For Immediate Release: 8/2/22

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

SB 932  Is a Plan for the Future that California Must Embrace 

Sacramento, Calif. – The California Bicycle Coalition (CalBike) supports Senator Portantino’s Plan for the Future Bill (SB 932) to prioritize pedestrian and cyclist safety and fix the most deadly roads in our cities.  The bill will be heard in Assembly Appropriations Committee on Wednesday, August 3.

SB 932 would require a county or city to identify high-injury streets and intersections in its General Plan and prioritize safety improvements to reduce traffic collisions. SB 932 would also create an annual grant program to award funding to help cities implement timely and effective short-term efforts to mitigate bicycle, pedestrian, and other active transportation.

The bill will also help reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions and create safer and healthier streets for active transportation in communities statewide.

“By putting active transportation safety and access at the center of local planning, SB 932 will create more livable communities in all parts of California,” says Jared Sanchez, CalBike Senior Policy Advocate. “And the Plan for the Future Bill is essential to meeting California’s emissions reduction goals. We need strong legislation like this if we want to have any hope of avoiding the worst impacts of climate change.

Specifically, SB 932 would:

• Require cities and counties to update the circulation element of their general plans by 2024 to include “a balanced, multimodal transportation network … and to ensure that the plan includes bicycle and pedestrian plans and traffic calming plans for any urbanized area[.]”
• Mandate that cities and counties begin to implement those plans within two years after the adoption of the new circulation element.
• Establish a grant program to help cities build Complete Streets.

Background

Americans have recently seen a significant rise in traffic fatalities. In 2021, 42,915 people died in motor vehicle traffic crashes last year, a 10.5% increase from 2020 and the highest number of fatalities since 2005.

California has taken a lead nationally in creating safer streets. We know what works. 

Many cities lack data on how to address deaths caused by accidents and serious injuries to pedestrians, cyclists, and other human-powered-transit users. In many cities where the most dangerous streets and corridors have been identified, no plans exist to remedy these deadly situations. Even in cities that have developed safety plans, meaningful changes that would actually save lives have yet to be implemented.

Also, many safety plans on paper never make it to the street, which is why the grant program is critical to this legislation’s success. By using data-driven plans to improve street safety, we can save lives and encourage more people to walk and bike to their destinations. SB 932 will mitigate injuries and fatalities and will yield positive change for our communities.