Central Valley

We are ecstatic at the news that Governor Newsom has appointed Michele Martinez to the California Transportation Commission

As we reported earlier in the summer, CalTrans requested, and the CTC approved, reprogramming $100 million from the 2020 State Highway Operations and Protectio

ClimatePlan recently developed a vision for how to use existing transportation dollars in the short-term to speed economy and health recovery during and after the pandemic, as well as long-term solutions to advance public and active transportation.  We were pleased to join the letter, along with many other partners.  The letter details how the state can prioritize active and pu

Also at the June CTC meeting, Commissioners and the public listening in were treated to a presentation by Dr. Charles Brown of Rutgers University on questions of equity and racial justice in transportation. In the video of the full meeting, Professor Brown’s presentation begins at minute 57.

You may remember that at the May meeting of the California Transportation Commission (CTC), CalTrans’ request to withhold $100 from the SHOPP for Complete Streets improvements was partially approved. We’re happy to report that at the June meeting, the remaining $58 million was approved without opposition.

The compounding effects of the pandemic stay-home orders and the drastically reduced revenues have had an enormous effect on the legislative agenda and schedule in Sacramento. Though the State Senate and State Assembly are starting to reconvene, lawmakers are drastically cutting back on the bills they have introduced and sponsored, as very little legislation not directly tied to the emergency is being pursued.

The application deadline for Cycle 5 of the Active Transportation Program, which will award $440M for biking, walking, and Safe Routes projects, has been extended from June 15 to September 15 to account for staffing and outreach challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. The deadline for the Quick Build pilot program, a new addition this Cycle 5, has only been moved back just one month, to July 15.

After the veto of SB 127, the Complete Streets legislation, we continue to work with our partners and CalTrans on development of a statewide Complete Streets Action Plan.

The Safe Routes Partnership is pleased to announce the third and final in its series of webinars focused on California’s Active Transportation Program: Changes in the ATP Guidelines, Applications and Scoring in Cycle 5.

In the meantime, we hosted the second in our ATP Webinar series last week, and 300 participants tuned in, far exceeding our expectations. The webinar, Writing a Compelling Statement of Need was hosted by California Senior Policy Manager Jonathan Matz and featured Panelists Meghan Pendrocelli, Program Analyst at the California Transportation Commission and Bill Sadler, Bill Sadler, Director of Operations at the Public Health Alliance of California.