HomeMy WebLinkAboutSB 960 (Wiener) Complete Streets Projects and Transit Priorities - Letter of SUPPORTCity of San Luis Obispo, Office of the City Council, 990 Palm Street, San Luis Obispo, CA, 93401-3249, 805.781.7114,
slocity.org
May 31, 2024
The Honorable Senator Caballero
California State Senate
1021 O St., Suite 7620
Sacramento, CA 95814
RE: Support for SB 960 (Wiener) Re: Department of Transportation: Complete Streets and Transit
Priority Policies
Dear Senator Caballero,
The City of San Luis Obispo is in strong support of Senate Bill 960. SB 960 is designed to make state-
owned highways in California safer and more convenient for all users. If enacted, this bill would:
• Reduce deaths and serious injuries by making state-owned roadways safer by design;
• Give transit riders a more reliable and predictable trip with transit priority treatments;
• Create a virtuous cycle of growing ridership that, in turn, reduces climate pollution, increases
equitable mobility, and improves transit’s fiscal sustainability;
• Enable counties and local governments to make the most of local transportation dollars by
speeding up the delivery of complete streets and transit priority projects that require state
approval.
SB 960 will move the state closer to its goal of aligning state transportation infrastructure
investments with its climate, health, and social equity goals, building on the foundations established
by SB1 and reinforced by the California Action Plan for Transportation Infrastructure (CAPTI) and
Executive Orders N-19-19 and N-79-20. This is an opportune moment to implement facilities that
make our State Highway System (SHS) safer, greener, and more accessible for all users.
According to the U.S. Federal Highway Administration, coupling these projects adds only a nominal
expense, finding that combining a pedestrian safety project with a resurfacing project can reduce
costs more than 50 percent compared to a stand-alone project. This means that roadway repaving
and rehabilitation projects funded by the Caltrans State Highway Operation and Protection Program
(SHOPP) present the best opportunity to cost-effectively build sidewalks, bikeways, and crosswalks
rather than having to come back and build those facilities separately as stand-alone projects. Given
the funding constraints, we believe it would be ideal to pursue opportunities to build the projects
when it is most cost-effective to do so.
SB 960 would also accelerate the delivery of transit priority projects on state-owned highways in
order to make transit faster and more reliable. Transit priority projects have numerous benefits, such
as increasing transit reliability, improving coordination and transfers, which boost ridership while
reducing transit operating costs. Transit priority projects expand equitable access to transit because
bus riders are more likely to be low-income and people of color relative to the general population.
For these reasons, we strongly support SB 960. Thank you for considering our support for this
important legislation.
Sincerely,
Erica A. Stewart
Mayor
City of San Luis Obispo
cc:
The Honorable Senator Caballero
Senator John Laird
Assembly Member Dawn Addis
Dave Mullinax, League of California Cities
League of California Cities