Join Us June 26th at 2pm in DTLA: Los Angeles County Active Transportation Coalition

May 22, 2013 by Leave a comment

co-working at HubLA – near the Metro gold line little Tokyo stop

Please save the date: Wednesday June 26th for the Los Angeles County Active Transportation Coalition meeting

Join us in downtown Los Angeles at HubLA to discuss Los Angeles County/Local Transportation Policy on Wednesday June 26th, 2pm – 4pm  at 830 Traction Avenue. Bike, walk, take the dash A or take the metro – the gold line little Tokyo stop is a few blocks and so is union station.

Draft Agenda: popcorn style report out on where your from/what you’re working on, County and local safe routes to school efforts and opportunities, County and local complete streets policies and equity in transportation work group.

More details to come – please save the date and RSVP here!

And see our notes from our last meeting in March here.

Filed under Complete Streets, Data Collection and Evaluation, Equity, Funding, Los Angeles County, News by Policy, Safety, Walk & Bike to School Tagged with , ,

Our Comments on Plan Bay Area: The Region Needs a Bigger Investment in Active Transportation

May 22, 2013 by Leave a comment

The Safe Routes to School National Partnership submitted comments on the Draft Plan Bay Area and the Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR), both of which will have massive impacts on active transportation, public transit, housing,  and other factors affecting the growth, health, and climate of the climate of the region for years to come.
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Our comments emphasized the need for much larger regional investments in active transportation. The Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) adopted broad goals for increasing walking and bicycling in the region to improve our health and protect our climate. But the region will not come anywhere close to meeting those goals without a significant investment in programs that directly increase walking and bicycling, such as the Regional Safe Routes to School program.

Filed under Complete Streets, Data Collection and Evaluation, Equity, Events, Funding Tagged with , , ,

Comment on the Future of Bay Area Active Transportation by this Thursday, May 16!

May 14, 2013 by Leave a comment

The Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) are accepting comments on the Draft Plan Bay Area, and the Draft Enviornmental Impact Report (EIR) until this Thursday at 4pm. Nearly three years in the making, Plan Bay Area is an integrated long-range transportation and land-use/housing plan that will support a growing economy, provide more housing and transportation choices, and reduce transportation-related pollution in the San Francisco Bay Area.The effort grew out of the California Sustainable Communities and Climate Protection Act of 2008 (California Senate Bill 375, Steinberg), which requires each of the state’s 18 metropolitan areas – including the Bay Area –  to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from cars and light trucks.

Elements of Plan Bay Area and the EIR are vital for active transportation and equity. Make your voice heard and comment by Thursday’s deadline!

Filed under Complete Streets, Data Collection and Evaluation, Equity, Events, Funding

Los Angeles County Active Transportation Coalition attends Metro Policy Meeting

April 17, 2013 by 1 Comment

Los Angeles County leaders speak out for walking, bicycling and safe routes to school and complete streets in Los Angeles County at LAC Metro Policy Meeting 4.17.13

The Los Angeles County Active Transportation Coalition is launched and is excitedly taking its first steps! Join us!

Today partners from across the Los Angeles County region, representing Long Beach, Downey, El Monte, South Los Angeles, and organizations like Community Health Councils, Cali Bike Tours, Bike San Gabriel Valley, Advancement Project, the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition, Natural Resources Defense Council, and the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health provided testimony at Metro Policy and Programming committee in support of efforts to increase funding for walking, bicycling, safe routes to school and complete streets efforts in Los Angeles County.

This group is coming together in support of increasing Los Angeles County Transportation investments for walking and bicycling projects past the 1% allocated in the County 2009 Transportation plan (Metro 2009 LRTP, p.15).  With close to 20% of all trips in the County (2009 NHTS data) on foot or bicycle, and close to 40% of the roadway deaths (2010 SWITRS data) people out walking and bicycling, organizations and individuals are coming together to speak out to address and change this. Read more of this post

Filed under Equity, Funding, Get Involved, Grants, Health, Los Angeles County, News by Policy, Public Participation, Safety Tagged with , ,

April 18 Community Meeting: UCLA Study on Health Effects Related to Changes to State Gas Tax

April 8, 2013 by Leave a comment

Filling up the Tank
Photo courtesy of thsandok on Flickr

Drivers, bus riders, Metro rail passengers, bicyclists, people living near roads and freeways — UCLA researchers want to hear from you.

Join them on Thursday, April 18, 2013
5:00-6:30 p.m.
at the Pio Pico – Koreatown Branch Library
694 S Oxford Ave  Los Angeles, CA 90005

The meeting is open to the public, but seating is limited.
Reservations are recommended.  To reserve a spot or to receive more information about the project, call the UCLA Center for Health Advancement at 310-206-1141 or send an email to cha.ph.ucla.edu.

Read more of this post

Filed under Equity, Funding, Los Angeles County, News by SoCal County, Public Participation Tagged with

Recap of Los Angeles County Active Transportation Coalition Meeting on 3/27/13

April 3, 2013 by 4 Comments

Los Angeles County Active Transportation Coalition Meeting March 27, 2013

Last Wednesday over 35-45 people came together at the Wallis Annenberg Science Center to discuss policy needs and goals for the Los Angeles County Active Transportation Coalition.  It was an exciting afternoon with lots of great discussion and feedback.  Multi-modal/complete streets investments and equity were a key and recurring part of the entire afternoon.  Please see our meeting notes here and pictures from the afternoon here.

In order, to fully leverage these co-benefits of walking and bicycling and their connection to riding public transit, Los Angeles County must build out the active transportation network around its expanding rail system and largest public bus system in the state. Active transportation is crucial to the success of implementing projects that support state and regional policies, such as the Sustainable Communities Strategies from state legislation SB 375 and Active Transportation Program from the implementation of MAP-21, forthcoming Cap and Trade revenue, acceleration of Measure R investments (motion at Board this month) and other pending opportunities. Read more of this post

Filed under Complete Streets, Data Collection and Evaluation, Equity, Health, Los Angeles County, News by Policy, Public Participation, Safety, School Siting and/or Joint Use, Transportation Finance, Walk & Bike to School

Safe Routes to School Strategic Plan for the City of Los Angeles: Get involved!

February 28, 2013 by 1 Comment

The City of Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT)  invites you to save the date for Thursday, March 21, 2:00 – 4:00 in the Caltrans Building (100 Main Street, LA 90012 in Conf Room 1.040B) to review milestones and progress to date on the city’s forthcoming Safe Routes to School Strategic Plan.

The City of Los Angeles is prioritizing need for infrastructure improvements among their 495 schools that fall within the City’s boundaries.  This has been something the SRTSNP and many other partners have been working alongside LA DOT and partners both internally and externally.  Among the many things about this effort that inspire me – is the relationship between the school district and transportation planning agency underway with this effort – not to mention current efforts to loop in community based organizations.  And I love how data is informing this project prioritization effort – it’s inspiring to see the City of Los Angeles endeavor toward this. Read more of this post

Filed under Best Practices, City of Los Angeles News, Data Collection and Evaluation, Equity, Funding, Los Angeles County, Public Participation, Safety Tagged with , ,

Los Angeles County Active Transportation Coalition Meeting 3/27

February 26, 2013 by 1 Comment

Save the Date for the Los Angeles County Active Transportation Coalition Meeting on Wednesday March 27th at 2pm at Exposition Park in Los Angeles

Join the Safe Routes to School National Partnership, Prevention Institute, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition, Los Angeles Walks and partners and friends from all over Los Angeles County to discuss Transportation Policy and Investments to improve the built environment for our communities.

This event is open and free for all to attend, but RSVP’s are required and space is limited so sign up today! Read more of this post

Filed under Best Practices, Complete Streets, Data Collection and Evaluation, Equity, Funding, Health, Los Angeles County, News by Policy, Public Participation, Safety, School Siting and/or Joint Use, Transportation Finance, Walk & Bike to School Tagged with , , , ,

LA County: Why Is It Important to Understand Transportation Finance?

February 22, 2013 by 1 Comment

In Los Angeles County, the popular narrative says that everyone drives all the time, and transportation policy has largely reflected this social understanding.  However, active transportation modes are a significant form of mobility, calling into question the truth of the dominant narrative.  As Los Angeles County implements state and regional policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, such as the Sustainable Communities Strategy from State Legislation SB 375, active transportation will play an even more important role in the transportation system, requiring additional investment to achieve regional objectives of clean air, healthy populations, reduced congestion, safe mobility options for all, and economic prosperity.  As the County Transportation Commission, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) is the primary agency responsible for planning, funding, and operating a regional transportation system in which:

  • 19 percent of all trips made in Los Angeles County are completed on foot or by bicycle (2009 National Household Travel Survey: 17.6 percent walking and 1.4 percent bicycling);
  • 34 percent of Los Angeles County students walk and bicycle to school (2009 National Household Travel Survey); and
  • 39 percent of Los Angeles County roadway fatalities are people walking and bicycling (SWITRS 2010);
  • One percent (1%) of Metro’s funding is dedicated to pedestrian and bicycling projects (Metro LRTP 2009 p.15)

Research shows that when streets are designed for safe walking and biking, fewer people are injured and killed in automobile collisions and more people walk and bike.  Designing streets safe for walking and biking entails building and maintaining a network of sidewalks, bikeways, and street crossings that create safe and comfortable walking and biking environments that connect to transit, commercial centers, schools, parks and other destinations. Further, streets safe for walking and biking are designed to reduce vehicle speeds. Read more of this post

Filed under Data Collection and Evaluation, Equity, Funding, Health, Los Angeles County, News by Policy, Safety, Transportation Finance, Walk & Bike to School

Advancement’s Project: Using Budgets as an Advocacy Tools

February 22, 2013 by Leave a comment

indexAdvancement Project understands the power of analyzing and understanding public budgets as a way to make social change. AP’s Equity in Public Funds program demystifies and makes public budgets accessible, specifically for community organizing and advocacy groups. This past year, they released Following the Money: Understanding Los Angeles City’s Finances and Impacting the Budget, and they will be providing a free training at their offices in Echo Park:

Free Training for Advocates
Following the Money: Understanding the L.A. City Budget
Friday, March 15, 2013
9 am – 12 pm

To register or for more information, contact Deanna Cooke at dcooke@advanceproj.org or (213) 989-1300.

Advancement Project has also created “Following the Money” tools for understanding Los Angeles County and the Los Angeles Unified School District budget.

Filed under Equity, Funding, Los Angeles County, News by Policy, Public Participation

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