The Senate Transportation Committee met today to discuss a number of bills. Among the ones that passed without discussion – on the consent calendar- is A.B. 2259, from Assemblymember Tasha Boerner, that would create a bicycle safety handbook at the DMV.…
The next phase of the CA legislative session is kicking into gear as bills move into the next round of committee hearings. Today, the Assembly Natural Resources Committee made quick work of several bills. Transit, Bike, and Pedestrian Space in…
For more than fifty years, U.S. transportation planners and engineers have focused their energies and our investments on building a transportation system that moves private cars as quickly and efficiently as possible. This worked to make it easy for many…
California claims the dubious distinction of having five of its metropolitan areas land on Smart Growth America’s list of the top twenty most dangerous cities for pedestrians. Bakersfield (#4), Fresno (#7), the Inland Empire (#12), Stockton (#19), and the Sacramento/Roseville/Folsom (#20)…
Earlier this week, the CA Legislature released its own budget plan in response to Governor Newsom’s May Revise budget. Negotiations are ongoing, with discussions being held in various budget subcommittees today and next week, and the numbers are still preliminary and…
Agreed: ATP Is Key At last week’s meeting of the California Transportation Commission, there was one opportunity for people to comment on the threatened cuts to the Active Transportation Program budget. The agenda item was about the 2023 Active Transportation Program Benefits Report,…
Freeway Widening The California Transportation Commission (CTC) went through the motions of listening to objections raised by opponents of a freeway widening project near Sacramento, but the final vote yesterday in favor of the project was no surprise. The commissioners…
The Active Transportation Program “is a key aspect of Caltrans’ responsibilities,” a Department of Finance representative told an Assembly budget subcommittee today. But it may not be key enough. The representative was answering a question from Assemblymember Damon Connolly on…
Saying he had “largely preserved climate investments,” Governor Newsom issued his May Revise for the state budget today. While details were sparse – his office issued an 8-page summary, with “details to come” – one thing he definitely preserved was a…
After long negotiations during last year’s budget process, the legislature and the Governor found a way to provide some extra funding to keep transit agencies from collapsing. The money was due to be released on April 30, but then the…
The California Air Resources Board team working on the statewide e-bike incentive program is considering requiring eligible e-bikes to have batteries that meet UL or EN certifications for safety. Its current plan is to open the program for applicants via…
As reported, the California Bicycle Coalition held its Bike Summit in San Diego last week. The biennial event featured a satisfying mix of talking, sharing ideas, nerding out on the details of design and policy, going on city walks and…
It may have been a bit of a long shot anyway, but it’s a real bummer that S.B. 961 has been amended to call for new vehicles to install only passive speed governors. Speed governors – a well-tested, widely deployed technology – can either…
“Persistence with kindness.” “Don’t take no for an answer.” “Keep trying different things, keep pivoting.” “You have to be very persistent, and kind of annoying.” “District leaders should know who you are; light up their phones.” These consistent bits of…
The following article first appeared in Streetsblog California. Autonomous Vehicles Are autonomous vehicles safe? The answer might depend on who you talk to, judging from the arguments made in yesterday’s Assembly Transportation Committee hearing. To hear proponents, AVs are much…
