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Guest Editorial: California’s Transportation Budget Must Prioritize Green Transportation

Guest Editorial: California’s Transportation Budget Must Prioritize Green Transportation

SACRAMENTO, California (January 10, 2025) — CalBike applauds Governor Gavin Newsom for leaving funding intact for the Active Transportation Program (ATP) in his proposed budget,…

Sunday, Jan 12

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SACRAMENTO, California (January 10, 2025) — CalBike applauds Governor Gavin Newsom for leaving funding intact for the Active Transportation Program (ATP) in his proposed budget, after two years of steep cuts. The ATP is the state’s only dedicated funding source for infrastructure that supports biking, walking, and public transit.
However, the governor’s budget doesn’t go far enough and preserves backward-facing investments that bake in decades of warmer temperatures and climate catastrophes. To have a realistic chance of mitigating the multiple disasters California faces due to climate chaos, we must stop investing in old ways of moving goods and people and reimagine our transportation systems. A cyclist and scooter rider on the Bancroft Way protected bike lane in Berkeley. Governor Newsom’s budget reverses past cuts to Active Transportation, but doesn’t go far enough according to CalBike. Photo by Dave Iltis The last budget cut two-thirds of the ATP budget, giving the California Transportation Commission(CTC) only enough funding to approve the top 13 projects out of dozens of worthy applications for grants. This budget should restore the $400 million taken from the ATP, allowing CTC to greenlight more green transportation infrastructure projects.

But that isn’t enough. The ATP is chronically underfunded, slowing the pace of California’s transition to a state that prioritizes safe passage for people using low- and no-carbon transportation options. CalBike is asking the legislature to double ATP funding going forward.

“The Active Transportation Program represents a tiny fraction of California’s transportation expenditures, yet it delivers powerful benefits for climate change […]

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