Executive Director's Report

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR STEVE HEMINGER’S REPORT TO THE
COMMISSION MEETING OF MAY 27, 2009

SUMMARY OF EVENTS:

SAFETEA Commission Reunion
Washington DC, April 23-24

I joined my former colleagues on the National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission in Washington for meetings with congressional and administration officials in our continuing advocacy for “a new beginning” for the federal surface transportation program that expires on September 30, 2009. It appears increasingly unlikely that the Congress will enact a new authorization by that date, which means an extension of current law will be necessary.

Senate Commerce Committee Hearing,
Washington DC, April 28

I returned to Washington at the invitation of the Senate Commerce Committee to present testimony on the challenges of surface transportation authorization. Former MTC staffer James Corless, who now directs the Transportation for America coalition, joined me on the panel.

Advocacy Visits
Sacramento, April 29

Several commissioners and senior MTC staff journeyed to Sacramento to brief our Assembly and Senate delegations on key transportation issues during the current session, including two MTC-sponsored bills: AB 744 (Torrico) to authorize a Bay Area Express Lane Network and AB 1175 (Torlakson) to include the Dumbarton and Antioch bridges into the Toll Bridge Seismic Retrofit Program. Thanks to Randy Rentschler and his staff for arranging the visits.

Climate Change Summit,
Oakland, May 4

I joined several commissioners and MTC staff at this 2nd summit on climate change sponsored by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District. I made brief remarks at the event about the upcoming work of the Joint Policy Committee in implementing SB 375 (Steinberg).

Regional Targets Advisory Committee,
Sacramento, May 5

At the monthly meeting of CARB’s Regional Targets Advisory Committee (RTAC), the committee did some straw balloting on the question of what form the greenhouse gas emission targets required by SB 375 should take. Based on the preliminary consensus of the group, it appears we are headed toward recommending targets that would be expressed as a percentage reduction in the horizon year from base year conditions (i.e. by 2040, reduce CO2 emissions by 5% from 2010 levels). The committee did not reach consensus on a related key question, however, and that is whether the targets should be uniform throughout the state or should be customized for each MPO. We will continue discussion of this latter issue at our meeting in June.

Senate Transportation and Housing Committee Hearing
Sacramento, May 5

While in Sacramento for the RTAC meeting, I also testified later that day before the Senate Transportation Committee on the Bay Area’s experience implementing Intelligent Transportation Systems such as 511, TransLink, and the Freeway Performance Initiative.

Rough Roads Report Released,
Washington DC, May 8

The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) has released its annual report which estimates that motorists living in large urban areas are paying upwards of $750 more per year in added maintenance and fuel costs caused by poor road conditions. The report contained a ranking of the worst road conditions by urban area in which the top three spots were occupied by regions in California: Los Angeles, San Jose, and San Francisco-Oakland.

BAAQMD Advisory Council

San Francisco, May 13

I missed the Wednesday MTC committee meetings this month because of an invitation to appear before the Bay Area Air Quality Management District’s Advisory Council to participate in a panel discussion on climate change. I shared the panel with UC Davis Professor Dan Sperling, one of Commissioner Yeager’s colleagues on the California Air Resources Board.

Obama Announces Fuel Economy Standards
Washington DC, May 19

President Obama announced new national automobile emission requirements patterned after California’s so-called “Pavley standards” that will take effect with the 2012 model year and ultimately require an average fuel economy standard for automakers of 35 miles per gallon by 2016 for vehicles sold in the United States.

Budget Blues

The budget news from both our state and national capitals could hardly be worse. In Sacramento, the governor and state legislators are dealing with a $21 billion deficit forecast through FY 2009-10 in the aftermath of the voters resounding rejection of five budget-related ballot measures at the May 19th special election. The governor’s May budget revision (released a few days before the election) disclosed that there is an additional $336 million in public transit “spillover” revenue than was earlier estimated, but proposes to divert it all to pay the General Fund debt service expense for transit bond measures previously approved by the voters.

In Washington, President Obama has released details of his $73 billion FY 2010 budget proposal for the U.S. Department of Transportation. Due to declining balances in the Highway Trust Fund (HTF), the budget proposes a massive shift of General Fund budget resources to keep the highway and transit programs whole. In FY 2009, HTF budget authority accounted for about 70% of total U.S. DOT spending. In the President’s FY 2010 proposal, HTF support would drop to only 15% of the total. Following release of the budget, U.S. DOT officials also disclosed that the HTF is likely to run out of funds to pay ongoing expenses before the end of the current fiscal year on September 30th. It appears that another General Fund infusion of at least $15 billion might be needed to keep the HTF solvent enough to pay for expected expenses through the end of FY 2010.

ARRA Status Report

For the next several months, I will be presenting information updating the status of fund obligation and contract award for projects funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

• Bay Area ARRA Project Status | May 26, 2009 (PDF)

Map of the Month

The most recent publication of Bay Nature magazine features this updated Transit to Trails map of the San Francisco Bay Area. The map promotes the use of the 511 Transit Trip Planner’s ability to locate outdoor recreational opportunities that exist in the Bay Area region, by highlighting several bay area parks, beaches, and trails that are accessible by public transit.

• Transit to Trails (PDF)

Monthly Operational Statistics

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

• MTC Operational Statistics (PDF)
  
  

Upcoming Events

May 29-June 1 — Transportation Forum, Vancouver
June 9 — MCAC Dinner, Oakland
June 18-19 — Public-Private Partnership Conference, New York
June 23 — Bay Area Partnership, Oakland