Metropolitan Transportation Commission

Red and yellow vintage streetcar in front of San Francisco Ferry Building.

Poll: Bay Area Voters on Transit Funding Sources

Voters in Northern California indicated support for higher taxes on the wealthy and big companies, rejecting increased property or sales taxes to support transportation projects.

March 11, 2024 - The Mercury News

Close-up of green freeway signs pointing to US 101 to San Jose and San Francisco with foggy hills in background.

Bay Area Proposal Would Toll All Freeway Lanes Near Transit

Local transportation leaders say charging for use of all area freeways would reduce congestion and bring more revenue for transit and other projects.

November 13, 2023 - NBC Bay Area

A toll payment facility in Florida.

Tolling All Lanes

Bay Area transportation planners are studying a radical idea to reduce traffic congestion and fund driving alternatives: tolling all lanes on a freeway. Even more radical, the plan considers tolling parallel roads.

March 21, 2023 - San Francisco Chronicle

San Francisco Bay Area

Opinion: To Meet Climate Goals, Bay Area Needs More Transit-Oriented Development

The region's transit-oriented development (TOD) plan requires a significant update to achieve the density and housing goals laid out in the MTC's 30-year vision.

November 18, 2021 - SPUR

San Francisco Bay Area

Plan Bay Area 2050, Approved Last Week, Makes the Opinion Page

A traditionally controversial planning exercise, the regular update of the 30-year plan for the San Francisco Bay Area, has crossed the finish line again. Opponents aren't letting the issues rest, however.

October 26, 2021 - The Mercury News

San Francisco Residential Neighborhoods

State Preemption Hitting Home for California Cities

Recently approved laws that force cities to take a more proactive approach to the state-mandated Regional Housing Needs Assessment process are beginning to take effect in California.

January 29, 2021 - San Francisco Weekly

Water Emergency Transportation Authority

Plan Bay Area 2050 Proposes 60% Telecommute Rates for Office Workers

A drastic and unprecedented measure included in the draft Plan Bay Area 2050, released this summer, would require 60 percent of all workers in Bay Area office jobs to telecommute.

October 1, 2020 - Bloomberg CityLab

Northern California Toll Lane

Tolling All Freeway Lanes in the Bay Area?

What's more surprising is seeing who is making the proposal and why. The first step would be to have the concept included in Plan Bay Area 2050.

August 26, 2020 - San Mateo Daily Journal

San Francisco Bay Bridge

Plan Bay Area 2050 Draft Released

A regional plan for the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area is available for public comment.

July 23, 2020 - San Francisco Chronicle

Bay Area

Crowdsourcing Ideas for Richmond-San Rafael Bridge Replacement

The Richmond-San Rafael Bridge, connecting the East Bay and the North Bay near San Francisco, is 63 years old, but a local elected official is thinking about how to replace it.

December 5, 2019 - The Mercury News

East Palo Alto

Another Bay Area City Considers Urban Tolling

East Palo Alto has long suffered the toll that transbay traffic has imposed on this gateway to Silicon Valley from the East Bay in the form of air pollution and traffic congestion. Now the city is considering tolling the traffic.

October 23, 2019 - (Palo Alto) Daily Post

BART System

$100 Billion Bay Area Transportation Tax Considered for November 2020 Ballot

Two years after voters in the nine-county Bay Area agreed to hike tolls on the region's seven state-owned bridges, regional business leaders are hoping they will approve a one-cent regional sales tax to fund $100 billion in transportation projects.

July 28, 2019 - San Francisco Chronicle

BART Train

S.F. Bay Area Fare Integration Study Voted Down

Transit officials pass on a proposal to take a closer look at the possibility of an integrated fare system that would simplify transit travel in the Bay Area.

June 22, 2019 - Streetsblog SF

Ford GoBike

A Bikeshare Showdown Between Uber and Lyft

Lyft may soon not be the sole bikeshare operation in San Francisco as the city looks to expand the system and open the market up to other companies.

June 10, 2019 - Streetsblog USA

San Bruno, California

Managed Lanes Coming to the San Francisco Peninsula

State and county officials gathered on Friday to celebrate the start of a $514 million project to convert carpool lanes to express lanes and connect auxiliary lanes to make for a lane addition. The 32-mile project on Highway 101 opens in 2022.

March 13, 2019 - San Mateo Daily Journal

Downtown Redwood City

Housing Politics: Think Regionally, Lose Locally

Two Bay Area city council members serving on a regional commission suffered the political consequences of supporting a controversial regional housing initiative, not from their constituents, but from their colleagues.

February 1, 2019 - San Francisco Chronicle

The Peninsula

Regional Attempt to Address Housing Crisis Advances in Bay Area

A regional, comprehensive, and controversial approach to tackling the housing affordability crisis in the nine-county Bay Area, including strategies to render renter protections and new housing production, has cleared three major hurdles.

January 25, 2019 - KQED: California Report

Bay Area Multi-Modal Infrastructure

Planning Underway for New Bay Bridge Bike Path, and a Second Transbay BART Tube

In a distant and expensive future, there are two new ways to get across the San Francisco Bay without a car. One will have a much better view.

November 19, 2018 - The Mercury News

San Francisco

Idea Competition for Solving Bay Area Traffic Names Finalists

Twelve finalists have been picked for their ideas about how to spend $1 billion in funding to fix transportation in the Bay Area.

November 5, 2018 - The Mercury News

Bay Bridge

Taxpayer Group's Lawsuit Could Repeal Toll Hike on Bay Area Bridges

A California taxpayers association has challenged the June passage of a regional ballot measure because it didn't receive two-thirds support from voters, although two prior voter-approved bridge toll increases also fell short of a super-majority.

July 12, 2018 - The Mercury News

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HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research

Call for Speakers

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New Updates on PD&R Edge

HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research

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Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.

Planning for Universal Design

Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.