On May 14 (Bike to Work Day in LA and the Bay Area), the Governor released his “May revise” budget proposal, and despite over $1 billion in new available revenues, we were disappointed that the Active Transportation Program (ATP) did not see an increase in funding. Earlier this spring, 120 organizations statewide called for an additional $100 million to build out bicycling and walking networks statewide, and high demand for the program at the local level far outpaced available funding in the first grant cycle. A hallmark of Caltrans sustainability efforts, the ATP is California’s statewide competitive grant program dedicated to increasing walking and bicycling, especially in underserved communities.

The May revise includes an expenditure plan for $2.2 billion in Cap-and-Trade revenue from auction proceeds–more than twice the amount in the January budget proposal–which is the most likely source of new ATP dollars. However, most of the Cap-and-Trade revenue is slated to boost funding to the same set of programs in the January expenditure plan, with a small portion directed to a few new programs related to drought management, energy efficiency, and healthy soils.

While walking and bicycling improvements are technically eligible in several of the Cap-and-Trade programs that received a boost in the May revise, these programs primarily focus on public transit and affordable housing development. These programs’ constraints on project financing and development limit their ability to fund meaningful walking and bicycling projects critical for shifting the nearly ⅔ of trips in California under 1 mile that are currently taken by car. Walking and biking must be a core component of the Cap-and-Trade expenditures in order to reduce vehicles miles traveled (VMT) and ultimately, to help the California achieve our ambitious climate change goals.

The ATP continues to be the most effective source for robust bicycling and walking projects that create safe travel corridors, connect people to transit, provide Safe Routes to School, improve intersections, and close key gaps between destinations for people who walk and bicycle. Furthermore, these projects are essential to improving access to transit and regional economic opportunity for California’s rural disadvantaged communities. Our broad coalition–which includes environmental, affordable housing, transit, parks, public health, social equity, and walking and bicycling advocates, among others–will continue to push for $100 million directly into the Active Transportation Program in the final budget.

The Legislature will review the May revise in a second round of budget hearings over the next few weeks, and the final 2015-16 State Budget must be adopted by June 15.

Support the push for more ATP funding at bit.ly/IncreaseATP.

Statement issued by the Coalition for Active Transportation Leadership including the California Bicycle Coalition, California Walks, California Pan-Ethnic Health Network, California Park and Recreation Society, Safe Routes to School National Partnership, Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition, TransForm, Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, and PolicyLink.

SSTI Independent Caltrans Review 1.28.14

This report, commissioned by the California State Transportation Agency, thoroughly reviews Caltrans and finds an agency in dire need of a culture change. Its indictment of the agency’s processes and perspective is scathing but it also provides a roadmap to leverage the agency’s strengths to transform it into an modern leader of sustainable transportation.

The California Bicycle Coalition is representing local advocates and bicycle programs as we advise the California Transportation Commission on the guidelines for the new Active Transportation Program. The ATP replaces five other funding sources for which bike projects were  eligible and represents a 35{850a63fa8a72bae4d6bfa3f1eda9f619cddace10f9053ede128e2914f9ca5a15} increase in funding for biking and walking projects. This spring $130 million will be distributed to local agencies and the state will hold a $130 million competitive call for projects

Our advocacy is designed to focus the ATP on three goals:

• What will do the most to increase the proportion of trips by bike?
• How can we use the ATP to leverage funds from other sources whether federal, state, or local?
• How can the ATP foster good planning?

Among our key recommendations is a request to use the ATP as leverage to get Caltrans to update their design guidelines. We also want to use it to compel local agencies to implement complete streets policies. It makes sense that the state should not be funding bike and ped projects for jurisdictions that don’t carefully be sure to include bike and ped accommodations in existing projects.

Finally, we’re working to update the requirements to have a bicycle plan in place. One of the benefits of the now-defunct Bicycle Transportation Account was its requirement that an applicant must have an approved bicycle plan that addressed certain goals. In the next iteration, we seek to update that requirement to encourage bike plans that don’t merely address a range of topics — i.e. indicate where you’re putting bike parking — but require certain benchmarks to be met — i.e. indicate how much bike parking is necessary to meet projected demand at every significant transit station. We look forward to working with local partners and the California Transportation Commission to fine tune our recommendations.

Bicycling and walking will receive a 35% boost in dedicated state funding thanks to a bill just signed by the Governor. The bill restructures pedestrian, bicycle, trails, and Safe Routes to School programs into a single $129 million fund called the Active Transportation Program. The fund represents by far the largest state set-aside for bicycling and walking in the nation.

This milestone follows months of negotiations between the administration, legislature, and an ad hoc coalition coordinated by the Safe Routes to School National Partnership including California WALKS, California Bicycle Coalition, Rails to Trails Conservancy, PolicyLink, TransForm, Prevention Institute, California Pan-Ethnic Health Network, and the Public Health Institute.

Still, $129 million is about one percent of California’s transportation budget and barely a drop in the bucket compared to the need. As the California Transportation Commission establishes guidelines to govern how that money is spent, our priorities are the following:

• Make sure the funding supports good, ambitious bicycle planning, just like the Bicycle Transportation Account did. By “good and ambitious,” we mean plans that emphasize modern, low-stress bikeways not just bike lanes, and that provide an unbroken network that connects all neighborhoods in a community.
• Increase the size of the Active Transportation Program. The $129 million includes $83 million of federal funds. If the state were as committed to active transportation as the U.S. government (not a high bar), they would match the federal commitment with state dollars and increase the size to $166 million, still only about 1.5% of the budget.
• Leverage the ATP to encourage dedication of other state and local funds to active transportation.
• Improve the CTC’s attention to active transportation in its programming of other, bigger funds, like the $7.4 billion State Highway Operation & Protection Program and the $3.8 billion State Transportation Improvement Program funds.

The California Bicycle Coalition focuses on bicycling, especially everyday bicycling, but active transportation includes walking and recreating. Many allies are working hard with us on improving California for active transportation. For their perspectives, visit the Safe Routes to School National Partnership, the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, California Walks, and California ReLeaf.

 

This afternoon Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed Senate Bill 910, our bill to establish three feet as the minimum passing distance when drivers pass bicyclists from behind under most circumstances.

We share the disappointment of the thousands of Californians who contacted their legislators and the Governor on behalf of this bill and of author Sen. Alan Lowenthal and our cosponsor Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who worked hard along with us to get this bill enacted.

Here is the Governor’s veto message:

The intent of this bill is to improve bicyclist safety, a goal I wholeheartedly support.

This bill changes the longstanding law for how motor vehicles should pass a bicycle traveling in the same direction. Current law requires drivers to pass at a safe distance; this bill would specify that the distance must be at least 3 feet or at a speed not exceeding 15mph.

This bill offers some needed and clear improvement to the law such as specifying a minimum buffer of 3 feet. However, Caltrans and the California Highway Patrol have raised legitimate concerns about other provisions such as the 15mph requirement. On streets with speed limits of 35 or 40mph, slowing to 15mph to pass a bicycle could cause rear end collisions. On other roars, a bicycle may travel at or new 15 mph creating a long line of cars behind the cyclist.

I encourage the author, proponents, and opponents to send me a bill next year that solves these problems….

Frankly, we’re baffled by this statement. How can the Governor support a three-foot buffer and simultaneously oppose a requirement that motorists slow down until they can provide a three-foot buffer?! We offered him positive examples of other states that have enacted these laws without any of the problems imagined by Caltrans and the CHP. We also shared research findings that show how improved safety enables more people to choose bicycling for transportation in a way that actually reduces all types of vehicle collisions and makes the roads safer for everyone.

The Governor’s veto doesn’t make the hazards associated with unsafe passing go away. Drivers will continue guessing how much clearance to give bicyclists when passing and those who get it wrong will continue injuring and killing bicyclists. Until the Governor appreciates the need to make real changes to existing law, more bicyclists will continue to die from drivers hitting them from behind than from any other cause.

The Governor’s reason for vetoing SB 910 demonstrates the pervasive misunderstanding among so many public officials about how bicyclists use the road and the actual specifics of existing law, including why it’s inadequate for protecting bicyclists from preventable hazards.

Today’s news is one more reminder of how tough it can be to change car-centric attitudes in California. But the state’s goals for improved air quality and public health simply can’t be met without making it safer for more Californians to get to school, work and essential services without having to drive a car. California needs bicycling. We’re confident the Governor will eventually come to recognize this.

Fortunately, SB 910 awakened a sleeping giant, the thousands of Californians who care about the safety of those who travel by bicycle. We’ve heard from adults and teens, parents and spouses, teachers, healthcare providers, law enforcement officers and corporate leaders who want safer roads. Gov. Brown can count on these constituents to continue asking him to safeguard all Californians on the road, and not simply the interests of drivers and their defenders at Caltrans and the CHP.

This issue isn’t going away and neither are we.