invest/divest Archives

Don’t Believe the Myths About VMT Mitigation

July 8, 2025/by Kendra Ramsey

Recently, Big Highway — the companies that profit off expanding highways and driving California to climate ruin — spread misinformation about vehicle miles traveled (VMT) mitigation requirements driving up the cost of freeway building. So ClimatePlan, a consortium of advocacy groups of which CalBike is a member, created a fact sheet to dispel the VMT myths and set the record straight about mitigation costs and benefits. Please take a walk deep into the weeds with us as we nerd out on a proposed VMT mitigation bank and the costs of road building, both financial and societal.

VMT explained

We can’t explain VMT any better than the ClimatePlan fact sheet. Here’s their basic explanation:

“Vehicle miles traveled” (VMT) is a measure of driving.

One vehicle driving one mile = 1 vehicle mile traveled, or 1 VMT
One vehicle driving two miles or two vehicles each driving 1 mile = 2 VMT

Read the fact sheet for more details on VMT.

VMT Fact Sheet 2025 Download

Why does CalBike care about VMT?

The transportation sector is responsible for about half the greenhouse gas emissions in California, so getting people to drive less is one of the more effective ways to combat climate change. VMT affects pollution levels, which impact people biking and walking. And VMT affects quality of life. CalBike’s mission is to create livable neighborhoods where people can get where they need to go safely with a variety of transportation options. Transportation deserts, where people are forced into a car to get anywhere, are bad for communities and health.

VMT mitigation funding can be used for biking and walking infrastructure improvements, so California’s commitment to reducing VMT can support our mission of gaining more funding for active transportation projects. A proposal to create a VMT mitigation bank to collect and dispense funds to transit-oriented development projects that reduce VMT would also include funding for improved active transportation infrastructure adjacent to those projects.

What about EVs?

Electric cars and trucks solve some but not all of the issues with VMT. Projects that add highway lanes induce more driving and don’t solve the congestion problem that initiated the project in the first place. More cars on the road, whether powered by fossil fuels or electricity, means more time spent driving for those in the cars; importantly, it also means more exposure to collisions for vulnerable road users traveling on shared roadways. Plus, we can’t make the transition to electric vehicles quickly enough to prevent the worst impacts of climate chaos.

The bottom line is this: we drove ourselves into a world of extreme temperatures, extreme inequality, and extremely poor health. We can’t drive ourselves out of it — we’ll have to take the train, walk, or bike.

What California invests in grows. If we keep investing in new highway lanes, driving, pollution, and VMT will keep increasing. If we instead invest more in connected, projected bike networks, quick-build safety projects, transit priority lanes, and other projects that expand access to sustainable transportation, we’ll start to make a meaningful shift away from clogged freeways and toward a future full of bicycles.

CTC Backs Doomed Highway Project

July 3, 2025/by Laura McCamy

Meetings of the California Transportation Commission (CTC) usually fly under the radar with few, if any, members of the public aware they’re happening, much less showing up to comment. But a raft of grants proposed for contested highway projects, including the Highway 99 interchange in Fresno and State Route 37 widening, drew opposition from transportation advocates and attention in the press.

CalBike Executive Director Kendra Ramsey joined a number of other advocates in attending the June 26, 2025, CTC meeting. She testified against funding to add lanes to SR 37, which is already subject to flooding and will be permanently underwater, due to sea level rise, by the middle of the century.

Where California invests its transportation funds is crucial

As our climate grows hotter and our roads and freeways become ever more congested and unmanageable, we need new solutions. We need to invest in projects such as those proposed in the Bike Highways Bill, AB 954, which would add connected bike networks to state transportation plans, helping to make biking a viable transportation option for people of all ages and abilities. We need to increase funding for the Active Transportation Program (ATP), which supports biking and walking projects across California. We need to invest in transportation infrastructure that provides options outside of a car, not trapping people behind a steering wheel.

Yet Caltrans and our elected leaders are moving in the wrong direction. Governor Gavin Newsom stripped $400 million from the ATP last year, leaving the program able to fund only 13 projects in its last cycle. Despite a promise to restore the funds, the budget deal just approved by the legislature and signed by the governor doesn’t give back the missing funds. And Caltrans continues to promote projects that don’t offer long-term solutions to our transportation problems but do add to the carbon burden in our atmosphere.

California pays lip service to addressing climate change in numerous policies, but its actions — especially its budget allocations — turn those policies into hollow promises. It’s time for our state to invest in active transportation and fostering neighborhoods where walking, biking, and taking transit are comfortable and easy ways to get around.

Moving toward invest/divest

Leaders consistently use budget shortfalls as an excuse for underfunding sustainable transportation, but we have the money. We simply need to divest from climate-killing projects that move us backward instead of forward. CalBike’s Invest/Divest campaign seeks to redirect funding from reckless highway building and use that money to give Californians true transportation choices.

The advocates didn’t win this round at the CTC. Predictably, the commission voted to allocate funds for SR 37 and other projects opposed by advocates. But this is a long campaign that won’t be won or lost in one hearing. We succeeded in shedding light on CTC and Caltrans operations, which depend on a lack of public scrutiny to keep building highways like it’s 1979. CalBike will continue to be vigilant, turn up with our allies, testify at hearings, and let our state transportation leadership know they will be held to account for their decisions.

California’s Budget Prioritizes Freeway Expansion Over Safe Streets

June 9, 2025/by Laura McCamy

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 9, 2025

Contact: Jared Sanchez, jared@calbike.org, (714)262-0921

Sacramento — CalBike and other advocates had a modest ask from California’s nearly $20 billion 2025 transportation budget: give back the $400 million that was stripped from the Active Transportation Program (ATP) in 2024, as the legislature promised to do in last year’s budget. Yet the legislature’s version, released today, includes no additional funding for the ATP.

Last year’s cutbacks limited the program to funding just 13 projects for safe biking and walking infrastructure across the state. The missing funds could immediately jumpstart 30 local infrastructure projects that applied for funding and are ready to break ground.

In tight budget years like 2025, cuts aren’t distributed evenly. Programs backed by powerful industries, such as money to build new highway lanes, receive billions despite their negative impact on air quality and greenhouse gas emissions, while the Active Transportation Program, which saves lives and provides climate solutions, is left begging for crumbs.

“The Active Transportation Program is the victim of its own success, continuously oversubscribed. Yet the governor and some of our lawmakers fail to recognize its value,” says CalBike Policy Director Jared Sanchez. “The disregard for biking and walking at the state level undercuts state climate policy and makes it harder for local governments to meet residents’ demands for safer streets.”

Improvements that reduce traffic fatalities and make it safer and more appealing to walk and bike are very popular in California communities. The number of projects looking for ATP funding grows every cycle, and the number of high-scoring projects eligible for funding increases.

The demand for local active transportation infrastructure, which has been proven to reduce injuries and fatalities for people using all transportation modes and moves California closer to its climate goals, continues to grow. We should increase the budget for the ATP, yet lawmakers have slashed its budget, nearly leading the California Transportation Commission to cancel the most recent funding cycle due to a lack of funds.

Climate change isn’t something we can deal with down the road; it’s here, now. Safer streets shouldn’t be a “someday when we have extra cash” project, but an urgent necessity to prevent more children and other vulnerable road users from dying needlessly. Our budget priorities show our values. This year, California has sided with polluters over people.

California Legislators Stand Up for the Active Transportation Program

March 18, 2025/by Jared Sanchez

The Active Transportation Program (ATP) provides one of the only statewide funding sources dedicated to biking and walking infrastructure projects. It is chronically underfunded, receiving far more excellent applications than it can greenlight, and recent cuts have made the situation even more dire.

Now, 13 senators and assemblymembers have signed on to a letter to Governor Gavin Newsom, Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, and Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel, who chairs the Assembly Budget Committee. They are throwing their support behind the campaign to restore $400 million taken from the ATP in 2024.

Deep cuts to bike infrastructure

The ATP was targeted for cuts by the governor in the past two tight fiscal years. In 2023, legislators were able to restore funding for this program, which is one of California’s most equity-focused transportation programs and also one that reduces greenhouse gas emissions by making biking, walking, and taking transit safer and more appealing.

In 2024, legislators were only able to restore $200 million of the $600 million originally cut from the program. That allowed Cycle 7 of ATP grants to move forward, but the reduced funds meant that only 13 projects got funding, and local communities are rethinking their reliance on the ATP.

A demand to restore funding

Last year’s budget deal between the governor and the legislature called for restoring the $400 million cut from the ATP if future funds became available. CalBike and our allies have campaigned for the restoration of those funds, and that’s exactly what the letter signed by these legislators asks for. They note that $400 million could fund an additional 36 high-scoring projects from the ATP’s Cycle 7.

It’s rare for legislators to go on the record with a demand like this, and we commend them for supporting active transportation. If any of these legislators represents you, please send them a message thanking them.

Catherine Blakespear, Senate District 38

Damon Connolly, Assembly District 12

Mike Fong, Assembly District 49

Mark Gonzalez, Assembly District 54

Mike Gipson, Assembly District 65

John Laird, Senate District 17

Liz Ortega, Assembly District 20

Blanca Pacheco, Assembly District 64

Nick Schultz, Assembly District 44

José Solache, Assembly District 62

Esmeralda Soria, Assembly District 27

Tom Umberg, Senate District 34

Chris Ward, Assembly District 78

Budget Request Letter ATP Download

Active Transportation Program Struggles After Deep Funding Cuts

November 8, 2024/by Jared Sanchez

Last week, the California Transportation Commission released staff recommendations for the 2025 Active Transportation Program (ATP). The news is dire: $2.5 billion in requests were made, but the California Transportation Commission (CTC) had only $100 million to award in statewide grants, enough to greenlight just 13 projects over the two-year funding cycle.

Budget cuts that punch down at vulnerable road user safety

The ATP was one of only two transportation programs cut in the 2024 budget, despite the fact that it’s the only statewide funding source for biking and walking infrastructure projects and is chronically underfunded and oversubscribed, even without budget cuts. The governor initially recommended cutting all the funding from this program; negotiations with the legislature restored $200 million, allowing the ATP’s Cycle 7 to proceed, even though it was only able to fund 4% of the applications.

The total funding available for the three components (statewide — $84 million, small urban/rural — $16 million, and $68 million for Metropolitan Planning Organizations) that comprise the ATP is $168 million for Cycle 7 instead of the normal amount, which varies from $300 million to $600 million. This leaves an unprecedented shortfall in funding for the CTC’s most oversubscribed and competitive program.

A tiny but critical transportation program

The projects funded by the ATP are critical to meeting California’s climate, safety, and equity goals. The state budget agreement reached in 2024 leaves room for additional funding that would allow additional projects to be built, though there’s no guarantee the funds will become available. And, even if the legislature finds an additional $400 million for the 2025 ATP, program needs will continue to remain greater than the funding the state allocates for this vital program.

Only nine projects have so far been recommended to receive funding through the statewide component and four for the small urban and rural component in the 2025 ATP. These projects were scored at 95 points or higher, which means only the very top projects got funded, while many worthy applications will have to look elsewhere for funding or may not get built.

CalBike advocates for more money for the Active Transportation Program

For CTC to have approved projects scoring at least 85, which for the most part are very strong and deserve funding, the ATP would need an additional $1 billion in funding. Two years ago, CalBike advocated for the state to spend $2 billion on bikes and succeeded in increasing the ATP allocation to $1 billion for Cycle 6. That allowed the CTC to greenlight many more active transportation projects, but it wasn’t enough to fund all the worthwhile proposals. However, that year saw a budget surplus, and the governor has tried to claw back those additional funds in the past two deficit years.

The ATP should get at least $1 billion in funding every cycle. That’s not enough, and it’s still a tiny fraction of California’s transportation spending, but it would be an overdue signal that our state understands the value of active transportation in fighting climate change and making our streets safer and more equitable. We’ve said it before — California can’t be a climate leader if it continues to invest in highways instead of active transportation and transit. We look forward to working with state leadership this year to significantly restore the ATP through the budget process and not allow further reductions to the program.

The ATP is a classic example of induced demand, also known as “build it and they will come.” Since the program’s inception, the volume of applications for funding has grown. More significantly, the number of high-quality projects that significantly improve the safety and comfort of people who bike and walk on California’s streets has increased.

This dedicated funding source, which CalBike’s advocacy helped establish, tapped into a deep well of unmet need for separated bikeways, sidewalk gap closures, protected intersections, and more. Californians want and need the ATP. California should fully fund this program, which provides great value for a fraction of the cost of building or maintaining highways.

CTC Invites Public to Weigh in on Active Transportation Program

July 11, 2024/by Kendra Ramsey

The California Transportation Commission (CTC) will hold a workshop next Wednesday to get public input on some choices it needs to make in administering Cycle 7 of the Active Transportation Program (ATP). The good news is that there will be a Cycle 7 since the governor’s proposed $600 million cut was partially rolled back. But funding will be less than $200 million, around one-third of the usual amount available for biking and walking infrastructure projects around the state.

Still, we are encouraging people who care about safe streets to attend next Wednesday’s meeting, if possible, to show the strong support the ATP has in the community and to help make the best of a bad situation.

What: 2025 Active Transportation Program Budget Update Workshop
When: 10:00 am to 12:00 pm, Wednesday, July 17
Where: Zoom; register here.

Choice one: Should CTC create a contingency list?

It’s a given that the ATP will have more worthy, shovel-ready applications than it can fund. In the budget agreement between the governor and the legislature, the possibility of backfilling the additional $400 million cut from the program was left open. CTC proposes creating a list of projects that would be next in line for funding if more money becomes available.

CalBike encourages you to support a contingency list. It’s the most efficient way to quickly distribute funds. Also, it will be a good way to build support in the legislature for finding the rest of the money, as senators and assemblymembers see projects in their districts that could be funded.

Choice two: How should CTC break ties?

The ATP funding cutoff point often falls among multiple projects with the same score. Within the adopted 2025 ATP Guidelines (Section 20), there are three criteria CTC uses to break ties and select which projects get the funds, but there are so many worthy projects that these aren’t always enough. The current tiebreakers are which project is most shovel-ready, followed by which has the higher scores on application questions with the two highest point values. CTC will present a list of additional possibilities at the meeting and ask attendees to weigh in.

We know the ATP and Complete Streets have strong support. Showing up and voicing our opinions at every opportunity shows our elected officials that we are united in the desire for more and better facilities for bicycling and walking. While we work on increasing funding for these deserving projects, it is also critical to weigh in on how the available funding will be spent.

CalBike Commends Legislature for Rejecting Active Transportation Cuts

May 29, 2024/by Laura McCamy

For Immediate Release: 5/29/24

Contact: Jared Sanchez, 714-262-0921, jared@calbike.org

SACRAMENTO—The legislature’s budget proposal, released today, rescinds the deep cuts to the Active Transportation Program (ATP) proposed in the Governor’s Budget and plans to backfill those cuts with state highway funding. CalBike thanks the legislature for recognizing the value of the ATP and maintaining funding commitments to critical walking and bicycling projects.

CalBike policy director Jared Sanchez: “I’m glad the legislature recognized the value of the Active Transportation Program. The legislature heard from its constituents and saved a popular program many local communities rely on to fund infrastructure projects.”

CalBike consultant Jeanie Ward-Waller: “The ATP is critical to meeting California’s climate goals and addressing the crisis of rising pedestrian and bicyclist fatalities on our roadways, especially in disadvantaged communities across the state. We commend the Legislature for their strong support of shifting funding from car-centric infrastructure to improve walking and biking.”

Background

The Active Transportation Program is a competitive funding source for projects that support biking and walking safety. It gives out approximately $500 million each two-year funding cycle.

In 2022, the ATP received a one-time funding boost of $1.05 billion from the general fund budget surplus, which pushed the total for Cycle 6, awarded in 2022, to $1.6 billion. However, the ATP is chronically underfunded and oversubscribed, and even with the extra funds, many worthwhile projects don’t make the cutoff.

In 2023, Governor Gavin Newsom proposed cutting $300 million from the one-time general fund boost to the ATP; the legislature and Governor agreed to backfill the cut from the State Highway Account, and there were no ATP cuts in the final budget.

In January 2024, the governor initially proposed cutting $200 million from the ATP. He raised that to $600 million in the May Revise, a deep cut that could delay and jeopardize projects awarded in Cycle 6 and would likely eliminate a full future cycle of ATP grants.

No corresponding cuts were proposed to funding for highway projects that increase vehicle miles traveled (VMT) and greenhouse gas emissions. There is no deficit in California’s transportation budget, which receives ample federal funding in addition to state funds.

California Has a Climate Deficit

May 22, 2024/by Jared Sanchez

CalBike Response to May Budget Revise

May 10, 2024/by Jared Sanchez

CalBike Announces People-First Mobility Budget

January 18, 2024/by Brian Smith

For Immediate Release: 1/18/24

Contact: Jared Sanchez, CalBike, (714) 262-0921, Jared@CalBike.org

CalBike Launches People-First Mobility Budget Campaign

SACRAMENTO – In California, our transportation sector contributes more than any other sector to climate pollution. The Climate Action Plan for Transportation Infrastructure (CAPTI) lays out a limited set of plans and goals for reducing emissions from transportation. However, it’s not enough. And climate change isn’t a problem we can push off into a hazy future; it’s here now.

We need to spend more, not less, on active transportation, and although California will need to make some hard choices due to the budget shortfall this year, there is no deficit in the transportation budget.

“California is falling behind and we need to put our money where our climate policies are,” says Jared Sanchez, policy director for CalBike. “CalBike’s People-First Mobility Budget prioritizes projects that mitigate climate change, increase equity, and expand transportation choices. If we build safe, connected, Complete Streets networks, Californians can choose their transportation mode instead of being forced into a car.”

To address this lack of choice, today CalBike has launched a new campaign: the People-First Mobility Budget.

The People-First Mobility Budget for 2024-2025

The People-First Mobility Budget, which includes $20 billion in state funding and $9 billion from federal transportation funding, proposes distributing those funds as follows:

50% of the State Highway Account (SHA) to active transportation projects, and other VMT-reducing projects.
$700 million to the Active Transportation Program (ATP).
A $2 billion set aside for the construction of truly Complete Streets.
25% of the Federal Trust Fund to VMT-reducing projects, including but not limited to implementing transit priority corridors on state/federal highways.
75% of combined federal and state monies would continue to prioritize the repair and maintenance of state-controlled roads. This fix-it-first allocation of approximately $15 billion will pay for needed repairs such as fixing potholes, hardening infrastructure against extreme weather, and scheduled repaving. No repair projects should include new lanes, interchanges, or other infrastructure that would increase vehicle miles traveled (VMT).
At least half of the above spending should go toward improving infrastructure in historically underserved areas.
Zero funding for increased highway capacity. No new freeway lanes, overpasses, or interchanges.

Benefits of a people-first approach to mobility

A people-centered approach to transportation priorities doesn’t force anyone out of their car, but it gives Californians choices about how they get around their communities. Here are just a few of the benefits.

Greater independence for youth and seniors
Healthier neighborhoods.
Financial savings. AAA calculates the average annual cost of car ownership at $9,282. For someone making $50,000 a year, that’s 20% of their income going to transportation. Taking public transit is cheaper. And walking is free.
Improved physical and mental health. Commuting or running errands by bike is a great way to incorporate physical movement into a daily routine. And regular exercise improves mental health as well.
Less congestion. Two of the top 10 most congested cities in the US are in California: Los Angeles and San Francisco. According to US News and World Report, that congestion comes with a financial cost of around $1,600 per driver each year, not to mention lost time and frustration.

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