Executive Director's Report

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR STEVE HEMINGER’S REPORT TO THE
COMMISSION MEETING OF JUNE 24, 2009

SUMMARY OF EVENTS:

Transportation Forum
Vancouver, May 29-June 1

At the invitation of our counterpart regional planning agency in Vancouver – which oddly enough is named Translink – I presented our Bay Area story of self-help and toll financing at several different events to help that agency build the case for additional public investment in its infrastructure program.

RTAC Meeting
Oakland, June 3

At the latest monthly meeting of the Regional Targets Advisory Committee (RTAC), we discussed the possibility of recommending both a modeling-based regime as well as a checklist-type format for assessing progress against the CO2 targets that the California Air Resources Board must establish next year under SB 375 (Steinberg). I expect more discussion on that subject at our next meeting in Los Angeles on July 7th.

Contra Costa Mayors Conference
Orinda, June 4

At the invitation of Commissioner Worth, I addressed the regular meeting of the Contra Costa Mayor’s Conference on Transportation 2035. Commissioner Glover also attended the event.

MCAC Dinner
Oakland, June 9

Thanks to Commissioners Azumbrado, Giacopini, Glover, Halsted, Kinsey, and Worth for joining senior MTC staff at this annual event with our Minority Citizens Advisory Committee.

Federal Sustainable Communities Partnership
Washington DC, June 16

Three federal agencies – the U.S. Department of Transportation, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency – have established a new partnership with the avowed purpose of helping American families gain better access to affordable housing and more transportation options. While the exact nature and direction of this initiative is still unclear, the fact that the three agencies have established some common ground to pursue a joint agenda is encouraging.

State Budget Conference Committee
Sacramento, June 17

The Assembly-Senate budget conference committee has completed its work on the transportation provisions of the FY 2009-10 budget with unfortunate results. The conferees essentially accepted the governor’s proposal to shift approximately $1 billion in gas tax subvention revenues from local government and instead use those funds to pay debt service on general obligation transportation bonds. While the conference committee agreed only to a two-year version of the governor’s permanent proposal, we appear headed down this particular slippery slope nonetheless. The conference committee also ratified the governor’s proposal to divert another $300 million of public transit funds that had been made available by higher-than-estimated gasoline sales tax revenue.

Authorization Update
Washington DC, June 17-18

We will likely look back and mark the third week of June 2009 as the time when the battle for authorization of the next federal surface transportation program began in earnest with two major announcements. First, House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman James Oberstar released an 86-page summary of his bi-partisan authorizing legislation that he hopes to mark-up in committee beginning this week. I am particularly gratified to note that the summary (copies of which are at your desks today) reinforces many of the key themes in the final report of the National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission on which I served, including a major restructuring and refocusing of the federal program toward fewer policy areas of genuine national interest. The big unanswered question is how the Congress will pay for the $500 billion committee proposal, which would represent a nearly 75% increase over SAFETEA funding levels.

The other newsmaker last week was U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, who proposed an 18-month extension of current law past next year’s mid-term congressional elections, reflecting the Obama Administration’s belief that there is not sufficient time or political consensus to enact a major transportation reform bill before SAFETEA expires on September 30, 2009. Senator Barbara Boxer, Chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, quickly endorsed the notion of a lengthy extension of current law. Secretary LaHood also suggested that the extension legislation should include a limited number of policy reforms as well as a “patch” for the cash-poor Highway Trust Fund to enable SAFETEA funding levels to continue at least through FY 2010. We will present a more detailed briefing on these federal authorization developments at the Legislation Committee in July.

Public-Private Partnership Conference
New York, June 18-19

I participated in a panel discussion about the prospects for public-private partnership (P3) project opportunities in California in the wake of passage of Senate Bill 4 earlier this year.Two potential P3 projects in the Bay Area are Doyle Drive and the regional express lane network.

Grand Boulevard Forum
Redwood City, June 20

I was one of the keynote speakers at this forum sponsored by Joint Venture Silicon Valley, SamTrans, and VTA to focus attention on the revitalization and renewal of El Camino Real along almost the entire length of the San Francisco Peninsula.

Will Kempton Resigns
Sacramento, June 22

Caltrans Director Will Kempton has announced his resignation effective July 31st, and Governor Schwarzenegger responded quickly by appointing Chief Deputy Randy Iwasaki as the next Caltrans Director starting August 1st. Will is headed to southern California as the next CEO of the Orange County Transportation Authority. He has been a superb partner for our agency, including our difficult work together on the Toll Bridge Program Oversight Committee. We hope not to miss a beat with Randy taking the helm, since he is a former District 4 Director and MTC commissioner. I know you join me in wishing only the best for both men as they take on their new responsibilities.

Bay Area Partnership
Oakland, June 23

Major subjects of discussion at the regular meeting of the Bay Area Partnership were the forthcoming programming of federal flexible funding in the next authorization period and the Transit Sustainability Project launched by the Commission with the adoption of the Transportation 2035 Plan. Both these items also will make their appearance before the Programming and Allocations Committee in the coming months.

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). You will observe that the rate of obligation for federal transit funds has finally started to catch up to the highway program, but we still have only one contract awarded in the Bay Area due to the bundle of red tape tied around the ankles of the federal aid program.

• Bay Area ARRA Project Status | June 18, 2009 (PDF)
  
  

Map of the Month

The map of the month depicts a report currently being prepared by the Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC), “Living with a Rising Bay: Climate Change impacts on the San Francisco Bay and Adaptation Strategies.” The report highlights areas in the region vulnerable to sea level rise. The map of the month outlines the extent of the possible effects of sea level rise on existing and future transportation infrastructure by showing segments that exist or are being planned within vulnerable areas. Based upon this analysis, BCDC has found 671 miles of existing and 337 miles of future road, rail, air, and other infrastructure at risk of being affected by potential sea level rise.

• Shoreline Areas Vulnerable to Sea Level Rise: 2040 – 2060 (PDF)
  
  

MTC Operational Statistics

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

• MTC Operational Statistics (PDF)
  
  

Upcoming Events

June 27 — Mineta Transportation Institute Board Meeting, San Jose
July 1 — CTC Presentation on SB 375, Sacramento
July 7 — Regional Targets Advisory Committee, Los Angeles
July 17 — Joint Policy Committee, Oakland