Community Leaders have asked to participate in a new transportation vision for Napa.
Napa’s Transportation Future will form the basis for NCTPA decision making related to highways, streets and roads, transit, paratransit, and bicycle funding into the year 2030.The Plan is being prepared through a grant from Caltrans, augmented by funding from NCTPA.
Napa’s Transportation Futurewill gather and analyze opinions and ideas from our community based organizations, business organizations, environmental groups, commuters, students, disabled, low income and minority representatives as well as key transportation providers.
Napa’s Transportation Future will imagine transportation in Napa that improves the quality of life of residents, visitors and commuting employees.
Napa’s Transportation Future will provide a thorough review of the full spectrum of transportation possibilities for Napa, including an examination of costs and funding options associated with alternative approaches.
Napa’s Transportation Future will develop a draft set of Visions, Goals, Objectives, Policies and Actions that will be reviewed with the NCTPA Board. Napa’s Transportation Future will also identify methods to measure attainment of objectives.
Who is involved?
Napa’s Transportation Future is a project of the Napa County Transportation and Planning Agency (NCTPA) Board, which will make final decisions on its content.
The NCTPA Board has two representatives from each jurisdiction:
Napa County: Chairman Harold Moskowite, Bill Dodd American Canyon: Mayor Leon Garcia, Cindy Coffey City of Napa: Mayor Jill Techel, Jim Krider Town of Yountville: Mayor Cynthia Saucerman, Steve Rosa City of St. Helena: Mayor Mel Del Britton, Joe Potter City of Calistoga: Mayor Jack Gingles, Michael Dunsford
Citizens Advisory Committee - A 14 member Citizens Advisory Committee will meet throughout the project with representation from the full range of Napa stakeholders
JoAnn Busenbark – Paratransit Coordinating Council Beth Carmichael – Napa Valley Conference and Visitors Bureau Dieter Deiss – Calistoga Vitality Group Debra Dommen – Winegrowers of Napa County Sandy Elles – Napa County Farm Bureau Don Evans – Napa Unified School District Eve Kahn – Get a Grip on Growth Michael Haley – Napa Valley Tax Payers Alliance Nancy Levenberg – St. Helena Chamber of Commerce Dorothy Lind-Salmon – Napa Valley Economic Development Corporation Matt Pope – American Canyon Planning Commission Celine Regalia – Adult Day Services of Napa Ed Shenk – Napa County Hispanic Network Tyler York – Sierra Club, Napa Group
Steering Committee - Month to month management of the project will be overseen by a Steering Committee made up of key staff from each of the jurisdictions:
Napa County: Sean Trippi and Don Ridenhour American Canyon: Richard Ramirez, Robert Weil City of Napa: Larry Pollard, Farid Javendahl Town of Yountville: Robert Tiernan, Mike Praul City of St. Helena: Carol Poole City of Calistoga: Charlene Gallina, Dan Takasugi Citizens Advisory Committee: Ed Shenk, Matt Pope
Challenges and Opportunities
Maintain the agricultural character of the county. Strong agricultural land protection and built up urban centers coupled with steady job growth results in reduced housing availability and higher housing costs requiring many of Napa’s workforce to commute from surrounding Counties.
Address Napa’s Jobs/housing balance. Napa’s Transportation Future will seek to address the jobs/housing balance by matching transportation infrastructure with planning and zoning recommendations to the cities and the County. Recognizing that most of the larger employers and employment opportunities are in Southern Napa County, Napa’s Transportation Future will examine integrated land use/transportation planning opportunities in this area.
Examine reducing congestion and promotion of better air quality by providing alternatives to single-occupant vehicle trips.
Napa’s Transportation Future will study the role of:
Public Transit Ridesharing and Carpooling programs
Flex-time and work at home solutions
Infill development— building more housing in already developed areas, closer to jobs
Neighborhood and project designs that enable more walking and biking
Additional pedestrian and bicycle improvements to promote healthier travel to work and to school.
Car-free tourism programs
Minimize impacts on valuable habitat and productive farmland. Joint transportation and land use strategies can help protect Napa’s environmental and agricultural resources by promoting those development policies that reduce pressure on limited open space and agricultural land.
Explore creative solutions for critical goods movement. Napa’s agricultural character relies on the economic viability of the wine industry, which need dependable access to major transportation corridors to get Napa’s wine to the marketplace.
