Keeping with San Francisco's pioneering reputation, four Bay Area agencies joined forces in a groundbreaking effort to address climate change at a regional level.

Through a series of summits and meetings with government officials and members of the general public, they came up with recommendations on how the Bay Area can meet and surpass state and federal mandates of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, resulting in a draft plan, Transportation 2035: Change in Motion.

The four regional agencies: Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG), Bay Area Air Quality Management District Oakland (BAAQMD), Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC), and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), had one common goal: to set an example for California, the nation, and the world.

“This plan is unique in that it integrates the goals of virtually all Bay Area transportation and regional growth agencies,” said Ted Droettboom, Regional Planning Program Director for the Bay Area’s Joint Policy Commission. “We all wish to break the cycle of worsening congestion, traffic delay and air quality. And for the first time, we added a new indicator: global warming.” All the agencies felt the urgency of addressing climate change.

California law AB 32 requires the reduction of carbon emissions to 1990 levels by the year 2020, while California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger calls for an 80 percent reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Since 50 percent of the Bay Area’s greenhouse gas emissions are generated by carbon dioxides emitted from cars, the Change in Motion plan provides detailed recommendations for reducing dependency on cars, lowering congestion, and promoting public transit.

For instance, included in the plan are the MTC’s programs which encourage increased transit ridership, more walking and biking for short trips, congestion management and intelligent transportation system programs to reduce emissions through smoother, more efficient traffic flow.

Plan Recommendations

Specific recommendations in the transportation part of the plan include:

• High-occupancy toll lanes (HOT) lanes: Taking from the Europeans, HOT lanes are a way to lower congestion on city streets and highways.
• Land-use: Develop more regional “priority development areas,” communities with jobs and public transit.
• Technology development to address shrinking fuel supplies and dealing with vehicle emissions.
• Encourage the convenience of walking and biking and taking public transit.
• Encourage the development of Focused Growth communities.

High-Occupancy/Toll (HOT) Network

The plans for the regional HOT network involve converting existing High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes to high-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes. A HOT network, according to the agencies, provides the following benefits:

• Reductions in congestion and emissions, including carbon dioxide, by making more efficient use of the freeway system
• Providing a reliable travel option for express bus and carpools and those who choose to pay the toll
• Completing the HOV/HOT network 20 to 40 years sooner than if by relying on traditional state and local funding mechanisms.

Focused Growth

Participants in the workshops supported the concept of “Focused Growth” as way to help reduce greenhouse gases without compromising quality of life. Focused Growth describes compact, walkable, mixed-used communities, well served by transit.

Focused Growth can also reduce carbon by reducing the need to travel while also helping to revitalize distressed communities and improving public health by providing more opportunities to walk and bicycle. The principles of Focused Growth include:

• Expansion of transportation choices
• Pedestrian paths/trails
• Transit options
• Transit-oriented development
• Bicycle paths

Reduce Car Dependency

The planning attendees recognized that a paradigm shift is required to truly achieve climate protection. Lifestyle changes are required, especially the dependency on driving.

Even with all the technological improvements — new engines, smaller and lighter cars, emission control devices, and alternative fuels — the planners argued that the State’s aggressive greenhouse-gas target would not be met. Therefore, they emphasized changing driving behavior, particularly decreasing unnecessary trips and reducing excessively long trip lengths, and taking more public transportation.

According to Droettboom, Bay Area regional agencies are hampered in their promotion of the use of alternative fuel and electric cars due to limited funding and an absence of mandate. “There’s not a lot we can do at a regional level to encourage their use since it’s a funding and mandate issue,” he explains. “It’s up to individual entrepreneurs to develop the technology and government to support research and development. Cities and towns can encourage new technology through fleet purchases.”

All in all, the agency directors are pleased with the results of the plan. Final outreach meetings will be held in early October and the plan will be released in December for public review. The final plan is slated for adoption in March 2009.

Photo by Flickr user Alexander Steffler