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Comment 69 for Provides the public and stakeholders opportunities to provide "informal" public comments as part of ARB's 2013 Scoping Plan Update Workshop Series (2013-sp-update-ws) - 1st Workshop.
First Name: Lauren
Last Name: Michele
Email Address: lauren.michele@policyinmotion.com
Affiliation:
Subject: TRANSPORTATION COALITION FOR LIVABLE COMMUNITIES COMMENTS AND PROPOSAL
Comment:
August 5, 2013 Mary Nichols, Chairperson California Air Resources Board 1001 I Street Sacramento, CA 95814 Re: Transportation Coalition Comments on AB 32 Scoping Plan Update Dear Chairperson Nichols: The Transportation Coalition for Livable Communities is a diverse coalition of agencies and institutions responsible for operating, maintaining, and advancing a sustainable transportation system in California. Our primary interest in this Scoping Plan Update is to ensure that transportation-related strategies contribute to significant and long-term greenhouse gas emission reductions. Building off key elements of the 2009 Scoping Plan, we strongly encourage the Board to consider the use of cap and trade revenues for regional transportation projects and programs that are coordinated with land use policies in order to achieve regional greenhouse gas emission reduction targets and to meet the states 2035 and 2050 goals. Transportation is a key emitter of greenhouse gases, but no single strategy in this sector will achieve AB 32 goals. To reach the long-term goals of this Scoping Plan Update, the state will need to implement projects that improve the efficiency and connectivity of regional transportation systems. The best research indicates that investments in transportation infrastructure lead to greater emission reductions when coordinated with surrounding land use policies and services. SB 375 has already created the framework from which we can work. Regional agencies have developed Sustainable Community Strategies to leverage coordinated transportation and land use strategies and meet long-term GHG reduction goals. Thus, investing auction revenues in regional strategies that link land use to improved transportation infrastructure will generate the long-term GHG reductions critical to meeting the Scoping Plan goals. By linking costs likely to be imposed on the motoring public to improvements in the transportation system, our proposal aligns with broad public sentiment: the Public Policy Institute of Californias July 2013 annual survey on the environment reports that over 70% of voters favor spending cap and trade revenues on public transit, repaving roads, and encouraging local governments to change land use and transportation planning so that people could drive less. This approach is supported by members of the Transportation Coalition for Livable Communities, which includes the California Transit Association, League of California Cities, California State Association of Counties, Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District, CALCOG, and major Metropolitan Planning Organizations including SACOG, MTC, SCAG, SANDAG and San Joaquin Valley Policy Council, as well as the Natural Resources Defense Council, California Alliance for Jobs, and Transportation California. Our uniting principle is that auction revenues derived from vehicle fuels should be used to fund emission reductions from the transportation sector. This should include integrated transportation investments that implement the AB 32 regulatory program and build on the framework of SB 375 and other GHG reduction strategies. The approach incentivizes combinations of transportation investments, including transit service and operating costs, road and bridge maintenance, retrofits for complete streets and urban greening, and clean technology infrastructure all integrated with land use changes to achieve the maximum greenhouse gas emission reductions from the transportation sector. We believe an integrated strategy most equitably and effectively meets the transportation and greenhouse gas emission reduction goals of the state and local communities. Furthermore, this approach achieves the most cost-effective results and supports a range of community benefits including public health, resource protection, affordable housing, equity, air quality, safe routes to schools, and other community services. In this Scoping Plan Update, we strongly support your consideration of cap and trade revenues as a key greenhouse gas emission reduction strategy for the transportation sector. Implementing strategies that integrate transportation and land use investments will be key in both meeting the states 2050 goals and creating efficient and well-maintained transportation networks statewide. We urge you to consider the Transportation Coalitions proposal (attached) that was developed for the Investment Plan as part of your update to the Scoping Plan. Sincerely, TRANSPORTATION COALITION FOR LIVABLE COMMUNITIES STEERING COMMITTEE MEMBERS California Alliance for Jobs California Transit Association California State Association of Counties League of California Cities California Association of Councils of Governments COALITION SUPPORT LIST Natural Resources Defense Council Sacramento Area Council of Governments Southern California Association of Governments Metropolitan Transportation Commission San Diego Association of Governments San Joaquin Valley Regional Policy Council Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District Environmental Defense Fund Transportation California Self-Help Counties Coalition American Lung Association in California American Planning Association - California Chapter American Council of Engineering Companies of California Alameda County Transportation Commission Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments Bay Area Council California Center for Sustainable Energy California Urban Forests Council Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority Central Coast Coalition City of Davis City of Sacramento Cobblestone Placemaking Council of San Benito County Governments County of Marin County of Monterey County of Napa County of Sacramento County of San Bernardino County of Santa Clara County of Stanislaus El Dorado County Transportation Commission Humboldt County Association of Governments Kern Council of Governments Livermore Amador Valley Transit Authority Local Government Commission Madera County Transportation Commission Marlon Boarnet, Director of Graduate Programs in Planning and Development, USC Merced County Association of Governments Met Sacramento High School Napa County Transportation and Planning Agency Napa Valley Transportation Authority OmniTrans - San Bernardino Valley Placer County Transportation Planning Agency Sonoma County Transportation Authority/Regional Climate Protection Authority Richmond SPOKES Sacramento 350 Sacramento Tree Foundation San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District San Francisco Municipal Transportation Authority San Luis Obispo Council of Governments San Mateo County Transit District Santa Barbara County Association of Governments Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District Santa Monica Big Blue Bus Shasta Regional Transportation Agency Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition Sustainable Napa County Teichert Transportation Agency for Monterey County United Contractors Urban Counties Caucus Victor Valley Transit Authority WALKSacramento Western Riverside Council of Governments ELECTED OFFICIALS SUPPORT Steve Cohn, Councilmember, City of Sacramento Don Saylor, Supervisor, County of Yolo Joe Krovoza, Mayor, City of Davis
Attachment: www.arb.ca.gov/lists/com-attach/76-2013-sp-update-ws-WjtWIgRmVm0KZQRy.zip
Original File Name: Archive.zip
Date and Time Comment Was Submitted: 2013-08-05 16:13:46
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