Welcome to Monitor Notes, a weekly roundup of news items, event announcements, and updates on past Bay Area Monitor articles.
Keep Track of Caltrain
With Caltrain facing a possible shutdown, transportation advocates are organizing a Friday, May 22 noon webinar to discuss the commuter rail operator’s future. They want to hash out ideas to restore the system so it’s better for riders. Caltrain, heavily dependent on fare box revenue, has seen ticket sales plummet 95 percent since March, according to a May 6 board presentation. It also noted that staff has begun an “intensive scenario planning effort,” in addition to existing work on ongoing electrification of the railroad. Panelists from Friends of Caltrain, Seamless Bay Area, and Caltrain’s Director of Policy Development Sebastian Petty will share ways the rail operator can become more equitable and connected, goals the Monitor wrote about in a recent piece about the future of Bay Area transportation.
The Role of Insurance in the Climate Fight
Nonprofit organization Climate Resolve is hosting a series of “Insurance 101” classes every Tuesday in June from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. to teach liability and insurance basics and their relationship to climate change. The virtual five-week series, led by environmental and pollution risk specialist Wendy Nystrom, begins June 2. After covering the basics, the classes delve into why the insurance industry is ripe for change. One of the classes will examine how the industry addresses — or fails to address — wildfire, flood, and extreme heat. So could insurance be useful in the fight against climate change? Click here for a syllabus to learn more and register.
Creeks for Adoption
While organized clean-up events are cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, there are still several ways to help our local environment. Valley Water is encouraging residents to “adopt a creek” and pick up trash from the 275 miles of creek the water agency owns in Santa Clara County. Volunteers monitor trash in their adopted creek segments and commit to at least two cleanups a year. Read more about the program, requirements, and commitment here. Stewardship runs deep in the Bay Area, with some residents adopting storm drains, too, to prevent clogs and flooding when it rains.
Hazard an Opinion
Is there a pothole or busted traffic signal in your neighborhood that’s affecting your bike route? Join the folks at Bike East Bay on May 27 from 7 to 8 p.m. for a hazard reporting workshop. They’ll share resources and tips to help you send effective reports and get issues in your neighborhood fixed. That includes identifying routine maintenance issues versus an infrastructure request. May marks Bike Month, an occasion with new meaning this year. The field of riders is not only on open space trails, but also taking on newly designated slow streets that are showing their staying power.
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