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- From: "eegenebradley" <http://profiles.yahoo.com/eegenebradley>
- Date: Tue, 27 Sep 2011 15:10:30 -0000
Note especially the MTC's further attempts to move its headquarters to a location in SF rather far from transit - and thus further from accountability by you. Definitely something worth contacting Dave Cortese and Sam Liccardo about. --eugene ========== ACTION ALERT ========== ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Transportation Justice Working Group (TJWG) MTC to Vote on Moving to SF and to Spend Billions on Toll Lanes This Wednesday! September 28th & October's Transportation Justice Working Group Meeting ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Hello Transportation Justice Allies, Below is information on the following: MTC is voting this Wednesday to spend $180 million in funds that could be used for transit service on a NEW building that is 4 blocks from any BART station in San Francisco, making it harder for the public to access. Join us at MTC on 9/28 at 9am to oppose this decision! MTC is also voting on Wed to take steps to build an over three billion dollar network of express toll lanes that will add more highway lanes, compete for funding with transit and other critical transportation costs and has not been subjected to an equity analysis. Join us at MTC on 9/28 at 10:45am to oppose this project as well! Our next Transportation Justice Working Group meeting is coming up next Tuesday, October 4th from 3-5pm. There is a lot going on, so please join us! Agenda follows below. Report back from the Moving Planet: A Day To Move Beyond Fossil Fuels Rally and March on Saturday 9/24 that drew thousands and where Carl Anthony spoke. Also, it's not too late to get involved in ACCE's week of action (this week) to hold Bank's accountable for paying their fair share of taxes for such services as education, housing and transit. More information here. Join us at MTC at 9am on Wed 9/28 to oppose their decision to buy 390 Main Street in San Francisco. What's the latest? If you recall, because of much public protest and an investigation launched by State Senator DelSaulnier, in a special re-vote on the move, the MTC Commission repealed its earlier decision to approve the move and set up a special joint committee that to address concerns raised at the last meeting where MTC Commission. Now, that subcommittee, in a split vote 4-2, has come back to re-propose that the Commission approve the move (Spering, Kinsey, Tissier and Dodd voted in favor. Scott Haggerty and Amy Worth dissented). Why should we oppose the move? Now is NOT the time to spend $180 million in flexible funding (for purchase and renovation) of a new building when all of our transit operators face budget deficits. (AC Transit is still at future service cuts and Samtrans, a bus agency in San Mateo county serving mainly low-income riders, may go bankrupt by 2013 (which could shut down their service completely) unless their financial outlook changes. The new building is 4 blocks (1/2 mile) from the nearest BART station, making meetings much less accessible than the current building which is across the street from Lake Merritt BART station, for those who are transit dependent and worse for those with a disability. There are other, more accessible locations, available. MTC is talking about providing a shuttle service for 6 meetings a month, but have not identified who would provide the service and where the $40k a year would come from to provide it. Furthermore, this doesn't provide access to MTC's library which has computers and resources that are currently free to the public. The state is currently conducting an audit to assess whether bridge toll revenues can and should be used for purchasing and renovating a building (especially when MTC currently has a perfectly good one now). This audit won't be complete for a matter of months. MTC still hasn't responded to State Senator Mark DeSaulnier's request for a needs assessment for the purchase and relocation. Meeting Agenda can be found here. And a recent article on the move can be found here (thanks to Joyce Roy for sending it around earlier). Join us at MTC on Wed 9/28 at 10:30 to oppose a vote to move forward with proposal to build a more than $3 billion express toll lane network (HOT/HOV). What's this about? Even though we're only half-way through the Regional Transportation Planning process, MTC staff is insisting that the agency rush a proposal to the Ca Transportation Commission to build a $3 plus billion express toll lane network (also known as a High Occupancy Toll/High Occupancy Vehicle network). Originally, the proposal assumed that the network would generate net revenues of upwards of $6 billion, that could be used for such things as transit. Now, MTC is saying that additional funding will be needed to build the network and that it wouldn't generate revenues (if any) until after completion in 2035! Many members of TJWG signed-onto this letter focused on both the transportation scenarios in the plan and the express toll lanes network, opposing the network application on the following grounds (see point #4 on page 3): In its current form, the Express Lanes Network proposal adds highway lanes, which is likely going to increase driving and greenhouse gas emissions. This is going in the opposite direction of our SCS goals. The current proposal does not include an equity analysis or any assessment of the impact that Express/toll lanes will have on low-income drivers. And it includes no plan to provide revenues for transit service restorations or improvements. Without any such revenue, why is MTC even pushing this proposal? MTC should postpone this decision, get public input, and address these concerns before moving ahead with their proposal. At the Planning Committee meeting, earlier this month, in spite of our testimony and a recommendation to reconsider the application by the MTC's own Policy Advisory Council, the committee members voted unanimously in favor of moving ahead. If you can attend, please let Lindsay know and she will send you updated talking points http://www.urbanhabitat.org/~Lindsay. If you can't attend on Wednesday, but want to weigh in on either decision, please send an email to members of the commission or give them a call (full contact info found here): Adrienne Tissier < http://www.co.sanmateo.ca.us/~atissier <http://www.co.sanmateo.ca.us/~atissier> >; Amy Worth http://www.ci.orinda.ca.us/~aworth <http://www.ci.orinda.ca.us/~aworth> ; Tom Azumbrado < http://www.HUD.GOV/~Thomas_W._Azumbrado <http://www.HUD.GOV/~Thomas_W._Azumbrado> >; Tom Bates < http://www.ci..us/~mayor <http://www.ci..us/~mayor> >; David Campos < http://www.sfgov.org/~David.Campos <http://www.sfgov.org/~David.Campos> >; Dave Cortese < http://www.bos.sccgov.org/~dave.cortese <http://www.bos.sccgov.org/~dave.cortese> >; Bill Dodd < http://www.countyofnapa.org/~bill.dodd <http://www.countyofnapa.org/~bill.dodd> >; Dorene Giacopini < http://www.mtc.ca.gov/~dgiacopini <http://www.mtc.ca.gov/~dgiacopini> >; Federal Glover < http://www.bos.cccounty.us/~dist5 <http://www.bos.cccounty.us/~dist5> >; Mark Green < http://www.unioncity.org/~markg <http://www.unioncity.org/~markg> >; Scott Haggerty < http://www.acgov.org/~district1 <http://www.acgov.org/~district1> >; Anne Halsted < http://www.aol.com/~ahalsted <http://www.aol.com/~ahalsted> >; Steve Kinsey < http://www.co.marin.ca.us/~skinsey <http://www.co.marin.ca.us/~skinsey> >; Sam Liccardo < http://www.where-I-live.gov/~District3 <http://www.where-I-live.gov/~District3> >; Jake MacKenzie < http://www.aol.com/~blumacjazz <http://www.aol.com/~blumacjazz> >; Kevin Mullin < http://www.km2communications.com/~kevin <http://www.km2communications.com/~kevin> >; Bijan Sartipi < http://www.dot.ca.gov/~bijan_sartipi <http://www.dot.ca.gov/~bijan_sartipi> >; James Spering < http://www.sbcglobal.net/~jimzspering <http://www.sbcglobal.net/~jimzspering> >; Scott Wiener < http://www.sfgov.org/~Scott.Wiener <http://www.sfgov.org/~Scott.Wiener> > October's Transportation Justice Working Group Meeting When? Tuesday, October 4th 3-5pm Where? Urban Habitat 436 14th Street, Suite 1205, Oakland CA Call in: 1800-430-0714, passcode: 8399510 The agenda will include the following items: Regional Transportation Plan Update on where we're at Prioritizing our policy and funding recommendations (Picking our top 2-4) One Bay Area Grants - our best shot at fighting gentrification and displacement in infill, transit-oriented development at the regional level Student Bus Pass Campaigns in SF and Alameda County are heating up! Federal Transportation Bill - what's the latest? TJ Political Education series - some options Updates/Announcements: ACCE's Week of Action MTC's votes on their move and HOT/HOV lanes TJWG's meeting times/locations going forward Report back from the Moving Planet: A Day To Move Beyond Fossil Fuels Rally and March on Saturday 9/24 that drew thousands and where Carl Anthony, Urban Habitat's founder, spoke. Brief description from Bay Localize: Bay Localize is partnering with 350.org and a host of allies for Moving Planet Bay Area: A Day to Move Beyond Fossil Fuels in San Francisco! Thousands of people from around the Bay Area will parade from Justin Herman Plaza down Market Street in a showcase of clean transportation solutions, and converge at the Civic Center Plaza for music, festivities, and opportunities galore to hold local leaders accountable for strong climate action. Bay Localize is connecting social justice organizers with climate activists to promote clean transit, affordable housing, and healthy green space in the regional Plan Bay Area. Bob Allen, Urban Habitat's Director of Transportation Justice, manned a table where he got a lot of interest from attendees in issues of transportation justice and the 6 Wins. He said the following: "Solid turnout for the event and Carl did a great job. It was good to hear folks talk about a Regional Agenda for tackling Climate Change and the need for Climate Justice. Bill Mckibben took on the issue of the "whiteness" of the environmental movement and who is and will be most impacted by Climate Change. Aimee Allison introduced Carl as the "grandfather of the EJ Movement."" Great work Carl! Great work Aaron, Kay and all the folks at Bay Localize! Here is an article about the event that features some quotes from Carl (featured below). Another focus of the afternoon rally was the connection to environmental justice, the concept that poor communities and ethnic minorities are disproportionately affected by pollution of all types. Carl Anthony, founder of Urban Habitat, one of the nation's oldest environmental justice organizations, spoke to an energetic crowd packed into Civic Center Plaza. He emphasized that people, not just polar bears, are affected by climate change. "Global warming is a climate justice issue," he told the rally. "The people of color, the poor people, the indigenous people will bear the burden of climate change, even though they, less than anyone else, are responsible for our CO2 emissions." He continued, "This means that any solution we come up with for climate change must also be a solution for social and racial justice." "We have the opportunity in Ca, to take money away from suburban sprawl...to rebuild a public transportation system that works for poor people as well as rich people," Anthony said, citing the Sustainable Communities legislation that would redirect $218 billion to rebuild public transportation. ========== END ACTION ALERT ==========
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