Urgent Action Needed: Your Phone is a Mic--Help Fight for $ for Bike Infrastructure!

Tell your local representatives that more of the same freeways-first, active-transportation-last prioritizing will NOT cut it! The following message is from the Bike Coalition and Walk San Diego:

We need your help this week!

One of the things we try to do at the Bicycle Coalition is have input on the Regional Transportation Plan, the document that guides how all the transportation money in the San Diego region will be spent over the next 40 years. It’s updated every four years or so, and it’s time again for the discussion about how those funds will be spent.

SANDAG staff has released the ‘revenue constrained’ plan. This is the plan that actually gets down to the nitty gritty of allocating the amount of money we can reasonably expect to see in the region over the next 40 years. They have determined that $100 to $110 BILLION will be available over those 40 years, and have settled on how to spend all but about $3 to $3.5 billion of that money. Now they’re trying to figure out how to spend that last 3%.

There’s a staff report that outlines four scenarios for spending that 3% - a ‘Transit Emphasis Scenario’, a ‘Rail/Freight Emphasis Scenario’, a ‘Highway Emphasis Scenario’ and a ‘Fusion Scenario’. If you are interested in finding out what is in each scenario, http://www.sandag.org/uploads/meetingid/meetingid_2756_11871.pdf (agenda item 3) is the staff report. It is important to note that under all four scenarios, SANDAG modeling predicts that bike/ped mode share actually decreases from the existing share and the no-build alternatives. That means that in all four of these options, biking and walking will go DOWN rather than up.

We need an ‘Active Transportation/Transportation Demand Management Emphasis Scenario’. 3% of the total transportation budget is not an unreasonable amount to spend on bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure, programs, and improvements.

But SANDAG won’t even analyze this scenario unless we make some noise. So I’m asking you to make some calls. PLEASE call or email your SANDAG Board representative and ask them to tell SANDAG to include an Active Transportation Emphasis Scenario. Tell them you want SANDAG to spend at least 3% of the transportation dollars on bicyclists and pedestrians.

Here’s who you should call if you live, work, or play in each of the following cities. The first name on the list is the SANDAG Board representative from that city, and the ones with (A) beside them are alternates. Leave a message for one or for all if you can -

City of Carlsbad - 760-434-2820
Hon. Matt Hall, Councilmember
(A) Hon. Bud Lewis, Mayor
(A) Hon. Ann Kulchin, Mayor Pro Tem

City of Chula Vista - 619-691-5044
Hon. Cheryl Cox, Mayor
(A) Hon. Rudy Ramirez, Deputy Mayor
(A) Hon. Steve Castaneda, Councilmember

City of Coronado - 619-522-7320
Hon. Carrie Downey, Councilmember
(A) Hon. Al Ovrom, Mayor Pro Tem
(A) Hon. Michael Woiwode, Councilmember

City of Del Mar - (858) 755-9313
Hon. Crystal Crawford, Councilmember
(A) Hon. Carl Hilliard, Councilmember
(A) Hon. Mark Filanc, Councilmember

City of El Cajon - (619) 441-1788
Hon. Mark Lewis, Mayor
(A) Hon. Jillian Hanson-Cox, Councilmember

City of Encinitas – 760.633.2600
Hon. Jerome Stocks, Councilmember
(A) Hon. Teresa Barth, Councilmember
(A) Hon. Dan Dalager, Mayor

City of Escondido -
Hon. Lori Holt Pfeiler, Mayor
(A) Hon. Sam Abed, Councilmember

City of Imperial Beach – 423- 8300
Hon. Jim Janney, Mayor
(A) Hon. Patricia McCoy, Mayor Pro Tem
(A) Hon. Jim King, Councilmember

City of La Mesa – 619.463.6611
Hon. Art Madrid, Mayor
(A) Hon. Mark Arapostathis, Councilmember
(A) Hon. David Allan, Vice Mayor

City of Lemon Grove – 619.825.3800
Hon. Mary Teresa Sessom, Mayor
(A) Hon. Jerry Jones, Mayor Pro Tem
(A) Hon. Jerry Selby, Councilmember

City of National City – 619.336.4241
Hon. Ron Morrison, Mayor
(A) Vacant
(A) Hon. Rosalie Zarate, Councilmember

City of Oceanside – 760.435.3065
Hon. Jim Wood, Mayor
(A) Hon. Esther Sanchez, Councilmember
(A) Hon. Charles "Chuck" Lowery, Councilmember

City of Poway - (858) 668-4530
Hon. Don Higginson, Mayor
(A) Hon. Jim Cunningham, Councilmember
(A) Hon. Carl Kruse, Deputy Mayor

City of San Diego - (619) 236-6330
Hon. Jerry Sanders, Mayor
(A) Hon. Anthony Young, Councilmember
(A) Hon. Sherri Lightner, Councilmember

Hon. Ben Hueso, Council President 619.236.6688
(A) Hon. Marti Emerald, Councilmember
(A) Hon. Todd Gloria, Councilmember

City of San Marcos - (760) 744-1050
Hon. Jim Desmond, Mayor
(A) Hon. Hal Martin, Vice Mayor
(A) Hon. Rebecca Jones, Councilmember

City of Santee - (619) 258-4100 x114
Hon. Jack Dale, Councilmember
(A) Hon. Hal Ryan, Councilmember
(A) Hon. John Minto, Councilmember

City of Solana Beach - (858) 720-2490
Hon. Lesa Heebner, Deputy Mayor
(A) Hon. Dave Roberts, Councilmember
(A) Hon. Mike Nichols, Councilmember

City of Vista - (760) 639-6130
Hon. Judy Ritter, Mayor Pro Tem
(A) Hon. Bob Campbell, Councilmember
(A) Hon. Steve Gronke, Councilmember

County of San Diego – 619.531.5533
Hon. Pam Slater-Price, Chairwoman
(A) Hon. Greg Cox, Supervisor
(A) Hon. Ron Roberts, Chair Pro Tem

Hon. Bill Horn, Vice Chairman 619.531.5555
(A) Hon. Dianne Jacob, Supervisor

Kathy

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Kathy Keehan

Executive Director

San Diego County Bicycle Coalition

740 13th St, Suite 502

San Diego, CA 92101

858.487.6063