News, Views and Analysis from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission and the Association of Bay Area Governments
A 2017 Memorandum of Understanding between MTC and the Association of Bay Area Governments obliged the agencies to begin discussions on whether the MTC and ABAG should restructure their governing boards to better serve the region and to make better use of the agencies’ consolidated staff. Read More
Here’s a question only a policy wonk could love: Should a performance target be achievable or aspirational? In other words, should it be based on current trends, or on desired outcomes? That question is at the heart of a position paper now circulating for review by MTC’s partners, stakeholders and the public. Read More
Priority Development Areas (PDAs) are neighborhoods near transit and other amenities that city or county governments have identified and approved for future growth. PDAs are key to the "Focused Growth" strategy at the heart of Plan Bay Area 2040, the nine county region's long-range transportation and land use plan.
Applications are due March 5, 2018 for three MTC PDA assistance programs (Planning, Technical Assistance, and Staffing) that will help local governments plan for and implement PDAs within their jurisdictions, and thereby help the region achieve its goals for the environment, economy and equity.
For more information, contact Mark Shorett, PDA Program Manager, mshorett@bayareametro.gov, (415) 820-7994. Read More
Three meetings are scheduled for this Friday, February 9, starting at 9:30 a.m. at the Bay Area Metro Center: the Joint MTC Planning Committee with the ABAG Administrative Committee, the MTC Operations Committee, and the MTC Legislation Committee.
Highlights include: an overview of an ambitious new joint agency project called Futures, an update of MTC’s Draft Coordinated Public Transit-Human Services Transportation Plan, a report on MTC’s Goods Movement Investment Strategy, an update on efforts to improve traffic operations systems in the I-880 corridor, a discussion of the imminent Regional Measure 3 ballot pamphlet, and an overview of key elements of Governor Jerry Brown's budget proposal.
Continue reading on to see more from the agendas and find links to all meeting materials. As always, you can tune in to the meetings live on the MTC website once they are underway. Read More
Given recently passed state housing legislation and lawsuits against local jurisdictions, cities face increasing scrutiny when approving or denying housing development proposals. MTC’s long-running Planning Innovations series kicks off 2018 with a timely workshop on these issues, How Objective is "Objective"? Effective Development Standards in the SB35 and Housing Accountability Act Era. The workshop will be held starting at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, February 13, at the Bay Area Metro Center in San Francisco; register and see additional details here. Read More
According to the Participatory Budgeting Project, participatory budgeting (PB):
... is a democratic process in which community members directly decide how to spend part of a public budget. It enables taxpayers to work with government to make the budget decisions that affect their lives.
PB has been around internationally for some time and recently PB projects have been implemented locally on a limited scale in both Vallejo and Oakland. Since 2012, the City of Vallejo has engaged over 15,000 residents in allocating nearly $7 million for 25 local projects. In Oakland, over 1,200 residents of two City Council Districts helped decide how to spend nearly $800,000 in federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds to benefit low-and moderate-income residents.
Here at MTC, staff are proposing to pilot PB projects through the next cycle of the Community-Based Transportation Planning (CBPT) Program, set to run from 2017-2021. Read More