The crises that confronted the Bay Area before the COVID-19 pandemic have not gone away: inadequate and unaffordable housing, growing racial inequality and growing impacts from climate change. Building diverse communities with much more housing, services and jobs near transit is the best opportunity we have to tackle these challenges. The newly released Plan Bay Area 2050 charts a path to this future, but an outdated policy from 2005 is standing in the way.

Regional transit coordination and integration are urgent priorities for Caltrain. As board members prepare for Caltrain’s October 22 special meeting on regional governance options, SPUR urges the agency to commit itself to open-minded engagement in regional transit governance discussions. Caltrain needs to consider new institutional models that would grow its capacity and enable greater regionalism.

SPUR is pleased to announce that Sujata Srivastava has joined the organization as San Francisco director. “We’re so excited Sujata has joined SPUR,” says San Francisco Board Chair Ariane Hogan. “Her deep, practical experience in housing, urban planning and economic development policy is exactly what San Francisco needs as it faces tremendous hurdles to ensuring that the city is strong, welcoming and sustainable.”