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Greenbelt Alliance In the News

June 26, 2005

Transit villages the solution

Perspective

It seems inevitable that as the county grows, traffic will just get worse.

But it's not inevitable.

What's the solution? Two weeks ago, a guest commentator suggested that we could solve our transportation problems by spending more money on roads. That's unlikely: in California, when we widen or build freeways, it takes an average of just five years until they fill right back up again with gridlock.

That's because new roads encourage building in ever-more-distant places. The new developments put more cars on the road.

Finding a real solution requires looking up from the asphalt and seeing the bigger picture. What really determines our mobility? The real estate agents know this one: location, location, location.

If origins and destinations are far apart and segregated, with jobs here, homes there, and stores at some highway intersection, there are essentially no choices in how we get around: we need a car for every trip, and we end up mired in traffic.

How we build determines how well our transportation system works. Contra Costa voters know this.

That's why Measure J passed last fall. It requires cities and the county to develop and pass a voter-approved urban limit line if they want transportation funding.

Drawing the line on sprawl is one half of the equation. The other half of the equation is using urban land wisely to get the most out of our transportation investments.

How do we do that? By encouraging the creation of transit villages: walkable communities near high-quality transit.

These developments offer a mix of homes, jobs and shops, creating the kind of place where you can grab a coffee while you walk to the train station, read the paper on the way to work, pick up some groceries on the way home, and never deal with traffic at all.

Not only are transit villages pleasant places to live, they're a good investment. They make the most of our limited transportation dollars by strengthening the system. Putting plentiful homes and jobs near stations makes transit convenient for more riders.

More riders mean more fares, reducing the need for subsidies, and allowing for more frequent service. That translates into even more riders. The result is better transit and less traffic.

Noting the incredibly important link between transportation and land use, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission -- our regional transportation agency -- is considering a policy that can benefit Contra Costa County and the entire region.

The policy would require communities that will be receiving an infusion of public investment in new transit to plan for walkable neighborhoods, by putting a significant number of new homes and jobs within a half-mile of the new stations.

MTC would also give cities funding to have strong community involvement in developing these plans. Stations on the coming East Contra Costa BART (eBART) extension could be the centers of the first of these transit villages.

MTC is offering Contra Costa County a way out of traffic. Leaders such as Supervisor Mark DeSaulnier see the benefits of this policy, and deserve our support. But a small handful of local elected officials are actually fighting it.

Talk about frustrating.

These transit systems are being built with tax dollars: eBART will receive over $200 million in voter-approved regional discretionary funds. Elected officials have a responsibility to plan for development that will make the most of that investment.

Let's quit stalling in the status quo. It's time to move ahead.

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Reid is East Bay field representative for the Greenbelt Alliance and Cohen is executive director of the Transportation and Land Use Coalition.

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