Developing a world-class transit system for the Bay Area requires investment in key transit hubs such as the Transbay Terminal. The city and the region have suffered too long with inadequate connections among transit systems. Fund pedestrian and bicycle alternatives. San Francisco should provide full funding and administrative support for the city's bicycle plan, make sure that bicycle and pedestrian programs receive their fair share of funding from the MTC and Caltrans, and ensure that a regional bicycle and pedestrian needs assessment is undertaken. Fund transit village and neighborhood improvement plans.
Smart growth requires attractive and compact mixed-use development.
San Francisco can encourage this through changes in the general plan, zoning, and design guidelines. Implementing these recommendations and others in the platform will require a broad coalition that brings together urban and suburban voters, low-income communities, labor unions, business interests, environmentalists, and fiscal conservatives who understand the financial drain of poor planning. Together, this broad-based community effort can work with good planners in the cities, counties, and other agencies to realize a new vision for the Bay Area. We look forward to working together. Stuart Cohen is Executive Director and Jeff Hobson is Project Manager at the Bay Area Transportation Choices Forum.