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| Residential density near Kew Gardens, London |
This is my
third week of providing a calendar of opportunities to become more involved in
urbanist advocacy. I’m still fiddling with
the content and format, but have received supportive feedback, so will be continuing
with the concept.
This is also
an interesting week to write about advocacy. I have examples and am observation to share.
On
Wednesday, I attended the Board meeting of Sonoma Marin Area Rail Transit, the folks
who are returning commuter rail to the North Bay later this year. The agenda included Board consideration of a fare
structure for the train. I attended with
several other members of Friends of SMART, most of whom shared my concern that
the fares under consideration by the Board were too high.
I had a
number of specific reasons for my fare concerns, starting with the fact that
the system is incomplete, missing extensions north and south, the second
station in Petaluma, transit-oriented development throughout the system, and
parking facilities, bike and car, at many stations. I feared that the fares initially considered didn’t
adequately reflect the unfinished state.
Also, I was
concerned by talk among Board members about the need to “recoup” the costs of
building the system. Consumers don’t
make spending decisions based on what the product costs to make; they make
decisions based on the value they receive versus other choices, such as driving. Being blind to how consumer decisions are
made seemed a risk.
Lastly, I believed
that the future success of SMART can’t rest solely on enticing current
commuters out of their cars, but instead on nurturing the next generation of
commuters to live transit-oriented lives, with fewer household cars and daily
reliance on trains and buses. To foster
that generation required a fare that would encourage them to experiment with
the new train until it became integrated into their lives. And until the non-railroad improvements, such
as transit-oriented development, were in place.
It was the
last point on which I chose to focus in my comments. Other public speakers chose different
perspectives, but all expressed concern about the fares.
As best, we
had partial success. The Board approved a fare structure lower than we had
feared, but higher than we had hoped. However,
several of the points that I’d made found their way into the Board discussion,
including comments by one director who ended up voting against the adopted fare
structure. I’ve had many less successful
advocacy efforts.
On Thursday,
I was on the other side of the dais. As the
chair of the Petaluma Transit Advisory Committee, I’d been advised that a
number of residents from a Petaluma neighborhood would attend our committee
meeting to express displeasure with a proposed bus route. They didn’t show up. Instead, several seniors who were thrilled
about the bus route provided supportive testimony and engaged in a helpful discussion
on how to do effective community outreach with a limited budget and staff.
Both
experiences reinforced a long-time observation.
Not every advocacy battle can be won.
But if you keep showing up, undeterred by past failures, you’ll find a
moment in time when ground is suddenly gained.
The needle of public opinion on deep-seated cultural standards, such as
our land-use forms, doesn’t spin easily, but it will move in fits and spurts if
we keep our shoulders to it.
Please make
use of this observation, perhaps starting with one of the opportunities below.
Upcoming Meetings
MTC/ABAG,
Saturday, June 4, 8:30am, Corte Madera Community Center, 498 Tamalpais Drive,
Corte Madera – This is one of a series of meetings seeking input for the Bay
Area 2040 plan on transportation funding strategies. (Reminder: These are the meetings that were largely
shut down by Agenda 21 disruptions during the last planning effort in
2012. I was at the Sonoma County meeting
back then and ruminated at length on the disturbances, here, here, and here. I
still agree with much of what I wrote four years ago.) I’ll attend this meeting and am willing to
carpool from Petaluma if anyone wishes.
Petaluma
City Council, Monday, June 6, 7:00pm, 11 English Street, Petaluma – Until
yesterday afternoon, the agenda included a vote on whether to proceed with a
grant application for Petaluma Boulevard South.
The scope of work would have “right-sized” the roadway, likely similar
to the changes made several years ago to the downtown segment of Petaluma
Boulevard. The changes would have made
the street friendlier to pedestrians and bicyclists.
It would
have been a great project, one that Petaluma Urban Chat recently designated as
one of the top five urbanist opportunities in Petaluma.
However, the
item was removed from the agenda late yesterday, without explanation or a date
to which the item would be deferred.
I suggest
that proponents of right-sizing of Petaluma Boulevard South attend the Council
meeting regardless and express their desire for the improvement during the
Public Comment section. (I’d do myself,
but will be away at an urbanist conference.)
Petaluma
Urban Chat, Wednesday, June 8, 7:00pm, Aqus Café, 2nd and H Streets,
Petaluma –Urban Chat will discuss the Bay Area 2040 plan and the role of
regional planning. One goal will be encouraging
folks to attend the Sonoma County outreach meeting on June 13. Those who attended the June 4 Marin County outreach
meeting will report on their impressions.
(Note: I normally facilitate Urban Chat but, in my absence, Bjorn
Griepenburg will facilitate.)
MTC/ABAG,
Monday, June 13, 6:00pm, Luther Burbank Center for the Arts, 50 Mark West
Springs Road, Santa Rosa –This will be the Sonoma County outreach meeting for
input to the Bay Area 2040 plan.
Sonoma
Marin Area Rail Transit Board, Wednesday, June 15, 1:30pm, 5401 Old Redwood
Highway, Petaluma – The agenda isn’t yet posted, but it was noted during the
last meeting that a further discussion of Clipper, the only source of payment
to be accepted on SMART, would be held, including the mechanics of using a
Clipper card, the limitations of the current iteration of Clipper, and the
possibilities of the coming Clipper 2.0.
Rail~Volution,
October 10-12, Hyatt Regency, San Francisco – The leading conference on the use
of rail for community building is coming to San Francisco this fall. I’m tentatively planning on attending.
Other Involvement Opportunities
City of
Petaluma – The City is seeking volunteers for
openings on City Commissions and Committees.
In many years, some bodies, notably the Planning Commission and
Pedestrian/Bicycle Advisory Committee, attract more applicants than openings,
but other bodies struggle to maintain full complements. Citizens willing to take an active role on
these commissions and committees can be surprisingly capable of making
community changes. The application
deadline is Thursday, June 9, so now is the time to make the commitment.
Lots of
opportunities to get involved. Please
grab at least one and hopefully more.
My plan is
to write an involvement post every week.
However, I’ll be at the urbanist conference next week, so my next
involvement post will follow my return.
The
conference will be in Detroit. My next
post will be a personal perspective on the past failures and future hopes of Detroit.
As always,
your questions or comments will be appreciated.
Please comment below or email me.
And thanks for reading. - Dave Alden (davealden53@comcast.net)
