RIDER ALERT:

Tri Delta Transit will be running weekend/holiday service on Monday, February 19th, in observance of the Presidents’ Day holiday. Tri MyRide and paratransit services will be limited. Administrative offices will be closed. Have a safe holiday weekend.

For more information visit Tri Delta Transit.

$202.7K from the Office of Traffic Safety

Contra Costa Health (CCH) announced today that it has received a $202,692 grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) to support its Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Program. This grant will allow CCH to promote safe practices for pedestrians and bicyclists and provide education about the importance of sharing the road.

Local data show an increase of nearly 30% in fatal crashes involving pedestrians over the past 10 years in Contra Costa County, and that pedestrians and bicyclists are 2.4 times more likely to be seriously injured or killed in a traffic crash compared to drivers. The OTS grant funds multiple efforts to improve safety for pedestrians and bicyclists.

“Everyone deserves a safe environment to travel, regardless of how people get to places,” OTS Director Barbara Rooney said. “The safety of people walking and biking on our roads is a high priority. Education plays a pivotal role in creating a strong road safety culture that prioritizes traffic safety, especially for our most vulnerable road users.”

Grant funds will support a variety of activities focused on bicycle and pedestrian safety:

• Support for local jurisdictions to include public health in road safety plans and address the community conditions that create unsafe environments for non-motorized road users.
• Local bicycle and pedestrian safety campaigns.
• Community bicycle and walk “audits” of streets with high rates of pedestrian or bicyclist fatalities and serious injury crashes.
• Bicycle training courses that teach youth on how to stay safe on the road.
• Community events that promote bicyclist and pedestrian visibility and the importance of sharing the road, slowing down, and staying alert to bicyclists and pedestrians while driving.

Area Goals for the OTS program include:

• Reduce the total number of pedestrians killed.
• Reduce the total number of pedestrians injured.
• Reduce the number of pedestrians killed under the age of 15.
• Reduce the number of pedestrians injured under the age of 15.
• Reduce the number of pedestrians killed over the age of 65.
• Reduce the number of pedestrians injured over the age of 65.
• Reduce the total number of bicyclists killed in traffic related crashes.
• Reduce the total number of bicyclists injured in traffic related crashes.
• Reduce the number of bicyclists killed in traffic related crashes under the age of 15.
• Reduce the number of bicyclists injured in traffic related crashes under the age of 15.
• Increase bicycle helmet compliance for children aged 5 to 18.

The grant program will run through September 2024.

Funding for this program was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Two dispensers will serve fuel-cell electric vehicles.

By Allen D. Payton

At their Jan. 17, 2024, meeting, the Antioch Planning Commission approved the use permit for a hydrogen fuel dispensing facility by Chevron at the existing gas station at 2413 A Street. The two hydrogen dispensers will serve fuel-cell electric vehicles.

Under agenda Item 7-1, Chevron requested a Use Permit, Variance and Design Review approval for a hydrogen fuel dispensing facility which will consist of hydrogen storage, associated equipment, two hydrogen dispensers located under a canopy, new landscaping, and stormwater control facilities. A variance is requested to reduce the minimum setback requirements of the canopy from 20 feet to 10 feet.

Eric Snelling, Senior Principal Planner for Stantec Consulting Services, gave a PowerPoint presentation of the hydrogen program, project overview, safety systems and operational components. He stated that Chevron was excited to bring hydrogen fueling to Antioch.

According to the City staff report on the item, “The hydrogen fuel dispensing facility does not involve the use of hazardous substances and is not in an environmentally sensitive area.”

The proposed project consists of the construction of a hydrogen fueling station at the eastern portion of the existing Chevron gas station. The project will provide two hydrogen dispensers under a new canopy, hydrogen storage and compression compound, a hydrogen offload panel and new electrical service. The compound will be enclosed by a combination of concrete masonry block wall and louvered metal fencing. The new enclosed area will cover approximately 1,750 square feet. Additionally, the project includes paving areas that are currently gravel, and installing new frontage landscaping.

The hydrogen fueling station would operate during the hours of the existing convenience store and gas station. Cars that use hydrogen to operate are called fuel-cell electric vehicles (FCEVs). FCEVs are similar to electric vehicles except that they get their power from hydrogen. Like electric vehicles, they use an electric motor instead of an internal combustion engine like gasoline powered vehicles. While electric vehicles run on batteries that need to be plugged in for recharging FCEVs generate their own electricity onboard in their fuel cells. Within a fuel cell, hydrogen is combined with oxygen (O2) from ambient air. The process generates electricity, heat, and water as its byproducts. As a result, it can power the electric motor without any greenhouse gas emissions. The only emissions released from the vehicle are water and heat.

Fueling an FCEV is similar to fueling a gasoline powered vehicle. First, tanker trucks designed to deliver gaseous hydrogen arrive at the site. At first, it is anticipated that this would occur approximately once a week but would increase as FCEVs become more common. At most, vehicles would make one delivery a day. Gaseous hydrogen is delivered from the truck through a connection to the supply cabinet. The system then transfers the gas to the storage tubes. When a vehicle arrives, the station module transfers the hydrogen from the storage tubes to the dispenser. The storage module is connected to and controlled by the station module via valve panels. The valve panel has a built-in jet fire protection panel, double block and bleed valves and other safety features. The equipment required for fueling is integrated into the station module, which is also connected to the dispenser. The dispenser looks similar to a standard gasoline dispenser but is about one third the footprint because only type of hydrogen is dispensed, as opposed to various grades of gasoline. The dispenser includes safety features that detect physical problems and would automatically shut off.

Why is Chevron Developing H2 Stations?

According to Chevron’s presentation, the company is developing H2 stations “To meet the California Air Resource Board Low Carbon Fuel Standards and to support Advanced Clean Fleets. Through its AB 8 program, the State of California co-funds the deployment of at least 100 hydrogen fueling stations to enable the launch of a consumer FCEV market. CARB provides annual evaluations of the status of deployment of fueling stations and FCEVs and analysis of needs for further development. CARB also coordinates with the California Energy Commission to annually report on the progress metrics of the Commission-led station funding program. In order to develop its recommendations for areas that require further hydrogen station development, CARB developed the California Hydrogen Infrastructure Tool (CHIT), a geospatial analysis tool built on publicly vetted data and methodologies.”

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, “California is leading the nation in building hydrogen fueling stations for FCEVs. As of mid-2021, 47 retail hydrogen stations were open to the public in California, as well as one in Hawaii, and 55 more were in various stages of construction or planning in California. These stations are serving over 8,000 FCEVs.

California continues to provide funding toward building hydrogen infrastructure through its Clean Transportation Program. The California Energy Commission is authorized to allocate up to $20 million per year through 2023 and is investing in an initial 100 public stations to support and encourage these zero-emission vehicles.”

Planning Commissioners Vote 4-0 to Approve

In response to questions by commissioners, Snelling explained that the hydrogen fueling network was guided by the state air resources board program and they looked at existing assets that could accommodate the use and provide adequate supply. He also stated there were no other hydrogen stations in Antioch and noted the idea was to bring in hydrogen based on demand.

The Planning Commission members present unanimously adopted a resolution approving the Use Permit, Variance, and Design Review application subject to the attached conditions of approval (DR20230006, UP-2023-0003, VAR2023-0008) with the additional condition of approval, including to direct the applicant to work with staff regarding native plant species as well as the addition of native plant species and vegetation to the screen wall.

The motion carried the following vote:

AYES: Jones, Hills, Lutz, Riley; NOES: None; ABSTAIN: None; ABSENT: Martin, Gutilla

Every four years, the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) must certify that each metropolitan planning organization (MPO) serving a transportation management area (TMA) — a designation by DOT of an urbanized area with a population over 200,000 as defined by the Bureau of the Census or smaller urbanized areas on request by the Governor and MPO — is carrying out the metropolitan planning process in adherence with federal statutes and regulations. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) conduct a review of the metropolitan planning process within each TMA and jointly issue this certification on behalf of the DOT Secretary, in accordance with 49 U.S.C. 5303(k).

The FHWA and the FTA are hosting a public meeting as part of MTC’s certification review. This public meeting is an opportunity for Bay Area residents to directly address FHWA and FTA officials concerning your views on the transportation planning process in the San Francisco–Oakland metropolitan area. Participants can attend in person or via Zoom or submit written comments.

The meeting is scheduled for:

Tuesday, February 27, 2024, from 4:30–5:30 p.m.
Bay Area Metro Center, Yerba Buena Conference Room, First Floor
375  Beale Street, San Francisco, CA 94105
Participate on Zoom
Webinar ID: 863 1915 0671
iPhone One-Tap:

+13462487799,,86319150671# US (Houston)
+12532158782,,86319150671# US (Tacoma)

Join by Telephone (for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location):

+1 408 638 0968 US (San Jose)
+1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)
833 548 0282 US Toll Free
877 853 5247 US Toll Free

Detailed instructions on participating via Zoom are available at: mtc.ca.gov/how-provide-public-comment-board-meeting-zoom
Members of the public participating by Zoom wishing to speak should use the “raise hand” feature or dial *9. When called upon, unmute yourself or dial *6. In order to get the full Zoom experience, please make sure your application is up to date.

This public meeting  is part of a review that will assess compliance with federal regulations pertaining to the transportation planning process conducted by MTC, the California Department of Transportation, transit operators and local jurisdictions in the San Francisco–Oakland metropolitan area.

If you are unable to attend the meeting, written comments may be submitted via email to Cert.Review@dot.gov.
Written comments also can be mailed to:

Federal Highway Administration, California Division
650 Capitol Mall, Suite 4-100
Sacramento, CA 95814-4708
or
Federal Transit Administration, Region  IX
90 Seventh Street, Suite 15-300
San Francisco, CA 94103-6701

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Only 9 running to represent Contra Costa respond, read the questions and the answers of those running to represent Antioch

A coalition of transportation advocacy groups from around the Bay published the results “Transportation Questionnaire” for Bay Area Candidates for Office that are on the March 5th 2024 Ballot which the public can view in its entirety here. People can view it by region at: East Bay; North Bay; Peninsula; San Francisco; and South Bay.

The project, led by Transbay Coalition, SPUR, Seamless Bay Area, San Francisco Transit Riders, Silicon Valley Bike Coalition, and Bike East Bay will help voters across the Bay Area make more informed decisions about candidates for local, state and federal office.

“Candidate’s stances on how to make it easier for people to get around the Bay Area and what needs fixing is essential information for voters,” said Carter Lavin, the project lead at the Transbay Coalition. “Transportation policies impact everyone and every elected official, no matter the office, has the power to make it easier, greener, safer, more affordable, just and accessible for people to get around– or they can make it harder. Voters deserve to know where the candidates vying for their vote stand.”

“To my knowledge, this is the only vetting process that really seeks to demystify where candidates stand on the region’s transportation issues, which is critical given how much public funding goes into transportation and the pivotal moment we are in” said Laura Tolkoff, Transportation Policy Director for SPUR, a public policy nonprofit rooted in the Bay Area. 

Candidates were asked the following questions included in the survey:

1. Which forms of transit and active transportation (bicycling, walking, scooters, wheelchair) do you use on a regular basis and for what types of trips– and why?
2. Would you seek additional funding for Bay Area transit and what form of funding do you think makes sense?
3. Public transit in the Bay Area is highly fragmented, with 27 transit agencies, each with different fares, schedules, branding, and customer information. Do you believe it should be a priority for the region to create an well-coordinated transit system? And as an elected leader or potential member of a local transit agency board, would you support state legislation that advances a more integrated, high ridership system, even if it diminishes local control?
4. Transportation is the largest single source of carbon emissions in California, and in the Bay Area, and the largest share of transportation emissions come from single occupancy vehicles.  What are your top priorities to achieve substantial reduction in transportation-related GHG emissions?
5. The Bay Area still has road projects under development that would increase Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT), greenhouse gas emissions, and air pollution.  What decisions would you make about projects that increase VMT and pollution?
6. Transit priority improvements are proven to make taking the bus faster and more reliable, while also reducing operating costs. Should local governments be able to stop transit priority improvements on local roads?
7. What do you think are the most important actions that can be taken to make public transit comfortable, accessible, and safe for all communities?  
8. Traffic violence and deaths in California are increasing annually; in 2021, 4,258 people died in vehicle crashes, a 10.7% increase from the prior year. If elected, what will you do to reverse the trend, increase street safety, save lives and reduce injuries in our community?  What policies or specific projects would make the greatest impact?
9. What do you think are the biggest access and mobility needs for disadvantaged populations in your district, and how would you propose to solve them?
10. In what circumstances do you support removing parking or repurposing vehicle travel lanes to create safer and more efficient bus, biking, and walking options? How do you propose balancing the demands of different interest groups who may disagree on how streets should be designed?

Contra Costa County Candidates Who Responded

So far, only the following candidates have responded to the questionnaire in the following races (the questionnaires in the races those that include Antioch are provided)

Assembly District 14 – Margot Smith, Buffy Wicks

Assembly District 15 – Karen Mitchoff, Monica Wilson

Assembly District 16 – Joseph Rubay

State Senate District 3 – Jackie Elward

State Senate District 7 – Jovanka Beckles, Dan Kalb

Congressional District 10 – Mohammed Elsherbini

No candidates have responded yet in the races for Contra Costa County Supervisor District 5, Assembly District 11, State Senate District 9 nor Congressional District 8.

“Over the next few years, the region faces important decisions about continuing on a path toward convenient, rider-friendly, accessible worldclass public transportation – or taking steps backward. Our elected officials at the local, state and federal levels will make key decisions steering our region on a path toward improvement or into a downward spiral. Voters deserve to know where candidates stand at this pivotal time,” said Adina Levin, Co-Founder and Advocacy Director, Seamless Bay Area.

“With the rise of biking and walking fatalities across the Bay Area, it is more important than ever that voters know where candidates stand in building communities that are joyful, safe, and inclusive” said Justin Hu-Nguyen, Bike East Bay’s  Co-Executive Director of Mobility Justice.

“Public transit is a lifeline for so many people in the Bay Area. Allowing transit agencies to go unfunded would hurt economically disadvantaged and transit-dependent people the worst, leaving thousands of transit riders — including workers, seniors, and people with disabilities — without a reliable way of getting around. It connects folks with everything from food, to healthcare, family, friends and fun. We’re excited to release this questionnaire, which lifts the issues that matter to transit riders, with our other partners in the space. In order to make the Bay Area a more pleasant, affordable, and green place to live, our elected representatives need to center public transit and transit riders in the choices they make for us,” said Dylan Fabris, Community & Policy Manager for San Francisco Transit Riders.

Candidates who have not yet responded can email their answers to info@transbaycoalition.org and the coalition could potentially update their website and include them, Lavin later shared.

The Transbay Coalition is a grassroots public transportation advocacy group championing bold near-term solutions to the Bay Area’s regional transportation challenges. Learn more at www.transbaycoalition.org.

Include non-transit transportation, environment, housing and economy strategy refinements

Will impact Antioch’s BART Station and industrial areas

The Joint Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) Planning Committee with the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) Administrative Committee on Jan. 12, 2024 approved the revised Plan Bay Area 2050+ Draft Blueprint strategies and Growth Geographies.  This action enables staff to further study the strategies’ performance in meeting critical regional goals for an affordable, connected, diverse, healthy and vibrant Bay Area for all. Staff are aiming for adoption of the Plan Bay Area 2050+ Final Blueprint in summer 2024.

Given Plan Bay Area 2050’s solid foundation of 35 strategies, the Draft Blueprint phase for Plan Bay Area 2050+ is focusing on making targeted refinements to select plan strategies. These refinements reflect Plan Bay Area 2050’s implementation progress, the post-pandemic planning context and insights gathered during engagement with the public and partners in summer 2023.

What is the Plan Bay Area 2050+ Blueprint?

The Plan Bay Area 2050+ Blueprint will integrate strategies across the four elements of the plan — the economy, the environment, housing and transportation — to create a more equitable and resilient future for all.

Beginning in summer 2023 and wrapping up in late 2024, staff will develop the Blueprint over two phases: the Draft Blueprint and the Final Blueprint. Given Plan Bay Area 2050’s solid foundation of 35 strategies, the Draft Blueprint phase for Plan Bay Area 2050+ will focus on making targeted refinements to select plan strategies.

What are Growth Geographies?

Priority Development Areas — Places nominated by local governments served by transit and planned for new homes and jobs at densities necessary to support effective transit service.

Priority Production Areas — Industrial areas of importance to the regional economy and local communities that support middle-wage jobs.

Transit-Rich Areas — Places near rail, ferry or frequent bus service that were not already identified as Priority Development Areas.

High-Resource Areas — State-identified places with well-resourced schools and access to jobs and open space.

Staff previously shared proposed Draft Blueprint strategy refinements in October and November 2023, detailing which of Plan Bay Area 2050’s 35 strategies were likely to see major, minor or no changes in Plan Bay Area 2050+. This month, the MTC and ABAG committees approved moving forward with revisions for further study and analysis, including:

• Non-transit transportation strategy refinements focused on prioritizing equity considerations, adapting to tighter fiscal constraints, promoting active transportation and safety, and expanding pricing strategies;
• Environment strategy refinements focused on further reducing greenhouse gas emissions and proactively adapting to climate change; and
• Housing and economy strategy refinements focused on addressing pressing challenges of housing affordability, homelessness and access to opportunity.

At this time the Draft Blueprint only includes a handful of modified transportation strategies, pending the development of a fiscally constrained Transportation Project List, which will integrate recommendations from the ongoing parallel Transit 2050+ effort. The complete suite of revised transportation strategies will be integrated as part of the Final Blueprint in summer 2024.

The Joint ABAG and MTC Committee also approved targeted updates to the Growth Geographies that were adopted as part of Plan Bay Area 2050. Growth Geographies are places that Plan Bay Area prioritizes for future homes, jobs, services and amenities and serve as a component of the plan’s housing and economy elements. Specifically, draft Growth Geographies for Plan Bay Area 2050+ will include five new Priority Development Areas (PDAs) and 16 modified existing PDAs nominated by local Bay Area jurisdictions; reflect up-to-date information on transit service, natural hazards and demographics; and integrate areas subject to MTC’s revised Transit Oriented Communities Policy.

The Draft Blueprint approval comes six months after MTC and ABAG kicked off the limited and focused update to Plan Bay Area 2050. In November 2023, staff shared progress-to-date with policymakers, including findings from the first round of engagement, core planning assumptions, the draft Regional Growth Forecast, a financial needs and revenue analyses and proposed strategy refinements.

The next round of public and partner organization engagement activities, which will inform the development of the Plan Bay Area 2050+ Final Blueprint, is planned to begin in spring 2024. MTC and the ABAG Executive Board are expected to approve Final Blueprint strategies in summer 2024.

Learn more about the Plan Bay Area 2050+ Draft Blueprint strategies and Growth Geographies. For additional technical resources, please visit the Plan Bay Area 2050+ Draft Blueprint Documents page on our website.

Unified mapping and wayfinding features Golden Yellow, Sky Blue, Dark Blue

By John Goodwin & Gordon Hansen, Metropolitan Transportation Commission

Bay Area transit’s ongoing transformation into a more connected, more efficient and more customer-focused mobility network today took another big step forward as transit agency and MTC staff at the January meeting of the Bay Area’s newly formed Regional Network Management Council unveiled design protoypes for a common set of signs to be used by all agencies at all locations — from individual bus stops to major hubs where multiple systems connect. These prototypes will be installed later this year at the El Cerrito del Norte BART station, the Santa Rosa Transit Mall and the nearby Santa Rosa SMART station. 

To establish and reinforce a common identity for all Bay Area transit services, the new signage employs a three-color palette of golden yellow, sky blue and dark blue; as well as simple icons to identify service by trains, buses or ferries. These icons are larger and more visually prominent than the logos of the individual agencies providing the services at each location. The modal icons and the three-color palette will be extended to a new mobile-friendly website to which passengers can connect via QR codes at each bus stop, train station or ferry terminal, providing real-time information along with accessibility features such as audio descriptions and language translation. 

“The Mapping and Wayfinding initiative is a brilliant example of regional cooperation,” said MTC Chair and Napa County Supervisor Alfredo Pedroza. “Putting customers’ interests first is the cornerstone of our Transit Transformation Action Plan to increase ridership by making transit faster, cleaner, more comfortable, more convenient and easier to navigate.” 

More than 90 percent of Bay Area residents polled by MTC in 2021 identified uniform and easy-to-use transit maps and signage as an important priority for improving the region’s transit network. MTC’s Operations Committee in 2022 approved a contract with Applied Wayfinding Inc. to develop a single mapping and wayfinding system for use by all Bay Area transit agencies. Applied has completed similar projects in London; Toronto; Seattle; Cleveland; Vancouver, B.C.; and elsewhere. The design concepts presented today incorporate comments and recommendations from more than 1,000 Bay Area residents — including transit riders and nonriders, people with limited English proficiency and people with disabilities — who participated in MTC-sponsored surveys, workshops and focus groups. New transit signage will include tactile and Braille elements.

The golden yellow in the three-color palette developed by transit agencies, MTC and the design contractor was chosen to represent the Bay Area’s sunshine and golden hills, with the light blue representing clear skies and the dark blue representing San Francisco Bay, lakes, rivers and other bodies of water. MTC and its partners will invite Bay Area residents and visitors alike to share their thoughts about the newly designed transit signs and digital wayfinding tools once the prototypes — which have not yet been fabricated — are installed at the Santa Rosa and El Cerrito locations. 

Design prototypes for a consistent set of transit maps will be presented to the Regional Network Management Council later this year. The Council includes top executives from MTC, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, BART, AC Transit, the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA), Caltrain, SamTrans and the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District as well as three general managers representing all other transit agencies serving Bay Area communities. 

MTC is the transportation planning, financing and coordinating agency for the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area.

To generate at least $1 to $2 billion annually; priorities include transit, safer streets and roads, resilience

Commissioners considering a variety of tax options

By John Goodwin & Rebecca Long, Metropolitan Transportation Commission

The Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) on Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2024 voted to pursue legislation in Sacramento this year that would enable Bay Area voters to consider a transportation revenue measure as early as November 2026.

The proposed measure aims to advance a climate-friendly Bay Area transportation system that is safe, accessible and convenient for all. This includes preserving and enhancing public transit service; making transit faster, safer and easier to use; repairing local streets and roads; and improving mobility and access for all people, including pedestrians, bicyclists and scooter and wheelchair users.

The vote was approved unanimously by all members present. There are 21 commissioners with three non-voting members. Oakland Mayor Sheng Tao and San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan who are voting members were both absent during the vote.

State Sen. Scott Wiener of San Francisco earlier this month introduced what is known as a spot bill that will be used as the vehicle for authorizing placement of the proposed measure on a future ballot in each of the nine Bay Area counties. The first opportunity to amend Wiener’s Senate Bill 925 will be in mid-February.

While the Commission has not yet identified a revenue source for the proposed measure, MTC Chair and Napa County Supervisor Alfredo Pedroza noted that he and his colleagues are considering a wide range of options.

“Voters traditionally have supported transportation through bridge tolls or sales taxes. Bridge tolls are not an option in this case and we think it’s smart to look at more than a regional sales tax. We’re proposing a few options so we have enough flexibility and enough time to get it right.”

Tax Options & Projected Revenue

Legislators, and MTC staff and commissioners, will consider several options for generating revenue. These may include a sales tax, an income tax, a payroll tax, a square footage based parcel tax, a Bay Area-specific vehicle registration surcharge with tiered rates based on the value of the vehicle or a regional vehicle-miles traveled charge (VMT) charge subject to prior adoption of a statewide road usage charge not sooner than 2030.  

MTC staff recommend raising at least $1 billion to $2 billion per year for robust investments in safe streets and other capital improvements, to improve and expand transit service, and to help Bay Area transit agencies operate their services. 

Goals of the Regional Transportation Measure

The revenue measure’s core goal is to advance a climate-friendly transportation system in the Bay Area that is safe, accessible and convenient for all. Focus areas include:

1. Protect and enhance transit service. Ensure that current resources are maintained and used effectively; and enhance service frequency and areas served.
2. Make transit faster, safer and easier to use. Create a seamless and convenient Bay Area transit system that attracts more riders by improving public safety on transit; implementing the Bay Area Transit Transformation Action Plan; and strengthening regional network management.
3. Enhance mobility and access for all. Make it safer and more accessible for people of all ages and abilities to get to where they need to go. Preserve and improve mobility for all transportation system users, including people walking, biking and wheeling.

Proposed Expenditure Categories

1. Transit transformation: sustain, expand and improve transit service for both current and future riders; accelerate customer-focused initiatives from the Bay Area Transit Transformation Action Plan and other service improvements that are high priorities for Bay Area voters and riders; and help fund the transition to zero-emission transit. 
2. Safe streets: transform local streets and roads to support safety, equity and climate goals, including through pothole repair, investments in bicycle/pedestrian infrastructure, safe routes to transit and other safety enhancements.
3. Connectivity: fund mobility improvements that close gaps and relieve bottlenecks in the existing transportation network in a climate-neutral way.
4. Climate resilience: fund planning, design and/or construction work that protects transportation infrastructure and nearby communities from rising sea levels, flooding, wildfires and extreme heat.

Transportation Measure Highlights

This measure reflects feedback from Commissioners, key legislative leaders and other stakeholders, including:

• Improving transit coordination by strengthening MTC’s role as regional transit network manager;
• A focus on Bay Area Transit Transformation Action Plan (TAP) action items and other customer facing policies that would benefit from a regional approach, such as ambassadors to assist riders and support a safe atmosphere;
• Flexibility in the amount of revenue requested, as well as the way that funding could be generated;
• Flexibility in spending priorities as the region’s needs evolve with time; and
• The “North Star” vision statement, which includes greenhouse gas emission-reduction tools, such as:
  • A Transportation Demand Management mandate that encourages Bay Area employees to commute to work in ways other than driving to work alone; and 
  • A limitation on how money could be spent on highway-widening projects.

Just as MTC commissioners have proposed a range of tax options, so too have they identified multiple expenditure categories.

“We recognize that we’ll be asking voters to take on a heavy lift,” acknowledged Pedroza. “The big lesson from COVID is the need to transform both our transit network and the way we pay to operate it. But we also need to transform our local streets and roads to fix potholes and make the roads safer for walking and biking. We need to improve connectivity and do it in a way that doesn’t encourage people to drive more. And we need to make our transportation infrastructure more resilient to rising sea levels, flooding, wildfires and extreme heat.”

Measure Vision Statement

The Commissioners also adopted the following Vision Statement for the measure: “The Bay Area needs a world-class, reliable, affordable, efficient and connected transportation network that meets the needs of Bay Area residents, businesses and visitors while also helping combat the climate crisis; a public transit network that offers safe, clean, frequent, accessible, easy-to-navigate and reliable service, getting transit riders where they want and need to go safely, affordably, quickly and seamlessly; local roads are well maintained; and transit, biking, walking and wheeling are safe, convenient and competitive alternatives to driving; enhancing access to opportunity, lowering greenhouse gas emissions, strengthening the region’s economy and improving quality of life.”

To learn more about the proposed tax measure click, here. To read the supporting documents considered by the Commissioners click, here.

MTC is the transportation planning, financing and coordinating agency for the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area.

Allen D. Payton contributed to this report.