In a 15-minute neighborhood, Petalumans can accomplish the tasks of daily life quickly, without needing a car. These tasks might include buying a missing ingredient for dinner, walking a child to a play date, or catching a bus to a job.

In 2020 Petaluma was one of eight cities nationwide to win a Sustainable Design Assessment Team (SDAT) grant from the American Institute of Architects (AIA) to help transform our city into 15-minute neighborhoods and living streets.

In early August, the American Institute of Architects will visit Petaluma to help our town formulate a plan for creating 15-minute neighborhoods. Veronica Olsen and others of the local organizing committee will explain how this visit came to be, why it's important to meet our ambitious goal of carbon neutrality by 2030, how it will be conducted, and what the result will be.

SMART General Manager, Eddy Cumins, will join us to discuss the future of SMART, what we can expect of the service in Petaluma, and what we can do to ensure the success of passenger rail in Sonoma and Marin counties.

Tune in to learn:

• What SMART ridership looks like post-COVID

• What changes are being implemented today and what changes are just around the corner to improve the SMART experience for riders

• How SMART is looking to address the first mile and last mile opportunities -- how to get you from the station to your final destination

• Updates on the pathway in Petaluma and the Petaluma North station

• How freight transport fits into SMART service

• How SMART is planning for the future

Mike McGinn, America Walks Executive Director, will join us for a discussion of walkability and what we can do to improve our streets and neighborhoods for greater mobility. America Walks is a leading national nonprofit that advances safe, equitable, accessible, and enjoyable places to walk and move by giving people and communities the resources to effectively advocate for change.

Leah Shahum, Founder & Director of the Vision Zero Network, will join us for a discussion of the policies that can be implemented and the actions that can be taken to reduce pedestrian and bicycles deaths to zero and improve road safety for all of us. Come learn what strategies have worked in cities across the country.

In this book tour presentation, Marohn demonstrates how the values of engineers and other transportation professionals are applied in the design process, and how those priorities differ from the values of the general public.

What would it look like to prioritize people over cars with new development?

Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) is the average vehicle miles that a household will cover in a day. It's very dependent on the neighborhood in which you live. The higher your VMT, the more likely your community is built on sprawl.

Ever wonder what a woonerf is? What constitutes a "complete street"? Want to bike from your house to the grocery store safely?

Active transportation encompasses all travel by foot, bicycle, and other non-motorized vehicles. Active Transportation might even include using public transit because getting from one destination to another often involves some walking or cycling at either end of our travels. What are some of the approaches we could take to build a complete Active Transportation network in Petaluma?