Weigh in on San Mateo County Transportation Funding
Transportation and government leaders in San Mateo County have been talking about putting a measure on the November ballot that could bring an influx of $2.4 billion dollars into the transportation world. That’s a lot of money! Will it all be spent on projects that add more cars to the road? We hope not and that’s why all year SVBC has been working to make sure that robust funding for biking projects and programs is included in the potential transportation sales tax measure. Now, we have our recommendations for what should be included in the plan and you have the opportunity to weigh in!As part of the Transportation Equity Allied Movement Coalition (TEAMC), SVBC has developed an ideal Expenditure Plan for the upcoming transportation sales tax. Our ideal funding measure is based on TEAMC's principles and wouldn’t fund projects that increase pollution or traffic. We want solutions that will work for all San Mateo County residents, particularly those that are underserved by historical transportation funding. That means investing in biking, walking, and transit. In particular, we want to see:
- At least 10% of the measure go to biking and walking projects (the current SMC Measure A dedicates only 3% to biking and walking).
- A Complete Streets policy that would require all projects funded through the measure (whether for highway interchanges, grade separations, or local roads) to accommodate people walking or biking (like what VTA passed with their recent Measure B).
- 60% of the measure go to transit projects. This will ensure that SamTrans not only keeps today's service (including their contributions to Caltrain operations) but provides increased service, frequency, and convenience.
We need your help – take the online Budget Challenge! Now you have the chance to tell decision makers how you want to spend $2.4 billion in potential transportation funding. Go to https://www.getusmovingsmc.com/ and vote for your priorities. You can allocate as much as you want to biking and walking (but keep in mind you can only vote once). This information will be one of the factors that decide the final expenditure plan, which will be determined in June-July. Other factors are the survey that was done at the beginning of the year, input from public meetings and stakeholder groups, and submitted projects from the cities.Speak up – come to a Community meeting: Another way to get involved is to attend one of eight upcoming meetings and provide direct feedback on the county’s transportation: four through the county and four through TEAMC (See dates and locations at the bottom of this post).Suggested talking points for community meetings and comments section of survey:
- I want to see more [protected bike lanes, open streets events, bike share, safe bike parking, bike trails, etc.]
- I support spending money on biking, walking, and transit.
- I support spending money on ways to get people out of their cars.
- I want to improve mobility by getting more people into fewer cars but not increasing the number of vehicles and amount of pollution.
- Talk about why this matters to you.
- Talk about your favorite potential bike project.
SMC Town Hall - North CountyWed. May 2, 6:30 p.m.Doelger Senior Center,101 Lake Merced Blvd, Daly CityTEAMC Central CountyThursday, May 3rd, 6:30-8:30pmSan Mateo County Health System225 37th Ave., San Mateo, CA 94403Click here to RSVP!TEAMC South CountyWednesday, May 9th, 6:30-8:30pmRedwood City Public Library1044 Middlefield Rd., Redwood City, CA 94063Click here to RSVP!SMC Town Hall - Central County Thurs. May 17 1, 6:30 p.m.Lane Room, Burlingame Library,480 Primrose Rd, BurlingameSMC Town Hall - Coastside Thurs. May 24, 6:30 p.m.Ted Adcock Community Center,535 Kelly Ave, Half Moon BaySMC Town Hall - South County Thurs. May 31, 7:00 p.m.Fair Oaks Community Center,2600 Middlefield Rd, Redwood City
