Our June 8 meeting was poorly attended, and the survey didn’t get much response, but the core people feel that STAR has made a big impact on transit in the region, and want to continue making that impact! So, onward we go.

We seem to have the most impact with SacRT when we research issues, then write a letter to the board and staff ahead of time, and speak at the SacRT board meetings on critical issues, so we will continue to do that. We have a good relationship with SacRT staff, which we can maintain and strengthen. We will ask members for specific help with researching issues and following important issues closely. We had significant problems using Google Groups to communicate before, and are still having some issues with the groups.io platform we replaced it with, so for the time being, we will return to mostly direct email communication. This blog is seen as very useful for both educating our members and having an impact on transit conversations, so we will continue with it. DD (Delphine) Cathcart and Karen Jacques will now be the meeting conveners, setting the agenda and facilitating the meetings. Dan will continue with research and expertise as requested, and continue this blog, but step back from other responsibilities.

We will communicate closely with SacTRU so that the two organizations complement each other rather than working separately on the same issue. The strength of SacTRU is the ridership perspective, and they have taken on the public education role with their special workshops, while STAR’s biggest strength is in policy.

Our meetings for the next six month will continue once a month, with the dates: July 13, August 24, September 28, October 26, November 23, and December 28, with possible adjustments in November and December for the holidays. We are a little uncertain about timing on July 13, as the Sierra Club and partners are hosting a presentation on Measure M that day by southern California experts. Normally Saturday mornings, 10:00AM, at Organize Sacramento. Please put these dates on your calendar, or subscribe to the STAR calendar at https://SacramentoTransitAdvocates.groups.io/g/main/ics/3382088/1539210811/feed.ics. The calendar also has events for our close partners SacTRU and ECOS TAQCC and others, and the agencies where we advocate, such as SacRT, SacTA, and SACOG.

Top Issues

We discussed issues for transit in the region at length, and selected these three top issues:

• The next tax measure, with clearly defined goals, and a tax expenditure plan (TEP) based on those goals (SacTA)
• SACOG funding; beyond sales tax funding, most other transit funding flows through SACOG, but SACOG has been underinvesting in transit
• SacRT transparency, particularly reporting back on the results of pilot project and changes in policy or operations

Selecting the top issues allows us to focus our limited resources. We will of course spend some effort on the other issues that were not selected, and new issues as they arrive, but we will keep coming back to these.

STAR will continue to participate in the SacMoves coalition working group, supporting the efforts to have SacTA adopt a Measure M-like process, developing clear transportation goals based on community needs, allocating funding to categories that reflect community values, and developing a TEP that meets the goals rather than is a shopping list for the agencies. Of course we will at the same time advocate for a large allocation to transit and the ‘first-mile/last-mile’ walking and bicycling investments that make transit work.

See the post https://star-transit.org/2018/02/11/stars-top-issues/ for our last top issues and the outcomes.

• STAR