Local News

• Weekend track closures between Walnut Creek and Pleasant Hill BART stations; free bus services to be provided March 26-28 and May 28-30
• El Cerrito encourages community participation in identifying area traffic concerns – meetings on March 25 & 31st
• 511CC gets kudos for use of social media to deliver information and foster environmental awareness
• Eastern Contra Costa Transit Auth. receives $1 mil. to prevent bus service cuts to Brentwood & Discovery Bay

Bay Area and California News

• Electric trucks get green light from California Air Resources Board
• Bay Area counties eye ballot measures to raise auto registration fee by $10 for transportation funding
• BART partners with junaio on augmented reality app
• Biking Directions added to Google Maps
• Efforts to build Bay Bridge faster include offering incentives and threatening penalties
• Bay Area train agencies expect big bucks from Prop. 1A funds
• $84 Million in Recovery Act Funds Heading to California with Monetary Breakdown by Transit Agency
• AC Transit service changes will take effect March 28 in every community
• Options for curbing greenhouse gases in the Bay Area discussed at March 10, 2010  MTC meeting (Here’s what was discussed at the meeting, if you were not able to attend)
• Capitol Corridor trackwork resumes March 8th, midday train delays expected through March 15

Did you know we’re on Twitter? To receive these headlines, information for local transit agencies, 511CC promotions, and more, follow @511CC. To stay updated via Google Reader or by email, look under ‘Subscribe’ at the bottom of the bar on the right.

Yesterday, Google announced it had added a new biking feature to Google Maps. When a user needs directions for getting from Point A to Point B, they can now select ‘Bicycling’ in addition to ‘By Car’, ‘Walking’, and ‘By Public Transit’. From the Associated Press:

Google spent the past six months tweaking its mapping service so it could recommend routes that would steer bicyclists away from big hills and heavily congested streets.

You can see trails and bike lanes directly on the map, as well as drag and drop points to customize your route. To try it out for yourself, visit: http://maps.google.com/biking.

Here is a short video on how to use the new feature:

Leave us a comment below if you’ve tried out the new service, noticed anything funky, or think it just plain rocks.

Source:

• From the Official Google Blog: Biking directions added to Google Maps
• The San Francisco Chronicle: Google adds bike lane with latest mapping feature

Ever wonder why we tweet and blog? Well, that’s a secret, but we will tell you that we enjoy receiving kudos for our social media efforts.

In an article published  Monday, March 8, 2010, Tweeting to Save the Planet: The Role–And Limits–of Social Media in Environmental Solutions, 511 Contra Costa was mentioned alongside the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD), and Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (PG&E) as organizations who effectively use Twitter to spread information and environmental awareness. The article also mentioned 511CC’s iSmog app, a free download that delivers Spare the Air notifications and other Bay Area air quality information to your iPhone.

Not sure if you should be following us on Twitter? We cover transportation, transit and air quality news & events in and around Contra Costa and the greater East Bay. We offer some pretty awesome promos, too.

If you aren’t sure which cities are in Contra Costa, we’ve listed them here:

Antioch, Brentwood, Clayton, Concord, Danville, El Cerrito, Hercules, Lafayette, Martinez, Moraga, Oakley, Orinda, Pinole, Pittsburg, Pleasant Hill, Richmond, San Pablo, San Ramon, and Walnut Creek.

Bonus for reading this far! If you become a new follower of @511CC by the end of the month, you’ll be entered to win $25 in gift cards to Peet’s Coffee & Tea. How sweet is that?

Local News

• Public hearing on March 18, 2010 at 9 AM on The County Connection 10-Year Short Range Transit Plan
• The City of Richmond solicits feedback via a survey on motorist, pedestrian, cyclist, & transit user safety
• BART’s Central Contra Costa Crossover Project will cause delays of up to 15 min. on weekends for BART riders traveling on trains bound for Pittsburg/Bay Point
• Great news for hikers, mountain bikers and equestrians: 1,000-acre public space (Hidden Valley Open Space) opens in San Ramon Dougherty Valley with 10 miles of dirt trails

Bay Area and California News

• Spare the Air wood burning ban lifted on February 28, 2010 for end of 2009-2010 winter season
• Polluted air over California costs almost $200 million per year in hospital expenses
• Capitol Corridor trains to operate on normal service beginning March 1, 2010
• Stanford students show off solar-powered car that gets 1,400 mpg & speeds up to 70 mph

For these headlines, transit promos and more, follow 511 Contra Costa on Twitter!

The Central Contra Costa Transit Authority is conducting a Public Hearing at 9:00 a.m. on Thursday, March 18, 2010 in the Board of Directors meeting room at County Connection’s administrative office, 2477 Arnold Industrial Way . The purpose of this hearing is to receive citizen comment on CCCTA’s draft ten-year Short Range Transit Plan FY2010-FY2019.

This plan represents the goals, objectives, and standards for the CCCTA along with a general evaluation of system performance; description of the CCCTA service area and transit services; and an outline of the CCCTA capital, financial and operational ten year plan. The plan includes both fixed-route and paratransit services operated by CCCTA.

Click here to download The County Connection Ten-Year Short Range Transit Plan Draft for FY 2010-2019.

Interested members of the public are invited to speak at the hearing, and/or any of the following: Submit written comments to:

CCCTA
Service Planning Department
2477 Arnold Industrial Way
Concord, CA 94520

FAX to:

925/686-2630
Attn: Service Planning Department

or Email to:

Planning@cccta.org

For more information, visit http://www.cccta.org/.

Spring into spring with chapstick and suncreen?  Yep, we are celebrating the month of March by encouraging you get out of your vehicles and enjoy the great outdoors with a little “spring” in your steps by cycling or walking on the trails.  With daylight savings time moving forward another hour and the official start of spring, it’s time to get moving!  We also can provide bike and trail maps to help you get started!  Not a trail person?  No problem.  How about biking or walking to your local grocery store or nearby coffee shop?  Who knows, you might ”awaken” to a new “trail.”

Sign up below to receive a SPF 15  natural lip balm and a packet of sunscreen.  Limit to one per San Francisco Bay Area, CA household please.

On February 28, 2010 the Winter Spare the Air season ended. Winter Spare the Air alerts will resume beginning November 1, 2010. After this day, it will be illegal to burn wood during Winter Spare the Air alerts.

However, residents who do burn in a fireplace our outdoor fire pit must still burn cleanly using dry seasoned firewood and not burn garbage, leaves or other material that would cause excessive smoke. Residents who exceed the excessive visible smoke provision in the wood burning rule could still be subject to an air district ticket or fine. For more information about the Wood-Burning Rule, visit Spare the Air’s official website.

Related: Read more about iSmog for iPhone, a free application that delivers Spare the Air alerts to your phone. The application also displays air quality information for all five Bay Area air basins.

For the most up to date transportation and transit news (as well as information about our promotions, contests, and giveaways), follow 511CC on Twitter.

Local News

• Antioch Bridge motorists will face nighttime delays next week
• BART to upgrade Pleasant Hill station for $5.2 million
• State allocates $69.4 million for I-680 overhaul in San Ramon Valley
• Antioch looks at BART beyond Hillcrest
• Crews working on Caldecott Tunnel 4th bore cut down trees before bird-nesting season begins
• Construction noise in Walnut Creek south of Pleasant Hill BART station to last for the next 8-10 weekends

Bay Area and California News

• Bay Area high-speed rail track alignment details delayed again
• National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Unveils Sample Legislation for Texting While Driving
• Proposed rules could make smog check less expensive and time-consuming for most motorists
• Senator Simitian proposes tougher penalties in California for hands-free & text messaging violations that would also apply to bicyclists
• BART explores more fare hikes, cuts
• Toll increase creates casual carpool conundrum
• Bay Area gas prices expected to jump in coming weeks

On Monday, state Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto introduced a bill that would increase fines for those who love to commute while texting and driving. Notice that we said commute–not drive–the law, if passed, would apply to bicyclists as well.

Simitian proposed increasing the price of a ticket from $145 for not using a hands-free device to $255 and up, and a fine of $455 for text messaging while driving.
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