California Environmental Leaders Call on State Agencies to Prioritize Multimodal Transportation

California environmental leaders are calling on state agencies to prioritize investing in active transportation and public transit, particularly as the new administration works to dismantle environmental protections and discourage the shift to electric vehicles and renewable energy, writes Damien Newton in Streetsblog California.

In a letter to the California Transportation Commission, California Air Resources Board, Caltrans, and the Department of Housing and Community Development, the group of advocates notes that “California still controls how the state spends its own transportation dollars, and thus is responsible for meeting its own Climate goals.”

Regardless of the federal administration in power, California transportation agencies have continued to prioritize highway building and car-centric development at the expense of public transit and multimodal transportation infrastructure.

The letter includes seven suggestions for actions state leaders can take to meet its climate goals and safeguard its environment. These include making a statewide effort to shift investments away from highway expansion, aligning the transportation budget with the state’s climate action plan, and creating a ‘Plan B’ for emissions reduction goals that compensates for potential reductions in federal support.