The Loma Prietan
September/October 2005
Update on "Support Strong Communities with Transit and Housing Choices"
By Irv Dawid, SLU Committee Chair
Thank You to the 300 Loma Prietan
readers who returned the "We Need
Livable, Walkable Areas Around Our
Transit Centers!" postcards in our last
issue.
The cards were delivered to the
Metropolitan Transportation
Commission (MTC) who on July 27
unanimously approved this groundbreaking
policy. Consequently, funding for
transit expansion projects will be conditioned
upon the land use or "station area
plans" of the new "bus rapid transit"
stops, rail stations, and ferry terminals so
as to promote "transit oriented development"
(see the 'urban hike' pictorial in
this issue).
With more housing at transit stops
and stations, the twin plagues of sprawl
and traffic congestion are tackled simultaneously
while providing essential housing
where it makes the most sense.
Within our chapter area, the new policy
will be applied to:
1. BART stations in Milpitas, San Jose,
and Santa Clara
2. Dumbarton rail stations in San Mateo
County
3. Ferry terminals in South San
Francisco and Redwood City
We are delighted with this new policy,
and hope that many of you will join the
"corridor working groups" that the policy
stipulates be formed before funding can
be approved in any of the above three
Transit Extension Project corridors. These
working groups will help plan the land
use around the future stations so as to
ensure 'sustainable ridership'. The tragedy
of the strong possibility of reduced service
and weekend closing of the new Peninsula
BART stations is the consequence of
unsustainable ridership.
To find out more about the policy
adopted July 27
1. Refer to the MTC website:
www.mtc.ca.gov/planning/smart_growth/tod/index.htm
2. Review The Loma Prietan, May/June
2005 article "Support Strong
Communities with Transit and
Housing Choices" at www.lomaprieta.sierraclub.org/lp0505_StrongCommunities.html
To become involved, join The
Sustainable Land Use (SLU) committee
as we will need volunteers to represent the
Sierra Club as "stakeholders" in the
above-mentioned corridor working
groups. Email the Sustainable Land Use
committee: LOMAP-LANDUSEFORUM@lists.sierraclub.org. Or
phone the chapter office: 650-390-8411.