"I've been radicalized on bicycle and pedestrian safety."

CA Assemblymember @buffywicks.bsky.social at yesterday's transportation committee.

You love to hear it! 👏🏻👏🏻

Can all local and national politicians be “radicalised” on pedestrian and cyclist safety, please

PS @buffywicks.bsky.social - pedestrians need to be always the highest priority- they’re the most vulnerable of all road users

I think that AB 1976, by @buffywicks.bsky.social can get to the right balance on this question. This is a good week to offer constructive “public input”!

I look forward to learning more from you, Robert, on how to make this a better bill, and appreciate your advocacy!

AB 1976 will be heard in the Assembly Transportation Committee next Monday, April 20. You can watch the livestream of the hearing at: atrn.assembly.ca.gov/hearings

Public input can be a death sentence Putting a safety improvement up for a vote is dangerous when the voters have been conditioned to see traffic violence as inevitable.

Approximately 4,000 people die in CA every year because of car crashes, 25% of which are pedestrians & bicyclists. Prioritizing safety for all road users should be a no-brainer, and the convenience of drivers shouldn’t come before the wellbeing of others.
www.urbanismspeakeasy.com/p/public-inp...

3. Excessive Public Meeting Requirements: After a transportation project is approved with ample community input at the planning level, holding up projects for additional meetings unnecessarily delays roadway safety improvements.

Main Street Moves on Hold: Legal challenges, business closures stymie efforts to make Ventura’s downtown street closures permanent Main Street Moves (MSM) brought joy and togetherness to a community scarred by pandemic gathering restrictions during 2020 with its mix of outdoor dining, shopping and entertainment opportunities. Now...

Projects across the state, like Main Street in Ventura, that would create vibrant, walkable zones have been stalled by legal challenges. But supporters remain optimistic about creating pedestrian malls and highlight the importance of shared community spaces.
www.vcreporter.com/news/main-st...

2. Pedestrian Mall Act of 1960: There are many bureaucratic and technical requirements in the current process for establishing pedestrian malls (dedicated areas where motor traffic is not allowed).

1. Petition Requirements: Many cities require a supermajority of residents to sign off on safety infrastructure before it’s installed. For example, San Gabriel requires at least 75% of property owners on the street to request the installation of new speed bumps.
sangabrielcity.com/1568/Speed-H...

AB 1976 will provide more streamlined processes for projects that provide additional safety measures for local communities and align with the state’s climate and equity goals. The bill addresses three key barriers that these projects face:

Well-intentioned laws and regulations have actually become a barrier to making safety improvements that we need, delaying projects that will protect people who walk and bike, and encourage more people to opt into active transportation instead of driving everywhere.

I have done a lot of work to fast-track much-needed housing, and through that work I have seen another area in desperate need of streamlining: transportation projects to increase bicycle and pedestrian safety.

I'm thrilled he agreed to moderate this critical conversation. Thanks to Housing Action Coalition & @ternerhousing.bsky.social for hosting + @cayimby.bsky.social, Habitat, & Abundance Network for support. The forum will be held Friday, 5/8 in Oakland. If you're interested in attending, let me know!

One of the best people to stress test these candidates on housing is Ezra Klein. Ezra does his homework, and he is always pulling the thread to uncover the underpinning, often uncomfortable, problems below the surface.

The housing crisis isn’t partisan; it impacts all of us. Any candidate from any party that reaches 5% in the next Emerson, IGS, or PPIC poll will be invited to participate in the forum to explain their stance on housing policy and what actions they intend to take if elected.

Having run for public office, I know what typical candidate forums are like—everyone gets 60 seconds to answer a battery of surface-level questions. But housing policy has an outsized impact on CA, and voters deserve to know where candidates stand beyond cursory talking points.

We can’t afford to lose momentum. Our next governor needs to both identify policy solutions *and* be able to build the political coalition required to implement that change. That’s no small feat when so many special interest groups want to protect the status quo.

In a matter of weeks, we will be voting for our next governor. But where do these candidates stand on housing? California’s housing crisis is incredibly complex and solving it will require a leader with creativity and courage.

Assemblymember Buffy Wicks, Senator Jesse Arreguín, Mayor Barbara Lee and others gather to cut a yellow ribbon to celebrate the acquisition of a 33-unit apartment building for educator workforce housing in Oakland.

Assemblymember Buffy Wicks speaks at the podium of the press conference announcing Rooted's acquisition of a 33-unit apartment building for educator workforce housing in Oakland.

Congratulations, Oakland Fund and Rooted! This new 33-unit apartment building is exactly the type of workforce housing that will ensure we can keep our educators in the communities they serve, creating more vibrant classrooms and a more vibrant community.

Assemblymember Wicks and a group of people posing for a photo during a tour of a Community Land Trust property in the East Bay.

Yesterday I toured one of the amazing Community Land Trust properties in my district. CLTs are vital partners in preserving affordable housing, and they truly center the communities they serve. Thank you Richmond LAND, NCLT, and BACLT for the work that you do!

Big problems require creative solutions. And AB 2166 could be one of them. I am thrilled to be working with Assemblymember Carrillo on this idea as part of our broader Housing Innovation bill package.

What do you think of this idea? And what else should we be considering?

Trust for Public Land Secures Option on Former Golden Gate Fields Site, Launching Effort in Partnership with East Bay Regional Park District to Transform 161-Acre Waterfront into Future East Bay Park San Francisco, CA — March 31, 2026 — Trust for Public Land (TPL), working in partnership with the East Bay Regional Park District (EBRPD), today announced

This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the East Bay, and it’s exactly the kind of forward-thinking redevelopment our communities deserve.

www.tpl.org/media-room/t...

Join my team for a volunteer workday next Friday, April 3rd at the Laurel Court Garden in Rodeo!

From usage caps to data protections, AB 2023 / SB 1119 set new rules for AI chatbots used by minors. Here's what to know.

@bauerkahan.bsky.social

By easing these points of friction, we can unlock the potential of modern and innovative construction methods to bring down costs to make housing more affordable for working-class Californians.

6. AB 2185 (Quirk-Silva): Provides for the systematic review and revision of state funding programs to make them work for the unique circumstances involved in approving and financing FBH projects.

5. AB 2166 (Carrillo & Wicks): Directs a state entity to provide a financial backstop to make projects whole in case of factory failure. By creating more certainty for developers, this bill will encourage increased adoption of FBH.

4. AB 2058 (Harabedian & Wicks): Gives developers the option to utilize statewide building inspectors for on-site inspection of FBH projects. Because local governments have not yet seen much FBH, processes for inspections are not aligned with the specific nature of FBH projects.

3. AB 2012 (Hoover & Wicks): Modifies shipping procedures to reduce FBH transportation costs associated with highway escorts. Current requirements add significant costs, which reduces the savings FBH could otherwise deliver.