Key MTC committee adopts funding goal; full MTC to vote Oct. 28

On October 9th, the Work Program Committee of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission voted unanimously to recommend restoring $375 million in transit capital shortfalls to the 20 year Regional Transportation Plan (RTP). The eight-to-nothing decision to fully fund transit came after months of grassroots pressure from Transportation and Land Use Coalition members, continued media coverage on the issue Coalition members helped generate, and nearly three hours of testimony from over 40 members of the public calling for prioritizing basic transit maintenance in the $88 billion RTP. "This is a massive victory for the Coalition and other people who rely on transit," Coalition coordinator Stuart Cohen told the Oakland Tribune.

While the committee stopped short of adopting the coalition's proposed list of new highway projects to be bumped to free up funds for transit, they did direct MTC staff to work with the region's nine county Congestion Management Agencies (CMAs) to identify appropriate sources of funds. "I think the Commission has a responsibility to fund transit at one hundred percent," said MTC chair and Solano County representative James P. Spering. "It's what we've heard over and over again from the public. And it's what we should do."

Several MTC commissioners praised the work of the coalition in helping them reach their decision. "The Coalition showed a professional approach and a willingness to work together that I believe might be signaling a new era," noted San Francisco representative Tom Hsieh. "It certainly indicates how far we've come in this region."

If the MTC adopts the Work Program Committee's recommendation, funding will be shifted to make up for anticipated transit capital shortfalls at AC Transit ($51.5M), Golden Gate Transit ($19.6M), Caltrain ($104M), Muni ($.8M) and BART ($199.5M). (The Coalition didn't originally propose fully funding BART, but the Work Program Committee voted to fully fund all regional transit shortfalls.) Specifics regarding how to fund the transit shortfalls will be added to the RTP as an amendment next spring, once MTC and the CMAs have agreed to a detailed list of projects to rescind. The recommendation to fund the $375 million in transit shortfalls in the RTP must still be approved by the full Commission at their scheduled October 28th meeting at 9:30 am.

"In some ways the hard part is still ahead," said Stuart Cohen. "Over the next seven months it will be critical for Coalition members to work with their county agencies to ensure there is support at the local level."

The current planning framework in the Bay Area predicts that sprawling development will take place, and then provides subsidized infrastructure which simply encourages sprawl. The lack of alternatives was apparent in this year's Regional Transportation Plan, which provided five different scenarios -- all of which showed alarming increases in congestion and decreases in the share of trips taken by transit, walking and bicycling. Fortunately, a new Smart Growth planning process may create real change and lead to a wider range of options in the next RTP update, scheduled for the year 2000. The Metropolitan Transportation Commission will vote on an application for funding for this process on October 28.

Smart Growth is a new, broader approach to regional planning. It looks at how more compact development, tied together with a strong transit network, can meet critical environmental and social goals and improve access to homes, workplaces, shopping, and recreation. Another key aspect of Smart Growth is "getting the price right" by providing transit passes and supporting gas taxes or other mechanisms to reduce solo driving.

Smart Growth is already taking place in areas such as San Jose, and has been praised for using land efficiently, facilitating a range of transportation choices and minimizing infrastructure and maintenance costs for communities by keeping development within a confined area.

MTC staff, with a working group including members of the MTC Advisory Council, the Association of Bay Area Governments, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, and the Bay Area Transportation Choices Forum, has crafted a draft Smart Growth proposal. As of October 13, the proposal had three main components:

• Inventory.  Compile previous studies and information for distribution to participants. This should show the potential benefits of Smart Growth and help avoid duplicative efforts.
• Investigation.  This will focus on assessing opportunities, with a look at land use plans and corresponding transportation investments throughout the Bay Area. An analysis of the impacts of these strategies and a large public outreach component would begin at this point.
• Incentives.  This step will look at programs such as the proposed regional gas tax, regional rail plan development, and other potential sources of funds to provide an incentive for local governments interested in implementing Smart Growth policies.

This proposal, to be submitted by November 15, is part of a competitive Smart Growth program overseen by the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Coalition makes headlines with press conference on 100% funding for transit

Public officials from around the Bay Area joined with the Bay Area Transportation and Land Use Coalition on October 7 to call for full funding for transit in the 1998 Regional Transportation Plan. Against a backdrop of steady bus traffic on a busy corner in downtown Oakland, speaker after speaker called on the Metropolitan Transportation Commission to maintain the nuts and bolts of existing transit systems before spending money on costly and controversial highway expansion projects.

"It's an economic issue for the cities," said Mayor Shirley Dean of Berkeley, citing the importance of transit in getting people to work, shopping and school. The Sierra Club's Mike Daley added that without full funding "transit service will not be as reliable, affordable, or frequent as we need it to be. That's bad news for transit riders, as well as for those stuck in ever-worsening congestion."

Surrounded by signs reading "No L.A. Around the Bay" and "Enough Asphalt -- Let's Get Our Priorities Straight," the Coalition proposed a list of highway projects that could be deferred in order to provide for the anticipated regional transit shortfalls. One such project, the $99.8 million Hayward "Bypass," would dislocate almost a thousand people and destroy almost 400 houses, according to Sherman Lewis, of Citizens for Alternative Transportation Solutions.

The conference made headlines in most major papers the next day. The Contra Costa Times summed it up best declaring, "Regional Transportation Plan Is At Crossroads." Members of the MTC Work Program Committee came to that crossroad the next day and chose to fully fund transit (see the article Coalition's call for 100% transit funding adopted). Thank You Commissioners!