SB 152 (Beall), which would have radically restructured the Active Transportation Program and to which we announced our opposition last month, failed to pass the Senate Appropriations Committee last week.
We are pleased with the continued progress of SB 127 (Wiener), the Complete Streets bill we are co-sponsoring along with California Walks, the California Bicycle Coalition and the American Heart Association. The bill has now passed out of the Senate Transportation and Appropriations committees. In the process, we have agreed to amendments that removed our proposed reordering of the State Highway Account’s priorities.
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 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 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.
Because some Metropolitan Planning Organizations have not yet released their recommendations for the ATP Cycle 4 MPO component, we have extended the deadline to apply for our Cycle 5 ATP technical assistance in order to accomodate jurisdictions that are still waiting to find out if their projects will be funded. So, if your community needs safe walking and biking infrastructure, but you need help applying for the state’s Active Transportation Program, we can help!
California’s legislative cycle is in full swing, and the Safe Routes Partnership continues to advocate for our priorities in Sacramento. In partnership with our co-sponsors CalWalks, CalBike and the American Heart Association, we have been meeting frequently with legislators and agency staff about SB 127 (Wiener), which will guarantee the implementation of Complete Streets improvements along sections of the State Highway System that fall within a half-mile radius of key community destinations such as schools and parks.
 | @saferoutesca |
| Safe Routes to School in California |
