Transportation and Land
Use Coalition (TALC)
Coalition Update: May
8, 2008
TALC NEWS
1. Join us in Sacramento to lobby for transportation funding --
Tuesday, May 20
2. Speak up for healthy transportation investments
3. Transportation Fund for Climate Protection needs your support
4. New program helps "punch" out pollution
5. No on Prop 98. Yes on Prop 99.
6. Explore new high-speed rail website
UPCOMING TALC EVENTS
7. Help TALC decide on its campaigns for the next four years --
Wednesday, May 21
NEWS FROM TALC MEMBER GROUPS
8. San Francisco Bicycle Coalition is hiring
9. Measure in support of open and up-to-date environmental review gets
out of committee
OTHER EVENTS AND NEWS
10. Affordable Housing Week -- May 10-18
11. Bike to Work Day -- Thursday, May 15
12, Climate change -- Will Berkeley be a national leader? -- Thursday,
May 15
13. Weigh in on Muni's Transit Effectiveness Project
14. Urban policy fellowship opportunity: apply by June 1
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TALC NEWS
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1. Join us in Sacramento to lobby for
transportation funding -- Tuesday, May 20
Join TALC on our May 20 Sacramento lobby day. The Governor and state
legislators are proposing massive public transit cuts. Without our
effort, the prospects for protecting funding for public transportation
and creating long-term budget solutions are slim. But, with our voices,
there is a fighting chance! To participate in the lobby day, contact Ben
Lowe at
ben@transcoalition.org or
510-740-3150 x306. To learn more about TALC's efforts to protect funding
for public transportation in the state budget, visit the webpage
below.
Learn more:
www.transcoalition.org/c/sus_spill/index.html
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2. Speak up for healthy transportation investments
The Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) is getting closer to making decisions about which transportation projects and programs will receive funding in the 2009 Regional Transportation Plan. Throughout May, MTC is holding workshops in each Bay Area county to find out about residents' transportation priorities, with a goal of defining a preliminary investment package by early July. This is a tremendous opportunity to voice your support for bicycle and pedestrian access, transit affordability, and important projects that connect and enhance transit like the Transbay Terminal and Bus Rapid Transit. With your help we can drive home the message that Bay Area transportation dollars should fund healthy choices that benefit everyone. Expensive highway projects that just promote more driving and pollution should pay for themselves through user fees. To find out when your county's meeting is, see the webpage below. For questions and to sign up for email alerts about the RTP, contact Carli Paine at carli@transcoalition.org or 510-740-3150 x315.
Learn more: www.transcoalition.org/c/sus_rtp/rtp_home.html
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3. Transportation Fund for Climate Protection needs your support
TALC's legislation, AB 2744, to authorize a Transportation Fund for Climate Protection came incredibly close to getting out of its first committee, falling short by just one vote. Fortunately, the bill may be reconsidered. We'll need more support lined up for when it makes its comeback, so we're asking everybody who can to get more organizations to submit letters in favor of the bill. Support is more important than ever because lobbyists from the oil industry, auto dealers, and the California Chamber of Commerce turned out in force against the bill at the committee vote. You can find information on the bill and how to support it at the webpage below.
Learn more: www.transcoalition.org/c/ab2744/
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4. New program helps "punch" out pollution
What do gremlins have to do with reducing the amount of greenhouse gases we produce? A whole lot, if you're one of the hundreds of students participating in the Pollution Punchcard Contest. The contest, sponsored by TALC's Safe Routes to Schools program, encourages schoolchildren to eliminate car trips by walking, biking, or taking the bus to school. The pilot program debuted this spring at three schools in Oakland and Berkeley with funding from the Bay Area Air Quality Management District. During the six-week content, students have their cards punched on unannounced days if they got to school without an auto trip. This gives them chances to win prizes, while all participants gain an awareness of how their individual actions impact climate change. Many thanks to contest organizer Jennifer Su, who has worked tirelessly to ensure that it runs smoothly. For more information contact Susan Silber at susan@transcoalition.org or 510-740-3150 x332.
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5. No on Prop 98. Yes on Prop 99.
TALC is opposing Prop 98 and supporting Prop 99. Both measures are being billed as sensible eminent domain reform, but only 99 is the real thing. Prop 98 would have many devastating repercussions that would make it very difficult to protect and create new affordable housing, conserve natural spaces, reduce pollution, and plan our cities and land use to create a more equitable world. Prop 99 is a much more targeted bill that aims to close a loophole in the eminent domain law to protect homeowners and would also kill Prop 98 if it passes. Help precinct walk to get the word out about the propositions. Join Urban Habitat and five other social justice and community organizing groups for precinct walking in Oakland on May 10, 24, and 31 from 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. For more information contact Lindsay Imai at 510-844-1191 or lindsay@urbanhabitat.org.
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6. Explore new high-speed rail website
You can now explore the California High-Speed Rail Authority's new high-speed rail website. The site has a route explorer that includes visual simulations of the stations, as well as routes, travel times, and estimated greenhouse gas reductions from high-speed trains. The top media article on the site has TALC's Stuart Cohen pushing the Authority to consider a 100% clean renewable energy policy.
Learn more: www.cahighspeedrail.ca.gov
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UPCOMING TALC EVENTS
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7. Help TALC decide on its campaigns for the next four years -- Wednesday, May 21
If there ever was a critical TALC regional meeting for you to attend, it's the May 21 meeting! And it's not just because we'll be providing free food (we won't even pass the hat). The May regional meeting will be an interactive discussion looking at what campaign opportunities exist across the region over the next five years and which ones you think the coalition should prioritize working on together. We'll also talk about what has worked well in past coalition campaigns and how TALC can better support future ones. The discussion will feed directly into TALC's 2009-2012 strategic planning process which is underway.
To ensure we have enough seating and food please RSVP to rsvp@transcoalition.org or call 510-740-3150 x319. The regional meeting will be held on Wednesday, May 21 from 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. at the Sierra Club's third-floor conference room in downtown San Francisco, 85 Second Street, near the Montgomery BART/Muni station. If you have any questions about the meeting or TALC's strategic planning overall, please contact Marta Lindsey at marta@transcoalition.org or 510-740-3150 x321. We urge member and affiliate group representatives and advocates to turn out in full force to shape the direction of the coalition's future work!
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NEWS FROM TALC MEMBER GROUPS
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8. San Francisco Bicycle Coalition is hiring
The SFBC is looking for a highly motivated, talented individual to support SFBC's growing membership and development programs in the role of Membership and Development Assistant.
Learn more: www.sfbike.org/?jobs
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9. Measure in support of open and up-to-date environmental review gets out of committee
State Senator Kuehl's SB 1165, sponsored by the Planning and Conservation League, passed out of the Senate Committee on Environmental Quality on April 14 and now awaits a hearing in Senate Appropriations on May 12. Supported by over 40 conservation organizations, community groups and CEQA practitioners, this measure ensures that environmental review documents required by the California Environmental Quality Act are both up to date and free of undue influence by the project proponents.
Learn more: www.pcl.org/legislation/sb1165.html
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OTHER EVENTS AND NEWS
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10. Affordable Housing Week -- May 10-18
This month, organizations from across the region will inform residents about housing resources available to them and highlight actions they can take to make affordable housing a reality in their community. Events include a forum on the link between health and affordable housing by the Alameda County Public Health Department, a bus tour of affordable housing in the South Bay, and a panel discussion on "Green Affordable Housing" in Sonoma County. For more information and a full listing of events, please visit www.ebho.org (East Bay), www.hlcsmc.org (San Mateo County), www.schousingcoalition.org (Sonoma County), and www.affordablehousingweek.org (Santa Clara County).
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11. Bike to Work Day -- Thursday, May 15
Nearly 40% of commuters in the Bay Area live five miles or less from their job, an easy biking range for most people. Join with tens of thousands of other residents on May 15 and help take cars off the road and slash air pollution. To find the location of nearly 200 Energizer Stations, enter to win prizes, and learn about National Bike Month visit the webpage below.
Learn more: www.bayareabikes.org/btwd/index.php
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12. Climate change -- Will Berkeley be a national leader? -- Thursday, May 15
More than 80 percent of Berkeley residents voted to significantly reduce the City's greenhouse gas emissions. Now what? Come learn about Berkeley's Climate Action Plan, what you can do to make an impact on climate change, and join in a discussion of the role organizations can play to help achieve the City's goal of an 80 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The event is sponsored by Livable Berkeley and cosponsored by Berkeley Design Advocates, Greenbelt Alliance, and TALC. It will be held on Thursday, May 15 at 7:00 p.m. at the Aurora Theatre, 2081 Addison Street, Berkeley. Please RSVP by Monday, May 12 to info@livableberkeley.org.
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13. Weigh in on Muni's Transit Effectiveness Project
San Francisco's Transit Effectiveness Project (TEP) is the first comprehensive effort in over a generation to review the Muni system and recommend ways to improve service. The TEP team is collecting feedback at upcoming community meetings on May 10, 12, 14, and 17 and via the 311 customer service line. The TEP proposals will be revised based on community input and route changes may happen as early as July 2009. For more information about the TEP's draft proposals and upcoming community meetings please visit the website below.
Learn more: www.sftep.com
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14. Urban policy fellowship opportunity: apply by June 1
The German Marshall Fund of the United States is pleased to announce fellowships through its Comparative Domestic Policy program. Fellows will be selected from individuals and leaders working in urban policy, the nonprofit sector, city government, etc. and will be awarded a stipend of up to $10,000 per month for 2-6 months. U.S. candidates would be based in Europe, beginning in the fall of 2008, and would have an opportunity to research approaches to an urban or regional challenge confronted by both American and European cities and regions.
Learn more: www.gmfus.org/template/page.cfm?page_id=212
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About the Transportation and Land Use Coalition (TALC)
TALC is a partnership of over 100 groups working for a sustainable and socially just Bay Area. We envision a region with healthy, walkable communities that provide all residents with transportation choices and affordable housing. The coalition analyzes county and regional policies, works with community groups to develop alternatives, and coordinates grassroots campaigns.
To contact TALC:
405 14th Street, Suite 605
Oakland, CA 94612
510-740-3150
www.transcoalition.org
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