Chapter 4: Sustainable Transportation & Land Use
Achieving an 80 percent greenhouse gas emissions reduction target requires that Berkeley’s transportation sector look quite different than it does today. Alternative modes of transportation such as public transit, walking and biking will have to be the mainstream. There will be fewer personal vehicles on the streets, because alternatives to driving will be cheaper, more accessible and more convenient. Most personal vehicles will run on electricity or bio-fuel.
This vision of Berkeley not only entails reduced greenhouse gas emissions, but also improved quality of life. Communities that are less dependent on personal vehicles get more exercise, breathe cleaner air, enjoy improved access to transit, and save money that would otherwise be spent on car-related costs.
Realizing this vision will be difficult and complicated. But many efforts consistent with the vision already exist, including the Berkeley General Plan, the draft Pedestrian Master Plan, and the Bicycle Plan. In addition, Berkeley is home to growing numbers of individuals and organizations that consistently advocate for alternatives to the car.
The actions proposed in this chapter build on these existing efforts. They are the following:
- Ensure that local land use decisions and policy are consistent with the goal of making alternative modes of transportation the mainstream
- Implement the City’s bicycle and pedestrian plans
- Make public transit more convenient and accessible
- Increase car sharing and ridesharing opportunities as an alternative to single-occupancy driving
- Encourage more fuel-efficient vehicles, electric vehicles, and other alternatively-fueled vehicles
- Enhance and expand education and outreach regarding alternative forms of transportation
- Enhance the City government’s alternative fuel vehicle program
Read entite Chapter 4: Sustainable Transportation & Land Use Strategies
Comments
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Climate Action Plan & promoting bike as transit
Post #14 by Joel Biatch on March 5, 2008 9:00PM
make bicyle boulevards safer for children
Post #20 by Cate Leger on March 7, 2008 6:03AM
As a mother of an elementary school age child, I would like to encourage the city's transportation planners and global warming strategists to view mobility issues from a family's perspective. It seems that for us and many of our peers, much of our transport time is spent shuttling children around: to school, soccer, the library, swimming, playdates...even errands, when they include children, are in the car.
The Climate Action Plan as it stands now, does not specifically consider this group of people and how to reduce their reliance on the car for these many short, around-town trips. For our family, a few changes to the bicycle boulevards would help enormously to get us out of our car.
1) Reduce the number of stop signs on the boulevards. Constantly stopping and starting is logistically difficult for a child and slows down a trip to the point where it becomes impractically slow.
2) Reduce the number of cars on the main routes, particularly Milvia and Channing, through the addition of one or two well placed traffic diverters. The cars and trucks are a hazard to cyclists and especially children because of the pollution they generate and the potential they have to cause accidents. Some of the bicycle routes, particularly at rush hour, act as secondary corridors for cars. It seems appropriate if we want to support bicycling to really give cyclists priority on the Bicycle Boulevards.
By instituting these changes, we provide families with more options for moving around town without cars. By spending more time on bicycles children get exercise and they learn that bicycling is a valid, practical and respected mode of transport to be used all of their lives.
