TransForm's Priorities in 2013

Smarter State Transportation Investments
Billions of dollars for California’s public transportation has been
redirected for other uses over the past decade. For almost four
years, TransForm has worked from its Sacramento office to provide a
consistent voice for the urgent need for sustainable and equitable state
transportation policies.

In 2013: TransForm will host the second California Transportation
Choices Summit and Advocacy Day on April 24-26. Hundreds of
advocates and organizations will unite to share information and develop
strategies for maximizing the impact of our movement. Our top 2013
priority is to get a funding commitment for sustainable transportation
and land use from the State’s new Cap and Trade program. Another
focus is reducing the voter threshold to 55% for transportation
measures that implement Sustainable Communities Strategies and
have overall benefits for low-income communities.

Improving Collaboration on State Policy 
The State is facing critical, cross-cutting growth issues such as the disbanding of redevelopment agencies, loss of affordable housing
funds, and continued regulatory barriers to transit-oriented development
issues. But many of our closest partners have not worked together on
state policy.

In 2013: TransForm and ClimatePlan are bringing groups together to
identify common ground, build relationships, and identify solutions such
as developing new funding sources for transit-oriented development
that includes affordable housing. ClimatePlan’s state policy group will
continue to take the lead in making sure the Air Resources Board’s
review of Sustainable Communities Strategies holds regions to a high
standard. A new federal transportation bill was approved in 2012 that
offers significant new flexibility to states. TransForm will partner with
allies to ensure the new law prioritizes bicycle safety, pedestrian safety,
and helps implement SB 375.

Health and Transportation
In 2012, TransForm joined with California Pan-Ethnic Health Network
to sponsor and pass AB 441. The law requires the State to identify
transportation projects and programs that improve public health
and health equity and include that in the next update of Regional Transportation Plan guidelines.

In 2013: TransForm is seeking partners and funding to create an on-
line, dynamic tool called Creating Healthy Regional Transportation Plans.
Pivoting off of our 2012 report, this tool will document successful
strategies across California, with updated case studies, measurable
outcomes, and more. This can help inform state policy, and create a
template of programs for when the guidelines are next updated.

Bay Area Sustainable Communities Strategy (SCS)
The Bay Area’s SCS will be adopted in June 2013 and TransForm
and partners are working to ensure the SCS achieves at least a
15% reduction in per-capita CO2 emissions, as well as the health,
equity, and environmental goals that the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) set in 2011.

In 2013: TransForm will lead a campaign to have MTC’s proposed
Express Lanes, which allow solo drivers into carpool lanes for a
fee, provide funding to expand transportation choices and mitigate
impacts on low-income riders. TransForm will analyze the existing
proposal, release reports that offer a menu of options to address
impacts on low-income commuters and lead a campaign to have
these recommendations adopted by June. We are also making sure
an innovative program to direct regional funding to infill areas that are
accepting more growth, known as OBAG, includes policies that avoid
displacement of low-income residents and promote conservation.

Sustainable Communities Strategies Across California
ClimatePlan is a coalition of more than 40 leading environmental, social
justice, and public health organizations from across California working
together to ensure that better land use and transportation choices are at
the heart of how the State meets emission reduction goals. TransForm
co-founded, fiscally sponsors and provides programmatic support for
ClimatePlan.

In 2013: ClimatePlan is working intensively in the San Joaquin Valley,
coordinating a network of groups to refocus investment to existing
communities and protect the world’s best farmland. In Southern
California, ClimatePlan will kick off an SCS monitoring project to help
local advocates ensure the bold commitments made in 2012 are
realized. ClimatePlan continues to help advocates statewide share
information and best practices with five working groups, quarterly
statewide meetings, and issue trainings. TransForm staff will continue
to provide technical assistance to non-profits in San Diego.

GreenTRIP
TransForm’s cutting-edge GreenTRIP program certifies residential and
mixed-used developments that create a new model of accessibility and
affordability – offering free transit passes and carshare memberships, reducing excessive parking, and creating more affordable homes.

In 2013: TransForm will expand our certification, focusing on affordable
housing developments and creating a new zero parking certification.
We are also launching our Great Access/Deep Affordability initiative
that will bring the benefits of GreenTRIP to a vastly larger scale. It
includes the development of a dynamic online tool that will allow
communities and interested users to maximize effective trip reduction
strategies and reduce parking demand and trips. With the initiative we
are also launching a large-scale research effort to quantify the benefits
of dedicated affordable housing, transit passes, and carsharing on
reducing vehicle trips, vehicle ownership, and greenhouse gases.

Revolutionizing Public Transportation on a Budget
TransForm is promoting Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) – with dedicated lanes, state-of-the-art vehicles, fast boarding, and less frequent stops – so the
Bay Area joins areas around the world that are revolutionizing transit at a fraction of the cost of rail.

In 2013: For nearly a decade, TransForm’s planners have engaged
communities in shaping BRT proposals to ensure they have safe bicycle
and pedestrian access, effectively serve seniors, and catalyze community
revitalization. AC Transit’s East Bay project was finally approved in 2012,
allowing us to shift our focus to successful design and implementation.
In the South Bay, TransForm is engaging youth and building merchant
support to get final approvals in 2013. Finally we will start a new San
Francisco outreach campaign for Muni BRT on Geary.

Safe Routes to Schools (SR2S)
TransForm leads the Alameda County SR2S Partnership to get
thousands of kids walking and biking safely to school more often, with an emphasis on low-income communities that face the greatest health and safety issues.

In 2013: With the program now in over 100 Alameda County schools, we
continue to forge ahead with creative solutions to reduce emissions and create a new generation of healthy kids. We supported another round of regional funding that is now bringing SR2S to each Bay Area county, and support many of the counties with materials and assistance. New this year: Expanding our high school program and sponsoring Carpool to School Day on February 6 as an alternative for families that live too far away to walk or bicycle to school.

Great Communities Collaborative
The award-winning Great Communities Collaborative (GCC) is engaging people – especially low-income people and people of color – to create sustainable, equitable land use plans near transit hubs in the Bay Area.

In 2013: TransForm will provide technical support to GCC partners
throughout the region on parking policies, traffic reduction strategies, and
ensuring effective connections at transit station areas. We will continue
to play a lead role in engaging communities on Oakland’s Lake Merritt
Station Area Plan and the South San Francisco Downtown Specific
Plan, while helping implement the excellent corridor plan for Oakland’s
International Boulevard. Last year we successfully transitioned out of our
program management role, but still serve on GCC’s Advisory Board and
co-chair the Local Policy and Planning Committee.