Dr. Adonia Lugo, a commissioner on the California Transportation Commission and researcher at the UCLA Institute for Transportation Studies, urged attendees at a Transportation Commission symposium to expand how active‑transportation projects are funded and to better account for the jobs such investments create.

Lugo said the commission has limited authority to reshape projects submitted by regional agencies and Caltrans districts, but that commissioners can use their public platform to ask questions and promote different investment narratives. "We have a public platform. We have the dais. We can ask questions," she said, arguing that those levers can shift projects’ direction.

The commissioner described competing narratives about what infrastructure purchases accomplish: some advocates emphasize behavior change and reduced vehicle miles traveled for environmental and safety benefits; labor and construction proponents emphasize immediate job creation and worker livelihoods. "We're buying a bunch of jobs," Lugo said, describing a perspective she has encountered at the commission. "Sometimes it's easier to get a yes on a $100,000,000 than on $80,000." She urged advocates to present large, clear alternatives rather than only asking projects to be defunded.

Lugo framed much of her talk around ‘‘human infrastructure’’ — the non‑infrastructure elements she said are essential to successful active‑transportation outcomes. She defined those elements as both the everyday people who occupy streets and the networks of planners, advocates and community groups who translate ideas into projects. Examples of non‑infrastructure activities include safe‑routes‑to‑school education, bike rodeos, enforcement strategies and e‑bike lending libraries. She said those elements are often funded through the Active Transportation Program (ATP) but remain underfunded because ATP is oversubscribed.

To better understand job impacts from active‑transportation investments, Lugo announced a new SB 1‑sponsored research project at UCLA in partnership with the UCLA Labor Center. The study will seek to classify jobs tied to street safety improvements using a Safe Systems framework and to explore how High Road Training Partnership (HRTP) models apply to active‑transportation work. "We want to get to some kind of working way of being able to provide a snapshot of what kind of job effects street safety improvements create," she said.

Lugo also described a justice‑oriented framework developed by People for Mobility Justice — the "5 Ds": decolonize, decongest, decriminalize, dignify and determination — which she said reframes active‑transportation work away from narrow engineering or advocacy silos and toward community voice and equity.

She offered three practical recommendations to practitioners and agencies: invite commissioners to site visits so they can see local projects and the jobs they generate; explore ways for other, better‑resourced funding programs at the state level to pay for non‑infrastructure elements; and ask for larger, bolder project funding when appropriate. She said ATP staff provide technical assistance and that local project teams should use ATP and CTC staff as coordination points when arranging visits or clarifying program rules.

During the Q&A, attendees raised multiple topics: a Visalia resident criticized the performance of a private transit operator and raised labor shortages; an online question asked whether biking and walking instruction can be integrated into every California school, to which Lugo suggested the commission request a briefing from the Department of Education and include Caltrans and agency staff in follow‑up discussions; and disability advocates asked how the Americans with Disabilities Act factors into decisions, to which Lugo replied that ADA implementation remains insufficient.

Other audience exchanges covered whether active‑transportation jobs differ from highway construction jobs, small jurisdictions’ capacity to assemble large grant applications, the state’s technical assistance offerings, and a possible statewide road‑charging policy under discussion in research circles. Lugo said research on job types and hiring practices is ongoing and that union hiring structures and local‑hire expectations are areas the study will examine.

Lugo closed by reiterating that the active‑transportation movement should be more ambitious in its requests and more explicit about alternative investments to highway funding. She encouraged continued engagement with commissioners and staff to build shared evidence and relationships.

Sources: remarks by Dr. Adonia Lugo at a Transportation Commission symposium keynote and audience Q&A; referenced programs and policies include the Active Transportation Program (ATP), SB 1, Safe Systems/Vision 0, People for Mobility Justice, Caltrans, and High Road Training Partnership models.