State AG suing SANDAG (San Diego: attorney, lawsuit, club)

[shmoov_groovzsd]

I have read on these boards various threads about 'improving SD" and mass transit is certainly one of the top improvements people on the boards would like to see. So I thought I would share this info.

SANDAG approved a regional transportation last year that has been met with some harsh criticism due to its lack of support for better mass transit initiatives vs roads over the coming years.

It seems the Sierra Club and Attorney General have sued SANDAG for its failure in addressing environmental impact sufficiently based on state goals to reduce greenhouse gases and emissions.

Any thoughts on this?

Press Release | State of California - Department of Justice - Kamala D. Harris Attorney General

[kyparissia]

Here is a good article on it, with links to the lawsuit and the AG's letter:
A Fight for the Future of San Diego - Commute - The Atlantic Cities
The enviro groups and the AG argue that even though more than one-third (almost one-half) of the funding would be for transit, all the near-term projects are roadway projects. They say that therefore the plan would increase regional auto dependency and the region is then unlikely/will be challenged to retrofit transit and transit-oriented development after-the-fact. (For the sake of comparison, the percent of federal money spent on transit nationally is something less five percent. I have only glanced at the plan, but I think that one-third to almost half includes not just transit, but bike and pedestrian projects, too.) So they are not disatisfied with the funding allocation but the timing.