Time: February 10,2012 , 1:30 pm – 3:00 pm

Location: 1065 Kemper Hall, UC Davis

Speaker:  Ms. Lauren Michele, Principal/Founder of Policy in Motion

Title: Policy in Motion: Transportation Planning in California after AB 32

Abstract: While state and federal actions have been taken to set new requirements for vehicle efficiency and fuels, tackling travel behavior policies that reduce vehicle-miles-traveled and improve transportation network management is needed if California is to reduce its transportation sector’s 38 percent contribution to greenhouse gas emissions. California’s unique democracy and global economy is unparallel to any other union. The State is setting new policy directions for sustainable living through transportation planning, but outdated regulatory frameworks must be aligned with supporting paradigm shifts if California is to move forward in a truly unified vision for people-oriented development and transportation. In a time where both state and federal efforts are pointing toward sustainable planning, Lauren Michele covers five key topics that are necessary for policymakers and practitioners to understand in order to implement sustainable transportation solutions at all levels of government:

• The Four Circles of GHG Reduction Strategies from Travel Behavior:
  categorizes the existing literature on GHG reduction ranges from land use and transportation strategies into four major themes
• Planning Theory and Frameworks in California: analyzes how environmental review frameworks, funding structures, and the land use/ transportation planning process work at the local, regional, state, and federal levels
• Implementing SACOG’s Blueprint and Metropolitan Transportation Plan: reveals what aspects of California government need policy reform in order to successfully implement SB 375′s ”Sustainable Communities Strategies” through an analysis of SACOG’s Blueprint process, successes, and challenges
• Recommendations for New Policy Frameworks in California: contains suggestions for statute changes, agency actions, and framework reforms that support AB 32, SB 375, AB 857, and SB 391 objectives
• Creating a Federal Framework for Integrated Planning: provides recommended language for evolving federal climate/energy bills and the transportation reauthorization to support GHG reduction through the planning process

Biographical Sketch: Since the passage of California’s Global Warming Solutions Act in 2006 (AB 32), Lauren Michele – Principal/Owner/Author of Policy in Motion, has worked with government agencies and varied stakeholders from the local to federal level on crafting and implementing transportation plans and regulatory frameworks which work toward community sustainability and people-oriented development. A graduate of ITS-Davis and analyst with the Institute’s Urban Land Use and Transportation Center, Ms. Michele’s background extends from working as a local transportation planner in California’s capital city to a federal climate policy analyst in Washington D.C. Her research and strategic analyses have been shared with the Federal Highway Administration; State of California Department of Transportation, Air Resources Board, Energy Commission, Strategic Growth Council, Governor’s Office of Planning and Research, Assembly and Senate; as well as regional and local transportation planning agencies developing integrated land use and transportation sustainability plans pursuant to Senate Bill 375 (Steinberg, 2008). Her recent book, ‘Policy in Motion: Transportation Planning in California after AB 32 was released on August 10th of 2011, including a foreword by Dr. Daniel Sperling. ”This book examines California’s transportation planning initiatives since AB 32, with a nuanced eye toward the State’s particular rules, laws, politics, and institutions. Lauren Michele provides insights and lessons for policymakers and practitioners-in California and elsewhere-as they strive to create more sustainable communities and transportation systems.”– Dr. Daniel Sperling; Director/Professor, Institute of Transportation Studies, UC Davis.

Date: December 8, 2011

Time: 9am Pacific/Noon Eastern

In 2011, local governments have seen concerted efforts in the U.S. House of Representatives to slash and cut important federal sustainability programs that benefit cities and counties. In efforts toward deficit reduction, Congress has sought to eliminate funding for renewable energy, energy efficiency, clean vehicles, smart growth, green infrastructure and more. This federal investment is critical to local efforts to reduce energy use, curb greenhouse gas emissions, improve air and water quality and decrease vehicle miles traveled. As communities have demonstrated, federal sustainability funding enables cities and counties to leverage additional public and private dollars, and helps to create new jobs and economic growth.

As local governments prepare for 2012, several key questions should be asked:

• What types of federal sustainability funding will be available, and how can localities prepare to be competitive?
• What types of technical assistance will be available from EPA, DOE, DOT and other federal agencies?
• What federal sustainability policies are likely to be debated in Congress, and how will they impact cities and counties?

This webinar will last approximately one hour, and there is no cost to participate.

Speakers include:

Supervisor Valerie Brown, Sonoma County, California

Supervisor Brown will discuss the value of a local government voice at the federal level.

Michelle Wyman, Executive Director of Applied Solutions

Ms. Wyman will give an introduction to the Applied Solutions Webinar Series.

Andrew Seth and Matt Ward, Climate Communities

Mr. Seth and Mr. Ward will identify opportunities for cities and counties to support local priorities with federal sustainability funding next year, and provide an overview of the federal sustainability policy landscape in 2012.

Click here for more information and to sign up for the webinar.

Regional Planning and Sustainable Communities Strategies: The Road So Far

SB 375 has been hailed as a new standard in planning for transportation, housing, land use and climate change mitigation. Get up-to-speed on this significant legislation with this “just the facts” approach to the implementation and application of the law, including how SB 375 was integrated into the Housing Element Law and CEQA, and the potential impacts this will have on local government and other state policy. Review the different strategies being developed by metropolitan planning organizations to achieve statewide greenhouse gas emission reduction targets and the implications they have for land use and resource management planning. Examine the availability of implementation resources; and how traffic, economic and demographic data will be used to measure strategy effectiveness.

Instructor(s):

Bill Higgins, J.D., serves as the executive director for the California Association of Councils of Government, a statewide membership organization of councils of government and transportation planning agencies. Previously, he was a senior staff attorney and legislative advocate for the League of California Cities where he represented the League on issues relating to housing, land use and eminent domain.

Session #5: Mobility/Transportation Workshop
Thursday, June 2, 6-9 p.m. at Rocklin City Hall (3970 Rocklin Road)
Presenter: Ronald T. Milam
How do you move residents of your community using all forms of transportation? How to you deemphasize auto movements? Where do you plan bicycle paths? You have a level of service for autos but what happens to bicycles and pedestrians? How to you prepare a complete streets program in your general plan? What is the best method for analyzing mobility in a plan or a project? How do you read a traffic report? Get answers to these questions and discuss transportation planning can improve the quality of life of your residents.

Ronald T. Milam, AICP, PTP is a Principal with Fehr & Peers located in the Roseville, California office. He is involved in a wide variety of project work and also co-leads the firm’s research and development efforts. He has an extensive background in travel demand model development and applications, traffic operations analysis, micro-simulation modeling, and transportation impact studies involving NEPA and CEQA. Mr. Milam currently provides traffic forecasting and operations analysis for the I-80 HOT Lanes project in Placer and Sacramento Counties, managing the Sacramento River Crossing Study for the Cities of Sacramento and West Sacramento, and assisting Caltrans in the development of new CEQA/NEPA Transportation Analysis Report (TAR) guidelines for project development and environmental impact studies

Session #6: Mobility/Transportation Workshop (Repeat of Session #5)
Saturday, June 25, 9 a.m. to noon at Rancho Cordova City Hall, 2729 Prospect Park Drive
Presenter: David B. Robinson

David B. Robinson, a Senior Associate with Fehr & Peers’ Roseville office, has over 17 years of transportation planning experience and is a registered traffic engineer. Mr. Robinson’s areas of expertise include travel modeling, transportation planning, and operations analysis. He has developed several city and countywide travel demand forecasting models. In addition, he has applied his knowledge of travel modeling to numerous project types, including interchange planning studies, corridor studies, area-wide transportation circulation studies, CEQA and NEPA analysis, and several large master-planned developments in California.

WORKSHOP REGISTRATION

Register online at http://www.sacog.org/projects/planning-workshops/, or contact Greg Chew, SACOG Senior Planner at gchew@sacog.org or at (916) 340-6227 if you have further questions. Participants may also show up to the workshops unregistered, but seating will be limited to the capacity of the facility.

January 20, 2011, 11:02 AM

Growing Without Driving

To register for this webinar, please click on the link below.  If you have not done so in the past, you will need to download the GoTo Webinar software.  Please register in advance as capacity is limited.

For questions please contact:

Karissa Anderson
PedSafe Program
California Department of Public Health
karissa.anderson@cdph.ca.gov

Public Health Impacts

The Safe Routes to School National Partnership’s California Policy Manager, Jessica Meaney, led the conference describing how SRTS programs are a way to create environmental, policy and behavioral changes which increase physical activity and prevent childhood obesity. Citing that a third of peak morning vehicle traffic in southern California is a result of school-related trips, the speaker noted the opportunities that exist for SRTS program to promote children’s health while making a significant impact on reducing vehicle trip demand. Sarah Underwood, UC Davis Master of Public Health Candidate, shared statistics demonstrating that the risk of childhood health problems far exceeds more commonly feared parental risks such as abduction. The “stranger danger” concern often expressed as a reason for parents to not allow their children to walk or bike to school was challenged by the following statistical realities of the likelihood that a child would:

• Become overweight or obese in Sacramento region: 1 in 3
• Have asthma in Sacramento region: 1 in 6
• Be struck by lightning next year: 1 in 500,000
• Be abducted by a stranger next year: 1 in 610,000

More statistics and leading health research on the link between promoting active transportation to schools and childhood health can be found on the National Safe Routes to School Partnership website. Additionally, the California Department of Public Health recently launched the Safe Routes to School Technical Assistance Resource Center within the California Active Communities.

Federal and State Funding Sources

California Active Communities provided extensive information on funding sources for California Safe Routes to School projects and programs, focusing heavily on non-infrastructure grant opportunities. While California SRTS funding is limited to local governments and requires a 10% match for infrastructure projects around schools grades K-12, federal SRTS funding includes Metropolitan Planning Organizations, local governments and school districts (if partners with government agency) – requiring no match for both infrastructure projects and programs for schools grades K-8. Both the federal and state SRTS programs provide grants ranging from $500,000 to $1 million, and will having their next funding cycle in spring 2011. California Active Communities provides a select list of funding for California SRTS projects from the State of California Department of Public Health, Office of Traffic Safety, and Department of Transportation, and Air Resources Board as well as the United States Environmental Protection Agency, Federal Highway Administration, and the National Center for Safe Routes to School:

• California Kids’ Plates Program
• California Office of Traffic Safety
• Environmental Education Grants
• Walk this Way Grants
• SRTS Mini-Grants
• SRTS (Federal) and SR2S (State)
• Highway Safety Improvement Program
• Bicycle Transportation Account
• Environmental Justice Planning Grants
• Community-Based Transportation Planning
• Congestion Mitigation Air Quality Funds
• Transportation Enhancements Program

With overwhelming support for a more cost-effective, equitable, and environmentally sustainable MTP Scenario, could the SACOG region have public support to create a plan that achieves these objectives to an even greater extent? Policy in Motion founder, and researcher on SB 375 Implementation believes the answer is a resounding YES.

Safe Routes for All is a concept that embodies achieving the sustainability “3-E” agenda which supports federal, state, regional, and local goals for healthy and thriving communities.  Approving a Sustainable Community Strategy within the SACOG MTP 2035 process that emphasizes financial investments in existing communities with a focus around active transportation access to schools would be a way to not only serve as an example of how a Metropolitan Planning Organization can exceed SB 375 greenhouse gas reduction targets, but also support many other co-benefits such as healthier communities and neighborhood quality of life.

A coalition of organizations and individuals is forming to advocate for Safe Routes for All in walkable and bikeable communities throughout the six-county SACOG region. They believe that all people – including children, seniors, mobility disabled, transit dependent, and walkers and bicyclists – deserve access to a safe and reliable transportation network. They are asking SACOG to create and analyze a 4th Scenario, or make moderate funding shifts within Scenario 3  to support this concept of Safe Routes for All.

• WALKSacramento
• Sacramento Area Bicycle Advocates
• Breathe California of Sacramento- Emigrant Trails
• Sacramento Walking Sticks
• Coalition On Regional Equity
• Ubuntu Green
• Environmental Council of Sacramento
• Safe Kids Greater Sacramento
• Gray Panthers of Sacramento
• Mothers’ Support Network
• Bicycle Advocates of Rancho Cordova
• Folsom Area Bicycle Advocates
• Design Sacramento 4 Health
• Davis Bicycles!
• Sacramento ACHIEVE