Blog: September, 2011
Why the MTC's Toll Lane Plan Won't Meet the Goals of Road Pricing
The Bay Area has a lot to gain from pricing its freeways. Two of the major benefits are money for transit and less highway congestion. High-Occupancy Toll (HOT) lanes are a miniature form of road pricing, offering solo drivers the option to buy their way into High-Occupancy Vehicle lanes and bypass the congested, more heavily-subsidized highway lanes.
In 2008, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) proposed a plan to expand the region’s network of HOT lanes to 800 miles by 2035. This week, the agency is expected to approve a new plan for submission to the California Transportation Commission (CTC), but it would be scaled back significantly to 570 miles and would fall short of achieving the benefits of road pricing on several levels:
- Much of the planned network will expand highway lanes rather than converting existing ones to use them more efficiently. SPUR’s analysis shows that this will increase vehicle travel demand and CO2 emissions.
- The plan won’t make any money for transit. Regional systems like Caltrain are in dire need of long-term funding solutions, but the cost of building the HOT Lane network, estimated between $1.6 and $6.8 billion, would negate nearly all of the revenue the MTC expects to bring in over the timeline of the plan.
- The plan won’t complete the express lane network for buses that use the highways. Some of the most congested routes, like 280 and 101 leading into the urban core of San Francisco, would be left without HOT lanes at all.
Some sustainable planning advocates like the folks at TransForm fear the MTC is rushing to submit a severely flawed proposal in time for the CTC’s deadline in October, after which final authority over HOT lanes is shifted from the CTC to the more challenging state legislature.
But the MTC is also developing its Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) over the next two years, which is likely to include recommendations more consistent with the region’s sustainable planning goals. Rather than submit a rushed proposal now and go through a more difficult modification process later, the agency should wait to develop a comprehensive plan that provides the Bay Area the kind of road pricing measures it needs to manage travel demand on its highways.
Spotlight on the November election
The November 2011 election promises to be one of the most exciting in recent memory. What's on the ballot? What will the election results mean for San Francisco? And who will be our next mayor? Attend our two election events to learn more. Join the SPUR Young Urbanists and SPUR policy staff on Tuesday October 25 for Ballots and Brews. And don't miss our Post-election Recap with political analysts Alex Clemens and David Latterman on November 9.
Intern at SPUR
Want to learn how urban planning really works? Get your foot in the door with a nationally known policy institution? We are looking for interns and volunteers to support SPUR's work. Open positions include:
Cooperative Movement Research Assistant
SPUR Needs You!
Want to learn how urban planning really works? Get your foot in the door with a nationally known policy institution? We are looking for interns to support SPUR's development and public engagement departments. Open positions include: public prgramming intern, development intern, video intern and front desk ambassadors. Contact Will Heywood at volunteer@spur.org. Please include a resume and cover letter, and put the job title in the email subject line. See all open intern and volunteer positions at spur.org/volunteer.
City CarShare celebrates 10 years
City CarShare, the nation’s first and largest nonprofit car-sharing organization, will celebrate its 10th anniversary on October 19. SPUR was instrumental in launching this innovative model for community-based car sharing, and our executive director, Gabriel Metcalf, is one of the three City CarShare founders — along with Elizabeth Sullivan and Kate White — who will be honored at this celebration.
Learn more about the event >>
Silver SPUR Awards Luncheon
Monday, October 31, 2011
Reception—10:30 a.m.
Luncheon & Awards Ceremony—12 p.m.
Once a year, we pause to cast the spotlight on individuals whose goals and achievements exemplify the highest aspirations of our city and region. Join San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee, chairs Alexa Arena of Forest City Development and Antony Ritch of Westfield and 2,000 fellow citizens as we pay tribute to a select group of individuals who make our city and region a better place to live and work.
Get more information and purchase tickets >>
Why we need the Central Subway
There’s been a lot of misinformation and confused discussion of late about the merits of the Central Subway project, which will extend the T-Third Street rail line underground past Moscone Center, Union Square, Chinatown and — if we play our cards right — North Beach and beyond. While this project is not perfect, the truth is, every transit project in the U.S. is a compromise. SPUR’s take, after careful review several years ago, was that the Central Subway is well worth doing, but what really makes it worthwhile is extending it with a short final phase at street surface, toward Fisherman’s Wharf or possibly Van Ness. Stephen Taber, our Central Subway Task Force chairman, recently weighed in to defend the project in a Chronicle editorial.
Read the editorial >>
Read the SPUR Report on the Central Subway >>
Market Street makeover
Reclaim Market Street! – SPUR’s newest exhibition— seeks inspiration for SF's Market Street in provocative international projects such as the Paris Plages, Bogota’s Cyclovia and the new Times Square pedestrian plaza in New York. The exhibition, on display at SPUR through January 6, 2012, accompanies a series of events including an installation of David Rockwell's Imagination Playground, a screening of William Whyte's film The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces, and a bike ride with members of Rebar, the SF Bike Coalition and the San Francisco Great Streets Project.
Read more >>
Ocean Beach Master Plan Public Workshop #3
SPUR invites the public to attend the third public workshop for the Ocean Beach Master Plan. We will be presenting draft recommendations for an approach to coastal management, natural resources, and public access based on input from a wide variety of community and agency stakeholders and the public. The recommendations will sketch out an ambitious and proactive vision to improve access, protect and restore ecological resources, and protect critical infrastructure as sea level rise worsens erosion in the coming decades. The public will be invited to provide feedback on the recommendations, which will be refined in the coming months.
TRANSIT: Muni 5-Fulton to 37th Ave.
DIRECTIONS: Click here to see directions and a map >>
(limited parking available at the facility; street parking is free)
PROJECT PARTNERS:
San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association (SPUR)
California State Coastal Conservancy
US National Park Service
San Francisco Public Utilities Commission
San Francisco Dept of Recreation and Parks
San Francisco Dept of Public Works
ACCESSIBILITY:
This is an ADA accessible facility. Assistive listening devices, sign language or translation services are available on request.
QUESTIONS/CONTACT: oceanbeach@
Public Feedback Summary to Date
As the Ocean Beach Master Plan Team develops Draft Recommendations to be presented at the next Public Workshop (Oct 29th!), we are working hard to absorb and incorporate the diverse voices of the Ocean Beach Community. The presentation below provides additional distillation of what we have heard to date in our public workshops, neighborhood meetings, and online commentary. In particular, it shows which of the Test Scenarios were most attractive as starting points for workshop participants and the hybrid approaches they developed.
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