When your car breaks down on the side of a hot, busy freeway, effective regional governance is probably the last thing on your mind. You just want help—and soon! Fortunately for residents in 25 of California’s most populated regions, a Freeway Service Patrol (Patrol) truck is probably less than 15 minutes away during peak rush …
We all recognize how important effective leaders are for organizational and individual success. But the definition of a successful leader has changed dramatically over the last generation. As problems and solutions become more complex and elude technical solutions, the role of a leader goes beyond giving orders and making decisions. A good leader guides, nurtures, …
Metrolink’s new Arrow service is turning heads. The nine-mile expansion to the regional rail network features state-of-the-art Diesel Multiple Units (DMU) carriages. The project was funded and constructed by the San Bernardino County Transportation Authority and was launched by the Southern California Regional Rail Authority (which operates Metrolink). But the Arrow is different than the …
CALCOG just completed a year-long equity training for over 100 participants from 20 member agencies, CALTRANS, and the California Transportation Commission. CALCOG is always looking for innovative and effective ways to support our members. The role of regional governments is complex and ever changing. The challenges we address impact the economic, environmental, and social(equity) health …
Freeway planning in California is shifting gears. If the past was adding lanes to reduce congestion, the future is about creating multimodal mobility corridors. At least that is the thinking as the Contra Costa Transportation Authority (CCTA) seeks to improve mobility in their I-680 Corridor, which includes closing a key gap in the region’s express …
(CALCOG Note: This article is reprinted with permission from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission. We feature it here as an example of a pilot program studying an issue of import to California: as our car fleet electrifies, how do we re-price the use of the roads in a way that accounts for disproportional impacts on low …
Open and public meetings are a cornerstone of California’s democracy. The public has a right to know what local government is doing. The Ralph M. Brown Act (Brown Act) guarantees to that local meetings are properly noticed and transparent. To date, the emphasis of in-person meeting been an important means to assure transparency. Some remote …
Who should be accountable when it appears a Sustainable Community Strategy (SCS) will not achieve the target set by the California Air Resources Board (CARB)? Most believe the answer is obvious: It should be the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) that adopted the SCS. But we think differently. Our answer is: “it depends.” Here’s why. Although MPOs …
Over the last 15 years, SANDAG has worked with regional tribal nations to incorporate their views and needs into SANDAG’s planning and project selection program. In doing so, they have developed one of the outreach and public engagement models in the state for tribal inclusion. It has also resulted in planning elements and project selection …
