To: Zach Friend, Transportation Commissioner, Neal Coonerty, Transportation Commissioner, John Leopold, Transportation Commissioner, Dennis Norton, Transportation Commissioner, Don Lane, Transportation Commissioner, Greg Caput, Transportatio...
Truth behind traffic pollution failure needed before approving $5.6 billion transportation plan
As a citizen concerned about traffic congestion, air pollution and climate change, I urge you to launch an independent investigation into the Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission (SCCRTC) commute incentive program failure from 2008-2014.
Intended to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by reducing vehicle miles traveled (VMT), the SCCRTC commute incentive program achieved well under 1% of the expected results. This unacceptable outcome was confirmed with the Stop Work Order issued by the Monterey Bay Unified Air Pollution Control District in January 2014. Final result: 0.16% of projected VMT / pollution reduction was achieved.
Do not ignore this second call for an independent investigation.
The first call for an independent investigation was in 2012. The SCCRTC avoided scrutiny at that time by dismissing the concerns raised as premature, and re-iterating confidence in the program. The program continued for another two years - with performance of the program dropping even further.
Questions over this failure are now more than important than ever with the SCCRTC scheduled to approve a ten-year $5.6 billion regional transportation plan (RTP) on June 26. From page 13 of the plan:
‘Much effort on this 2014 RTP and the 2035 Metropolitan Transportation Plan has been focused on prioritizing projects that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions primarily from a reduction in vehicle miles traveled (VMT).’
How can the public have confidence in, and be expected to pay for the SCCRTC’s $5.6 billion plan to ‘reduce greenhouse gas emissions primarily from a reduction in vehicle miles traveled (VMT)’, if the SCCRTC failed so abysmally at VMT/pollution reduction over the past five years?
Reasons for this failure need to be fully understood, and appropriate actions taken, before the public can be expected to entrust the SCCRTC with a $5.6 billion budget and transportation planning over the next 10 years.
As a Transportation Commissioner you are responsible for serving the public by providing oversight of the SCCRTC. On June 26 I strongly urge you to postpone approval of the 2014 Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) until completion of an independent investigation of the SCCRTC’s commute incentive program failure from 2008-2014.
Why is this important?
Update: July 6, 2014. With the RTC rejecting the second call for an independent investigation on June 26, and going ahead with adoption of the $5.6 billion transportation plan, it has given me the opportunity to re-evaluate this campaign and how I can be of service. This is the conclusion I have come to:
We, the public, paid for the RTC traffic pollution reduction program, and we have a right to know exactly what went wrong and why. Therefore I am going to continue to push ahead with the demand for an independent investigation.
Over the weeks ahead I will be writing to all thirteen RTC transportation commissioners, continuing to provide more evidence to build the case. How many letters to transportation commissioners will be needed for an independent investigation to be agreed to? I hope you can join us.
- Paul
-----------------------------------------
I’m an entrepreneur / commute consultant in Santa Cruz, California who develops and implements commute programs to reduce traffic and pollution. The purpose of this petition is to bring to light actions taken over the past five years by my local transportation agency that have:
- Directed public funds into known ineffective traffic reduction, pollution reduction strategies
- Prevented public funds being directed into known effective traffic pollution reduction programs
- Undermined, and attempted to discredit valid concerns raised
- Deceived the public
Brief history of events:
From 2005 – 2014 I have been working with the City of Santa Cruz to develop and provide commute programs to shift single occupant vehicle (SOV) commuting to alternative commuting: biking, carpooling, transit, walk, etc., with positive results:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qePeHoSLDTs
I have also worked with the County of Santa Cruz (independent from the Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission – the target of this petition), also with positive results:
http://greenstartupstory.com/2012/08/28/rsclients-in-santa-cruz-county/#santacruzco
In 2008 a local community college, Cabrillo College, applied for an *AB2766 traffic pollution reduction grant to use my services to reduce their largest source of CO2 – the commute. To support Cabrillo College’s grant application I provided commute services for free for six months starting April 22 (Earth Day), 2008. Again with positive results:
http://greenstartupstory.com/2012/05/26/welcome-spotlife/grantadvocacyletter-small-highlighted/
[*AB2766 is a $200M/year California-wide traffic pollution reduction grant fund paid by drivers through vehicle license fees. The California Air Resources Board (CARB) oversees the AB2766 fund.]
Unfortunately, rather than supporting Cabrillo’s grant application, the Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission (SCCRTC) ‘competed’ with Cabrillo’s grant application, with false and exaggerated claims of their own capabilities to achieve effective traffic pollution reduction. These false claims by the SCCRTC resulted in the Monterey Bay Unified Air Pollution Control District (Air District) denying Cabrillo’s top priority funding request, and instead funding the SCCRTC with $120,000 AB2766 public funds to serve Cabrillo College’s commute program needs, as well as the commute program needs of all other employers in Santa Cruz County. With funding being denied, Cabrillo College’s successful commute program had to be shut down in September 2008.
Keeping in touch with Cabrillo College I learned that the SCCRTC program delivered no benefit from 2008 - 2012. In May 2012, the Air District (responsible for managing the AB2766 grant fund locally) were asked about the performance of the SCCRTC program. Their response: ‘The District feels that SCCRTC has made adequate progress'.
June 2012: After further investigation, findings were summarized in a report calling for an independent investigation:
http://greenstartupstory.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/ridespringcabrilloreportjune2012-2.pdf
The report was provided to the SCCRTC and Air District. In a Santa Cruz Sentinel article in July 2012, both the SCCRTC and Air District dismissed concerns, and reiterated confidence in the SCCRTC program:
“We still believe this is a great program” (with 0.16% of the projected traffic pollution reduction achieved).
http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/localnews/ci_21168663/
June 2013: SCCRTC Executive Director describes report calling for an independent investigation as ‘misleading and untrue’
January 2014: Air District issues Stop Work Order against SCCRTC program. Stop Work Order confirms key concerns raised in report:
http://greenstartupstory.com/2014/02/25/ad-stopworkorder-rtc/
March 2014: Attempting to bring attention to this issue at an SCCRTC public hearing:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yc0pZf7FyxI
What’s next…
June 26, 2014: The SCCRTC is scheduled to approve a $5.6 billion transportation plan claiming priority and capabilities in effective traffic pollution reduction. Highlights from the SCCRTC plan include:
Page 13 ‘Much effort on this 2014 RTP and the 2035 Metropolitan Transportation Plan has been focused on prioritizing projects that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions primarily from a reduction in vehicle miles traveled (VMT)’
Page 19 ‘With the passage of the California Sustainable Communities and Climate Protection Act of 2008 (SB 375) and the establishment of regional greenhouse gas emissions targets, a much greater emphasis is being placed on transportation plans to reduce the number of vehicle miles we travel’
Page 140 ‘The Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission is taking a proactive approach towards identifying strategies for reducing greenhouse gases in the 2014 RTP’
Page 140 ‘The 2014 RTP relies on reductions in vehicle miles traveled along with improvements in vehicle speed to achieve the five percent greenhouse gas emissions reduction’
Page 220 ‘The California Air Resources Board (ARB) requires a five percent reduction in per capita ...