LBPOST.com: SoCal Confronts The Sustainability Challenge

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SoCal Confronts The Sustainability Challenge

by Nancy Pfeffer | Moving Green | 12.04.09 |

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I worked at the Southern California Association of Governments, also known as SCAG, for seven years, from 1999 to 2006, but in all those years I never witnessed such a high-level gathering as I saw this week at the SCAG offices. (Truth be told, I didn�t exactly witness it � it was so well-attended I had to watch it on video from an overflow room. But it was still impressive.) Present in person were no less than two former Governors of the State of California � Pete Wilson and Gray Davis � as well as the State Assembly Speaker, Karen Bass, and the Chair of the California Air Resources Board, Mary Nichols. The remainder of the room, which accommodates a couple hundred people, was occupied by elected officials from six counties, regional business leaders, and the chief executives of the County Transportation Commissions (including the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority or Metro).

The subject of the day was last year�s landmark state legislation, Senate Bill 375. This law requires that traditional transportation planning � coordinated by SCAG under federal law for its six-county region � be retooled to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from transportation through land use changes and other strategies. The speakers generally agreed that the true challenge went beyond GHG reduction to �sustainability� � ensuring that Southern California continues to be livable, safe, affordable, and healthful for our children and grandchildren.

The challenges are significant. One of the most obvious is money. By asking travelers to consider driving less, SB 375 clearly places emphasis on more use of transit � just as the state is cutting funding for transit systems. This point was made loudly and clearly at SCAG. Other strategies will also take resources; just to develop plans can be costly to local governments, let alone to implement them.

Another challenge, technical and esoteric though it may seem, is modeling � having the tools that can accurately tell us what difference our actions make in emissions of greenhouse gases. SCAG has models that have served us well enough for many years, but without substantial new investment in upgrades, we will essentially be shooting at state-set targets in the dark. SCAG is using existing funding to improve its models, but additional state funding, though approved, is contingent on state bond sales, which are still in a swoon.

Governor Wilson � his arrival ironically delayed by traffic � emphasized that these days most people�s focus is on economic change, not climate change. SB 375, and the overarching state climate change legislation, AB 32, both set long-term goals, but we are faced with short-term realities. The Governor urged caution as these laws are implemented � even as he acknowledged the irony of asking government to move more slowly than usual � and reminded the audience that the most important government services are provided at the local level, so lawmakers need to pay special attention to the solvency of cities.

What does it all mean for Long Beach? SCAG is looking for leadership from �champion cities� that have already bolstered development around transit stations and encouraged alternatives to single-occupant cars. Long Beach has lots of dense, high-rise development, a fine transit system, a good portion of the region�s light-rail service, and a thriving community devoted to cycling, not to mention many walkable neighborhoods, corridors, parks, and beaches. We also have a Sustainable City Commission dedicated to implementing many more measures to reduce our collective environmental footprint, including carbon. Will all this be enough to reach goals set by the state? That remains to be seen, and I promise to keep you posted.

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Joseph E
Transportation is the biggest carbon dioxide generating activity in California. Solar, wind and nuclear could easily replace fossil fuels in electricity generation over the next 20 years. But electric cars are likely to be too expensive, and they do nothing to solve our traffic, parking, sprawl and public safety problems. Long Beach does not have the money to greatly expand our public transit system, unfortunately. The State could change priorities, and stop subsidizing new highways and electric cars, and buy some more buses. The Feds could also stop giving 4 out of 5 dollars to building more rural freeways, and spend it on transit infrastructure (subways, streetcars, trolley buses). However, until we get that to happen, Long Beach could improve life and reduce the number of miles people drive by making walking and biking easier. More bike lanes, separated bike paths, and lower speed limits would encourage more women, kids and elderly people to bike to work or school. Improved, wider sidewalks with shade trees, safe cross-walks, and more pedestrian streets would encourage more people to walk a few blocks instead of driving. And spacing bus stops farther apart and giving one lane to buses on busy streets would greatly speed up LBTransit buses, encouraging many more people to ride instead of driving for in-town trips. These improvements would have the benefit of encouraging people to spend their sales tax dollars here, helping pay the city back for its investment. Imagine if all the retail streets in town were as pleasant as 2nd Street in Belmont Shore for walking, or even better. And more people walking on the sidewalks would make downtown feel safer and more lively. Along with making walking fun and easy, we need more housing close to jobs. In Long Beach, that means more apartments downtown, around CSULB, and in the surrounding neighborhoods. Condos may not be selling, but affordable apartments are still very much in demand in those areas. CSULB wants to get away from being a commuter campus; let's help them by making places for students to live within walking distance, or at least a short bus or bike ride away. Unfortunately, some residents think Long Beach should be one big suburb, full of green grass (for looking at, not actually useful for sports or kids to play on), huge parking lots, and single family homes for 1 or 2 (old) people. That may have been the Dream in 1950, but that's not my American Dream. Half of Long Beach may always be suburban in character, but we need more urban places for the millions of people who want that kind of community. And Long Beach can be a great place for that.

calheightsjohnny
Very informative, Nancy. It is encouraging to know that so much emphasis is being placed on sustainability. In the LA area it's obvious that most of our sustainability issues surround transportation. It is the key to improving our quality of life in So Cal and elsewhere. While other regions have failed to learn from LA's failed experiment of endless, far-reaching and very costly roadways and freeways that never stay beyond capacity demand, it's comforting to know that policy makers here realize the limitations and hazards of the status quo. But we as residents and citizens also must realize that the choices we make on a daily basis represent the kind of world we create around us and will pass on to our children. There are still far too many of us who feel the need for huge, wasteful homes and are willing to drive fifty miles or more to have it less expensively, complain that ten lanes of freeway aren't enough, that the gasoline they demand is too expensive, then vote for the next tax cut! It's the model that too many of our surrounding governments still tout, satisfied with recreating the mess while advertising escape from it! Our opportunities in Long Beach are less daunting, as you say, since most of our city enjoys a pre-WWII infrastructure model, with local shops, walkable grid pattern streets that facilitate new transit routes fairly easily, and residential and light industrial areas that are more integrated, not separated from everything we do on a daily basis. Enhancing those attributes, as Joseph E advocates, is smart, and it's what so many of us are actively doing in our own little areas of the city, promoting local shopping, enhancing community connections, planting trees along commercial corridors and enhancing pedestrian safety to encourage residents and workers to ditch the car and experience their communities in a whole new, more intimate way that we typically imagine. We may not have endless funding at the moment, but we can poise ourselves to take advantage of them when they do become available. Too bad no one listened when Douglas Park was finalized, but there are still so many things to be optimistic about looking into the future. Thanks for the information!

Moving Green

Public policy expert Nancy Pfeffer explores the environmental impact of transportation, both moving goods and moving people.

Nancy Pfeffer, President of Network Public Affairs, provides public policy analysis and communications services to public and private sector clients, focusing on environmental and transportation issues. She served seven years with the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) where she managed the Goods Movement Program. She has been a resident of Long Beach for eighteen years, has been married for fourteen, and has just welcomed three new kittens to the family. She enjoys travel, choral singing, and riding local transit every chance she gets.