 Our clean air work is guided by the strategies outlined in the Clean Air Agenda which is currenlty being updated. We are concerned about health – and our air quality is critical to our health and the health of our children and seniors. We have worked for many years to support air pollution reductions – from cars and trucks, from factories, from rice straw and other agricultural burning. Important work has been done and a great deal of pollution has been reduced.
However, this has not been enough – over 70% of our remaining air pollution in this region comes from mobile sources. We believe it is important now to tackle the difficult issue of land use and transportation – how we design our urban areas.
- Will we continue the sprawl pattern of the last few years?
- Will we continue to be almost entirely dependent on driving to get us where we want to go?
- Is there a better way to grow that is more efficient?
We know that “smart” land use can make a difference. We really can have:
- walkable, bikeable communities
- transit friendly communities
- energy efficient land use
- green tree cover and open space
- and above all, healthy air quality
After interviews with key experts and a series of deliberations, we have come up with 38 key recommendations for businesses, community leaders and citizens. We believe that if we do these things we will have much cleaner air – and an improved quality of life. Our ambitious Clean Air Agenda includes a new vision of land use and air quality:
A vision of no net increase in air pollution achieved through energy and transportation efficient land use that supports healthy air quality for ozone, very fine and ultrafine particulates, through a vision of walkable, bikeable, ‘cool’ communities linked by a clean-fueled transit network and framed by the open space of our region.
TRANSPORTATION |
To support walking and biking:
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- Adopt standards, policies and guidelines for transportation and land use projects (both new and retrofit) that support walking and bicycling.
- Collect and analyze data on walking and biking.
- Integrate walking and biking travel activity into regional transportation models.
- Increase funding for pedestrian and bicycle projects and programs; increase bicycle and pedestrian staffing and staff training.
- Initiate a regional public education program aimed at shifting social norms, stressing the importance of physical exercise and health, the responsibilities of drivers to drive safely and the importance of walkable, bikeable communities to our region’s health and well-being.
- Reduce motoring’s negative impacts upon the walking and biking environment.
| To support clean-fueled, transit friendly communities and a regional transit network: |
- Secure funding for expanded transit infrastructure and operations that is clean-fueled.
- Encourage and support staff at SACOG and Transit Agencies to develop and implement transit plans and service that is both cost and time competitive with travel by car.
- Support the activities and goals of SACOG’s Transit Coordinating Committee to develop better linkages between the region’s transit systems and other transportation modes.
- Support the concept of “Transit for Livable Communities” throughout the region to encourage transit supportive development and public outreach/education to support its usage.
LAND USE |
| To support transportation and energy efficient land use policies: |
- Develop land use plans to minimize travel distances, encourage infill development, reduce car dependency and provide transportation choice.
- Encourage community design principles that support walkable, bikeable, transit oriented communities such as SACOG’s Blueprint principles.
- Define/agree where growth will go. Develop a regional long-range plan with agreed upon boundaries.
- Increase funding for open space by first agreeing where growth should occur and fund for the permanent protection of land where growth should not occur.
- Support State legislation that incentivizes smart land use and Blueprint style principles.
- Encourage jurisdictions to apply for SACOG’s over $500 million for Community Design and implement projects and advocate for an increase in funding.
| To reduce temperatures through “cool” communities programs: |
- Adopt cool roofing ordinances for large commercial flat and low-sloped roofs and get these provisions into the building code.
- Encourage the adoption and enforcement of tree ordinances for parking lots and streets.
- Prepare a net-benefit analysis of tree species for air pollution emissions and potential heat reduction.
- Support street and parking lot resurfacing using light-colored asphalt through ordinance or air district regulation.
- Quantify all of “cool community” measures to gain SIP credits for air quality improvement.
To create a framework of open space in the region: |
- Change the pattern of urban development: Stop sprawl.
- Define criteria of open space to be protected including urban open space.
- Develop a regional open space plan utilizing a multi-stakeholder process, and implement county by county.
- Create a broad constituency for open space.
- Increase awareness of and access to the region’s open space resources.
- Support secured funding for both the purchase and maintenance of open space.
AIR QUALITY |
To assure the maximum air quality benefit from the above strategies: |
- Support the quantification of the potential reduction of automobile trips and increases to transit, walking and biking associated with alternative land use strategies.
- Support the quantification of the air pollution emission reduction potential for each strategy.
- Incorporate data on pedestrian, bicycle, and transit travel into local land use policy and regional level transportation models.
- Support development of land use-transportation-air quality modeling.
- Adopt transportation and land use measures into the State Implementation Plan (SIP)
FUNDING |
To develop a solid funding base and fiscal incentives: |
- Support a solid funding base for transit operations and infrastructure in this region.
- Support funding for complete streets to ensure pedestrian, transit and bicycle infrastructure especially in areas where it does not exist.
- Support legislation to provide incentives for smart growth.
- Include smart growth incentives/requirements on all new spending bills and initiatives.
- Support SACOG’s proposed Community Design program and continue its expansion.
- Support federal, state and local legislation that sustains or increases funding for local air districts, Safe Routes to School programs, Complete Streets, transit, smart growth incentives, Moyer type programs and other legislative incentive program
For a complete copy of the Clean Air Agenda, click here for the pdf file. |
