2016 State Assembly District 17 Candidate David Chiu

Candidate Facts

S17DC Untitled    Name: David Chiu
   Campaign Website: www.votedavidchiu.com

Candidate Questionnaire

All official candidates were contacted and given the opportunity to answer our Candidate Questionnaire. Any candidate responses edited for length and clarity have been marked as such.

1. Do you ride a bicycle in the city or in Sacramento?

Yes

If “Yes,” how often do you ride and for what purpose(s)?

Yes, as I have for decades, I ride many times each week. I keep a bike in both San Francisco and Sacramento. In Sacramento, I frequently ride to and from my Capitol office as well as to meetings around the Capitol. In San Francisco, I’ve been a bicycle commuter since I moved to San Francisco 20 years ago.

2. One of the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition’s top state legislative priorities is Automated Speed Enforcement, recognizing that speed is the top factor in traffic collision fatalities in San Francisco. The San Francisco Board of Supervisors has passed a resolution in support of ASE and it is the SF Municipal Transportation Agency’s top legislative priority in Sacramento. Do you support legislation that would authorize the use of ASE as a pilot in San Francisco?

Yes

If “Yes,” would you sponsor this bill and why? If “No,” what change would make you consider supporting such legislation?

I support ASE, and I am looking closely at sponsoring it in the next legislative session. Since taking office, I have been working with ASE advocates in San Francisco as well as the SFMTA to develop and implement a strategy for passing this bill. It will be an enormous challenge given the numerous opponents and the repeated failed attempts to pass such a policy in the past, but I look forward to the effort.

3. Our City has embraced and adopted Vision Zero, the goal to eliminate all fatalities and serious injuries on our streets by 2024. Do you support Vision Zero? 

Yes

If “Yes,” the city has yet to make significant progress since the introduction of Vision Zero in 2014. In fact, fatalities are on the rise. What would you do as State Assemblymember to help the city achieve Vision Zero?

I have strongly supported Vision Zero since the moment it was envisioned. There is very little awareness in Sacramento of Vision Zero as a policy framework and a path to saving lives. I authored a bill my first year to make permanent the SFMTA’s Transit Only Lane Enforcement program and to expand it to enforce “Block the Box” violations, which gave me the opportunity to talk to my colleagues about Vision Zero. We need to make ASE a reality, fund Vision Zero projects, and work to make Vision Zero a part of the workplan for the State’s transportation agencies

4. The draft California Transportation Plan 2040 calls for a doubling of bicycling statewide. Caltrans has committed to tripling bicycle mode share from 1.5% to 4.5% by 2020. As State Assemblymember, would you support increasing bicycle trips in California? 

Yes

If “Yes,” what would you do as State Assemblymember to help grow the number of people biking statewide?

In 2010, while President of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, I sponsored the resolution to set San Francisco’s ambitious bicycling mode share goal of 20% by 2020. As a State Assemblymember, I support increasing bicycling as much as possible and have been a strong advocate for bikes. I look forward to working with both the CA Bike Coalition (whose priority bill on electric bicycles I authored and passed in 2015) and the SFBC on the wide range of efforts – from funding infrastructure to spurring cultural changes at Caltrans – that will be needed to make significant progress. [RESPONSE TRUNCATED]

5. California’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund has been used to fund bicycle projects with the goal of reducing state greenhouse gas emissions. Do you support increased allocation and funding for bike projects? 

Yes

If “Yes,” what funding opportunities do you see at the state level to get bicycle projects on the ground?

The GGRF funds that come from the Cap & Trade program should provide significant resources to bicycle projects statewide. Unfortunately, the allocation of many of these funds has been stuck in political limbo, but I am committed to directing as many dollars as possible to funding sustainable transportation options like transit, bicycling and walking.

6. The California Air Resources Board recently included bike share in its Car Sharing and Mobility Options pilot program, opening up funding opportunities to expand bike share in low-income areas. Do you support the expansion of bike share and other bicycle infrastructure into low-income areas?

Yes

If “Yes,” how would you address low-income areas’ transportation needs as State Assemblymember?

Low-income communities are disproportionately impacted by pollution from cars and trucks, and we must do more to bring environmentally sustainable options to these areas, including expanding bike share and other bicycle infrastructure. One idea is to make changes to the CalEnviroScreen to make more low-income communities in the Bay Area eligible for GGRF allocations.

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