Through a $230,500 Planning and Capacity Building Grant from the Sustainable Transportation Equity Project (STEP) from California Climate Investments. Omnitrans is working with several partners to develop a community-driven transportation plan for the public transportation system in the San Bernardino Valley. Omnitrans is the public transportation provider for the San Bernardino Valley region. The ConnecTransit Plan will identify and prioritize clean transportation improvements that address hurdles to equity and access within the Omnitrans service area and that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The ConnecTransit Plan will provide a blueprint for future implementation projects for which Omnitrans will seek grant funds.
Two community-based organizations, El Sol Neighborhood Education Center and Arrowhead United Way, have led the team’s community engagement efforts to ensure the resulting plan is driven by community needs, including the needs of disadvantaged and hard-to-reach communities. The team has conducted two surveys, four focus groups (two in English and two in Spanish), and in-person outreach, reaching a total of over 2,000 residents. A Community Advisory Council of five residents who live in various locations throughout Omnitrans’ service area has also provided input through the planning process. A pop-up outreach event will be held in January 2023, and local artists are being hired to create public bus bench art at the event, to further engage community residents to provide input on the ConnecTransit Plan.
One artist who submitted a proposal to do bench artwork painting for the pop-up event for the ConnecTransit Plan said, “I enjoy reading about the efforts shown in ConnecTransit Plan to address the needs of communities to create a sustainable and equitable transportation system. I feel that the bus bench art pop up event is one that is unique and interesting and an event I haven’t seen anywhere else. I was especially excited to learn that Omnitrans is expanding art to more benches throughout the IE [El Sol Neighborhood]. I understand how important bus services are and admire Omnitrans’ continuous outreach to the communities you serve.”