Newsroom

Bay Bridge tolls a boost for congestion pricing?
San Francisco Bay Guardian - August 23, 2010
By Kristen Peters
San Francisco officials are watching closely to see if higher tolls on the Bay Bridge might help the city make the case for charging fees to drive into downtown in high-traffic periods -- and so far, the evidence is promising.  Since tolls increased July 1, an additional 4,000 commuters turning to BART -- and that means fewer cars on the bridge.
Link to article

Federal Civil Rights Review Raises Governance Questions at MTC
Streetsblog San Francisco - August 23, 2010
By Matthew Roth
The long-term impacts to transportation funding as a result of the Federal Transit Administration's (FTA) civil rights compliance probe of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) won't be clear for some time, but the action by the federal administration has transportation policy circles buzzing.
Link to article

New Evidence Links Sprawl to Parking Minimums
Streetsblog Network - August 23, 2010
By Angie Schmitt
New evidence connecting minimum parking requirements and sprawl is bolstering the argument for an overhaul of government policies related to space we devote to the storage of cars. A team of economists from the University of Munich recently released a study examining the effects of mandatory parking minimums on development in urban and suburban Los Angeles. 
Link to article
Download Report (pdf)

Growth puts pressure on California's state parks
Sacramento Bee - August 22, 2010
By Marjie Lundstrom and Matt Weiser
At the Riverwood Inn in rural Humboldt County, where a Harley-Davidson flag flaps on a light pole beneath the Stars and Stripes, the proprietor is steaming mad. Some 15 miles south of Loreen Eliason's roadhouse, the California Department of Transportation is planning to widen a twisty stretch of Highway 101 through Richardson Grove State Park, home to one of the world's last old-growth redwood forests.
Link to article

Legislature weighs new land-use laws
San Diego Union Tribune - August 21, 2010
By Robert Showley
With the state legislative session due to end Aug. 31, the California Planning & Development Report identified 10 bills worth watching. Here are a few that might apply to San Diego County planning and development issues...
Link to article

30/10 is too good to wait
Los Angeles Times - August 21, 2010
By Tim Rutten
On Monday, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Sen. Barbara Boxer will convene a closed-door discussion with local and national transit experts on how to push forward the nation's most important public works initiative. That's Villaraigosa's 30/10 plan, which proposes leveraging the half-cent sales tax increase Los Angeles County residents agreed to in passing Measure R with federal guarantees and loans secured by future tax revenues. 
Link to article

Media Contacts

For media inquiries, please contact:

Autumn Bernstein, ClimatePlan Director
(916) 441-0204

Morry Cater or Roxanna Smith, Cater Communications
(415) 453-0430