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Executive Director's Report

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR STEVE HEMINGER’S REPORT TO THE
COMMISSION MEETING OF DECEMBER 15, 2010

SUMMARY OF EVENTS:

Proposition 84 Grant Recommendations
Sacramento, November 23

The Strategic Growth Council staff recommendations have been released for 2010 funding awards, and MTC/ABAG have been proposed for $1 million in funding to help develop the Bay Area’s Sustainable Communities Strategy. In addition to the positive news on our regional funding application, the following local jurisdictions have been proposed for funding: Concord ($860,000), Richmond ($895,000), San Francisco ($630,000), and South San Francisco ($320,000).

CTC Master Plan
Los Angeles, December 1

Together with our regional counterparts from throughout the state, we are participating in a planning effort led by the California Transportation Commission (CTC) that is attempting to document the unfunded needs to operate, maintain, manage, and expand the state’s various transportation modes. This so-called “master plan” is intended to assist our California Congressional Delegation in the forthcoming new authorization of the federal surface transportation program (whenever that might occur), as well as the incoming Brown Administration as it formulates new transportation policies in Sacramento. We hope to complete the work – which largely will be based on the various regional transportation plans such as our Transportation 2035 – by Spring 2011.

First HSR Segment Selected
Sacramento, December 2

To commence construction of the statewide system, the California High Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) has selected a 65-mile segment in the Central Valley that would start near Madera, include the construction of two new stations in downtown Fresno and east of Hanford, and continue south to Corcoran. Touted by the CHSRA as “a critical portion of track in the heart of the Central Valley” and derided by critics as “a train to nowhere”, the initial segment is projected to cost about $4.2 billion and cannot begin construction until environmental reviews are complete in late 2011.

Transit Sustainability Project Steering Committee
Oakland, December 3

The bi-monthly meeting of this committee reviewed information developed by the project’s consultants on the financial impact of various fringe benefits and work rules of the region’s major transit operators. At its meeting in January 2011, we hope to wrap up this committee’s work on the financial aspects of the Transit Sustainability Project, and thereafter turn to the second element of the work program related to service delivery. The third element on institutional issues will be covered in late 2011 and early 2012.

SMART Project Review
Santa Rosa, December 15

Alix Bockelman is appearing before the Board of Directors of the Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) District to present the results of an expedited, high-level review of the SMART project and its financial plan that MTC staff has conducted, with a special focus on the proposal to construct an initial operating segment that is less extensive than the full project as originally envisioned. Commissioner Mackenzie is absent today because he is a member of the SMART board and is present at their meeting instead. A copy of our staff report is at your places today.

Map of the Month

The map of the month depicts some recent research conducted by the Brookings Institution and London School of Economics about how the world’s 150 largest metropolitan economies have fared during the “Great Recession.” Although the plethora of colors and circles on the map are a bit confusing, the basic message is that the metro regions in the U.S. and Europe took the brunt of the economic downtown, while those in Asia and other developing countries weathered the storm in much better shape.


MTC Operational Statistics

The monthly report on the performance of MTC’s operating programs:


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