Regional Transportation Plan Campaign Update

After nine months of hard work, the Coalition has won several key victories in shaping the Regional Transportation Plan - the document which describes how over $80 billion in transportation funding will be spent. However, our work is not over and many important issues remain unresolved.

The 25-year RTP and its companion, the Regional Transit Expansion Policy (RTEP), are in the final stages of development by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC). The Coalition has been actively involved in the development of the RTP and RTEP: submitting proposals, organizing to increase the amount of community participation and lobbying to improve the documents. At the beginning of the process, in January 2001, we compiled a nine-point platform for the RTP. A point-by-point analysis of our progress thus far, is available at www.transcoalition.org/rtp/platformupdate.html. A summary of major victories and remaining issues follows below.

Key Victories
Increased TLC/HIP funding. The Coalition and our allies succeeded in increasing funding for the Transportation for Livable Communities/Housing Incentives Program from $9 million to $27 million. These programs provide funds for Smart Growth development, and are crucial to changing the long-term future of land use in the Bay Area. We will continue to work for increased attention to transit-oriented development, including the use of regional Smart Growth projections that are now being developed (see Smart Growth article below) in the next RTP in 2004.
100% funding for transit. Despite strong opposition from the highway lobby and top MTC staff, we have succeeded in preserving a commitment to fund 100% of transit capital maintenance needs!
Free student bus passes. The Coalition, our allies, and several elected officials worked together to seek a pilot program of free bus passes for low-income youth. This program will promote social equity by ensuring that low-income youth are not denied access to education. Although the final details of this program have not yet been written, MTC commissioners have stated, at a public meeting, that they will include this proposal in the RTP.

Remaining Concerns
While some important successes have been achieved, there are still several topics of concern to the Coalition. Please join us in asking MTC to make the following changes:

• Destructive, sprawl-inducing projects are still included in the RTP, and should be removed. For example, the Hayward Bypass, which will require the demolition of the homes of over 1,000 people, is still listed for funding.
• The Regional Bicycle Master Plan needs to receive funding to become a reality. In addition, MTC should strive to guarantee safe bicycle, pedestrian, and wheelchair access to transit hubs. Plans for such access should be a criterion for funding in the RTEP.
• The Lifeline Transit Network - which would provide 24/7 transit service to those who need it most - should receive funding. It should be included in the RTEP, and should receive first priority for any new funding sources that become available.

RTEP development should take place with a comprehensive, public and thoughtful process. It should not be completed until the spring of 2002 when the results of several important studies, and the potential for new funding, will be known. Projects should be chosen according to all of MTC's criteria, along with social equity goals - not simply based on which ones have the most money in the bank.

Smart Growth Workshops Completed - Distillation Begins

The current planning framework in the Bay Area predicts that sprawling development will take place, and then provides subsidized infrastructure which simply encourages sprawl. A series of workshops throughout the region took place in September and October with the goal of envisioning and building support for smarter patterns of development.

The regional workshops owe their existence, in part, to advocacy by the Coalition, and are co-sponsored by the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG), MTC and the Alliance for Sustainable Development. They aim to achieve support among public officials, civic leaders and stakeholder organizations for a preferred land use pattern that will inform how the Bay Area could grow over the next 20 years

Since August, the Coalition has been reaching out to interested organizations and individuals to encourage them to participate in the workshops, and to show them how to apply Smart Growth principles to the workshop mapping exercise. The Coalition conducted pre-workshop trainings for over 100 people across the region. Participants have been enthusiastic bout the trainings, describing them as "very helpful in knowing what to expect and what we could do to get our points across." The Coalition also created a new brochure to help explain key Smart Growth terms to people new to the concepts of: livable, walkable communities, transportation choices, a better supply of housing at all price levels, and social equity.

So far, the Smart Growth process seems to be working as hoped. The workshops have produced a range of alternative growth scenarios for each county, most of which achieve target levels of job and housing growth by clustering development around transit hubs and downtowns while avoiding development in farmland and open areas. According to a survey of workshop participants, roughly one-third had never participated in shaping a local or regional growth plan before, and the overwhelming majority would be very or somewhat interested in participating in a second round of workshops to select the preferred regional alternative.

The next stage of the process will be distillation of the workshop results into three region-wide "thematic alternatives." This stage is critical, and BATLUC will be watching closely to ensure that these alternatives faithfully represent the full range of visions that have emerged from the workshops. Finally, ABAG will hold a second round of workshops in the spring, to present the three thematic alternatives and allow citizens to select the one they prefer and to build support for their implementation. This preferred alternative will be forwarded to the ABAG Board for formal adoption. If adopted by ABAG, it will guide transportation investments in the 2004 Regional Transportation Plan (see RTP article on page 1). More significantly, we hope it will provide a workable vision for change and break the self-fulfilling prophecy of sprawl once and for all.

To get involved in the Coalition's Smart Growth campaign, contact campaign coordinator Jessica Rothhaar at Jessica@RothhaarCom.com or (510) 525-4921. To request copies of the new Smart Growth brochure, A Region of Neighborhoods, contact Alice Watson at alice@transcoalition.org or (510) 740-3150.

Housing Report Cards on the Way

This is an exciting and busy time for housing and smart growth advocates as Bay Area communities work to finish updating their housing elements by the end of 2001. The housing elements are the first formal requirement in a decade for California communities to plan for the housing needs of current and future residents.

The updating process is a perfect window in which to push communities to change restrictive zoning policies that discourage compact and transit-oriented development, to dedicate more funding for affordable housing, and require market-rate developments to include affordable housing. To carry this work forward Coalition members Greenbelt Alliance and the Non-Profit Housing Association of Northern California (NPH) are leading the Fair Share Housing Campaign.

As of October 1st, just over half of local cities and counties had released drafts of their housing elements - some of which are bold and innovative and others less so. To encourage planners to incorporate best practices, NPH, Greenbelt Alliance, and local housing advocates are producing Report Cards on these draft housing elements. Using objective criteria, local advocates of smart growth and affordable housing will examine each community's proposed policies, praise good efforts, and suggest ways to improve.

In addition to garnering media attention, the report cards will enable city-to-city comparisons to better understand which communities are doing their fair share of meeting housing needs. Report card recommendations can encourage local planners to improve their housing elements before submitting them to the state, and will also form the basis for comment letters from local activists about inferior housing elements.

There are plenty of opportunities to get involved in local organizing efforts. For example, local housing advocates are planning report card grading parties where they will join non-profit developers, environmentalists, and legal experts to evaluate draft housing elements. To get involved, or find out more about the strategies that the campaign is promoting, contact Shannon Dodge at NPH: (415) 989-8160 x12 or shannon@nonprofithousing.org.

PHOTO CAPTION: BARTexpress offers the potential to create convenient, walkable transit hubs. As depicted in this artist's rendition, a deserted shopping mall is transformed into a vibrant neighborhood center.

Rapid Bus Alternative Proposed for Tri-Valley Area

The Transportation Choices Forum, a member of the Coalition, is working to build popular support for a rapid bus system - dubbed BARTexpress - to serve the Tri-Valley cities of Livermore, Dublin and Pleasanton.

BARTexpress would use sleek, high-tech rubber-tire vehicles; special priority on I-580 to connect passengers quickly to the existing Dublin/Pleasanton BART station; and faster travel times along local streets. It would offer BART-like comfort: padded seats, panoramic windows, multiple doors to speed up boarding, and hybrid-electric engines to reduce pollution.

The BARTexpress proposal was released at the same time that a study, focusing on the I-580 corridor, is evaluating transit alternatives to link the city of Livermore to the existing Dublin/Pleasanton BART station. These include: a BART extension, a diesel light rail train (called tBART), and a basic express bus alternative (the BARTexpress proposal adds a number of innovations to this express bus alternative). BARTexpress would cost hundreds of millions of dollars less than the two rail alternatives, and could begin operation in one to two years - instead of 10 to 20 years for BART or tBART.

In order to build excitement for the BARTexpress concept, Urban Advantage - a leading digital visualization company - created images of what the vehicles and stations might look like. The images highlight the Smart Growth advantages that BARTexpress would have in focusing development around transit nodes. This is because BARTexpress - with multiple routes and stations - would require less parking around stations, making it easier to focus higher-density development around transit hubs.

To view the BARTexpress report, visit www.projectexpress.org/trivalley or contact Seth Schneider at (510) 740-3104 for more information.

Focusing on Transportation Justice

On October 20th, community leaders, elected officials and residents met in East San Jose to strategize on campaigns to ensure transportation justice in Santa Clara County.

Rev. Andre Shumake, of the Richmond Improvement Association (a faith-based organization), delivered a rousing keynote address about his experience with a successful grassroots movement to increase bus service between low-income areas of North Richmond and jobs in Marin County. He stressed the importance of hearing voices from the community: "If we are going to meet the needs of this community we need to have a clear articulate vision of what these needs are and to do this we need to reach out directly into the community. We need their voice."

Panel speakers at the event included: Stuart Cohen, Director of the Coalition; Santa Clara County Supervisor Blanca Alvarado; Christina Uribe, Political Director for the South Bay Labor Council; and Enrique Gallardo of the Latino Issues Forum.

During a brainstorming session participants identified their top transportation justice campaigns for Santa Clara County, including:

• Creating and funding a lifeline transit network to connect low-income and transit-dependent communities with jobs, education, health care, shopping and recreation;
• Ensuring that transit is affordable by providing free or discounted passes to low-income students and residents;
• Increasing the amount of affordable housing near transit; and
• Ensuring that the Valley Transportation Authority funds the complete Downtown East Valley Transit Project.

To get involved in any of these campaigns or for more information contact Kimberly Strickland, South Bay Coordinator for the Coalition, at (408) 984-2285 or kim@transcoalition.org.

Top: Participants identify transportation justice priorities. Middle: Rev. Shumake receives a certificate of appreciation from Supervisor Alvarado. Bottom: Christina Uribe, of the South Bay Labor Council, addresses the group.

New Steering Committee Members

Four new representatives - elected by the members of the Coalition - recently began serving three-year terms on the Coalition's steering committee. These Steering Committee members will guide the Coalition and help see it through its transition to becoming an independent non-profit organization.

Enrique Gallardo Latino Issues Forum
Margaret Okuzumi Bay Rail Alliance (Peninsula Rail 2000)
Dick Schneider Sierra Club
Doug Shoemaker Non-Profit Housing Association of Northern California