The Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) hosted their annual General Assembly on May 1st in Palm Desert, CA. Themed Beyond Boundaries, the conference drew representatives from 191 cities and six counties and included topics centered on micro mobility, technology opportunities from the green economy, and unleashing the power of data.
Earlier this month, the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) released Draft Community Air Monitoring Plans (CAMP) for each of the three AB 617 Southern California areas (Boyle Heights, Muscoy, and West Long Beach). This is the first step in identifying ways to mitigate air pollution issues in these communities.
A number of important plans will be updated in our Central Valley counties in coming months, offering advocates opportunities to weigh in on planning and transportation decisions. General Plans will be updated in Modesto and in Fresno County, and we will be particularly concerned that issues of equity, environmental justice and SB 1000 will be addressed. In addition, the Non-Motorized Transportation Plan in Stanislaus County will be updated, and we look forward to helping align the county’s Safe Routes to School and active transportation efforts where needs are greatest.
In late February, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) released an updated Vision Zero Action Strategy to continue the city toward its goal of eliminating traffic deaths.
In other legislative news, we are getting ready to testify in the Senate Transportation Committee in favor of SB 127, the Complete Streets for All Bill. We plan to publish amendments before the hearing further clarifying which corridors of the state highway network are affected by the bill.
Late last month, State Senator Jim Beall (District 15, Santa Clara) introduced SB 152, which would radically restructure the Active Transportation Program, reducing the statewide component to 10% from its current 50% while increasing the Metropolitan Planning Organization component from 40% to 75% and the Small Urban and Rural component from 10%-15%.
Last month, SB 152 was released in the California State Senate.
In September 2018, the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) initiated a project to develop Active Transportation plans for each of its 12 districts, ultimately covering the entire State of California. As part of this effort, Caltrans is developing an overarching statewide data framework and methodology for collecting, storing, and using active transportation data. District 4 in the Bay Area is one of the first areas beginning this process.
In recent weeks, the City of Modesto has adopted an update to its general plan. Last year, we joined with local advocates to make comments to the plan, and many of the concerns raised were adopted in revisions. A key aspect of our comments was that the proposed draft plan did not address environmental justice as required during general plan updates by state law, SB 1000.