After more than eight months of public education and outreach, the San Mateo County Transit District Board of Directors reviewed the Get Us Moving San Mateo County Draft Investment Plan during its June 6 meeting. The Board is expected to give direction and consider a final Plan for inclusion on the November 2018 ballot at their July 11 meeting. The measure on the November ballot would fund the Plan with approximately $2.5 billion in new investment to relieve traffic congestion and improve transportation throughout San Mateo County.
The Get Us Moving education and public engagement initiative was led by the San Mateo County Transit District and the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors to develop a community-driven solution to improve mobility, reduce traffic and address complex transportation issues in the county. Since last year, Get Us Moving representatives have received feedback from over 16,000 San Mateo County residents and have reached hundreds-of-thousands more through direct mail, online surveys, social media, town halls and more than 100 presentations to city councils, businesses, and community groups.
The Draft Investment Plan is the product of this community feedback and was developed to reflect how residents think transportation funding should be invested. Throughout the outreach process, public feedback was consistently focused on achieving three priorities:
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Reducing Highway Congestion
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Reducing Congestion on Local Roads
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Increasing and Improving Public Transit Options
The Plan includes five investment categories designed to focus on advancing these priorities, while also addressing other important transportation needs:
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Countywide Highway Congestion Improvements to improve throughput and travel times on highway facilities in San Mateo County.
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Local Safety, Pothole and Congestion Relief Improvements for investment in local transportation priorities including efforts to separate the rail corridor from local roads, improve bicycle and pedestrian connections, incentivize transit options, and improve traffic flow in key congested areas.
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County Public Transportation System Investments to maintain and enhance bus, paratransit, rail and other countywide mobility services.
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Regional Transit Connections to better connect residents traveling from San Mateo County to neighboring counties with new and enhanced transit options.
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Bicycle and Pedestrian Improvements that safely connect communities and neighborhoods with schools, transit and employment centers countywide.
Investments in these five categories will be guided by 11 Core Principles that were developed in consultation with a group of more than 100 local transportation experts, advocates and community stakeholders that met regularly throughout the Get Us Moving process. The Core Principles include:
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Relieve traffic congestion countywide
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Invest in a financially sustainable public transportation system that increases ridership, provides quality transit options for everyone, and embraces innovation to create more transportation choices and improves travel experience
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Prioritize environmentally-sustainable transportation solutions
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Promote economic vitality and economic development
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Maximize opportunities to leverage investment and services from public and private partners
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Enhance safety and public health
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Invest in repair and maintenance of existing and future infrastructure
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Facilitate the reduction of vehicle miles travelled, travel times and greenhouse gas emissions
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Incorporate the inclusion and implementation of policies that encourage safe accommodation of all people using the roads, regardless of mode of travel
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Incentivize transit, bicycle, pedestrian, carpooling and other shared-ride options over driving alone
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Maximize traffic reduction potential associated with the creation of new housing opportunities in high-quality transit corridors
To ensure that the plan is implemented in a way that reflects these Core Principles, the Draft Plan also includes a new Citizen Oversight Protocol. The protocol requires the appointment of a nine-member independent citizen oversight committee that would meet regularly to monitor decision-making, ensure accountability, and provide assurance that the plan is implemented in a way that stresses public transparency.
Get Us Moving was launched following legislation authored by Assemblymember Kevin Mullin, D-South San Francisco, that allows the Transit District Board of Directors and the County Board of Supervisors to ask voters to create new revenues for investment in transportation solutions.
