Californians: The Environmental Choice Is NO on Prop 6

On November 6, voters have an opportunity to choose a cleaner and healthier future for our state. Proposition 6 is a harmful proposal that would eliminate billions of dollars in transportation funding that is currently supporting public transportation and being invested in critical repairs to our bridges and roads.

Providing accessible, affordable transit, and safe walking and biking are critical to reducing climate pollution and improving air quality. We risk falling short of our state climate goals if Prop 6 passes and investments in public transportation and mobility are eliminated.

NRDC recommends that Californians vote NO on Prop 6—and we’re not alone.

More than 550 organizations including environmental, public health, social justice, public safety, business, and labor groups, as well as local governments all oppose Prop 6.

California finally has a plan to fix its deteriorating transportation infrastructure after decades of neglect, and to give Californians more ways to opt out of traffic through investments in bus, rail, biking and walking.

Prop 6 would slam the brakes on that plan. The devastating measure would eliminate more than $5 billion per year in funding statewide—money that is dedicated by law to transportation improvements and that cannot be diverted by the Legislature for other purposes.

Thanks to new state transportation funding, 6,500 projects are currently underway in California—from increasing bridge and road safety, to new clean buses and sidewalk repair.

Los Angeles County alone stands to lose $4.4 billion over the next ten years should Prop 6 pass—money that would otherwise be spent on 685 projects to fix roads, highways and bridges, on bike and pedestrian improvements and on accelerating transit projects—including six major rail lines to all corners of LA County scheduled to open by 2028.

Moreover, Prop 6 will kill 68,000 good paying jobs that would boost local economies as more workers invest in their neighborhoods, shop in local stores, and pay taxes.

We all suffer from bad roads, long commutes, unsafe sidewalks, and underfunded transit. Bad roads damage cars and trucks, and that means expensive repairs such as new tires, shocks and front-end alignments. The average Californian is already spending more than $700 a year on vehicle maintenance as a result of bad roads. And bumpy streets degrade the appeal of biking and taking transit.

Let’s give the green light to safe and accessible transportation.

Read more about why Prop 6 is bad for the environment here.

When you go to the polls or vote by mail this election, please join NRDC in voting NO on Prop 6.

See NRDC’s other California ballot recommendations here.