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After six weeks, voters across the Bay Area will head to the polls (if they haven’t already voted by mail by then). Within Streetsblog’s field, where do many candidates stand in traffic, biking, safe streets, housing, and more?
Twelve advocacy groups in the Bay Area joined forces to send out questionnaires to candidates in Alameda, San Francisco, Contra Costa, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties. They have published their answers. From the Seamless Bay Area, which hosts the results of the “Sustainable Transportation Candidate Questionnaire” on its webpage:
It was sent to hundreds of candidates in the San Francisco Bay Area in September 2022 so voters could get more information.
The first-ever questionnaire received an overwhelming response — 155 candidates for public office from 60 jurisdictions in five counties in the San Francisco Bay Area. Their responses are now available at this Google Drive link, sorted by county and jurisdiction. If community groups wish to repost responses on their website or to compare responses from different candidates more easily, the data can also be downloaded as a spreadsheet here.
There are nine questions in total, but here are a few to get an idea of what they’re asking:
- What transport do you use regularly, including transit and active transport (bicycles, walking, scooters, wheelchairs), and for what types of travel?
- Transportation is the single largest source of carbon emissions in California and the Bay Area, with the largest share of transportation emissions coming from single-occupant passenger vehicles. What do you think is the fastest and most cost-effective way to achieve a significant reduction in transportation-related greenhouse gas emissions? If elected, what actions would you prioritize to drastically reduce transportation emissions?
- Traffic violence and fatalities in California are increasing every year; in 2021, there will be 4,258 traffic fatalities, a 10.7 percent increase from the previous year. If elected, how will you reverse this trend, improve street safety, save lives and reduce harm in our communities? Which policies or specific projects will have the greatest impact?
Before sending their ballots, voters should review the survey results and find out where the candidates in each district stand on transportation, bike infrastructure and more.