Transportation 2035

Transportation 2035 Plan:
Change in Motion

MTC is undertaking a major update to its regional transportation plan, referring to the upcoming version as Transportation 2035: Change in Motion. This title signals a new direction for the region, in which policymakers and planners, with extensive input from the public, are rethinking investment choices in the face of growing concerns about climate change and other forces. At the same time, the region is engaged in a collective exercise to rethink how we live and how we get around in the face of these forces.

We are not starting from zero. Today, the Bay Area possesses a robust, multimodal transportation system that includes local streets and roads; freeways and expressways; bus, paratransit, ferry and rail services; and bicycle and pedestrian paths. These assets are the result of billions of dollars of investment over the past several decades. Countless more dollars have been required, and will be required, for ongoing maintenance, rehabilitation, upgrading and operation of these facilities.

Now we must choose how our region grows and how our transportation network supports this growth. Our fundamental challenges will in many ways continue to center around how to keep our roads and transit systems in good repair, how to squeeze more efficiency out of our system, and how to build the most cost-effective new infrastructure where needed. But on the horizon are new challenges to meet and new questions that must be answered:

• How should we direct scarce resources to provide the infrastructure to support communities primed for higher housing growth?
• How should we reduce greenhouse gas emissions from transportation sources and respond to the effects of global warming already under way?
• How should we harness the power of the marketplace and cutting-edge technology to deal with congestion?
• How do we make policy and investment choices that yield equitable benefits to all residents?
  

In seeking answers to these questions, MTC has undertaken the most extensive public outreach effort in the agency's history. In the spring of 2008 alone, MTC conducted nine county focus groups, 10 community-based focus groups (organized in partnership with local organizations serving low-income communities and communities of color), evening workshops in each of the nine counties (where participants could register opinions on the spot with "click voting"), a telephone poll and a Web survey. Members of the public, cities, counties and partner agencies also were invited to submit possible projects for consideration for inclusion in the final plan.

The scope of this update to the regional transportation plan is potentially so far-reaching that MTC has joined with partner agencies, and particularly the Association of Bay Area Governments, to shape the Transportation 2035 Plan.

The Bay Area transportation network is a fortune inherited from previous generations. Now we stand at the proverbial fork in the road. We can continue to live off of our inheritance or establish a new legacy for generations yet to come. We can inspire, innovate and implement an integrated, efficient regional transportation system that is safe, reliable and secure; supports both economic development and focused land use patterns; and makes wise use of our limited resources. A shared vision of the region’s future ought to center not just on what’s past and present, but what’s possible, too.

For more information on the Transportation 2035 Plan, contact Ashley Nguyen at anguyen@mtc.ca.gov