RTC Transportation Café TV Show Launch

The current episode of the Transportation Cafe show highlights the Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission’s (RTC) inclusion of sustainability principals in the next edition of the area’s long range Regional Transportation Plan.  The purpose of RTCTransportation Café program is to focus on transportation issues of interest to Santa Cruz County and the surrounding region and is now airing every other month. 

RTC’s Executive Director, George Dondero interviewed Grace Blakeslee, RTC program manager for the Regional Plan Update, and Peter Hurley, Project Manager at the Portland Bureau of Transportation and one of the key developers of the SustainableTransportation Analysis and Rating System known as STARS.  This episode of theTransportation Cafe discusses the value of emphasizing sustainability in the long rangetransportation plan to assist the community in maximizing the benefits of transportationprojects and programs for the ‘triple win” of people, the environment, and the economy.  The development of sustainable goals and policies for the Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) will be used to guide funding priorities for the next 20 years of transportation projects and programs.  Over the next few months, there will be an opportunity for public input on the Regional Transportation Plan goals and desired outcomes through an online survey and also directly to decision makers at public hearings.  

This edition of the Transportation Café also includes a short segment on projects selected to receive state transportation funding as recently decided by the RegionalTransportation Commission’s board.   About $10 million was allocated for highway, sidewalk, road and bicycle improvement projects over the next five years. For more information on the State Transportation Improvement Program funding or projects selected to receive funds, please log on to http://sccrtc.org/news/2012-regional-transportation-improvement-program-rtip-adopted/.

The Transportation Café including the Sustainable Transportation interview and the short video on funding, can be viewed by logging going to the following site (http://bit.ly/wu3Nzo ) or logging onto the Community Television or RTC websites.  

In addition, the latest edition of the Transportation Cafe will be broadcast on Community Television and will be streaming LIVE at www.communitytv.org on the following dates and times (check station for additional broadcasts): 

• ·         Mon   01/30/12        2:00 PM       Channel 25
• ·         Tue    01/31/12        6:30 PM       Channel 26
• ·         Thu    02/02/12        6:30 PM       Channel 25
• ·         Thu    02/02/12       11:30 PM       Channel 25
• ·         Fri      02/03/12        6:00 PM       Channel 25
• ·         Sat     02/04/12       10:00 PM       Channel 25
• ·         Sun    02/05/12        5:30 PM       Channel 25
• ·         Sun    02/05/12        6:30 PM       Channel 26 

For information about the Regional Transportation Commission’s projects and programs, please log onto www.sccrtc.org or call 831.460-3200.