Connected 2050 Launches: A Long-Term Plan on Transportation, Housing, and Jobs

Santa Barbara County Association of Governments (SBCAG) in partnership with the Community Environmental Council (CEC) seeks the public’s input on Connected 2050 Regional Transportation Plan and Sustainable Communities Strategy (RTP-SCS). Connected 2050 is an update to Santa Barbara County’s long-range regional transportation plan and sustainable communities strategy. Connected 2050 RTP-SCS will help guide future planning efforts and policy decisions that affect transportation and its relationship with housing, jobs, and land use to reduce greenhouse gas gases from light-duty vehicles that contribute to climate change. SBCAG is expected to adopt Connected 2050 in August 2021. 

“The recommendations of Connected 2050 will influence Santa Barbara County’s long-term growth and development for the next 30 years,” said Marjie Kirn, Executive Director of SBCAG. “We cannot deny the impact of the COVID-19 public health emergency on our daily lives for the foreseeable future, we need the public’s participation in this process as it will have tremendous influence on how to build a better and more sustainable community in the future. We will be asking residents and businesses about safe and affordable housing, how essential goods like medicine and food are transported, and how far we travel to reach our jobs or schools.”

The public is encouraged to get involved with Connected 2050 by texting “CONNECT” to (833) 956-0921 or sign up for updates at Connected2050.org, or Conectados2050.org for a Spanish-language version. There will be multiple opportunities for residents and businesses to share experiences and ideas on housing, jobs and transportation through October 2020. 

Connected 2050 RTP-SCS will help create communities where people can live, work, play and prosper. At its core, Connected 2050 RTP-SCS is intended to reduce greenhouse gas emission that contribute to climate change while helping achieve a number of important local and statewide goals. Connected 2050 will identify goals and objectives developed by public participation to guide the development of recommendations addressing five core topics like such as the environment, mobility & system reliability, equity, health & safety, and a prosperous economy.

SBCAG updates the Sustainable Communities Strategy with their Regional Transportation Plan every 4 years. The last RTP-SCS update was completed in 2017. Between now and early October 2020, SBCAG will use technical analysis and community input to create several different future scenarios. Each of the scenarios that SBCAG develops will represent a different vision for future development, growth, and transportation in the Santa Barbara. CEC is supporting SBCAG’s outreach goals for Connected 2050 by helping to connect with a wider range of stakeholders who can share their vision for their community’s future. Just Communities is working with SBCAG and CEC to create a multilingual community outreach process for Connected 2050, using best practices from their Language Justice Initiative to ensure that everyone’s voices are truly heard and included in the final Connected 2050 plan.

A final version of Connected 2050 RTP-SCS will be adopted by August 2021.