This measure gets right to the heart of the matter in an equitable, efficient way — raising the standard of ALL streets and walkways and cleaning stormwater pollution, with less expensive taxes! Completely transparent, funds would only be allocated for clearly defined purposes.

— Grace Munakata

I am an energy planner who has worked on decarbonization and climate protection for years.  I appreciate living in Berkeley where people take climate change seriously. But I have found no serious study that would support the notion that Measure FF would reduce greenhouse gas emissions any more than the much less costly and disruptive Measure EE. 

Bicycling and walking are great, and it’s vital for Berkeley to make these safer. That’s what Measure EE will do. Portraying cars versus bicycles as a climate morality issue when the emissions benefits of a plan like Measure FF are highly uncertain is wrong -- a kind of performative environmentalism that is more likely to create a political backlash.

Measure EE is sound policy: it is fiscally responsible, it invests in safety for all, and it is responsive to neighborhoods.  Measure FF is not sound policy.  FF will cost 50 percent more, and for bicycle safety it prioritizes miles of curb-separated two-way cycle tracks. Those two-way cycle tracks are not only wildly unpopular (perhaps why they are not mentioned by name in FF) but in many of the proposed locations they are also objectively unsafe, violating expert guidelines regarding what kinds of streets are suitable.

Read Jim’s full opinion piece here. 

— Jim Williams

I have lived in Berkeley since 2001 and have always been a bicycle commuter and recreational rider. I was delighted to live in a city with an excellent network of bicycle boulevards and proud of the city. Over the course of these years, I have witnessed, and felt in my body, the absolute deterioration of the bicycle boulevards and other streets. They are now at a dangerous level. Twice on my way to work, I have been so jostled on my bike that my computer bag jumped out of a bike basket and my coffee cup flew off my bike into traffic. Other times, I have had to make split-second decisions whether to swerve into potential traffic or risk falling off my bike. Now, I not only need to watch for irresponsible drivers, I need to weave around pot holes, cracks and uneven pavement from the poor condition of the roads. I am no longer proud to be an avid Berkeley bicyclist. Our streets are truly hazardous for cyclists. Vote YES on EE and NO on FF. Measure EE is the only one that prioritizes the condition of the paving on the streets and sidewalks, which benefits everyone, over other projects that are controversial and, at best, benefit only a few.

— Lori Copan