycle Coalition
Emergency Services Network
Environmental Defense Fund
Fisher and Hall Urban Design
Greenbelt Alliance
ICLEI (International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives)
Latino Issues Forum
Mission Housing Development Corporation
National Trust for Historic Preservation
Natural Resources Defense Council
North Bay Environmental Institute
Peninsula Rail 2000
Rails-to-Trails Conservancy
San Francisco Bicycle Coalition
San Francisco Tomorrow
Sierra Club
Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition
Sonoma County Transportation Coalition
Spanish Speaking Unity Council
Surface Transportation Policy Project
Sustainable San Francisco
Synergy Business Solutions
Tri-City Ecology Center
Union of Concerned Scientists
Urban Ecology
Urban Habitat Program
World Institute on Disability

Highways favored in plan for state funds

The Metropolitan Transportation Commission passed a six-year plan for allocating state transportation funds, called the Regional Transportation Improvement Plan (RTIP), over the protests of Coalition members at a March 18 hearing. This plan for spending over $600 million is heavily biased towards highway expansion. Many important multimodal projects were dropped off the final list to make room for extremely expensive highway projects. (The RTIP, a short-term funding plan, is not to be confused with the longer-term Regional Transportation Plan, or RTP.)

Although Coalition members were not able to stop the RTIP from passing, the Coalition's presence was strongly acknowledged and received significant media attention. MTC staff proposed, and reiterated several times in the hearing, that future federal funds (ISTEA II) will be used to "balance" this lopsided plan. According to the MTC staff, these funds would be used to ensure that transit, bicycle, and pedestrian facilities, and maintenance of the existing system get a fair share of the overall state and federal funding picture combined.

The strong showing at these hearings, and the media attention it garnered, puts the Coalition in a strong position as it advocates a better allocation of federal funds than was achieved with state funds. MTC's current position on these funds, that they will not be used very much for highway expansion, will undoubtedly come under attack by highway interests. Continued involvement by Coalition members will be essential. Kudos to all who attended the public hearing, and especially to Rachel Peterson of Urban Ecology for organizing the media effort and to John Holtzclaw, the most quoted speaker at the hearing.

Coalition members get active in land use planning

Taking their cue from Angelo Siracusa, who from his seat on the Metropolitan Transportation Commission urged the Coalition to actively support infill projects, a few Coalition members have volunteered to develop a draft action plan to be presented at the March 25 meeting of the Coalition.

The draft action plan would present a range of land use activities in which the Coalition, or its individual members, could become involved. Some ideas include endorsing compact development proposals that meet environmental and equity criteria (such as those previously developed by Greenbelt Alliance), and getting groups and individuals to attend city or county hearings to support these developments. Another approach is to use the Coalition's power to actively approach sprawl developments.

Finally, the Coalition and its individual members can get involved in city or county policy decisions, for example supporting proposals for urban growth boundaries.

If you are interested in helping develop this action plan, please call Kari Smith, Policy Director for Greenbelt Alliance, at (415) 398-3730.

Get Involved!

Get your city or county to pass a supporting resolution. Many cities and counties stand to gain from compact growth and increased investment in public transit. The Coalition now has a sample resolution that can be adapted to any city or county in the Bay Area.

Spread the word about the RTP workshops given by MTC. These workshops will be a good introduction to the issue, and as many people should be there as possible.

Come to the next Coalition meeting. Call (510) 740-3100 or e-mail Stuart Cohen for information on the next meeting.

Have your group endorse the recommendation letter. The letter from Coalition members to MTC, recommending changes in the Regional Transportation Plan, is still taking sign-ons. We will give an update to the MTC in late April.

Bay Area Transportation and Land Use Coalition
 Stuart Cohen, Coordinator
Phone: (510) 740-3150
Fax: (510) 740-3131
414 13th St., 5th Floor
Oakland, CA 94612
E-mail: stucohen@igc.org

Thanks to all the Coalition members for their dedication and support, and especially to Aaron Priven for editing and typesetting this newsletter, as well as placing it on the web.