Maps of the Month in 2008

December 2008

The map of the month shows the balance of jobs to workers residing within the jurisdiction of a Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) and the nature of inter-regional commuting across California. The MPOs shown in red have job surpluses or more workers at work in the MPO than workers residing in the MPO. This results in net in-commuting from surrounding MPOs. The MPOs depicted in green have job deficits which result in net out-commuting to other MPOs.

Jobs per Employed Resident by MPO (PDF)

November 2008

The map of the month shows support for Proposition 1A, the Safe, Reliable, High-Speed Train Bond Act which passed with a 53% majority vote. This is a contiguous cartogram showing the total votes and the margin of votes for or against the proposition in the November, 2008 General Election by county. A contiguous cartogram is a transformation of a map where the original county areas are expanded or contracted to represent the total votes. The result is a distortion of the original county areas that maintains the relative position of the counties. More voters in the green counties supported Proposition 1A and, conversely, more voters in the orange/red counties opposed the proposition.

Proposition 1A Support (PDF)

October 2008

This month’s map depicts the transit service coverage for the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area using data from the 511.org Regional Transit Database. Alameda County is served by the largest number of transit services (10); followed by San Francisco and Contra Costa County (8); and Santa Clara County (6). This depiction clearly illustrates the challenge of transit coordination and connectivity among the region’s transit agencies.

Public Transit Footprint (PDF)

September 2008

The TransLink® for TOD project launched this Summer, will serve as a "proof-of concept" about the viability of future arrangements with cities and developers to share the cost of subsidized transit passes for TOD residents and employees. The program has provided free personalized TransLink® cards with free passes on AC Transit to almost 1,500 residents of select transit oriented developments (TOD) in the cities of Berkeley, Oakland, El Cerrito, Emeryville, Alameda, San Leandro and Albany. These customers will provide valuable feedback about the program’s impact on transit ridership and the TransLink® technology, as well as provide travel pattern and usage data to support MTC’s ongoing TOD initiatives.

The map analyzes the size of each TOD location in terms of the number of housing units per apartment building or complex, in comparison with an index that measures the walkability and quality of bus transit service for that location. Walkability is from www.walkscore.com and is calculated based on the number of businesses, parks and other destinations within walking distance of a given location. The transit quality rating is based on the combined headways of all nearby AC Transit bus lines, the distance from the location to the nearest bus stop, and the quality of destinations served by the nearby bus lines. The walkability rating and the transit quality rating are combined to give an overall weighted walkability/transit quality index score.

TransLink® for TOD (PDF)

July 2008

The map of the month depicts traffic collisions per square mile in 2006. The Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System (SWITRS) processes all reported fatal and injury collisions which occurred on California's state highways and all other roadways, excluding private property. During 2006, the Bay Area had over 89,000 traffic collisions of which 458 were fatal (up 4% from 2005), and 31,049 involved injuries (down 7% from 2005). Out of the 493 fatal collisions that occurred in the region, 119 pedestrians and 23 bicyclists were killed. The top three cities with a fatal collision involving a pedestrian were, not surprisingly, the three largest: San Jose (19), San Francisco (19), and Oakland (14).

Traffic Collisions per Square Mile (PDF)

June 2008

According to the Metropolitan Policy Program at the Brookings Institution, some of the largest metropolitan areas had among the lowest carbon emissions per capita from transportation and residential energy use in 2005. However, metropolitan carbon footprints vary widely, based on determining factors such as population density, the availability of public transit, the carbon intensity of electricity generation, the price of electricity and the weather, as shown on the map.

Carbon Emissions per Capita in 2005 (PDF)

May 2008

This map depicts goods movement related land uses that are at risk of conversion to a non-goods movement supporting land use. The data is based upon the Goods Movement Land Use Study, which examines planned land use changes in several key corridors that support goods movement in the nine-county San Francisco Bay region. This map indicates, that within the Goods Movement Study corridors, about 116,000 acres of goods movement related land uses are a risk of conversion to a non-goods movement related land use.

Goods Movement Land Use (PDF)

April 2008

This map depicts the projected share of transit-using households by travel analysis zone in the year 2035. Transit-using households are estimated using Bay Area travel survey data, where persons are reporting one-or-more transit trips on a selected weekday. The total number of transit-using households in the region is projected to be 24% in 2035, or 804,500 out of 3,292,500 total households. San Francisco has the highest share of transit-using households, at 55%, while Alameda County has the highest total number of transit-using households, at 244,100 (35% of total households in the county).

Projected Transit-Using Households in 2035 (PDF)

March 2008

This map depicts several county-wide self-help sales tax measures in the Bay Area and in two surrounding counties. Expenditures are categorized by four spending groups based on mode of travel:

Public transit, including both fixed routes and paratransit;
Highway and street improvements;
Local streets and roads, rehabilitation; and
Miscellaneous, including all other projects such as Transportation for Livable Communities, Pedestrian and Bicycle, Safe Routes to School, etc.

The surrounding counties of San Joaquin and Sacramento are included for reference and comparison purposes, although they are not within MTC’s jurisdiction.

Half-Cent Self-Help County Sales Tax Expenditures by Mode (PDF)

February 2008

This map depicts the morning peak period commute shed for major employment centers within the nine county Bay Area. MTC’s analysis of the 2006 employment statistics, as reported by the Employment Development Department (EDD), indicates that there are approximately 1,648,000 employees working in or near a major bay area employment center. These areas represent approximately 47% of the region’s total employment. Within this morning peak period commute shed, there are approximately 5.6 million people that live within 15 minutes driving time of one of the 38 major employment centers. There are an additional 644,000 that live within 30 minutes of an employment center, and another 458,000 live within the 30-60 minute commute shed.

Drive Time to nearest Employment Center (PDF)

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