Caltrans

While Caltrans does not have jurisdiction over local transportation planning or policies, it does wield considerable influence over local planning decisions, and it provides expertise and guidance. A statewide plan that provides a cohesive vision for safe, comfortable biking and walking in California communities is an important step.

Caltrans just awarded $9.3 million in Sustainable Transportation Planning Grants to 41 projects, including complete streets plans, studies of connections for bicycle, pedestrian, and transit travel, and community engagement. Over 132 projects applied for the grants.

Despite some local opposition, a quiet rural road in California benefits from a new roundabout, which was cheaper to build than a signalized intersection. It's also safer.

Caltrans already has a “Complete Streets Program.” But the department too often makes moving vehicles a priority over safe and attractive infrastructure for people not sitting in a car.

Tomorrow's in-person meeting is cancelled, but you can still attend the webinar, happening as scheduled.

Meetings are set for Northern, Southern, and Central California, all with webinar components, so you can add your voice to the draft bicycle and pedestrian plan.

This statewide bike and pedestrian plan should also rightfully serve as the underpinning for local and regional bike and pedestrian plans, and for that reason alone needs to be a strong statement about the relevance and importance of encouraging these active modes of transportation.

Caltrans guidelines still prioritize the movement of cars over the safety of other users, despite other state efforts to address the problem. The California Bicycle Coalition is asking the department to update its guidance.

Many months after its Deputy Director for Sustainability, Steven Cliff, went back to work for the Air Resources Board, Caltrans has hired a replacement for this key post. New hire Ellen Greenberg comes with impeccable credentials, having worked as a planner in both public sector and private sector jobs. She worked most recently at Arup, a design, planning, and engineering firm, where she worked on jobs in the Bay Area, throughout the state, and internationally. She worked as director of policy and research at the Congress for New Urbanism, and served for a short while as its interim executive director.