Transportation Archives

Sustainable Communities Strategies Bill Advances Transform’s Climate Agenda

September 1, 2026/in Blog, Climate Change, Housing, Transportation/by Zack Deutsch-Gross

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 Letter Download

VTA Express Lane Plan Is An Excuse to Widen Highways

August 31, 2026/in Blog, Climate Change, Policy, Transportation/by Abibat Rahman-Davies

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.

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

August 25, 2026/in Blog, Transportation/by Laura McCamy

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

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?

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:

California’s Cap-and-Invest Crisis, Explained

August 10, 2026/in Blog, Climate Change, Housing, Transportation/by Zack Deutsch-Gross

Last year, Governor Gavin Newsom and the California Legislature reauthorized Cap-and-Trade as Cap-and-Invest, extending our state’s signature climate program. Transform and our housing, transit, and environmental justice allies worked with the Legislature to craft a program that preserved continuous funding for critical transportation, housing, clean air, and clean water programs. The outcome should have led to about $2 billion annually for affordable housing near transit, intercity rail, low-carbon transportation, community air protection, and safe drinking water.

Then, this May, the California Air Resources Board, which oversees the Cap-and-Invest Program, announced an unscheduled and unexpected rule change that wiped out the $2 billion slated for those programs.

If your eyes glaze over at the words “rule change,” you’re not alone. The logistics of this fight can feel arcane and obscure, making it difficult to follow. But this issue is too important to leave in the hands of lobbyists and policy wonks. It would lead to cuts to free fares for youth and low-income discount programs, stop needed affordable housing developments, and undercut equity-focused community transportation planning.

We break it down so everyone who cares about climate change, equity, and affordability can understand what’s going on in Sacramento.

What is Cap-and-Invest?

The idea behind Cap-and-Trade, and now Cap-and-Invest, is to penalize big polluters that contribute the most climate-changing chemicals to our atmosphere and incentivize the transition to clean energy and industry. Industrial emitters were given a certain amount of credits, reducing over time, and those who reduced emissions faster could sell their credits to others. Tesla has famously gotten much of its income from selling carbon credits.

How is Cap-and-Invest money invested in California?

The money California receives from its carbon credit auction goes to fund a specific set of programs. Under the agreement reached last year, the funding is doled out in tiers, with the first billion going to High-Speed Rail, and so on, as we explained in an earlier post about this issue. The transportation, housing, and clean air and water programs are in Tier 3 and only receive funding after the first $2 billion to High-Speed Rail and the legislature’s discretionary programs is disbursed.

Revenue in Cap-and-Invest can vary depending on the price of carbon credits at auction, so funding is never guaranteed, but Tier 3 was projected to receive around $2 billion in 2026.

Then CARB changed the rules governing Cap-and-Invest. Board members appointed by the governor voted, over loud objections from advocates, to extend additional free credits to polluters, including oil companies raking in record profits as oil prices soared.

This budgetary bait-and-switch is emblematic of California’s self-defeating climate policy. We continue to expand highways, undermining the goals of our state’s Climate Action Plan for Transportation Infrastructure (CAPTI) to reduce transportation emissions, which account for half of California’s greenhouse gas emissions. The governor has repeatedly cut funding for the Active Transportation Program, which funds better infrastructure for biking, walking, and public transportation. Our public transit systems have been on the brink of crisis for several years due to lack of government support. Now, with this reduction of Cap-and-Invest funding, California is cutting off programs with a proven track record of combating climate change.

Impacts of housing and transportation programs on climate

A 2025 report analyzed the effects of the Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities Program (AHSC), a program that supports affordable housing development near transit. Since its inception eight years earlier, the program had facilitated the building of over 20,000 units of affordable housing and removed 5.7 million metric tons of climate-killing pollutants from the air.

Investing in transit and affordable, infill housing benefits everyone. State housing investments attract private and federal investment, making it possible to construct more homes for low-income families and easing California’s housing crisis. Public transit provides affordable transportation, reduces tailpipe pollution, eases air pollution’s health burdens, and reduces traffic congestion.

Without continuous funding from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, the AHSC won’t be able to support the construction of 2,500 homes this year, leaving 5,000-10,000 people without stable housing for another year. Transit systems will delay repairs and improvements, increasing their eventual cost, without funding from the Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program (TIRCP) and Low Carbon Transit Operations Program (LCTOP). Starved of GGRF funds, the AB 617 Community Air Protection Program and the Safe & Affordable Drinking Water Program (SAFER) will leave vulnerable frontline communities unsupported in their struggle to protect their health and their families.

Transform and our allies aren’t giving up.

How can we preserve funding for critical programs?

California’s budget was finalized in June, but the legislature can pass trailer bills to amend it until the end of August. That’s why, on August 10, Transform rallied with hundreds of other advocates on the steps of the Capitol to call attention to these unacceptable cuts.

*Transform and East Bay Housing Organizations met with staff for Assemblymember Avila Farias.*

We then met with 47 legislators and left hopeful that at least some funding might be restored this year. We also laid the groundwork to restore funding for these programs next year.

You can help. Call or email your assemblymember and senator and make the demand from our coalition letter: “First, use increased revenues in the general fund this year to fund ‘Tier 3’ affordable housing, transit and clean air programs at the level promised in SB 840 last year, and Second, in light of the CARB cuts potentially zeroing out these programs in future years, to find a permanent solution for GGRF so Tier 3 programs receive the full funding promised in SB 840.”

Read the full letter:

Honor SB 840 Commitments to AHSC, TIRCP, LCTOP, AB 617, and SAFER for FY 2026:27 8-4-26 Download

New Poll Shows Path to Victory for Funding Measure to Prevent Catastrophic Cuts to Bay Area Public Transportation

July 29, 2026/in Blog, Press Releases, Transit, Transportation/by Zack Deutsch-Gross

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 29, 2026

Contact: Jeff Cretan – (415) 308-6782, [email protected]

Building on unprecedented regional campaign to qualify the measure for the November ballot, the broad coalition behind the Regional Transit Measure turns focus to expanding support and winning at the ballot box

SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA — A new poll of likely voters across five Bay Area counties shows a Regional Transit Measure to save public transit has a clear path to victory this November. The new poll numbers released today show the measure begins with majority support that grows with clear messaging about what’s at stake for Bay Area transit, underscoring both the strong public recognition of the importance of transit and the work ahead to pass the measure this November.

The survey, conducted by EMC Research among 1,700 likely voters across Alameda, Contra Costa, San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties, found 54% support for a five-county sales tax to provide long-term operations funding for major Bay Area transit agencies and support regional projects to strengthen transit throughout the Bay Area.

The research also found that support increases to 58% after voters learn more about the severe consequences of failing to protect Bay Area transit service.

To pass, the Regional Transit Measure needs a majority vote across the entire population of the five Bay Area counties this November.

This poll comes on the heels of the Connect Bay Area campaign officially qualifying a Regional Transit Measure for the November 2026 ballot, built on one of the largest grassroots transit organizing efforts the region has ever seen and unprecedented support from business, labor, and community organizations across the Bay Area.

The polling found voters are most motivated by understanding what the Bay Area stands to lose if the measure fails. Messages explaining the scale of potential service reductions, worsening traffic congestion, and impacts on workers, students, seniors, and people with disabilities were the most persuasive across the region.

Among the strongest findings:

54% of likely voters support the measure on first ask, demonstrating majority support at the outset of the campaign.
Support grows to 58% after voters hear about the consequences of failing to protect transit service.
Voters are most persuaded by the prospect of major service cuts, increased traffic congestion, and the importance of maintaining transit access for working families, seniors, students, and people with disabilities.

“This poll confirms what we’ve been hearing for months: people understand that public transit matters for people all across the Bay Area, and they don’t want to see it dismantled,” said Jean Cohen, Executive Officer of the South Bay Labor Council. “Voters deserve to understand exactly what’s at stake, and that’s the work our coalition is ready to take on. We cannot have an affordable Bay Area that supports working people, seniors, and our economy without public transit.”

“When voters understand what’s at stake, they support protecting public transit,” said Mark Orcutt, President and CEO of the East Bay Leadership Council. “They know severe service cuts would mean more congestion, longer commutes, and fewer opportunities across the Bay Area. Stable funding, meaningful accountability, and stronger regional coordination are how we avoid that future.”

Unprecedented Grassroots, Labor, and Business Support to Save Transit

The Connect Bay Area campaign has grown in support over the last several months with more than 100 elected officials and more than 115 labor, business, and advocacy organizations signing on in support. Major businesses from across the region helped raise more than $5.5 million to qualify the measure and prepare for the November election.

The Regional Transit Measure will provide long-term operational funding for major Bay Area transit agencies while supporting projects to strengthen and better connect transit systems across the region. It will protect major transit agencies like BART, Muni, Caltrain, and AC Transit from devastating service cuts, help VTA grow to better serve residents, workers, and businesses, and provide direct support to counties for transit improvements.

Without sustainable transit funding, the Bay Area could face catastrophic service reductions:

BART: Up to 15 station closures, elimination of two lines, and service cuts of up to 70%
Caltrain: Hourly train service, no weekend service, and weekday shutdowns after 9 p.m.
Muni: At least 20 bus routes eliminated and service reductions of 30% or more
AC Transit: Service cuts of at least 16%

The measure includes strong accountability and oversight provisions, including independent financial reviews for every transit operator, regional coordination requirements to ensure systems work better together, and a citizen oversight committee to monitor spending and performance.

The measure also delivers critical funding directly to counties for transit transformation projects, including funding to restore service at VTA to increase frequency and expand the service its residents were promised.

About Connect Bay Area

The Connect Bay Area Transit Committee is comprised of labor, business, and transit advocates, including Bay Area Council, SEIU 1021, ATU 1555, South Bay Labor Council, SPUR, and SAMCEDA, alongside an advocacy council of more than 20 organizations representing transit, housing, environmental, equity, senior, and disability organizations.

California’s Transportation Spending Should Move Beyond Highway Expansion

March 17, 2026/in Blog, Transportation/by Zack Deutsch-Gross

Tailpipe pollution makes up about half of the greenhouse gas emissions in California, so shifting our travel modes to healthy, sustainable alternatives should be a priority. However, our state’s priorities, as expressed by the way we allocate our transportation dollars, shows exactly the opposite.

This Thursday, the California Transportation Commission is approving projects for funding under the State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) and State Highway Operation and Protection Program (SHOPP), including highway widening projects in the Bay Area along US 101 in San Mateo and Santa Clara and State Route 37 in the North Bay. The ClimatePlan coalition, of which Transform is a member, has created an advocacy toolkit for those who want to call into the meeting and oppose these boondoggle projects and suggest sustainable alternatives.

San Mateo US 101 highway expansion

Caltrans, along with the San Mateo County Transportation Authority (SMCTA) and City/County Association of Governments of San Mateo County (C/CAG), are requesting $16.8M to build a managed lane in each direction along the U.S. 101 in the San Mateo 101 Managed Lanes Project North of I-380. Transform has been on the record repeatedly opposing this project, which would worsen air quality for already pollution-burdened residents of South San Francisco.

San Mateo submitted three projects for the last cycle of Active Transportation Program (ATP) funding. However, it didn’t get funding for any of them because the ATP’s budget had been cut so severely it was unable to greenlight many excellent projects. We recommend CTC fund the Kelly Avenue Complete Streets Project and other ATP projects in San Mateo instead of the 101 Managed Lanes Project.

Santa Clara express lane expansion

While Santa Clara’s US 101 Express Lanes Project proposes to convert existing lanes into express lanes, which would help reduce VMT and GHG along the corridor, the project also proposes to add a second express lane in each direction, which would undo any benefits from the converted lanes. This region also saw not a single ATP project funded in the last cycle, despite submitting five applications. In order to ensure that Santa Clara County continues to make progress toward meeting its GHG reduction targets, we recommend that the US 101 Express Lanes Project be substituted with the Milpitas Citywide Safe Routes to School Improvements Project and the Pruneridge Avenue Bicycle and Pedestrian Improvements Project.

Sonoma County State Route 37 boondoggle

The ‘interim’ project Caltrans is proposing on State Route 37 would spend $500 million to widen a highway by paving over protected marshland and endangered species habitat. What’s worse, this highway is already regularly flooded during king tides, and will likely be underwater due to climate change within two decades. Phase 1 of this project, which the CTC will vote on this month, will waste an additional $12.8 million on building a new bridge and roadway improvements for the interim project.

In addition to these three projects in the Bay Area, there are a few other bad highway expansions throughout the state that are slated for CTC approval. With your help, we can shift the narrative, replacing climate-killing highway expansions with projects to build bikeway networks and pedestrian amenities, spending California’s transportation dollars efficiently and wisely.

Transform, Partners Launch Sustainable Transportation Project in Alameda

March 2, 2026/in Blog, Transportation/by Sheila Islam

Transform’s 18 years of community engagement in Alameda have established us as a partner to the City of Alameda and its residents through projects like the Safe Routes to Schools program and the coordination of the annual Alameda Bike Fest. Now we are deepening and growing our relationships in the East Bay island as we conduct a holistic assessment of the transportation needs in West Alameda, through a project funded by the California Air Resources Board.

Cap-and-Invest funds mobility in West Alameda

In partnership with the City of Alameda, the Alameda Point Collaborative, and the Housing Authority of the City of Alameda, Transform is lifting up the transportation needs of residents on the west side of Alameda Island.

The goal is to find out what mix of active, public, and shared transportation will best meet residents’ needs. Working with Omni as our evaluation partner, we’re doing a community assessment to find out where there are gaps in sustainable transportation infrastructure that the city can fill as it moves toward more climate-friendly transportation.

The project will also lift up residents, building capacity and empowering them to advocate with local governments to ensure their needs are heard and met. By the end of this project in 2027, we hope to have fostered new partnerships and collaborations between residents, neighborhood groups, and city staff.

Stuck in the last century

To help design an outreach plan specific to West Alameda, we’ve assembled a site-level team made up of high school students and adults. At the first site-level team meeting, one member commented that the transportation options in West Alameda haven’t changed in decades.

Alameda was recently recognized as a gold-level Bicycle Friendly Community by the League of American Bicyclists; Transform provided Safe Routes to Schools data to support the city’s application. But new infrastructure such as protected bike lanes aren’t evenly distributed. Alameda has made great strides in making many of its roadways accessible to people biking and walking. Our project is part of an effort by the city to give all Alameda residents access to active and shared transportation options.

Next steps

Our site-level team members pointed out that language barriers and lack of awareness prevent people from accessing all the transportation options available to them. As we start outreach this spring, part of our work will be to raise awareness of the options that currently exist, as well as finding out what transportation residents want and need.

The site-level team is the seed of an energized community, ready to tackle transportation challenges in Alameda. At the end of the meeting, one team member said, “The meeting got me really excited for this project!”

We’re excited too.

Transform’s current project in Alamea is funded through California Climate Investments, which is funded by California’s cap-and-trade program, now called Cap-and-Invest.

Transform Urges MTC to Link Funding to Housing and Transit

February 18, 2026/in Blog, Housing, Transportation/by Julia Gerasimenko

On February 25, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) will take its final vote on its Transit-Oriented Communities (TOC) Policy. This vote will determine whether the region follows through on linking billions in transportation funding to real progress on affordable housing, tenant protections, and transit-oriented development.

Last month, at its January 28 meeting, MTC advanced major decisions on the One Bay Area Grant (OBAG) program, which distributes billions in regional transportation funding. Commissioners affirmed that OBAG can be used to incentivize jurisdictions to align with regional housing and climate goals. But they also left the door open to weakening the link between funding and TOC compliance.

The February 25 vote will determine whether OBAG remains a meaningful incentive for implementation or becomes disconnected from the housing and land use policies needed to make transit investments succeed. Transform and our allies are organizing to urge MTC not to weaken its TOC policy. You can help by emailing your MTC commissioners.

The TOC policy is how Plan Bay Area gets implemented

The TOC policy is the implementation tool for Plan Bay Area 2050. It aligns transportation funding with local policies that support affordable housing, prevent displacement, and reduce car dependence.

Because MTC cannot require cities to adopt land use policies directly, tying OBAG funding to TOC compliance is an essential lever to encourage compliance. This incentive structure ensures regional funding supports jurisdictions that are taking concrete steps to implement the region’s adopted goals.

Cities across the Bay Area have already begun adopting tenant protections, affordable housing policies, and parking reforms in response to the TOC polixy. Weakening the policy now would undermine that progress.

Weakening TOC would undermine the region’s housing and climate goals

Some commissioners and jurisdictions are pushing to allow cities to qualify for funding without implementing meaningful housing policies. This would defeat the purpose of the TOC policy, which was designed to reward implementation, not simply planning or minimum compliance.

Allowing jurisdictions to qualify without taking action would weaken one of the region’s most important tools for reducing displacement, increasing housing affordability, and supporting transit ridership.

Regional transportation funding should support communities that are taking action to advance regional goals.

On February 25, MTC must uphold a strong TOC policy and follow through on its commitment to link transportation funding with housing and climate outcomes.

Want to take your advocacy to the next level?

Show up to make a comment on Wednesday, February 25 (9:35 AM – 1 PM)

You can show up in person at 375 Beale Street, San Francisco, CA 94105 at 9:35 or on Zoom (link to be released on Friday, February 20).

If you plan to be on Zoom, you can sign up for our Timely Text Alerts to know when the item is up.

We will share sample talking points when the agenda is released.

Connecting Residents with Active Transportation in Hayward

February 3, 2026/in Blog, Safe Routes to Schools, Transportation/by Emilio Elenes

Thanks to a grant from the California Air Resources Board, Transform and our partners are working with the City of Hayward to help more residents get around by biking and walking. We’re still early in the project, but we’re starting to see results.

The City of Hayward has already gotten bikes into the hands of Hayward residents. The first event was in October, and the city is planning on hosting many more public events for students and residents to pick up their bikes.

Community assessments

In keeping with Transform’s mission to lift up underrepresented voices, we conducted surveys to assess unmet active transportation needs.

We were pleased to learn that some students are already using bikes to get around, demonstrating a strong interest in active transportation when access allows. However, for students who did not have a bike, the most common barrier was cost. Financial limitations continue to prevent students from accessing reliable transportation options.

Among students who owned a bike but were not riding regularly, maintenance issues — such as flat tires, broken brakes, or lack of basic repairs — were primary reasons their bikes went unused. These challenges underscore the importance of pairing infrastructure investments with education, equipment, and hands-on support.

Addressing these gaps is a core goal of the Hayward Rides project. By combining bikes, maintenance support, and safe infrastructure, Transform and its partners are working to remove barriers and make biking a realistic, reliable option for students who want to ride.

The City of Hayward has worked with a local bike shop to build bikes for Hayward residents. Transform identified a handful of students from Tennyson High School to receive the bikes.

Infrastructure awareness

Making the transition from driving to walking or biking also means finding new routes where traffic is calmer and there’s more infrastructure. Part of Transform’s work in this project will be to educate residents about new crosswalks and safe bike routes. Finding the best route to a destination can greatly increase the likelihood that someone will successfully adopt biking as their preferred travel mode.

Transform has partnered closely with the City of Hayward to gather input from school administrators and community members during the planning phase of infrastructure improvements at ten Hayward Unified schools: Burbank, Faith Ringgold, Longwood, Martin Luther King Jr., Park, Schafer Park, Southgate, Tennyson, Tyrrell, Winton, and Palma Ceia. This community-informed approach ensures that upcoming changes reflect real needs and everyday travel patterns.

At the same time, Transform’s programs team has been working inside these ten infrastructure schools to build excitement, connection, and a culture of walking and rolling. Through events like International Walk and Roll to School Day, the Ruby Bridges Walk and Roll Day, and other recurring monthly activities, students and families are becoming more comfortable getting around by walking and rolling.

The goal is simple and powerful: when infrastructure improvements are complete, schools receiving these upgrades should see even higher rates of walking and rolling, turning temporary events into lasting, healthy habits.

Next steps in Hayward

Looking ahead, Transform is preparing for the next phase of the Hayward Rides program by deepening our engagement with families and the broader community. A key focus will be working with parents to recruit and support parent leaders who can facilitate community walk and roll events. These efforts will be especially important once infrastructure improvements are complete in fall 2026, helping ensure that new investments translate into lasting changes in how families travel.

Transform also plans to partner with the City of Hayward at community events to share bike safety education and active transportation resources.

Hayward Rides partners

Transform Helps Kick Off Regional Transit Measure

February 3, 2026/in Blog, Transit, Transportation/by Zack Deutsch-Gross

Last Friday, Transform and our partners at Connect the Bay kicked off the campaign to pass a regional transit measure with events in five counties throughout the Bay Area.

From Pleasant Hill BART to Diridon Station, Redwood City to Oakland, and with an energy-filled kickoff in San Francisco, riders, elected officials, and advocates throughout the Bay Area gathered to rally and begin collecting signatures. The rallies marked the start of a campaign to place a new regional transit funding measure on the ballot this coming November.

As the Alameda County lead for the measure, Transform led the kickoff event in Oakland, which included Berkeley Mayor Adena Ishii and Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee. Mayor Lee gave an inspired speech, drawing connections between public transit, access to opportunity, and economic vitality for the region. Transform’s Abibat Rahman-Davies also spoke at the Oakland rally.

The ballot measure will ask voters to approve a half-cent sales tax in Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo, and Santa Clara Counties and a 1-cent sales tax in San Francisco County. The tax sunsets after 14 years. To get it on the ballot this November, we need to collect over 200,000 verified signatures across the five participating counties.

Want to get involved? Learn more on our website or look for upcoming events here: https://luma.com/connectbayarea?k=c