Today's Sacramento Bee has some encouraging news in this era of baffling transit cutbacks. The City of Sacramento and RT are teaming up to provide shuttle service to connect neighborhoods south of Highway 50 with the Zinfandel light rail stop! The story appears here.
Kudos to both the City and RT for implementing this program. I hope we'll see more of the same in coming years.
Governor Schwarzenegger, who has crafted a political persona as a "green" politician, has made some curious policy proposals for an allegedly environmentalist governor. Most recently, his proposal to raid state transit funds to pay for other state programs raises the question of whether he has the courage to be anything more than a cheerleader for alternative-fueled Humvees.
The Governor's original proposal, which would have removed $1.3 billion in funds from transit agencies like Sacramento Regional Transit, has been whittled down to a mere $591 million cut in a "compromise" measure ratified by the State Budget Conference Committee. That's still a punishing blow to programs that should be the center of rational transportation and land use policies.
As reported in earlier posts on this blog, both the Transportation and Land Use Coalition and Odyessy have provided suggestions for citizens who wish to help protect the state funding streams that are the lifeblood of California transit. Now comes an opportunity to make a personal appearance at the Capitol in support of transit.
On Monday, July 16, at 12:30 PM, supporters of transit will rally on the West Steps of the Capitol Building to let the "big five" (Schwarzenegger, Perata, Ackerman, Nunez, and Villines) know how important state support for transit is. It's important to demonstrate the depth of public's commitment to transit is. Join us, and bring your friends.
For more info you can call Richard Seyman at 475-3820.
California's budget problems are so complex and recalcitrant that many have abandoned hope. But how can we stand by when the Governor's 2007-2008 proposes to shift money from transit to education, at a time when the State is faced with severe impacts from climate change?
The Governor's budget proposes taking $1 billion from transit to pay for teacher tax credits, child care, and home-to-school transportation, all of which would normally be financed through the general fund. Does this sound like a long-term solution to you? And really, who does this hurt the most? It's the poor, the disabled and the elderly who will pay the immediate price in terms of loss of mobility. We will all pay the long-term costs to our environment and our air quality.
The fact is, debt repayment and tax cuts have led to these chronic budget shortfalls, which are expected to continue through 2011, according to the California Budget Project. The largest of these tax cuts is the $5 billion dollar drop in vehicle license fees that the Green Gov used to get himself elected.
Don't let them get away with this. The Transportation and Land Use Coalition (TALC) of the Bay Area has a great website with more information on this topic and a list of actions you can take, that include contacting your State representatives. Don't wait, do it today!
