Regional Transportation Plan

Can MTC Take the Heat? Redux

Posted by Eric ⋅ 6 October 2008 ⋅ 8 Comments

Remember this past summer, when we ruminated about the Metropolitan Transportation Commission’s ongoing update to the Regional Transportation Plan (Transportation 2035)? Remember when we were peeved by MTC’s unwillingness to heed the sage advice of the Advisory Council, the body that encouraged MTC to reevaluate $191 billion worth of “committed” projects, including several billion dollars … Continue reading →

Getting Somewhere on Land Use

Posted by Eric ⋅ 12 September 2008 ⋅ 4 Comments

Downtown Oakland, Courtesy Flickr user joshua aaron. Earlier this week, we spent some time delving into SB 375, the landmark Senate Bill that recently passed through the legislature and, at the time of writing this post, awaits only the Governor’s signature. The bill unifies transportation and land use planning, housing, and global warming into one … Continue reading →

Planning for Climate Change

Posted by Eric ⋅ 8 September 2008 ⋅ 6 Comments

Mt. Diablo, courtesy Flickr user qf8. In August 2006, the California legislature passed the Global Warming Solutions Act (AB 32), and the Governor approved it one month later, on September 27, 2006. AB 32 aims to transform California into a global leader in the climate change battle, requiring that greenhouse gas emissions levels be reduced … Continue reading →

Can MTC Take the Heat?

Posted by Eric ⋅ 29 July 2008 ⋅ 6 Comments

We have discussed here before, or at least introduced, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission’s Transportation 2035 Plan, which is the latest update to the Regional Transportation Plan. The RTP provides a strategy for how to use the $223 billion of transportation funding that MTC expects will become available to the Bay Area over the next 25 … Continue reading →

Just Say No to Roads

Posted by Eric ⋅ 14 July 2008 ⋅ 7 Comments

Suppose you expect to have a generous chunk of cash at your disposal — to the tune of over 200 billion dollars — and suppose that you rule over a congestion-prone corner of the world where over 80% of trips are made in an automobile, and where transportation is responsible for a full 50% of … Continue reading →