Spring 2025 Partner Engagement
Following the public engagement conducted in summer 2024, which informed the development of the Draft Plan Bay Area 2050+ Implementation Plan, MTC-ABAG engaged various partners and other interested stakeholders to identify and prioritize implementation actions.
The Implementation Plan identifies near-term steps to advance the long-term vision of Plan Bay Area 2050+, focusing on concrete actions that MTC and ABAG can take — in partnership with public, non-profit and private sector organizations — over the next five years to advance the plan’s vision.
Partner Survey
MTC-ABAG staff distributed an online survey to partner agency staff and technical stakeholders asking participants to identify the implementation actions they thought should be prioritized in moving Plan Bay Area 2050+ strategies forward.
In total, 177 participants across all nine Bay Area counties responded to the survey. The survey reached many first-time participants, with 56% of respondents having never previously provided input on Plan Bay Area 2050+. A variety of stakeholders engaged with the survey, most of whom were city staff. Participants also included staff from county agencies, transit operators, county transportation agencies, non-profit organizations, advocacy organizations and more.
Internal Staff Discussions
Staff convened 12 cross-agency staff meetings to help prioritize implementation actions based on survey input and staff’s subject matter expertise. Discussions brought together staff working on various plan strategies in the course of their work to determine priorities and actions to include in the Draft Implementation Plan. Each group refined and ranked actions that came out of the partner survey.
What We Heard During Round 3 Engagement
Survey participants expressed strong support for a range of implementation actions across all four plan elements: Transportation, Housing, Economy and Environment.
Transportation priorities included securing increased funding for transit operations, improving coordination between transit agencies and enhancing the rider experience through better transfer timing, safety and cleanliness. Respondents also emphasized the need for more efficient project delivery and cost-effectiveness as well as technical assistance for local governments to advance active transportation improvements.
Housing priorities focused on expanding funding for affordable housing, maintaining momentum on transit-oriented development and reducing barriers to housing production through streamlined financing, zoning incentives and simplified reuse of vacant storefronts. Survey respondents also supported expanding technical assistance for specific housing developments.
Economic priorities highlighted the importance of analyzing pilot initiatives, growing workforce development programs that support upskilling and reskilling, and strengthening local planning to revitalize downtowns and support small businesses. Additional support emerged for expanding fare discount programs like Clipper START and BayPass, and for identifying and investing in key industrial areas.
Environmental priorities centered on preparing for the impacts of wildfire on land use, expanding BayREN’s energy efficiency offerings and updating Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) maps. Respondents also prioritized advocating for additional state funding, providing technical assistance for integrating parks into new developments, investing in micromobility and bikeshare infrastructure, and identifying new funding streams for EV initiatives.
Implementation Actions Informed by Engagement Findings
The survey data and internal staff workshops were instrumental in focusing the Implementation Plan, helping to prioritize actions that could be implemented over the next five years and trimming down/reframing actions as needed.
In the Transportation, Housing and Environment elements, the draft implementation actions were largely informed by the priorities identified during Round 2 and Round 3 engagement. Due to limited agency authority and resources to advance the Economy element, fewer actions were incorporated into the Draft Implementation Plan. However, some stakeholders emphasized that the most meaningful action MTC-ABAG could take in the economic space would be to deliver a more connected and affordable transportation and housing system.