Our campaign to get the best deal for bicycling in the voter-approved Santa Clara County Measure B sales tax had another win last week. In a unanimous vote, the Board of Directors approved San José Mayor Sam Liccardo’s motion to require an assessment of the education and encouragement sub-program of the bicycle and pedestrian category.

A recent VTA Board of Directors decision to delay approving the Measure B program guidelines means that the money from the measure will likely take a couple of extra months to start flowing. But it also gives advocates like SVBC and our members another chance to push for some tweaks to the guidelines. In particular, we want to make sure that the money earmarked for education and encouragement programs (anything from Safe Routes to School bike rodeos to open streets events like Viva CalleSJ) is spent wisely. And that means monitoring those programs to see what works and what doesn’t.

Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) is moving closer to finalizing the guidelines for each of the nine Measure B program categories, including the Bicycle and Pedestrian category, which is projected to distribute $250 million for active transportation planning, education, encouragement, and capital projects over the next 30 years. On Friday, April 21, the VTA Board of Directors will hold a workshop to get an update on the program and provide staff with feedback.

Thanks to Nuria Fernandez, General Manager and CEO of Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority, for authoring this guest blog post sharing her recent experiences traveling to Los Angeles with the Viva CalleSJ crew!San Jose has Viva CalleSJ—Los Angeles has CicLAvia. Last month, Los Angeles celebrated its 20th CicLAvia in grand style, with thousands biking on car-free Venice Boulevard, from downtown Culver City to Venice Beach. Santa Clara County Supervisor Ken Yeager, San Jose Councilmember Sylvia Arenas, and I were there, participating in a study tour sponsored by the City of San Jose, and led by nonprofit 8 80 Cities.

Next Wednesday, February 8, 2017, VTA’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee will discuss draft guidelines for the 2016 Measure B Bicycle and Pedestrian Program. You're encouraged to attend the meeting or submit your comments and questions to VTA ahead of time.

In November 2016, Santa Clara County voters approved Measure B, a one-half cent sales tax to fund transportation projects, collected over a 30-year period. In addition to a bicycle and pedestrian category of projects in the measure, there was also a requirement that Local Streets and Roads (pavement) projects funded by the measure implement Complete Streets (CS) practices to maintain and improve access and safety for bicyclists, pedestrians, and transit users on the roadway network. Since Measure B was passed, SVBC has been working on multiple fronts to ensure the CS requirement is adhered to.

The campaign for Measure B - the Santa Clara County transportation sales tax that we've been working on and writing about for the past couple of years - is in full swing. As the public outreach process begins, SVBC is working double-duty, helping to promote the measure while also working with Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) to craft Complete Streets policies that will ensure the money significantly benefits people who walk, ride bikes, and take transit.

Last Thursday, June 2, the VTA Board of Directors unanimously voted to approve a staff recommendation to place a transportation sales tax on the November. This happy result came after years of work with the community and interested groups like the business, labor, and environmental communities. Many SVBC members wrote emails to the VTA Board, participated in workshops, and showed up Thursday night to speak. Thank you for your support!

On the evening of June 2, the VTA Board of Directors will vote on whether or not to put a 1/2-cent, 30-year transportation sales tax on the November ballot in Santa Clara County. SVBC will be there to support the measure.