BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1915
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 23, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION
Bonnie Lowenthal, Chair
AB 1915 (Alejo) - As Amended: March 26, 2012
SUBJECT : Safe Routes to School
SUMMARY : Permits up to 10% of the state's Safe Routes to School
(SR2S) program funds to be used to assist eligible recipients in
making infrastructure improvements, other than school bus
shelters, that create safe routes to bus stops that are located
outside the vicinity of schools.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Provides two separate and distinct SR2S programs-one federally
funded and one state funded. The federal program provides
grants for infrastructure and non-infrastructure projects
(such as education and enforcement). The state program
provides grants only for infrastructure projects. (This bill
affects the state SR2S program only; hence, any further
reference to the "SR2S" program will be to the state program.)
2)Establishes the California Department of Transportation
(Caltrans) as the multi-modal department responsible for the
statewide mobility of people, goods, and services. Requires
Caltrans to administer an SR2S program for construction of
bicycle and pedestrian safety and traffic calming projects.
3)Requires Caltrans to award grants to local governmental
agencies on a statewide, competitive basis using various
factors, as specified, including:
a) Demonstrated need of an applicant;
b) Potential to reduce child injuries and fatalities;
c) Potential to encourage increased walking and bicycling
among students;
d) Identification of safety hazards;
e) Identification of current and potential walking and
AB 1915
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bicycling routes to school;
f) Use of a public participation process; and,
g) Benefits to a low-income school.
4)Requires Caltrans, prior to awarding a construction grant for
construction that encompasses a freeway, highway, or county
road, to consult with and obtain approval from the California
Highway Patrol (CHP) to ensure the proposal complements the
CHP's Pedestrian Corridor Safety Program.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : The goal of the SR2S programs administered by
Caltrans is to increase the number of children that walk or
bicycle to school by funding projects that remove barriers that
prevent or discourage them from doing so. In 1999, California
was the first state in the country to legislate its own state
SR2S program with dedicated funding (from the State Highway
Account) on the premise that encouraging more children to walk
and bicycle to school would result in healthier children,
improved air quality, reduced fuel consumption and greenhouse
gas emissions, and less traffic congestion near schools. This
year, the SR2S program was funded at $24.25 million. Funds are
distributed on a statewide, competitive basis. Typical projects
in these programs include installing curbs, sidewalks, traffic
signals, crosswalks, warning signs, and bicycle paths.
The author has introduced this bill to serve the safety needs of
low-income rural school children who often depend on buses to
transport them to school, often walking along busy roads with
insufficient or poor quality walking infrastructure.
Supporters of this bill argue that current law does not specify
that the SR2S program can support infrastructure improvements to
increase pedestrian safety for children walking to school bus
stops. As a result, rural communities that must use buses to
get their children to school cannot enjoy the benefits of the
SR2S program. By allowing the SR2S program funds to be used to
support infrastructure improvements that might not necessarily
be in the proximity of a school, the program can more
effectively serve the needs of low-income rural children.
Opponents of this bill argue that allowing SR2S funds to be used
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for bus stops that are not close to a school is in complete
opposition to the policy goals of both the state and federal
SR2S programs.
Previous legislation:
AB 1475 (Soto), Chapter 663, Statutes of 1999, first enacted the
SR2S program until 2002. Subsequent legislation, SB 10 (Soto),
Chapter 600, Statutes of 2001, extended the program until 2005,
and SB 1987 (Soto), Chapter 392, Statutes of 2004, extended
again until 2008. Finally, AB 57 (Soto), Chapter 673, Statutes
of 2007, eliminated the sunset date, thereby extending the
program indefinitely.
AB 516 (V. Manuel Perez), Chapter 277, Statutes of 2011,
modified the SR2S program to facilitate increased participation
from socio-economically disadvantaged schools and communities.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Advancement Project
Latino Coalition for a Healthy California
PolicyLink
Opposition
WALKSacramento
Analysis Prepared by : Janet Dawson / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093