Thank you for supporting the Voigt Electric Mobility Hub. Please review the letter and scroll down to add your name as a co-signer.

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Secretary Pete Buttigieg
US Department of Transportation
1200 New Jersey Ave, SE
Washington, DC 20590

Dear Secretary Pete, 

We write today to voice our support for the Voigt Electric Mobility Hub, a candidate for US DOT funding in the RAISE, LoNo, and Bus & Bus Facilities discretionary grant programs. 

We were thrilled by the arrival of the Mid-Coast Trolley Extension on the UC San Diego campus. This extension of the regional light rail transit (LRT) system has the potential to be a transformational force, connecting citizens from throughout the San Diego region to opportunity at UC San Diego and in the broader "Golden Triangle" innovation district. To realize that potential, we need effective last-mile transit options that help make LRT a credible option for more citizens. The Voigt Electric Mobility Hub does just that by enabling fare free, electric last-mile transit from on-campus LRT stations to the myriad education, employment, healthcare, cultural and coastal resources on the UC San Diego campus. We hope US DOT will invest in those connections that will help our great public university be a true public resource, accessible to all regardless of age, income, or ability.

The Voigt Electric Mobility Hub doesn't stop at decarbonizing last-mile public transit - it helps decarbonize personal transportation as well. With 400 level two charging stations, the VEMH will make electric cars a credible options for the residents of University City's many multifamily housing complexes where home charging infrastructure is a rarity. 

The Voigt Electric Mobility Hub also electrifies shared mobility, with new electric bike and scooter rental hubs and charging stations, public electric car sharing, and shared electric fleet vehicles for university departments. Micromobility users, whether on shared or personal vehicles, will benefit from 1.25 additional miles of Class IV protected bikeway that joins UC San Diego's existing network of Class IV bikeways to connect two light rail stations, three hospitals, one charter school, and a host of educational, employment and cultural resources, along with secure enclosures for storing bikes and other micromobility devices.

The Voigt Electric Mobility Hub is an investment in environmental and social justice. It improves safety for free and accessible active transportation and provides fare-free and emission-free local transit with connections to an emission-free regional LRT system. The project directly improves conditions at the site (EJ Screen Demographic Score, 79th percentile) that is heavily impacted (EJ Screen toxic hazards index, 78th percentile; traffic proximity, 87th percentile, wastewater discharge, 95th percentile). Further, by solving the last-mile problem, it will shift trips to light rail and improve conditions throughout the highly impacted communities in the I-5 corridor south of the project site. In short, the VEMH delivers on US DOT's objective to reduce impacts for underserved, overburdened and disadvantaged communities. 

Finally, the Voigt Electric Mobility Hub tackles one of Southern California's most pressing problems − housing. The VEMH consolidates surface parking into a structured facility, enabling redevelopment for housing and supportive open space. The campus has redeveloped surface parking to create transit-adjacent, on-campus residences for more than 4,000 students in the last two years and will add residences for another 4,500 students on former parking facilities over the next three years. The VEMH releases the potential of that land to provide people with homes.

For all these reasons, we hope you will join us in supporting the Voigt Electric Mobility Hub and approve US DOT investment in this critical infrastructure.

Sincerely,