San Francisco Bike Blog

In a warning issued Saturday, September 20, the Chronicle’s Rachel Gordon reported what seemed to be a grim future for California transit:

PROPOSAL: Funding for roads and highways remains intact, but money for mass transportation takes a big hit. At least $952 million earmarked for public transit will be diverted to other programs, leaving $406 million for the transit budget.

She warned further, that the Governor could trim another $100 million from that - which would put the State at exactly the same level of funding as last year - $306 million. And that is what the Governor did.

Whether transit was actually cut by $952 million, or ‘just’ $663, I am unable to figure out. In either case, it’s not good. And though Schwarzenegger cut the extra $100 million, it seems like the drastic cuts to transportation were at least as much the work of the legislature, both houses of which are controlled by Democrats.

Many of us know what transit cuts looks like, but just in case you need a refresher:

WHAT IT MEANS TO YOU: Transit agencies, already faced with sky-high fuel prices, may be forced to cut service, raise fares or defer maintenance to keep the books balanced. Transit users could be riding dirtier and more crowded trains, buses and ferries, enduring less-frequent service and paying more for it. However, most agencies in the Bay Area entered the budget season anticipating that state funding would be scarce and planned accordingly.

Carli Paine, transportation program director for the Transportation and Land Use Coalition, was quoted in opposition to the plan, but apparently, it wasn’t enough.

In a followup, Rachel Gordon reports that things look bleak:

As demand for transit is nearing the highest numbers since World War II, Bay Area agencies are faced with high fuel prices, declining revenue from sales and property taxes, and a reduction in state subsidies. That’s a troubling combination for operators and the commuters who rely on buses, trains and ferries.

Service cuts and fare increases may not be far off.

Everyone will be affected in one way or another - BART, AC Transit, MTA/MUNI, Caltrain, SamTrans. For most it will mean not being able to expand service - new routes, new cars/buses, new bike racks, new anything - but no agency suggested that service would actually be cut. BART is looking at a congestion charge for peak-hours travel, when the trains are too crowded. Caltrain already agreed to raise its based fare by 25 cents. When you look at the impact of a fare increase, though, compared to these budget cuts - they just are not even in the same league. The transit budget cuts are nightmarish.

A Modesto Bee opinion piece notes the ‘business tax gimmickry’ in the new budget. And what is the purpose of all that gimmickry? A massive tax giveaway to corporations.

Schwarzenegger also signed and killed some other bills. One he signed was the ‘Complete Streets’ bill, AB 1358. Cyclelicious has more, including some text from the new law:

It is the intent of the Legislature to require in the development of the circulation element of a local government’s general plan that the circulation of users of streets, roads, and highways be accommodated in a manner suitable for the respective setting in rural, suburban, and urban contexts, and that users of streets, roads, and highways include bicyclists, children, persons with disabilities, motorists, movers of commercial goods, pedestrians, public transportation, and seniors.

More from the Complete Streets Coalition.

This legislation is important if we want to avoid nonsense like this stuff going on in Massachusetts:

Cycling advocates fume

Pedestrian and cycling advocates are still fuming over plans to remake Massachusetts Avenue in the South End without bike lanes and other features that would encourage better walking, cycling, and public transit access.

Letters have flown back and forth between advocates and the Massachusetts Highway Department over the past month. The activists wonder why the state, which has publicly endorsed accommodating alternates to car travel in road projects, has not put more pressure on the city of Boston to revamp the project and others like it that were planned before the city and state officially began moving toward becoming less car-centric.

And Arnold did sign SB 375 - the land use bill. If we have the legislation in place, then we’re not always playing catch-up, and we’ll have a legal basis to challenge any shoddy plans. Cycling researcher John Pucher has suggested legislation like this was important to cycling success in Germany.

As far as I can tell, the phrase ‘complete streets’ is synonymous with the phrase ‘livable streets’. I tend to prefer the phrase ‘livable streets‘, though, because it seems to have a more reasonable connotation. Complete streets may not be livable because cars and trucks so easily overwhelm pedestrians and cyclists. The concept of livable streets, however, seems to start with the idea that automobiles are inherently dangerous, and are not compatible with human life; this is why I believe the phrase ‘livable streets’ is more appropriate for use by bicycle, pedestrian, and transit advocates.

The East Bay Bicycle Coalition reports on the success of the Complete Streets bill which was authored by California Assemblyman Mark Leno, who represents the 13th District of California - the eastern part of San Francisco. Leno is running for the upper house of the California Legislature, the Senate, (Senate page) and will be on the November 4 ballot.

In searching for more information on Leno and voting information in general, it struck me how difficult it was to find the type of information I was looking for. Who is my representative? What Assembly district am I in? What Senate district? Who is my US House Representative, and where are the boundaries of my US House district? Who are my US State Senators? It was a very frustrating experience, and I have followed politics on and off for years, and have even helped local and national campaigns at various points. Here’s to hoping that Google’s Election tools will continue to improve to the point where this information becomes easily available.

[Update:] Mixed-up my bill numbers, there. Apologies.

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