2026 Legislative Recap: Wins for Transit and Housing

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Transform’s legislative agenda was more successful than not in this year’s legislative session. Much of our attention this year focused on legislation to put RTM on the ballot, but we also supported measures for sustainable transportation, climate-friendly housing, and climate policies that became law. Here’s where the bills we supported and opposed landed at the end of the session.

Bills that passed

Bay Area Transit Loan Bill (SB 117): The governor signed this bill at the beginning of the session, preventing transit providers from the need to make cuts before we could pass the regional transit measure, RTM, this November.

Illegal E-Motos (SB 1167, Blakespear): This bill was powered by growing awareness that the “e-bikes” people were complaining about didn’t fit the legal definition of an e-bike but have more powerful motors, throttles, and the capability to drive much faster than regular e-bikes. This new law bill amends regulations dictating the type of vehicles that are prohibited from being advertised, sold, offered for sale, or labeled as e-bikes and adds penalties for false advertising.

Community Anti-Displacement and Preservation Program (CAPP) (SB 1091, Caballero): CAPP will allow existing renters to stay in low-cost housing while California communities work to build more affordable units. This excellent program will expand the availability of affordable housing in California by preserving existing affordable rental housing.

Infill Infrastructure Grant Program (SB 772, Cabaldon): This bill amends a grant program providing funding for infill housing projects, granting credits for walkability and proximity to transit. Encouraging infill development as a strategy to fight climate change is central to Transform’s mission, and we’re pleased to have the support of our elected leaders.

Transit Stop Registry (AB 1599, Ahrens): We’re looking forward to the benefits of this bill, which creates a statewide database of transit stop locations. The database will list amenities available at each stop, making it easier to know where and how to connect with transit.

State housing bond (SB 417, Cabaldon); also introduced in the Assembly by Wicks): This bill put Prop 1 on the ballot, allowing voters to approve an $11 billion affordable housing bond. Transform is supporting Prop 1 — please make sure you vote yes.

Sustainable Communities Strategies (SB 1087, Cabaldon): Two decades after the passage of SB 375, SB 1087 reduces the administrative burdens of implementation and secures regionally controlled funding for implementation. We supported this bill in its final form after refinements in committee, and we were happy to see the legislature pass it. However, the governor’s signature wasn’t guaranteed, so we mobilized our supporters with a letter-writing campaign and we won! Thanks to everyone who contacted the governor for helping this important legislation become law.

Bills that didn’t make it

We supported climate-related bills that didn’t make it out of legislative committees. We hope the next legislature takes climate disruption and transportation funding more seriously.

Climate Action Plan for Transportation Infrastructure (AB 2560, Schultz): This bill would have codified the Climate Action Plan for Transportation Infrastructure (CAPTI) goals, which are currently unenforceable, into statute. Adding teeth by making those goals statutory would have been a step toward real climate action, but it died in committee. We hope this worthy bill comes back in a future legislative session.

Affordable Insurance and Climate Recovery Act (SB 222, Wiener): This measure to allow individuals injured by climate disasters and extreme weather events to sue oil and gas companies stalled out in committee last year and again this year. The original measure was the subject of a “gut and amend,” where the contents of a bill are replaced later in the session with language for a completely different measure.

Road Usage Charge Study Bill (AB 1421, Wilson): We need to study road pricing options, as more people move to EVs and gas tax revenues decline. Unfortunately, California Republicans had a field day in the media about the concept of a vehicle miles traveled fee, and this bill got pulled early in the session. The problem hasn’t gone away; the legislature will have to address the issue of how we fund road maintenance at some point in the future.

Bills Transform opposed

We opposed two bills this year. One didn’t make it out of committee, and the other was amended in a way that made us comfortable moving from opposed to neutral. We’ll take that as a win.

E-Bike Registration and License Plates (AB 1942, Bauer-Kahan): This bill would have required DMV registration and license plates for legal e-bikes in Class 2 and 3, which have top speeds of 20 mph and 28 mph. The e-moto bill that passed is a much better way to address problem e-bikes; lawmakers made the right decision in passing that one and passing over this bill, which would have made it harder for people to own and operate legal e-bikes.

Suisun Marsh Preservation Act of 1977 (AB 2059, Wilson): The bill seemed poised to undermine mitigation for additional vehicle miles traveled (VMT) currently required of highway expansion projects, getting rid of one of the only ways to get things like affordable housing and transit improvements when a highway expansion can’t be stopped. We were pleased to be able to work with the author to scale back the effect of the bill so we could withdraw our opposition.  

The 2027 budget and legislative process begins soon, where we’ll continue to advocate for more funding for housing and transportation programs in the state budget, push back on potential cuts to the Cap-and-Invest Program, and make sure affordable housing and sustainable transportation are at the top of the agenda for our incoming governor and new legislators in 2027.

Transform 2026 Ballot Proposition Guide

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Transit is on the ballot this year, with Measure RTM a must-win to save Bay Area transit from a death spiral. Other state and local measures dealing with equity, housing, and active transportation are also on the ballot.

As a 501(c)3, Transform doesn’t endorse candidates, but we participated in this candidate questionnaire, which provides insights on the candidates’ positions on transportation issues.

Here’s our guide to selected state, regional, and local ballot measures on the November ballot.

How to vote

Confirm your voter registration and track your ballot in the mail with Ballotrax. You can also sign up for text alerts to find out when your county election office processes your ballot. As a reminder, you have until Tuesday, November 3, to turn your ballot in or vote in person.

Voting by mail is safe and legal. You can also drop your ballot in a dropbox. 

Vote early

Voting early does three important things:

  • Gives you time to cure your ballot if there’s an error that invalidates it. The Secretary of State will inform you of your right to cure.
  • Ensures your ballot has plenty of time to reach county election officials, especially if you send it by mail.
  • Helps campaigns focus their get-out-the-vote efforts. Turning your ballot in gives volunteers one less name to call.

Important dates to keep in mind:

Short list of Transform positions on ballot propositions

Statewide

Yes on Prop 1

No on Prop 39

Yes on Prop 40

No on Prop 41

No on Prop 42

No on Prop 43

No on Prop 45

Regional

Yes on RTM

Local

San Francisco 
Yes on C
No on G
Yes on H		Berkeley
Yes on X
Yes on Z
Menlo Park
No on P		Walnut Creek
Yes on U
Redwood City
Yes on E		San Pablo
Yes on S


Statewide

Yes on Prop 1: Affordable Housing Bond 

Prop 1 is an $11.25 billion bond authorization to build affordable rental housing, supportive housing, preservation, and homeownership programs. Transform is proud to be part of the coalition that helped place this on the ballot. We need this and much more funding for affordable housing. Vote yes.

No on Prop 39: No voter ID 

Currently, California requires residents to provide an identification card and Social Security number to register to vote but does not require people to show identification in order to vote. Prop 39 would require people to show ID at the polls and include partial identification numbers with mail-in ballots. It’s an onerous requirement that solves a non-existent problem. Transform’s vision for affordable housing and sustainable transportation depends on all people — especially marginalized communities — having power and voice. Prop 39 would create new barriers that obstruct one of the most important ways people’s voices are heard: voting. Vote NO on 39.

Yes on Prop 40: One-time billionaires tax

The Trump regime’s signature legislation provided a tax windfall for the richest Americans while cutting essential support for the rest of us. Prop 40 would use a one-time, 5% wealth tax on people with net worth (not income) in excess of $1 billion at the beginning of 2026. The revenue would be primarily used to replace Medi-Cal funding cut by the Trump administration, keeping people who would have lost their healthcare on Medi-Cal.

Without these extra funds, we are likely to see additional cuts to affordable housing and transit funding, as the state struggles to balance its budget and shift existing dollars to backfill cuts to Medi-Cal.

This tax will apply to approximately 250 people. Billionaires have done well in an economy where the majority are struggling. Prop 40 asks them to pay their fair share, once. Vote yes.

Note: If either Prop 41 or 42 gets more votes than Prop 40, it invalidates Prop 40. So be sure to vote no on Prop 41 and 42 as well.

No on Prop 43: Don’t undercut future public investment

Prop 43 would require local ballot measures proposing special taxes initiated by citizens to receive a two-thirds (66.67%) vote. Currently, local special taxes proposed by citizen-initiated petitions need only a simple majority to pass. The coalition backing the Regional Transit Measure that will save Caltrain and BART used this strategy to help it pass.

Prop 43 would make it harder for local governments to raise the funds they need to keep schools and transit running smoothly and to build affordable housing. We addressed this proposition in more detail in a recent post. 

The people supporting Prop 43 claim to be anti-tax activists. What they are is hostile to measures that support the health of California communities. Vote No on 43. 

No on Prop 45: No fast-tracked freeways

Prop 45 shortens the environmental review process under CEQA for projects deemed “essential” — including new highways. While CEQA has, at times, been used to slow or halt housing development, this proposition would streamline many projects that are outright bad for people and the planet. Vote no on Prop 45.

Regional 

Regional Transit Measure RTM: Vote YES to Fund the Bus!

Transform strongly supports Measure RTM, which will add a half-percent sales tax in Alameda, Contra Costa, Santa Clara, and San Mateo Counties and a 1-percent tax in San Francisco. The funds will go to maintain transit operations in those counties, keeping the current levels of service and hours of operation while Bay Area transit systems continue to gain back ridership lost during the pandemic. There will also be funding to improve services, making transit an appealing transportation option for more people.

State and federal funding for transit has been shrinking; it’s up to us to keep our essential transit services healthy, to provide essential mobility for millions of residents, keep our roadways from falling into a congestion death spiral, and save transit agencies from the fiscal cliff. We explain the potential consequences if this measure fails in detail in this post. Yes on Measure RTM.

Local

San Francisco

Yes on C: Build more affordable housing

Prop C would increase San Francisco’s contribution to the Housing Trust Fund to $125 million annually. It would also broaden the qualifications for down payment assistance. San Francisco is one of the most expensive housing markets in the U.S., and this measure is a step toward making it a more affordable place to live. Vote yes on C.

No on G: Save Sunset Dunes

Yes, San Franciscans have to vote on the conversion of a portion of the Great Highway into Sunset Dunes Park again. This “compromise” measure would close the park during the week to make space for car traffic, leaving it as a recreational space only on weekends. According to the League of Women Voters, “Sunset Dunes Park had over 1.7 million visits in its first year, with 53% happening on weekdays.” Vote no on G, and let’s hope this is the last time voters have to shoot down this bad idea.

Yes on H: Save Muni

Muni faces bigger budget issues than other Bay Area transit systems due to shifts in remote work. It’s critical for San Francisco voters to support not only Measure RTM but also local Measure H. This measure will create an annual parcel tax, a progressive solution that gets the people who benefit from Muni — especially San Francisco businesses — to pay to support the transit that makes the city tick. Vote yes on H.

Menlo Park

No on P: Homes, not parking lots

The City of Menlo Park developed a plan to build 345 units of affordable housing on city-owned downtown parking lots. NIMBY opponents got Measure P on the ballot to keep the city from making changes to city-owned parking spaces without first getting voter approval — an expensive and time-consuming process that could make it too expensive to build affordable housing on the lots.

We previously weighed in against Measure P, and Transform has long been a part of the movement to replace our overbuilt parking infrastructure with affordable housing. This is the wrong direction in a time of worsening climate change and chronic housing shortages. Vote no on P.

Redwood City

Yes on E: Rent control and tenant protections

Redwood City doesn’t have a local rent control ordinance. Measure E would create rent control for the city and replace its existing tenant protections with stronger ones, helping existing residents weather the threat of displacement during the latest tech boom. Vote yes on E.

San Pablo

Yes on S: Rent stabilization and tenant protections

This measure would limit future rent increases and provide broader criteria for relocation assistance when tenants are forced to move. It’s an excellent measure that supports stability for renters and vibrant, diverse communities of all incomes. Vote yes on S.

Berkeley

Yes on X: Improve rent controls

Measure X, put on the ballot by the Berkeley City Council with support from the Rent Stabilization Board, will support affordable housing, close loopholes in rent control laws, and make the Rent Stabilization Board more efficient. Vote yes on X.

Yes on Z: Community banking for affordable housing

Berkeley’s Measure Z would take the first steps to establish and fund a public bank — one that would place local priorities over profit, with a dedicated focus on supporting affordable housing production. Vote yes on Z.

Walnut Creek

Yes on U: Rezoning for senior housing

Currently, an area around the Walnut Creek BART station is zoned for office space only. Measure U would change this to mixed use, allowing for development of senior housing and retail, as well as office space. Building more housing near transit is always a win. For seniors who may no longer be able to drive, the location near BART will improve mobility and autonomy, allowing them to age with dignity. Vote yes on U.

Yes on RTM: A Regional Transit Measure to Save Bay Area Transit

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Measure RTM is on the ballot in the Bay Area. It will add a half-percent sales tax in Alameda, Contra Costa, Santa Clara, and San Mateo Counties and a 1-percent tax in San Francisco. We’ve been working hard to get this measure to the ballot for several years, and strongly support it. The measure provides a stable funding source to keep our vital transit running. Please vote yes on RTM.

If you’re still undecided, here’s what you need to know about this ballot measure.

What will happen to transit if RTM doesn’t pass?

Without the additional funding from Measure RTM, many Bay Area transit systems will face critical budget shortfalls.

  • BART might have to close up to 15 stations and cut service by 70%, closing at 9 p.m. instead of midnight.
  • Caltrain would run one train per hour, cancel weekend trains, and stop running trains at 9 p.m.
  • Muni could cut one-third of its service, eliminating up to 20 routes, doubling wait times, and ending regular nighttime services. 

What will happen to traffic if RTM doesn’t pass?

A recent report by SPUR predicts extended delays on the Bay Bridge and on segments of U.S. 101, I-580, I-680, I-880, SR 24, and SR 4. People who would have used BART to cross the bay or a bus to get around town will be forced to drive a private car or take a rideshare or taxi, increasing congestion and slowing traffic to a crawl.

Parking will be even harder to find, especially in commercial areas and congested cities like San Francisco, where parking spots are already in short supply. Drivers circling the block looking for parking will add even further to the congested streets, as traffic backups spill over from the highways to local roadways.

While traffic delays are annoying for most people, they can be life-threatening in an emergency. Choked-up traffic could keep emergency vehicles from quickly accessing a crash, responding to a medical emergency, or getting to a fire before it spreads to multiple structures. 

RTM is good for our health and our wallets

Not only does public transit relieve pressure on the Bay Area’s clogged roadways, allowing access for first responders, but it also reduces pollution. Replacing car trips with transit trips reduces greenhouse gas emissions and smog. If the measure doesn’t pass, rates of asthma and other respiratory conditions are likely to rise in the region.

Spending on public transit also saves money. A monthly transit pass is less expensive than the cost of maintaining a private automobile and much cheaper than getting around by rideshare. Vehicle ownership costs include insurance, gas or electricity, repairs, and parking. 

What will it take to pass RTM?

The Regional Transit Measure needs to win 50% + 1 to pass, and it’s going to be tight. If you’re convinced of the necessity of this measure, please consider joining a virtual phone bank to talk to voters and help get out the vote for Yes on RTM.

Prop 43 Would Impede Local Funding for Transit, Schools and Housing 

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Local measures that raise taxes to fund local priorities, like the Regional Transit Measure on this November’s ballot, have two ways to get on the ballot. If the governing body places the measure up for a citizen vote and the money is dedicated to a specific purpose, it needs a two-thirds majority (roughly 66.67%) to become law. If the measure is placed on the ballot by citizen initiative — collecting signatures — it only needs 50% plus one vote to pass. 

Proposition 43 on the November ballot would require a two-thirds majority for all measures that raise local taxes and would limit local governments’ ability to levy additional property taxes. 

If Prop 43 passes, it will impede Californians’ ability to raise future revenue to support critical local infrastructure — like transit, schools, or affordable housing.

Here’s everything you need to know to help build momentum for a NO vote on Prop 43.

Who’s behind Prop 43?

Looking at who supports or opposes a ballot measure tells you a lot about the intention behind it. Prop 43 was put on the ballot by the legislature as a compromise to replace an even more noxious measure authored by the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association.

You’ll remember that Howard Jarvis was the anti-tax crusader who passed Prop 13, which limits property tax increases on residential and commercial properties. That proposition, especially the part excluding some commercial property transfers from a step-up in tax basis, has severely impacted California’s ability to fund its public school system. California pre-K-12 schools went from among the best in the nation to #41 in the most recent U.S. News and World Report ranking.

If you want a comprehensive look at the effects of Prop 13, this joint reporting project from 2018 is a good place to start.

What’s wrong with a two-thirds majority to pass an initiative?

The majority of Bay Area voters support progressive funding measures for projects like affordable housing and transit, and these measures often gain more than 50% approval. However, getting two-thirds of voters to agree is an impossibly high bar. The 66.67% requirement allows a small minority of voters the power to veto commonsense policy. 

Prop 43 would impact public goods and community well-being

No one likes paying taxes, but taxes to fund the services we all rely on — and even those we don’t use — are the foundation of a functioning community. People who never take transit still benefit from the reduction in traffic congestion due to all the cars taken off the road by public trains and buses, and those who rely on transit are able to access jobs, education, healthcare, and other services.

Prop 43 would underfund public services, widening the gap between rich and poor. High-income families can send their children to private schools, while those who can’t afford private school tuition are stuck in public schools. With fewer families relying on public education, community investment in improving schools suffers, which can lead to a vicious cycle of decline. The same is true for a broad range of community amenities: road maintenance, public transportation, public libraries, and on and on.

If we want government services that work for all of us, we must be willing to pay for them. That means balancing the tax burdens on residents, particularly those who can afford to pay, with the need for healthy, functional communities — without making it close to impossible to pass any new tax measures.

How will Prop 43 affect the Regional Transit Measure?

Thanks to the hard work of many volunteers, our coalition was able to put the Regional Transit Measure on the ballot by collecting more than 240,000 signatures across the five Bay Area counties where it will be on the ballot. The measure, which adds a half-percent sales tax (1% in San Francisco), will use the revenue to provide stable funding for BART and many other local and regional transit agencies, so riders don’t lose the trains and buses they need to get around. Funds will also be allocated to improving transit service and reliability.

Collecting signatures allowed us to put the measure on the ballot as a citizen’s initiative. If it gets 50% + one vote or more, it passes. If the legislature had placed it on the ballot, it would have needed 66.67% to pass.

Even if Prop 43 passes, it won’t be effective retroactively and won’t affect the success of the Regional Transit Measure. But it will affect future measures.

What percentage of the vote does Prop 43 need to pass?

If more than 50% vote yes on Prop 43, it passes.

It seems like that number should be two-thirds, doesn’t it?

Please VOTE NO on Proposition 43. Don’t block funding for vital community needs.

Transform Welcomes Four New Board Members

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 4, 2026

Contact: Zack Deutsch-Gross, [email protected], (415) 637-0101

For close to three decades, Transform has launched programs, built coalitions, and won campaigns to promote thriving transit, dense, affordable housing, and safe, vibrant, people-oriented streets. To advance our work, Transform board members serve as our ambassadors in the community and bring their expertise to support Transform’s continued leadership at the intersection of affordable housing and sustainable transportation. 

To move this work forward, Transform is excited to announce four new board members:

  • Zak Accuardi works to give all people the freedom to access their communities, regardless of whether they own a car, as the Director for Mobility Choices at NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council).
  • Naomi M. Doerner, Founder and President of Naomi Doerner Strategies, LLC, is a nationally recognized mobility justice strategist and facilitator of transformational processes for systems change and equitable infrastructure.
  • Tommy Hayes brings a long history of impressive leadership as an environmental advocate at NRDC, stakeholder and policy engagement director at Lyft, and working with cities to implement EV charging programs at the Federal Joint Office of Energy and Transportation.
  • Darwin Moosavi, Principal, Darwin Moosavi Consulting LLC, brings more than 15 years of experience in public service, most recently as Deputy Secretary for Environmental Policy and Housing Coordination at the California State Transportation Agency, where he was lead author of CalSTA’s Climate Action Plan for Transportation Infrastructure (CAPTI).

Transform is delighted to welcome these accomplished leaders to our Board of Directors.

What our new board members say about Transform

Darwin Moosavi: “Transform fights for communities like the one I grew up in, along a six-lane boulevard in South San Jose with very little access without a car. I’m excited for the opportunity to help carry that work forward.”

Tommy Hayes: “I’m very excited to join the Board, as I’ve admired Transform for many years now. Few, if any, organizations work so effectively at the juncture of transportation, housing, and social justice. I’m looking forward to learning from and working with everyone on the team.”

Naomi M. Doerner: “Transform has spent decades listening to communities, advocating for policies, and winning public investments that reflect the needs and desires of people throughout the Bay Area—from housing to climate to mobility justice. As an Oakland resident and parent of a young child, these issues of affordability, clean air, and reliable mobility impact our daily lives deeply. I am incredibly proud to join the board of directors and look forward to supporting Transform’s staff, coalitions, and communities to shape a just future for everyone in the Bay Area.”

Zak Accuardi: “I’ve admired Transform’s work for more than a decade. Through working together in California advocacy for the past four years, I’ve had the chance to learn from their vision, their deep commitment to community, and their savvy approach to policy progress. Few organizations are so adept at translating their core values into principled action—let alone doing so through program delivery and policy change alike.”

Sustainable Communities Strategies Bill Advances Transform’s Climate Agenda

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Progress toward a climate-friendly world often moves at a glacial pace, specifically through 30-year plans called Sustainable Communities Strategies that shape where housing and transportation get built. Transform was part of the original coalition that helped pass SB 375, the Sustainable Communities and Climate Protection Act, and has helped shape its implementation in the Bay Area over the past two decades. SB 1087, which just passed the legislature, builds on our years of work encouraging regional planning that prioritizes housing and transportation plans that reduce emissions and improve the climate.

Where it started: The Sustainable Communities and Climate Protection Act

Transform was instrumental in crafting and passing SB 375, the Sustainable Communities and Climate Protection Act, in 2008. Our work is centered around the idea that integrating housing, transportation, and land use planning is the best way to both combat the climate crisis and advance affordable, accessible, and healthy communities where everyone can thrive. 

For decades, California has invested in sprawling suburbs, requiring residents to drive further and further to job centers and urban hubs. Infill housing built around a dense urban core puts people near the places they need to go. It reduces vehicle miles traveled (VMT) and the need for car ownership. Coupled with reliable, frequent transit, infill housing development is one of the most effective strategies for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

SB 375 set regional targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and required each regional Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) in the state to design integrated housing, transportation, and land use plans to hit those emissions targets. By tying housing to transit, SB 375 radically reshaped how regions plan future growth.

The Bay Area’s MPO is the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC). MTC’s Plan Bay Area grew out of SB 375 and contains a vision that includes affordable housing as well as robust transit.

Improvements in SB 1087

Since its adoption, SB 375 has guided regional transit planning to incentivize and fund infill housing as well as transportation projects. Critically, SB 1087 extends the timeline and targets for SB 375, which were set for 2035, to 2045, keeping these vital planning processes going. It also reduces the administrative implementation burdens and costs of the program by extending the plan update cycles from four to eight years, while adding an implementation report to monitor progress between cycles.

And in a win for Transform and our climate agenda, it expands funding eligibility for GHG-reducing projects while requiring Caltrans to align highway planning with Sustainable Communities Strategies and statewide climate goals.

One of the significant effects of this year’s Sustainable Communities Strategies Bill is to change a provision in state law that Caltrans has used to literally drive a truck through. The Trade Corridor Enhancement Program provides state and federal funding to ease congestion on highways designated as part of the National Highway Freight Network. However, these funds often go to upgrades that increase traffic, bring more pollution to frontline communities near these corridors, and don’t address climate change. SB 1087 allows this funding to go to projects whose primary purpose is GHG reduction as long as they meet the same goals. This will give MPOs and Caltrans more flexibility to ensure freight moves while protecting our air and climate.

Speak up for sustainable communities

With support of advocates across the state, as well as the big four MPOs, including MTC, SB 1087 is a necessary extension to support our climate, housing, and transportation goals for a more affordable and thriving California. The bill is now on Governor Gavin Newsom’s desk awaiting his signature. Let him know you support SB 1087, the Sustainable Communities Strategies Bill.

Coalition letter asking Governor Newsom to sign SB 1087

SB 1087 Gov Signature Request LetterDownload

VTA Express Lane Plan Is An Excuse to Widen Highways 

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Transform is working with groups pushing back on a plan by the Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) that will add over 120 new lane-miles across US 101, Interstate 85, Interstate 280, Interstate 680, and State Route 237. As evidence mounts that climate change is literally killing us, it’s imperative that transportation projects focus on moving people around the Bay Area more efficiently and sustainably. 

Transform is working on multiple fronts through our Beyond Highways campaign to reimagine our built landscape and create mobility opportunities for Californians that aren’t centered solely on driving. 

Using express lanes as a cover

Express lanes are essentially carpool lanes that also allow solo drivers in for a fee when there is unused capacity. These lanes can be more efficient than carpool lanes since there is a way to make use of unused capacity while generating revenue to fund walking, biking, and public transit. Transform supports the completion of the Bay Area’s Express Lane Network. But we believe it should be done by converting existing general-purpose lanes, not by expanding highways. 

VTA justifies the new highway construction in the plan because the new lanes will be toll and HOV lanes. However, when toll and HOV lanes are additional rather than conversions of existing lanes, they add cars to the road rather than reducing the amount of traffic and the number of vehicle miles traveled (VMT). More lanes lead to more air pollution, more climate destruction, and more incentives to drive.

California won’t meet its goals for reducing tailpipe emissions if it keeps building new highways or expanding existing ones. Agencies often use tolled lanes to justify highway expansion, but there is no “green” version of a new highway lane. We are seeing similar issues with Caltrans’ plan to expand Highway 101 with new toll lanes in northern San Mateo County, which would add pollution to already overburdened communities.

Induced demand is real

If the goal of VTA’s plan is to reduce traffic congestion, it should convert existing lanes into toll and HOV lanes. When you add more highway capacity, even if it includes toll lanes, you increase the incentives for driving. While extra lanes may reduce congestion temporarily, roadways return to their original congested states within a few years — but with even more cars than before.

Despite decades of evidence that induced demand is real, traffic engineers refuse to accept this reality when they address traffic congestion.

The truth is that our jammed-up highway system is a complex problem created by decades of land use and budgetary decisions centered around solo car travel and the preferred — and often the only — mode of transportation to California cities and suburbs. Laying down more asphalt only exacerbates the problems, doubling down on the same ill-conceived principles that got us here. To solve congestion, we need more infill housing to reduce VMT and better transit so people aren’t forced to drive.

Take money from highways and put it toward real fixes

Where we spend money shows our priorities. California spends a huge amount of its transportation budget on maintaining and expanding the state’s highway system. The VTA Express Lane Plan could be an excellent example of how spending less on highway building leads to better outcomes and smarter priorities, but only if it prioritizes lane congestion rather than expansion.

VTA could reduce the cost of its proposed plan by eliminating 120 miles of added highway lanes and instead converting existing lanes into toll and HOV lanes. Focusing the plan on existing highways will deliver results more quickly. The agency can apply the money saved to improved transit, giving South Bay residents more options beyond driving. 

Transform and our allies are advocating for this change. VTA needs to hear from as many people as possible. Please sign the petition to the VTA board and urge them to remove new highway lanes from this plan.

Safe Routes to Schools Planning Another Big Year

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As students go back to school, the Safe Routes team at Transform is scheduling another year of fun events at the 300+ participating schools in Alameda County. Working with the Alameda County Transportation Commission, school staff, Youth Task Force, and parent champions, we’re looking forward to an exciting year of walking, rolling, and shared rides. Here’s what’s on our calendar.

September

Every month, Safe Routes has a theme, and in September we’ll be celebrating Transit Month.

  • Sign up for a Youth Clipper Card to access BART, AC Transit, and other local transit agencies in the Bay Area! 
  • Check out the BARTable website to find local places to explore on BART near you! 
  • Attend a Transit Month event near you! Stay tuned to BART’s and AC Transit’s websites for more. 

Monthly Walk and Roll Challenge: 

  • Go on some fun trips and use two types of public transportation during the month of September! 
  • Take a photo of your trip and tag the SR2S Program on Facebook (@saferoutestoschool) or Twitter/X (@AlamedaCoSR2S), and your photo just might make a special appearance on our social media page!

October

Wednesday, October 7, is International Walk & Roll to School Day. Last year, more than twice as many students walked, rolled, took transit, or carpooled to school as got dropped off alone. We hope to do even better this year!

November

Ruby Bridges Day

Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day is November 14. On that day, students walk to school in honor of Ruby Bridges, who integrated her school in New Orleans in 1960. The Safe Routes theme is inclusion, and students are encouraged to learn about Ruby Bridges and wear purple on November 14.

December

As the days grow shorter, the theme of Safe Routes is Stay Bright. 

  • Double-check your bike or scooter to make sure you have lights attached to help you see when it’s dark.
  • Decorate your helmet, bike, or backpack with reflective stickers or tape.

Share your reflective and brightly colored outfit or how you decorate your helmet or bike with us to stay visible on social media! Alameda CTC Safe Routes to Schools Facebook; Alameda CTC Safe Routes to Schools X/Twitter.

January

Registration opens for one of the most hotly contested events of the year: the Golden Sneaker Contest!

February

High school students participate in Reboot Your Commute, learning new ways to get to school.

March

Elementary and middle school classrooms compete to see who can log the most days of walking, rolling, and sharing rides to school. The winner gets the Golden Sneaker, and the winning school gets the Platinum Sneaker.

April

Time to tune up that bike and get ready for the final event of the year…

May

Bike to School Day will be on May 13, 2027, the same day as Bike to Wherever Day. Hundreds of students of all ages joined the joyous two-wheeled celebration, and we’re looking forward to an even bigger turnout next year.

We can’t wait to meet new students, work with new parent champions, and support Alameda County students in finding more sustainable, healthy, and fun ways to get to school.

Can Re-Envisioning a Freeway Reverse Decades of Injustice and Exclusion?

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Interstate 980 runs across Oakland, starting at the intersection of State Route 24 and I-580 to the north and ending at I-880 in the south. It’s a 2-mile spur of freeway with six exits that divides West Oakland from downtown. It tore a hole through the heart of a thriving Black community when it was built in the 1970s and 80s, and advocates have long called for its demolition. It made the Freeways Without Futures list in 2023, ranking as one of the top ten highways in the U.S. that needed to be removed.

Transform — working with Caltrans, Fehr & Peers, and local partners — will soon launch community outreach to create a vision for what could connect communities instead of what’s separated them for decades. Before we begin, it’s worth taking a look at the history of I-980 and the unjust roots of highway siting along the West Coast.

Planning through highway goggles

Source: Connect Oakland

The history of “Interstate” 980, completed in 1985, begins decades earlier. As civic leaders and planners debated the future of downtown Oakland and possible locations for a second Bay Bridge, SR 24 was gradually extended south of 580. With the planned development of Oakland City Center as a destination for employment, elected officials saw a “need” for a highway through downtown. 

To quote from the Federal Highway Administration Underwriting Manual, highways were “effective in protecting a neighborhood and the locations within it from… inharmonious racial groups.” This led to the selection of freeway alignments that cut through low-income, predominantly Black communities or intentionally created barriers between Black residents and other parts of cities, including predominantly white neighborhoods and central business districts. 

The completion of the link from I-580 to I-880 took decades. During that period, the highway advanced by fits and starts while homes and businesses sitting in its path saw their property values diminish and their neighborhoods thin out.

With federal highway dollars and the designation of 980 as an interstate, Caltrans was able to complete the final segment in 1985.

“Urban renewal” was code for marginalizing highway construction

West Oakland was a dense, thriving neighborhood in the first half of the 20th century. It was an epicenter of Black culture and businesses, with nationally known performers stopping in to local clubs and abundant employment in the thriving Port of Oakland. 

With the rise of automobile culture, cities needed to find room to build highways. They chose Black, Latino, and Chinese neighborhoods, calling the destruction of homes and businesses and their replacement with broad swaths of asphalt “urban renewal.” These policies split Oakland’s huge Chinatown in half for the construction of I-880, and they separated West Oakland from the port, ringing the neighborhood with freeways.

Walled-off West Oakland

The completion of I-980 marked the total barricading of West Oakland by highways on all sides. This cut off the neighborhood from the rest of Oakland and the East Bay. The 980 and similar highway projects “intentionally created barriers between Black residents and other parts of cities, including predominantly white neighborhoods and central business districts,”

contributing to the decline of the once-vibrant neighborhood.

West Oakland suffers from more than physical dislocation: the highways that ring the neighborhood bring pollution. The only area of Oakland with lower ratings on CalEnviroScreen is the region around the airport. Diesel trucks traverse the neighborhood on the way to and from the port, and the highways bring the area more than its share of freight traffic. As a result, children in West Oakland have asthma at seven times the California average.

Can re-envisioning be reparation?

Source: Connect Oakland

Just four years after I-980 was completed, the Loma Prieta earthquake collapsed a portion of I-880 in West Oakland known as the Cypress Structure. The revelation of the instability of the raised freeway overshadowing homes gave residents a rare opening, and they lobbied to have the broken connection rebuilt farther to the west. The result is Mandela Parkway, a linear park with green space, walking paths, and bikeways. It shows the possibilities for true urban renewal with the removal of a highway.

The I-980 highway was constructed over the objections of the neighborhood and with little consideration of residents’ well-being. The Vision 980 study strives to be the opposite: instead of outsiders dictating outcomes, local residents will be centered in the process. The Vision 980 Study – Phase 1 Report (November 2025) states: ”Most importantly, the study aims to confront the consequences of past governmental policies, restore trust, and redefine the role of the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) as a community partner.”

This fall, Transform will begin working with neighborhood groups to develop a vision for what we could build in the space currently taken up by I-980. The goal is to include both community partners with a long history of improving West Oakland, residents, and the youth who will grow up and thrive in a reconnected city. 

Nothing can bring back the homes, businesses, and lives uprooted by the 980 highway. By lifting up residents’ voices, we hope to facilitate the development of a future that celebrates and invigorates West Oakland.

Sources:

Board Member Profile: Linda Rhine’s Passion and Expertise in Transit

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Linda Rhine, chair of Transform’s Board of Directors, wanted to stay involved in promoting transit and active transportation after retiring from a long career as a transportation planner. That led her to join Transform’s board six years ago. We recently spoke with her about the issues she’s passionate about, the things she’s enjoying in her retirement, and what she sees in Transform’s future.

Planning transit policy

“I worked in government for 10 years, and that was good, but I really felt that things moved too slowly,” Rhine said. She moved to Nelson\Nygaard Consulting Associates, where she became a principal and member of the firm’s Board of Directors. “What I really loved about my career at Nelson\Nygaard is that I got to work at many different kinds of transit agencies,” she said. 

One of her most memorable projects was working with smaller transit agencies on coordinating and consolidating their services. “The key was planning without regard to jurisdictional boundaries,” she said. 

She worked on fare policies, advising transit agencies that had or were considering free or reduced fares. She found it rewarding to dig into fare policy, interviewing riders and looking at the finances of different fare collection options.

Rhine also specialized in accessible transportation and compliance with ADA guidelines. She has continued her passion for providing transportation to people with limited mobility options, serving on the board of The Center for Independent Living in San Mateo County. 

Bringing her passion to Transform

After she retired, Rhine said, “I didn’t want to give up what I felt passionate about, which is transportation.” When she got the opportunity to join Transform’s board, “I really just kind of jumped on it,” she said. “I have a strong social justice perspective, and I thought, ‘What can I do to give back to all the blessings I have had in my career?’”

“Once I got involved with Transform, I saw immediately that the staff was very passionate about their work, and it was inspiring,” Rhine said.

Transform’s Safe Routes work meshes with Rhine’s interest in sustainable transportation and better transportation access for everyone, not just people with cars. “I really respect, admire, and applaud Transform’s long-term management and running the Safe Routes to Schools program,” Rhine said. “I think it’s so important for kids at a young age to learn how to ride a bike, how to get places on their own, to give them a sense of independence.” 

A vision for the future

When asked what she thinks is next for Transform, Rhine didn’t hesitate: “The first thing is we need to pass the regional measure in November. We need money to operate. We need to improve service. We need to provide better frequency.”

She also mentioned the perception of safety on transit. “I don’t think transit’s unsafe, but we need to improve the public’s perception of safety on transit,” she said. “That’s not easily done, but I think Transform can have a major impact in that area.”

Those are short-term goals. Over the longer term, Rhine wants to explore innovative ways to meet people’s transportation needs during odd hours and on weekends when rider density is lower but people still need to get around. She also sees advocacy for housing near transit as continuing in importance. “We need to double down on housing policy that’s going to promote and enhance access to transit service,” she said.

Savoring time off in retirement

When she’s not volunteering for causes she cares about, Rhine gets to spend more time with her grandchildren now that she’s retired. She also loves to travel, especially to places she’s never been. She takes the train when she can to visit friends around the U.S., as well as friends and family in other countries. “I’m very fortunate in that I have friends and family in fun places,” she said. And she spends as much time as she can hiking, enjoying the outdoors.

Rhine also takes pleasure from working with like-minded people on causes she cares about, including the Transform board. “We have a great board with excellent esprit de corps,” she said. 

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