Nominate a Development for “Best” or “Worst” in the Bay Area

Last year's Best and Worst Developments in the Bay Area report was a great media success.

In the second edition, we would like to contrast good and bad land uses for areas around transit stations. (These developments can either be recently built, or still be in the approval phase.) If you would like to bring attention to a particular development, send us your suggestions at landuse@transcoalition.org by August 7th.

See last year's report at www.transcoalition.org/reports/b_w/b_w_home.html

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BART-to-San Jose Grand Jury Report
A June 2004 Santa Clara County civil grand jury report recommended suspending the $4.2 billion BART project to San Jose and disbanding the Valley Transportation Authority's current board of directors.

The Grand Jury's report makes the claims that TALC first put forward in its March 2003 Transportation Injustice and May 2002 Sustainable Transit reports.

Learn more at: www.transcoalition.org/c/sus_vta/vta_grandjury.html

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YES on Marin County’s Transportation Sales Tax
TALC has endorsed Measure A, Marin County’s transportation sales tax, which will appear 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.

More information at: www.transcoalition.org/c/sus_marin/marin.html

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Attend TALC's Regional Meeting
August 18, 5:30-7:30 pm. (Orientation for new attendees from 5:00-5:30.) Sierra Club, 85 2nd Street, San Francisco.

Mark your calendar for the remaining regional meetings in 2004: October 20, and December 8.

View our complete calendar of events at: www.transcoalition.org/calendar.html

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Hats off to Our Volunteers and Interns!
TALC is fortunate to have a great group of volunteers and interns helping us out on a number of critical projects this summer.

David Schecter has been doing a tremendous amount of work facilitating TALC's strategic planning process. He brings years of experience working with coalitions. David will be beginning a Master's program in City and Regional Planning at the University of California, Berkeley this fall.

Marisa Espinosa has joined TALC for the summer as a fellow through the Sustainable Communities Leadership Program, a project of the Environmental Careers Organization. Marisa will be designing and implementing trainings to complement TALC's transportation justice guide that will be forthcoming within the next two months. The focus of the trainings is to build the regional leadership capacity of low income, communities of color to effectively advocate for transportation issues important in their neighborhoods. Marisa is a Master’s candidate in Urban Planning and Latin American Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles,

For more information, or to schedule a training, contact Marisa at (510) 740-3100 or marisa@transcoalition.org.

Erin Lewis has joined TALC as an outreach intern this summer. She will be working with community groups in East Oakland to gather support and feedback for the proposed Telegraph/International/East 14th bus rapid transit corridor. Erin is a Master’s candidate at the Community Development Program at the University of California, Davis.

Chris Kost is volunteering this summer on TALC’s land use campaign and on revising our 2003 Best and Worst Developments of the Bay Area report. Chris is a Master’s candidate in the Earth Systems program at Stanford University

Ken Erickson, who is pursuing professional certification as a computer technician, is helping to maintain our computer equipment and improve its performance.

Finally, Martin Ilian and Dan Alper are continuing to help with the web-coding of an exciting new Internet resource, called Instant Advocate, which TALC is set to debut later this year.

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TALC’s Wish List
Are you cleaning out your house and wondering what to do with the equipment you no longer want? TALC might be able to use your donation -- and you can get a tax write-off to boot! We’re especially looking for a simple "loudspeaker" that we can use for rallies and for PC computers that have at least 500 mHz processors (generally computers less than four years old). If you are considering a donation, please contact Seth Schneider at (510) 740-3109 or seth@transcoalition.org. Thank you!

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Members In Action: New Campaign for Affordable Housing / Position Available
TALC members Greenbelt Alliance and NPH have launched the Bay Area Inclusionary Housing Initiative, a two-year campaign to help Bay Area cities and counties accelerate adoption of inclusionary housing policies, a proven affordable housing strategy. NPH and Greenbelt will be working with state and regional policy groups, as well as local organizing and advocacy groups, to pass inclusionary housing ordinances in 15-20 of the fastest growing jurisidictions in the region.

Inclusionary housing policies create incentives for developers of market-rate housing to set aside affordable housing in an otherwise market-driven development. Cities with inclusionary housing policies have a track record of creating affordable housing by ensuring that new residential developments incorporate housing for a community¹s entire range of housing needs. In California, 116 inclusionary housing programs, representing over 20 percent of all jurisdictions, have accounted for over 34,000 homes being added to the overall supply of affordable housing. Through this regional initiative, the goal is to double the rate of inclusionary housing production.

More information about the initiative can be found at www.nonprofithousing.org. Information about a new position for coordinating the campaign can be obtained by emailing doug@nonprofithousing.org.

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Members In Action: Bike Coalition Pushes for Regional Access
The Bay Area Bicycle Coalition is an umbrella organization that represents all the local bicycle coalitions throughout the Bay Area on regional issues. Regional coordination on bicycle issues is essential, given the Bay Area’s complexity: 9 counties, 100 cities, 23 transit agencies and seven trans-bay bridges. The coalition (formerly known as the Regional Bicycle Advocacy Coalition) has made great strides in the past twelve months.

In summer 2003, BABC kicked off a campaign to secure funding to help implement the Regional Bicycle Plan (RBP). The RBP, adopted by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) in December 2001, is an integrated network of facilities to provide bicycle access to activity centers and transit stations throughout the region. The full cost to implement the RBP is estimated at approximately $1 billion.

With support from the local bicycle coalitions and assistance from its allies at TALC, BABC mounted a strong campaign that culminated in approval of a new regional bicycle/pedestrian program by MTC. In December 2003, MTC Commissioners, under the leadership of Chairman Steve Kinsey, voted to earmark $200 million (i.e. $8 million per year for 25 years) for the regional bicycle/pedestrian program as part of the Transportation 2030 funding plan for the region. Although this amount is modest relative to the total estimated cost of the Regional Bicycle Plan, it represents a major increase in funding for bicycle projects of regional significance. BABC was able to achieve this victory at a time of fiscal constraints and despite opposition from vested interests representing other modes of transportation.

There is still a long ways to go to achieve safe and enjoyable cycling conditions throughout the Bay Area. But BABC's achievements of the past 12 months have laid the groundwork for some key priorities in the coming months:

• improving bike access to transit and all trans-bay bridges

• ensuring that all transportation projects provide routine accommodation for cyclists and pedestrians

• ensuring that the new regional bicycle/pedestrian funds are allocated to projects that provide

• better bike facilities throughout the region.

For more information: www.bayareabikes.org

 

* All TALC Member and Affiliate groups are eligible for inclusion in the 'Members in Action' section - simply email your article subject to Seth Schneider <seth@transcoalition.org> by the last week of each month. If yours is selected, you will be asked to send a one-paragraph summary and a web page link, if available.