Election Day Roundup: Big Bay Area Wins for Transportation

On Tuesday, Bay Area voters overwhelmingly reaffirmed their commitment to public and active transportation.

• In Alameda County, voters passed Measure BB, a 0.5% sales tax increase (to 1%) through 2045, generating $7.8 billion for transit. It will fund a multitude of services for the county's 1.6 million (and growing) population, including:
• Experimenting with free bus passes in some areas, similar to MTA's program to provide passes for low-income SF youth
• Expanding mass transit (including a BART extension to Livermore)
• Infrastructure for highways and roads
• Bicycle and pedestrian safety
• In San Francisco, voters approved a transportation bond - Prop A, adding $500 million, and here's the breakdown:
• Transit-riders get: dedicated transit lanes, Bus Rapid Transit improvements, station improvements for Muni/BART
• Bikers get: more parking, separated bikeways
• Pedestrians get: better traffic signals and sidewalks/islands
• In SF, voters also rejected Prop L, an auto-friendly measure, and approved Prop B, which scales the amount of MTA's funding proportionally as the city's population increases. Two more big wins for transportation.

In addition to the transportation measures, a few cities passed or rejected major growth-related initiatives:

• Berkeley voters' rejection of Measure R, which would have made their downtown transit-oriented development (TOD) more difficult and parking construction easier
• San Bruno's Measure N passed, which allows the city to fully implement the 2013 approved Transit Corridors Plan by raising the building height limit restrictions. This would revitalize the downtown, allowing for mixed-use TOD and economic development
• Menlo Park voters turning down Measure M, which would have undone years of work on the city's downtown development

I'm convinced that some of the theory coming out of today's planning schools is the best we've ever seen. Planners are working hard to implement bold new ideas from planning schools--new urbanism, public transportation, and active transportation feature prominently, as well as mixed-use development. Measures like Berkeley's R, Menlo Park's M, and yes, even SF's Prop B (waterfront development limitations) show a lack of trust in individuals to do the jobs they are paid to do. The planning process hasn't been known for its stealth, requiring permits, EIRs, public hearings, and a multitude of other steps before projects get off the ground. Ballot measures that seek to slow progress or unnecessarily insert the public further into the process displays an unwarranted lack of trust in these individuals to do their jobs effectively.

I've included a few pictures from my adventures in Malmö, Sweden to show examples of what Complete Streets looks like, and hopefully a sign of what is to come in the Bay Area. 

This picture shows what transit-only lanes would look like. The cyclist isn't wearing a helmet, but this is actually quite common in Europe. The excellent bike infrastructure through separated bikeways and a separate traffic light system decreases the chance of bike/car crashes. SF's measure allows funding for both of these elements.

An example of Transit-oriented development (TOD). You can see the multi-story units in the background and Sweden's biofuel-powered bus in the midground. Just outside of the picture to the right is a split bicycle/pedestrian pathway. The Grand Boulevard Initiative, focusing on El Camino on the peninsula, hopes to incorporate many of these elements.

With the right momentum, the Bay Area can follow in the footsteps of European planners and be a trendsetter for the rest of the country. All this excellent local news comes in the wake of the Governor's Highway Safety Association's recent report which used flawed statistics to mislead people about the dangers of urban biking. Rick Bernardi of Bicycle Law wrote a great article on the factual inaccuracies, as did Bike Portland. The sad news is that the GHSA report's findings were repeated by the Chronicle, LA Times, Chicago Tribune, and Seattle Weekly, and Washington Post, reaching millions of potential bikers. The day after, I saw some more critical press coverage, but the initial rush to spread misinformation had me concerned. It also sends a message that we have a lot of work to do to convince the naysayers across the country that these investments will payoff in the long run.

(For more info on these measures and others, visit Ballotpedia, Greenbelt Alliance, and TransForm)

 .