Jobs are the reason for traffic congestion, not housing

By Cesar Lagleva

Marin IJ – POSTED: 05/02/16, 11:57 AM PDT

Inching along on Highways 101 or 580, or Sir Francis Drake Boulevard instead of working or relaxing at home, is incredibly frustrating. Idling engines belch pollutants and greenhouse gases.

Would adding housing options in Marin generate more traffic? Does affordable housing benefit local workers?

Traffic, employment and housing data tell the story.

The Marin Environmental Housing Collaborative believes that imbalance between Marin jobs and Marin housing is a main cause of our traffic congestion, and that more affordable workforce housing will actually reduce traffic.

According to the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, the average commute for Marin residents increased from 27 minutes in 2010 to 33 minutes in 2014, with many well beyond the dreaded 30-minute mark.

Marin’s increasing congestion tracks with job growth and commute patterns.

In late 2010, when our local economy began to recover from the Great Recession, there were 101,475 jobs in Marin. Sixty-one thousand of those workers commuted into Marin. By 2014, there were another 7,000 jobs and in-commuters had increased by 6,000.

In other words, 86 percent of new post-recession jobs are held by people who have to commute in from other counties.

Commute patterns have a lot to do with our notorious freeway choke points. More than 10,000 Marin workers commute from Petaluma, Rohnert Park or Santa Rosa, contributing to the daily southbound crawl on 101 from Rowland Boulevard in Novato to San Rafael’s Lincoln Avenue.

More than 5,200 workers going home to Oakland and Richmond are part of the evening struggle on 101 northbound, 580 and Sir Francis Drake.

Why is this happening?

Despite our significant job growth, from 2008 to 2015, Marin added fewer than 1,500 housing units, almost all relatively high-priced single-family detached homes. That’s an annual growth rate of 2/10ths of 1 percent, the lowest in the Bay Area.

Obviously, this miniscule number of new homes is not causing our traffic jams. That’s why MEHC says housing doesn’t create traffic; adding jobs without housing does.

In 2014, more than half of Marin’s jobs paid less than $40,000 per year. The service sector is the largest and fastest growing niche in our economy, employing people in low-wage service jobs such as retail clerks, baristas and food servers, house cleaners, caregivers and landscape and maintenance staff. These needed workers are on the road because they can’t afford to live here.

Affordable workforce housing can be part of the traffic solution.

In 2009, the county surveyed all of the affordable housing in Marin and found that less than 10 percent of working residents worked outside Marin. Workforce housing, especially when it’s close to jobs and transit, takes traffic off our freeways and shortens commute times.

We have ample opportunities to make a difference.

Corte Madera is courting a proposal to build a 53,000-square-foot expansion for Restoration Hardware at the Village Shopping Center, a project that will generate at least 100 new retail jobs. The town’s General Plan includes policies that encourage workforce housing at The Village.

The Town Council should follow through on this promise.

Larkspur has wisely designated Bon Air Center for mixed-use affordable housing. This, too, should be encouraged.

Most of Marinwood Plaza will soon be demolished as part of a toxic waste cleanup, providing an opportunity to build. Affordable housing at the Plaza — required by the Countywide Plan — would create badly needed homes for local workers, including Dixie School District teachers and staff and Marinwood Market employees.

The towns, cities and the county must work to balance housing and job growth. Economic prospects are good for Marin; we know more jobs are coming. We could act to positively address our affordable housing needs. Or, we could continue to oppose virtually all new housing proposals, particularly those intended to serve our own workforce, and make our traffic worse.

Cesar Lagleva is a member of the Marin Environmental Housing Collaborative.