The Current

Her thoughts on the future of transportation in California  

The California Assembly Committee on Transportation oversees all facets of the transportation system in the state: from highway systems and maintenance through the Department of Transportation (Caltrans), driver’s license and vehicle registration at the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), to policy and planning at transportation agencies at the regional level, and the California Transportation Commission at the state level. This year the committee is under the leadership of a new chair, Assemblywoman Lori D. Wilson, who brings with her a broad background in finance, housing, and local government that will shape her leadership. SACOG had an opportunity to sit down with Assemblywoman Wilson to get her perspective on the future of transportation in California and insight into how she thinks about the link between land use and how people get around the state.  

“Transit was always top of mind,” shares Wilson, who frequently travels along the Capitol Corridor, taking the train from the capital to her home in Suisun City. She enjoys the ride, and it gives her time to think as public transit does the work of getting her from point A to point B. During her commute she considers how traffic conditions are linked to community development and connections to job centers or health centers. She thinks about legislation and policies presented to her committee and their impact on communities. These challenges, she says, are intrinsically linked to housing and require a comprehensive point of view to address.

These considerations are fueled in part by her experience working in finance for a home builder, where Wilson worked on projects identifying new plots for development to deliver homes. As a former city council member and mayor of Suisun City, her perspective grew as she thought about community members’ need to get around safely and freely, and the government’s role in putting those pieces together.

At the state, the challenge put to legislators is to address community needs today while considering long-term goals for the future, like lowering emissions from cars or setting up infrastructure for enough housing. “We focus heavily on environment, which is good; we need clean air and water. But at the same time, we can’t be so focused that we forget about human needs and the ability to thrive and balance those at the same time,” said Wilson.

As she thinks about the next year, Wilson sees a few key policy opportunities to address at the legislature. The list includes investing in aging transportation infrastructure and its resilience in emergencies, addressing fiscal challenges for the public transit system, facing declining revenues from the gas tax, cost of living, and oversight strategies for the budget deficit while being transparent and communicative about the funding gaps.

But how do we keep residents engaged in transportation policy and aware of these issues at the state level? Wilson says that’s a hard one to answer; however, “I think it’s our duty to engage them. People are busy, and it’s government’s responsibility to talk to them and respond to their needs in a way that is meaningful and impactful.” Legislators like Wilson are working hard to put the pieces together and consider how they create a big picture that is giving people choices in how they get around California. Sometimes that requires having to change one’s perspective to understand the way things like income, disability, or being elderly can affect how people get around. Having a car is often a status symbol pointing to economic mobility, allowing people the freedom to get to where they need to go. But what if everyone had choices and what they needed to get to work, go grocery shopping, or get to school by biking, walking, or taking transit there?

The bottom line, shared Wilson, is that everyone should have a choice in how they get around to what they need, and she believes that being able to choose your mode should be the status symbol of the future.