Meeting on July 16

We warmly welcomed Brad Beck, Senior Transportation Planner for Contra Costa Transit Authority and Ray Kazbari, Transportation Manager for City of Concord, and we introduced our selves. Brad's introduction of himself included an explanation of what the CCTA does: it distributes sales tax money to transportation projects undertaken by cities and the county. We had a lively discussion on the Countywide Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan. Kathy Renfrow questioned why Monument Blvd. was not included on the bicycle route plan. The answer is too much traffic and not enough right-of-way for bicycle lanes on streets such as Monument and Clayton. The meeting ran out of time and we will continue the discussion at our next meeting.

Monument Boulevard Urban Design Plan and Design Guideline

I spoke in favor of the proposed plan at the Concord City Council meeting on July 6. It's so good it should be referred to in related plans: CCTA's 2009 Countywide Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan Update, and City of Concord's Economic Vitality Strategy Update.

Read the July 9 Contra Costa Times article "Monument redevelopment plans pit traffic needs against community interests", and The Concordian article on page 32 "Vision for Monument Corridor taking shape".

Countywide Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan (CBPP) 2009 Update

The Draft 2009 Countywide Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan is now available for review and comment. (I've attended the June 29 Public Workshop on the 2009 CBPP.) The update addresses MTC's "routine accommodation" policy, where Measure J explicitly supports the idea that bicycle and pedestrian needs should be routinely accommodated in projects funded with Measure J revenues.

Take a look at the plan at http://www.ccta.net/EN/main/bike/cbpp.html, and send your comments and suggestions to Brad Beck, Senior Transportation Planner.