Executive Director's Report

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR STEVE HEMINGER’S REPORT TO THE
COMMISSION MEETING OF MARCH 26, 2008

Bay Area Partnership
Oakland, February 29

At the most recent Partnership Board meeting, the primary topic of conversation was the proposed quantitative and qualitative evaluation process for assessing projects to be included in the financially constrained portion of the Transportation 2035 Plan.

Keston Institute Conference
Sacramento, March 6

I addressed this statewide conference on the subject of public/private partnerships by describing the role that we play as the Bay Area Toll Authority (BATA) in the toll bridge construction program.

APTA Legislative Conference
Washington DC, March 10-12

Thanks to Tom Bulger, Randy Rentschler, Ellen Griffin, and Rosy Leyva for organizing our successful 29th annual visit to Capitol Hill during the legislative conference of the American Public Transportation Association (APTA). While in town, I made four presentations to various groups about the report of the National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission: at the APTA meeting, the California Institute, the National League of Cities legislative conference, and a special House leadership briefing organized by Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

CTC Releases Trade Corridor Project Recommendations
Sacramento, March 10

Staff of the California Transportation Commission (CTC) released their recommendations for funding from the $2 billion Trade Corridors Improvement Fund (TCIF) created by Proposition 1B. The Northern California program proposed by MTC and our partners in the Sacramento and Central Valleys fared quite well, with $825 million of our $956 million TCIF request proposed for funding. The CTC is scheduled to act on the staff recommendations at their meeting on April 9-10 in Sacramento. Kudos go to Therese McMillan and Carolyn Clevenger for organizing a cohesive and successful Northern California coalition.

Golden Gate Bridge District Acts on UPP Grant
San Francisco, March 14

The Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District Board of Directors approved a resolution that beat the March 31st deadline in our $159 million federal Urban Partnership Program (UPP) grant by expressing its intent to implement a congestion pricing component in the proposed toll hike scheduled for action later this summer. On the subject of the related Doyle Drive replacement project, the resolution also expressed the Bridge District’s support for replacing the structure “as an urgent public safety priority” and pledged the Bridge District’s cooperation in completing a comprehensive funding review “of all potential funding sources for the Doyle Drive reconstruction project by July 1, 2008.” Unfortunately, the resolution also was amended on a 10-8 vote at the Board of Directors meeting to oppose the use of the proceeds from the congestion pricing toll component for the Doyle Drive project. As reported from committee on a 13-0 vote the day before, the resolution had left that question unresolved.

World Congress on High Speed Rail
Amsterdam, March 17-19

At the invitation of the California High Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA), I attended the 6th annual World Congress on High Speed Rail sponsored by the International Union of Railways. Most of the high-speed rail systems in the world are concentrated in the nations of France, Germany, Spain, and Japan, but I learned at the conference that the fraternity is rapidly expanding to include nations as diverse as China, Russia, Turkey, and Iran. Due to his illness, I pinch-hit for CHSRA executive director Mehdi Morshed in a panel session to discuss California’s plans for a high-speed rail ballot measure in November 2008.

Intermodal Planning Group
Oakland, March 25

We hosted the annual meeting of federal and state transportation officials to review MTC and ABAG’s proposed overall work program for FY 2008-09.

2007 Annual Report

At your places is our handsome annual report for the past fiscal year, which features eye-popping photographs of several of our major accomplishments, many achieved in partnership with Caltrans such as the MacArthur Maze recovery, the Labor Day weekend replacement of a section of the east span of the Bay Bridge, and the long-awaited opening of the new Congressman George Miller Bridge on Interstate 680 across the Carquinez Straits. Brenda Kahn, Joe Curley, and our design team deserve great credit for turning out such high-quality documents year after year. If you’d like additional copies for use in your own communities, just let us know.

Map of the Month

The map of the month depicts several county-wide self-help sales tax measures in the Bay Area and in two surrounding counties. Expenditures are categorized by four spending groups based on mode of travel:

1. Public transit, including both fixed routes and paratransit;
2. Highway and street improvements;
3. Local streets and roads, rehabilitation; and
4. Miscellaneous, including all other projects such as Transportation for Livable Communities, Pedestrian and Bicycle, Safe Routes to School, etc.
   

The surrounding counties of San Joaquin and Sacramento are included for reference and comparison purposes, although they are not within MTC’s jurisdiction.

• Half-Cent Self-Help County Sales Tax Expenditures by Mode (PDF)

MTC Operational Statistics

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

• MTC Operational Statistics (PDF)

Upcoming Events

April 2 — House Appropriations Committee Testimony, Washington DC

April 7 — James L. Oberstar Forum, Minneapolis

April 10-11 — CALCOG Issues Forum, Monterey

April 22 — Senate Commerce Committee Testimony, Washington DC