Think about your last trip downtown. Maybe you took BART to dinner, walked to a concert, met a friend for coffee, or headed into the office. That's the future we need to build: downtowns that are busy and welcoming not just at 9 a.m. on a weekday, but throughout the day and into the evening. As Chair of the Assembly's Downtown Recovery Committee, I recently brought together transit, housing, and urban design leaders to discuss how we make that happen.

One thing became clear: our downtowns and our public transit systems need each other. We won't bring downtowns back if it's difficult to get there, and transit won't thrive if the places it serves are empty. That means more frequent and reliable transit, safer streets for walking and biking, and better connections between stations and the places people actually want to go. It also means building more homes near transit so more people can live close to the systems California has already invested billions to build.

I've also worked to make sure transit has the resources it needs to get through this difficult period. I co-authored the Connect Bay Area Act, which puts a regional funding measure on the November 2026 ballot that could provide roughly $1 billion annually for BART, Muni, Caltrain, and other transit systems. I've pushed for state bridge funding to help transit agencies avoid immediate fiscal cliffs and keep service running while we build a more sustainable long-term funding system. And through AB 2308, I'm helping keep major projects like the Salesforce Transit Center moving forward so San Francisco can become the true regional transit hub the entire Bay Area needs.

The old model of everyone commuting downtown in the morning and leaving at 5 p.m. is gone. That gives us a chance to build something better. I'm working with transit agencies, housing advocates, and local leaders to create downtowns that are places to live, work, eat, shop, gather, and have fun, and where getting around doesn't require a car. That's how we bring our downtowns back to life.

Sincerely,

Matt Haney
Assemblymember, 17th District