Press Releases
For Immediate Release
New Poll Identifies Bay Area Transportation Priorities
Commission Seeks More Public Input to Guide Regional Plan
CONTACT:
John Goodwin 510.817.5862
Joe Curley
510.817.5847
OAKLAND, Calif., October 29, 2003...Transit service for lower-income communities
and maintenance of local streets and roads top the list of Bay Area residents’ priorities for
ongoing transportation operations, while expanding BART and widening freeways rank as the most
preferred new projects, according to results of a public opinion poll released today by the
Metropolitan Transportation Commission. MTC commissioned the poll of 3,600 Bay Area voters and other
residents last month as part of its ongoing effort to gather public input for a new regional plan
– known as Transportation 2030 – that will guide Bay Area transportation policy and
investment through 2030.
"The poll data supplements the information we learn from people at public meetings and workshops,"
explained MTC Chair and Marin County Supervisor Steve Kinsey. "It broadens our outreach to the entire
region and lets us hear from people who may not be able to come to a Commission meeting or a community
workshop."
The poll sought to identify which transportation programs are of greatest importance to the people of
the Bay Area, explore attitudes about housing/commute tradeoffs and other issues related to
transportation and land use, and measure support for half-cent transportation sales taxes and a
possible regional gasoline tax. Complete poll results are available on the MTC Web site at www.mtc.ca.gov/T2030.
The public opinion poll is part of an extensive public outreach campaign by MTC to enable Bay Area
residents to shape development of the Transportation 2030 Plan. One way to participate is to go to the
MTC Web site at www.mtc.ca.gov/T2030 and take the Budget
Challenge, an interactive online feature that allows you to weigh in with your own recommendations for
balancing competing investment choices against limited resources. Several public workshops on the
Transportation 2030 Plan will be held around the Bay Area in the weeks ahead as well. These include
meetings in Oakland, San Jose, San Rafael and Santa Rosa, and a regional forum co-sponsored by MTC and
the League of Women Voters on Saturday, Nov. 22, 2003 at the Vallejo Naval and Historical Museum in
downtown Vallejo. For dates, times and locations of upcoming workshops, or for more information about
the Transportation 2030 Plan, go to the MTC Web site at www.mtc.ca.gov/T2030/.
MTC already has convened six focus groups around the region to discuss transportation issues and has
held more than two dozen public workshops targeted toward various communities, from businesspeople to
environmentalists to lower-income neighborhoods. Priorities identified by focus group participants
included maintaining highways and freeways, implementing the TransLink® transit-fare smart card
system regionwide, improving traffic flow and establishing new rail services. Workshop attendees
expressed support for investments to operate existing public transit systems, foster livable
communities, expand rail services, and improve bus and paratransit services.
MTC is the transportation planning, coordinating and financing agency for the nine-county San Francisco
Bay Area.
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