TRANSDEF Opposes Alameda County Transportation Tax
08/22/14 Filed in: Climate
Change
The Transportation
Solutions Defense and Education Fund, TRANSDEF,
announced its opposition to the proposed 2014 Alameda
County Transportation Sales Tax, which will be
Measure BB on the ballot in November. The measure
would lock in funding for the next thirty years,
precisely the critical time when humanity needs to
severely reduce its emissions of greenhouse gases
(GHGs), if we are to preserve a climate hospitable to
life as we know it.
Alameda County, like other transportation agencies, finds it more comfortable and less controversial to continue doing what it has always done: focus its efforts on a network of roads and highways that predominantly serve single-occupant vehicles. While the current proposal has funding for transit and bike facilities, the underlying focus hasn’t changed at all. The County’s Transportation Plan predicts a 46% increase in Vehicle Miles Travelled in 2035, with a slight increase if the tax measure passes. (A later ACTIA document adjusted that figure downwards to “only” a 26% increase, but that drop had little or nothing to do with the tax. Most of that adjustment had to do with correcting the assumptions for modeling.) Single-occupant driving is barely affected by the Transportation Plan and tax.
Until TRANSDEF sees a serious effort to make carpooling, transit and biking the predominant ways to get around, we will oppose such measures. Read More...
Alameda County, like other transportation agencies, finds it more comfortable and less controversial to continue doing what it has always done: focus its efforts on a network of roads and highways that predominantly serve single-occupant vehicles. While the current proposal has funding for transit and bike facilities, the underlying focus hasn’t changed at all. The County’s Transportation Plan predicts a 46% increase in Vehicle Miles Travelled in 2035, with a slight increase if the tax measure passes. (A later ACTIA document adjusted that figure downwards to “only” a 26% increase, but that drop had little or nothing to do with the tax. Most of that adjustment had to do with correcting the assumptions for modeling.) Single-occupant driving is barely affected by the Transportation Plan and tax.
Until TRANSDEF sees a serious effort to make carpooling, transit and biking the predominant ways to get around, we will oppose such measures. Read More...
Opponents of HSR Strike Back
08/13/14 Filed in: High-Speed
Rail
After the Court of
Appeal decision was released, HSR opponents didn’t
take the defeat lying down. Instead, they filed two
Petitions for Rehearing, asking the Court to reopen
the case and allow further briefing and a hearing.
Specifically, they claimed that the Court had used
legal arguments and case authorities that hadn’t been
briefed by the parties. Under these circumstances,
they are entitled to a rehearing. See the petitions
at the bottom of this page.