California Senator Scott Wiener proposed to make permanent a 2020 law exempting certain transit projects from environmental reviews in order to speed up the construction of public transit. Reports Jerold CHINN.
The current proposal would extend Senate Bill 288, which expires in 2023, and exempts all transit, bike, or pedestrian safety projects from review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Wiener stated that the bill supports “sustainable, climate-friendly, transportation projects”, which are often delayed for years due to environmental review. “We must make our streets safer immediately. Not in a single year, not in five, and not after seven long years of appeals. Wiener stated, “Now.”
Jeffrey Tumlin was the director of transportation for the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency. He praised the bill’s ability to streamline projects. It also allows the agency to re-stripe bus lanes quickly.
CEQA was created to assess the environmental effects of new projects. However, it is often criticized for causing delays in the construction projects like affordable housing developments. A lawsuit was filed by a neighborhood group to demand that the University of California, Berkeley reduce its planned enrollment next fall. They failed to conduct an environmental review that took into account a larger freshman class.
