Comments on the CCAG agenda 7/12/08

Comments by Agenda item for CCAG 7/12/08

4.0 Pull from CONSENT AGENDA items 4.2, 4.5, 4.10

4.2 El Camino Real Incentive Program Planning Grant process.
Comments- Extend the electric buses down the El Camino from Mission St in San Francisco at Top of the Hill, Daly City. Electric buses are cheap, quiet, and zero pollution- the only zero pollution large vehicle in the mass transit choices. They are an established technology used in Seattle, San Francisco and recently designed in by numerous Latin American cities like Bogota, Mexico City and Curitiba that have attained fame for their low CO2 mass appeal in transportation. Electric ZAP buses would complement the walkable goals of El Camino by lowering noise and air pollution for the admirable housing goals in the Grand Boulevard Initiative.

4.5 An agreement with Bottomley Associates for the Context Sensitive Design Practice & Guidelines and the MultiModal Access Strategy in an amount not to exceed $140,692/-
Comments- Please consider true multimodality. Take one example at Ralston and El Camino. Fast turn lanes create unique opportunities for automobiles to collide with pedestrians. Wide streets force seniors to try and jog unsuccessfully, frequently arriving stranded in the middle of the intersection, on a tiny median, as their train or bus pulls out. Bicycles are challenged to take lanes to the left of stopped buses or vehicles parked for free in front of the multimodal station, impacting fare box recovery and ZAP accessibility. Cities in turn respond with expensive enforcement fixes like video cameras to nab offensive drivers enabled by poor multimodal designs.

4.10 List of projects for the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) for consideration in the Regional Transportation Plan (RTP).
Comments -A big thank you to MTC for adopting ambitious greenhouse gas, VMT, congestion, safety, and affordability goals for the RTP-2035. Please ensure that CCAG now prioritize investments that support these goals. With transportation contributing fully half of all of the Bay Area's greenhouse gas emissions, I'm urge you to help us reduce our automobile dependence by investing in great transit, safe biking and walking, and the land uses that support these transportation choices.

Specifically, I'm asking you to:
• Increase funding to complete the Regional Bicycle Network and Comprehensive Bicycle Plan in San Mateo to $200 over the next 25 years. Make sure that CO2 intensive projects when funded, like the Ralston 101 Interchange, do not penalize bicyclist and pedestrian, by removing access today for a future project like the Ralston 101 bicycle bridge. This bike bridge has found less than 20% of its funding in the last eight years and is not even prioritized in the Comprehensive Bicycle Plan list of projects.
• Increase funding for Safe Routes to Transit by investing an additional $2 million/year for the next 25 years.
• Create a new Safe Routes to Schools grant program and fund it at $2 million/year for the next 25 years.
• Increase funding for the TLC land use program to $300M over 25 years.
• And finally develop working strategies to meet air quality goals for PM10 and PM 2.5 because NONE of your options are remotely expected to succeed by 2035.

5.0 REGULAR AGENDA
5.2 Cooperative Agreement for the County Smart Corridors project.
5.2.1 Status report on funding for the Smart Corridors project.
Comments- The smart corridor program has a negative impact on zero CO2 modes creating accessibility problems for pedestrian, transit users, the disabled, and bicycles. Please ensure that the subsequent EIR, which the attorney general has fortunately enforced, takes the water and air pollution issues from restricted multi modality into consideration.