MTC eNews: Bike Share set to grow, tell us your hopes for the Bay Area's future & photos/videos galore

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IN THIS ISSUE | Plan Bay Area 2040: Get Involved | Bike to Work Day Highlights | Bay Area Pavement Report Card | Standing Up 4 Transportation | Vital Signs Takes Regional Pulse | Bike Share Expands
 
 
 
   
 
 
PLAN BAY AREA 2040: JOIN THE CONVERSATION
 
Article 1
Open house participants are encouraged to voice their opinions via sticky notes. Photo by Noah Berger.
Public outreach for Plan Bay Area 2040 is in full swing this spring, with MTC and the Association of Bay Area Governments staging open houses in each of the nine Bay Area counties in April and May. Using sticky dots, participants vote on their top goals for the plan, choosing from among seven options: climate protection, adequate housing, healthy and safe communities, open space and agricultural preservation, equitable access, economic vitality, and transportation system effectiveness. If you missed the meeting in your county, you can still participate virtually, via the online Plan Bay Area Open Forum, which will be active through May 31, 2015. The public comments will feed into the “Goals and Targets” that will form the foundation for this iteration of MTC’s long-range plan, which is updated every four years. Read More
 
 
 
 
IF IT’S MAY, IT MUST BE BIKE TO WORK DAY
 
Article 2
Legions of commuters discovered the joys of pedaling on Bike to Work Day. Photo by Noah Berger.
The Bay Area’s annual Bike to Work Day rolled around on May 14. Cheered on by more than 1,300 volunteers at over 400 Energizer Stations – who handed out snacks, drinks and giveaways – over 100,000 commuters turned a normal Thursday morning into a huge, collective bike fest. A highlight of the day was a ride by two big-city, first-term mayors as part of their “Bike Off” challenge: Libby Schaaf of Oakland and Sam Liccardo of San Jose. Both members of MTC, the two mayors have been marshaling their staff and residents to bike the most during the month of May, to see which of their cities is the most passionate about cycling. The mayoral Bike Off dovetails with Team Bike Challenge, in which some 1,600 teams around the Bay Area are competing to log the most miles on two wheels during May. MTC is a major sponsor of Bike to Work Day, now celebrating its 21st year. Read More
 
 
 
 
THE GRADES ARE IN: BAY AREA PAVEMENT REPORT CARD
 
Article 3
MTC’s goal is to upgrade the condition of all Bay Area local roadways to a rating of 75 – which is considered “good” – or better. Photo by Karl Nielsen.
Can you guess which Bay Area cities boast the smoothest and healthiest pavement? The Contra Costa County city of Brentwood and the Alameda County city of Dublin topped the list of Bay Area pavement rankings for the 2012–14 period, with both cities reporting average Pavement Condition Index (PCI) scores of 86, which is considered “very good” by public works directors (the scale goes to 100). Other cities with scores in the “very good” range include Belvedere (80), Clayton (80), El Cerrito (84), Foster City (81), Portola Valley (80) and Union City (81). These findings come from the latest edition of MTC’s annual report card on the condition of local streets and roads across the Bay Area. This marks the sixth consecutive year the region has recorded an average PCI score of 66, a condition deemed “fair” but which also indicates that the asphalt shows serious wear and likely will require rehabilitation soon. MTC’s goal is to bring the local street and road network in every Bay Area city and county to a PCI score of 75 (“good”) or better. Read More
 
 
 
 
STAND UP 4 TRANSPORTATION PRESS CONFERENCE
 
Article 4
MTC Chair Dave Cortese leads the crowd in a call-and-response exercise at the Stand Up 4 Transportation rally and press event. Photo by Noah Berger.
Top officials from more than a dozen local and state transportation agencies gathered at San Francisco’s Temporary Transbay Terminal on a bright spring day in early April to show solidarity with the national Stand Up 4 Transportation campaign. Several buses carrying transit agency officials, staff and supporters converged on the terminal, including one wrapped in the campaign’s signature red branding. The press conference and rally was one of dozens of events staged in cities around the country to urge Congress to renew the federal legislation that fuels transportation services and infrastructure. Known as MAP 21 (Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century), the current bill is set to expire May 31, 2015. Emceeing the event was MTC Chair Dave Cortese, who engaged the crowd in a lively chorus of “Yes” and “No” responses to his prompts. Noting that Congress has been relying on short-term, stop-gap measures, Cortese said that the federal Trust Fund that supports both highways and transit is almost completely out of cash. “Are you OK with that?” he asked, and the crowd responded with a resounding “No!” Read More
 
 
 
 
VITAL SIGNS UNVEILS STATS ON LAND AND PEOPLE
 
Article 5
The second phase of MTC’s data-rich, interactive Vital Signs project focuses on job, housing and population trends. Photo by Nancy Nehring.
Nearly everything you ever wanted to know about job, housing and population trends in the Bay Area can now be found on MTC’s Vital Signs website. Among the key findings: When it comes to the Top 10 job growth areas in the nation (measured for 2010-2013), the Bay Area is the second-hottest metro area in the nation, with Silicon Valley emerging as the Bay Area’s undisputed employment capital. The data also reveal a growing trend toward multifamily housing construction, with apartments, condos and townhomes accounting for more than half the housing construction permits issued over the last decade. The addition of the “Land and People” section marks the second phase of MTC’s four-part Vital Signs initiative, which debuted in early 2015 with a “Transportation” module that tracks everything from commute mode choice and time spent in traffic congestion to the condition of the region’s transit assets and bridges. Data for Phase 3, which will focus on the region’s economy, is due for release later this spring. The fourth and final phase will be unveiled this summer and will examine environmental and safety data. Read More
 
 
 
 
PLAN CALLS FOR GROWING BIKE SHARE NETWORK
 
Article 6
The expansion plan calls for deploying bike sharing in the East Bay cities of Berkeley, Emeryville and Oakland. Photo by Noah Berger.
The Bay Area Bike Share fleet would expand tenfold under a proposal unveiled at the April meeting of MTC’s Administration Committee. A phenomenon across the U.S. and around the world, bike sharing came to the Bay Area in 2013 with the help of $7 million in seed funding from MTC. The pilot phase, part of MTC’s Climate Initiatives Program, installed 700 sturdy bikes in five cities along the Caltrain corridor, with San Francisco and San Jose as the anchor cities. Under the proposal, MTC would partner with a private operator to build the fleet to 7,000 of the specially designed bikes, and expand the program to the East Bay cities of Berkeley, Emeryville and Oakland. Read More
 
 
 
 
ON THE CALENDAR
Plan Bay Area Open House, Marin County: Thursday, May 28, 2015
5 pm to 7 pm
Marin County Civic Center Cafe
3501 Civic Center Drive, 2nd Floor
San Rafael
Read More

Parking Pricing Expert Panel: Tuesday, June 2, 2015
1 pm to 4:30 pm
Metropolitan Transportation Commission Auditorium
101 8th Street
Oakland
Read More
 
 
 
 
MTC: Metropolitan Transportation Commission
 
 
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