Jump to content

Bicycle transportation planning in the San Francisco Bay Area

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Like many metropolitan regions in the United States, the San Francisco Bay Area is politically fragmented into many local jurisdictions. There is one regional transportation planning agency, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, but there are 9 counties, 85 cities, and 16 towns, each separately responsible for making bicycle infrastructure improvements. A few of these jurisdictions publish and implement their own bicycle plans, while most defer this responsibility to the county or the region in which they are situated. Written bicycle plans are required to qualify for many sources of funding from regional, state, and federal agencies.

Region

[edit]

Created by the California state legislature in 1970, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission is the transportation planning, coordinating, and financing agency for the San Francisco Bay Area, defined as the nine counties that border the San Francisco Bay. This agency plans and distributes funds to projects throughout the region for all modes of transportation: automobile, transit, bicycle, and pedestrian. Their 2009 Regional Bicycle Plan Update is an update to their original 2001 Regional Bicycle Plan. Its principal goals are "to ensure that bicycling is a safe, convenient, and practical means of transportation and healthy recreation throughout the Bay Area, reduce traffic congestion and risk of climate change, and increase opportunities for physical activity to improve public health."[1] It surveys the existing Regional Bikeway Network (47% completed), summarizes bicycle access to public transit, and lists anticipated bicycle projects (called "Unbuilt Regional Bikeway Network links") and their costs.

Counties

[edit]

Each of the nine counties in the San Francisco Bay Area has developed a bicycle plan. Except for Marin County, each plan is countywide, meaning it covers both incorporated and unincorporated areas of the county. Marin County's plan only covers the unincorporated areas. Six of the counties fund their bicycle programs with dedicated sales taxes, and three of the counties have full-time bicycle program coordinators.[1] Details for each of the counties' bicycle plans are summarized in the table below.

County Plan name Year adopted Bicycle coordinator Sales tax measure Measure expiration Annual revenue
Alameda Alameda Countywide Bicycle Plan 2006 yes Measure B 2022 $4,000,000
Contra Costa Contra Costa Countywide Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan 2009 no Measure J 2034 $1,200,000
Marin Marin County Unincorporated Area Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan 2008 no Measure A 2025 $600,000
Napa Napa Countywide Bicycle Plan 2003 no none none none
San Francisco San Francisco Bicycle Plan 2009 yes Proposition K 2034 $3,000,000
San Mateo San Mateo County Comprehensive Bicycle Route Plan 2000 no Measure A 2033 $1,800,000
Santa Clara Santa Clara Countywide Bicycle Plan 2008 yes none none none
Solano Solano Countywide Bicycle Plan[permanent dead link] 2004 no none none none
Sonoma Sonoma County Transportation Authority Countywide Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan 2008 no Measure M 2025 $1,000,000
Source:[1]

Cities and Towns

[edit]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c "Regional Bicycle Plan for the San Francisco Bay Area 2009 Update" Archived 2010-11-14 at the Wayback Machine, Metropolitan Transportation Commission, March 2009, p.5.
[edit]