Let’s face it: Our relationship with highways is a dysfunctional marriage forced on us by short-sighted planning and racist policymaking. We’re unhappy sitting in traffic, inhaling fumes, and spending thousands of dollars on gas, insurance, and maintenance. But we feel stuck. What choice do we have?
This Valentine’s Day, it’s time for a true soulmate: Public Transit! PT, as we like to call our sweetheart, is everything that highways are not: convenient, affordable, friendly, green, and relaxing. Now, we can board a bus or train and read a book or listen to music while Public Transit sweeps us off our feet and delivers us to our destination. It’s a love match!
In the breakup, we’re taking all the friends. We’ll need the skilled workers who built our highways to fix pothole-ridden streets, build and maintain transit infrastructure, and tear down highways we no longer need. Keeping our workforce strong is the key to a healthy relationship, and we’re in this for the long haul.
Take action: funding for public transportation, not more highways
TransForm and our allies have worked with MTC to craft language for a regional funding measure to give the Bay Area a clean, reliable public transportation system that will serve all residents. The measure includes funding for vital transit operations, planning to climate-proof our transportation networks, biking and walking improvements, and much-needed road repair. However, at the last minute, staff suggested allowing the funds raised by the measure to be used for highway widening projects.
It’s critical to preserve as much of the measure’s funding for public transit as possible. And every dollar we spend on new highways is one less dollar for public transit and safer streets. New lanes saddle us with future maintenance costs and take us further down the road toward climate destruction.
So, on this Valentine’s Day, ask your state representatives to break up with highways and fall in love with public transit. Please send an email asking them to ensure that no dollars from the funding measure go to widening Bay Area highways. It just takes a minute.
Share the love
We’re working to build a movement in support of public transportation funding and against highway spending. Please share this action with your followers on social media. Feel free to use the images and taglines below. And tag TransForm in your posts!
Let public transit sweep you off your feet on Valentine’s Day.
I joined @TransForm_Alert and told my representatives to break up with highway spending.
Protect your heart: break up with highways.
I told my representatives it’s time for true love: Public Transit @TransForm_Alert
Roses are red, highways pollute
Transit and biking—a better commute!
I joined @TransForm_Alert and told my representatives to break up with highway spending.