South Pasadena Candidate Survey

In an effort to better educate and inform members of the public about active transportation issues facing the City of South Pasadena (an issue that has been largely ignored in policy discussions to date), the West San Gabriel Valley Bicycle Coalition submitted the following questionnaire to the 9 candidates running for City Council. Responses will be posted as they are received.

1)     Do you use a bicycle in the city? If so, for what purposes (commuting, recreation, errands) and how often? Please indicate how you most commonly commute to work (drive, Metro, walk, carpool, bike, combination, other).  

2)     What are the most urgent transportation needs in the City?  How would you address them?

3)     What can the City Council do to reduce and prevent collisions involving pedestrians, cyclists and other vulnerable road users?

4)     Many street design treatments that have been shown to reduce the number of injuries and fatalities of all road users may also reduce speeding and fast-moving vehicle traffic. If elected, would you support road design treatments that will increase the safety of everyone on our streets, even if it means slowing vehicle traffic on surface streets in some cases?

5)     On January 1, 2011 the CA Complete Streets Act (AB 1358) became law, requiring local municipalities account for the needs of all roadway users – drivers, transit users, pedestrians, and bicyclists, as well as for older people, children, and persons with disabilities – when updating the part of the general plan that addresses roadways and traffic flows.  How do you envision the City carrying out this new mandate?

6)     Forty years ago over 60% of school children in the United States walked or rode a bicycle to school. Today, that figure is less than 10%. This decline in bicycling and walking (and physical activity in general) has been mirrored by dramatic increases in childhood obesity in California and across the country. If elected, will you commit staff to work with local schools, PTAs and to create or expand programs that encourage families to walk and bike to school?

7)     AB 32, the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, calls for the reduction of the state’s greenhouse gas emissions by 25% by 2020.  Passed two years later, SB 375 requires the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to reduce emissions from passenger vehicles and requires regional metropolitan planning organizations to develop “Sustainable Communities Strategies” that integrate transportation, land-use, and housing policies that plan to achieve the emissions targets for their regions. Given that the vast majority of emissions in CA come from private automobile use, what specific policies or plans would you implement to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions in the transportation sector?  (For example, if elected, would you incentivize City workers to leave their cars at home and get to work via public transit, cycling or other non-motorized modes of transport? If so, how would you make it easier for them to do so?)

8)     The City of Los Angeles has hosted three CicLAvia’s – temporary closures of streets to motor vehicles to allow families and friends to exercise, socialize, and appreciate the city and its public spaces from a new perspective – to date, with tremendous public support.  Each event has proved more successful than the last. If elected, would you be willing to partner with the City of LA and/or other nearby cities to bring a similar event into South Pasadena?

9)     The City Council recently adopted an updated Bike Plan that, if realized, will create a cohesive network of bike infrastructure in the City. If elected, will you support the full implementation of the Bike Plan?

---