A revolutionary move for transportation justice is right around the corner.

For the past several months, the community has been asking for more bicycling and walking options and public transit accesss. In close partnership with City Heighs Community Development Corporation, we've asked for alternatives that don't grow freeways, but give us healthier transportation options and improved mobility.

Today, the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) heard our voices. Instead of only moving forward with freeway-focused planning that jeopardizes the health of our neighborhoods, it recommended the incorporation of $31 million for a test project that would allow public transit to run on the shoulder/in the median along SR-94 and parts of the 805 freeway during high-traffic times.

To make public transit more accesible, SANDAG is also looking into putting a bus stop in the Sherman Heights/Golden Hill neighborhoods.

With a strong and unified voice, today the community's recommendations for a healthy transportation future have become valid and potential options as SANDAG has agreed to include them in the review process.

Policy advocate Monique Lopez says, "This starts the conversation in the region of how we do transportation planning. There's other ways that are more innovative and the community can stand behind than expanding freeways."

Working closely with City Heights Community Development Corporation, The MAAC Project and many community residents who live along the corridor, we would like to thank our elected officials who showed leadership in supporting innovative community-supported approach to improving mobility on the Martin Luther King, Jr. freeway corridor. Thank you Councilmember Alvarez, Councilmember Gloria, Councilmember Emerald, Councilmember Cole, Assemblymember Gonzalez and Assemblymember Weber. Additionally, we would like to thank SANDAG and Caltrans staff for their work on the project, for the continued open lines of communication and for being responsive to the community concerns and requests.

On Friday, July 24, SANDAG makes its final decision about transportation justice improvements in our communities. Until then, thank you for having a voice for a future of #healthyhoods and #familiesbeforefreeways. Follow us on Twitter and stay tuned.

We all need to move, and how we move influences our quality of life. Unfortunately, not all communities have the same access to safe, reliable and affordable transportation options such as public transit and biking and walking paths. That means some communities don't have access to the same quality of life just because of where they live.

Transportation justice is the equal access of all people to transportation options and in turn, an equal chance for a healthier life.

Here, a few of our community members define transportation justice in their own lives.

To get involved, follow us on Facebook and Twitter, come to our next community meeting and contact Monique López at Esta dirección de correo electrónico está siendo protegida contra los robots de spam. Necesita tener JavaScript habilitado para poder verlo. (619) 474-0220 ext. 130.

When the San Onofre power plant shut down, San Diego had an opportunity to power our city with clean energy that makes our communities healthier and builds thousands of local jobs. Instead the California Public Utilities Commission voted to meet two thirds of our new energy needs with a polluting natural-gas power plant in Carlsbad, and only one third of our energy with clean sources. 

This recent decision locks San Diego into at least 40 years of air pollution, high energy bills, climate change and a minimized opportunity to create thousands of local jobs. Of the five commissioners on the California Public Utilities Commission, only Commissioner Sandoval voted against the polluting power plant. Sandoval acknowledged that there is no legal basis to support a rushed approval of a dirty gas plant at the expense of clean energy solutions. 

According to Policy Advocate Kayla Race says, “The Commission says they’re moving us toward a clean energy future, but it’s hard to believe when so many of their decisions takes us three steps backwards. This power plant locks San Diegans into higher energy bills for more pollution, which doesn’t make sense when we have cleaner options available that create local jobs and make our communities healthier.”

We need programs and policies that invest in local communities to create career-track green jobs and create a new clean energy economy. Maximizing energy efficiency and conservation, rooftop solar and other forms of local renewable energy should be California’s first priority in meeting the state’s energy needs. Only after all clean resources are exhausted should new, polluting power plants and transmission infrastructure be allowed.

Join the fight for climate justice by:

• Urging our California Legislators to increase clean energy statewide
• Demanding the City of San Diego commit to 100% clean energy, help make our homes more efficient, and put our neighborhoods first in its Climate Action Plan
• Staying up to date on Facebook, Twitter and our newsletter (sign up in the right side bar). 

The San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) and Caltrans have proposed a plan to expand the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Freeway (SR 94) that benefits none of the communities that it damages. Children who live in adjacent communities will likely have more asthma episodes as a result of the increased car pollution and the plan offers very minimal improvements to make biking and walking safer for people who live and work in and visit these communities. The freeway will carry a new transit line without a single bus stop in the communities it runs through.

The irony of the plan is glaring. The freeway named after one of greatest champions of equality is being expanded at the expense of lower-income neighborhoods and communities of color.

Martin Luther King, Jr.’s words could not be any truer today than they once were. He said,

“Urban transit systems in most American cities, for example, have become a genuine civil rights issue – and a valid one – because the layout of rapid-transit systems determines the accessibility of jobs to the black community [and other communities of color]. If transportation systems in American cities could be laid out so as to provide an opportunity for poor people to get meaningful employment, then they could begin to move into the mainstream of American life.”

This injustice may continue if the community’s voice is not heard by SANDAG.

Better plans exist that benefit all San Diegans.

We should apply innovative community-based solutions by turning existing freeway space into transit only lanes or convert an existing general purpose lane for carpool and transit-only use.

We should improve transit options for all by having bus stops in all communities.

We should adequately invest in adjacent communities to improve safety conditions for people walking, biking and transit use.

SANDAG and Caltrans will give an update on the plan and its impacts to surrounding communities on May 20th at 2 p.m. If you believe in transportation justice and clean air for all communities, sign our letter, contact Monique at Esta dirección de correo electrónico está siendo protegida contra los robots de spam. Necesita tener JavaScript habilitado para poder verlo. and attend the meeting.

Did you know: Every time you purchase a non-food item at the store, a percentage of the taxes you see on your receipt go to fund local transportation projects?

This sales tax is called "TransNet." The San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG), collects the tax and distributes a small amount of that funding to cities in San Diego County.

The City of San Diego gets close to 30-million dollars each year, in addition to other federal and state funds, to decide what type of improvements to local streets and sidewalks.

Start Here - Overburdened Communities Need Help Most

We recommend that the City prioritize transportation projects in communities that are:

• most impacted by air pollution due to cars and trucks on local streets and freeways;
• have greatest percentages of children with asthma; and
• have the greatest risk of being hit by car while walking or biking.

These communities include City Heights, Logan Heights, Sherman Heights, Barrio Logan and San Ysidro.

Start Now - Here's How

So how can the City of San Diego use its funds for transportation justice? It can begin by transforming streets and public space into a place where it is safe for people to walk, bike, take transit and drive, or as we like to call it: "Complete Streets."

Complete Streets means streets are not just built for cars, but for all modes of transportation. When a city builds infrastructure that accommodates more than automobiles, it's been shown to increase other modes of transportation drastically.

Complete Streets have roundabouts to slow down traffic, wide sidewalks to encourage walking, protected bike lanes to separate bicyclists from traffic and streetlights to name a few.

The City needs to dedicate funding to make Complete Streets possible.

Everyone Wants Clean Air

Currently, the City of San Diego has a draft Climate Action Plan that sets goals to increase biking, walking and public transit. This is important because 55 percent of the pollution contributing to climate change comes from people driving alone in their car.

To reach our goal of more walking, biking and taking public transit, the City should at least match their transportation budget to the amount needed to build the streets and sidewalks it takes to accomplish climate goals.

Your Community, Your Voice

There are a number of projects that need to move forward in our communities to make it safer and more convenient to walk, bike, or take public transit. If you know of a transportation need, such as a dangerous intersection, missing crosswalks or bike lanes in your community, contact Monique Lopez at Esta dirección de correo electrónico está siendo protegida contra los robots de spam. Necesita tener JavaScript habilitado para poder verlo..

We must work together to ensure that our community priorities are included in the City's budget and build #healthyhoods one bike lane, sidewalk and transit stop at a time.