Executive Director's Report

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR STEVE HEMINGER’S REPORT TO THE
COMMISSION MEETING OF JUNE 27, 2012

SUMMARY OF EVENTS:

TRB Conference
Denver, May 24

At the invitation of conference co-host Alix Bockelman, I spoke on a Transportation Research Board (TRB) panel about MTC’s recent experience with performance-based project assessment in Plan Bay Area. A copy of my PowerPoint presentation can be found at www.mtc.ca.gov/meetings/presentations/.

Dumbarton Bridge Closure
May 26-29

The Memorial Day weekend closure of the Dumbarton Bridge for seismic retrofit work went off without a hitch, as Caltrans and contractor crews re-opened the bridge for the Tuesday morning commute a few hours early.

New High Speed Rail CEO
Sacramento, May 29

The California High Speed Rail Authority has hired former Caltrans director Jeff Morales as their new chief executive officer. For the last several years, Jeff has served as a senior vice president at the Parsons Brinckerhoff engineering firm. Congratulations to Jeff on this return engagement to California state government.

Mayhew Named CFO of the Year
San Francisco, May 31

Our very own Brian Mayhew was named Non-Public Company CFO of the year at the 7th annual awards ceremony benefitting Larkin Street Youth Services in San Francisco.

“Big 4” Meeting with Brian Kelly
Sacramento, June 5

At the invitation of Business, Transportation and Housing Agency Secretary Brian Kelly, I joined my executive counterparts at California’s four largest metropolitan planning organizations in a meeting to discuss ways in which the Brown Administration and State Legislature can partner with the regional agencies in implementing the Sustainable Communities Strategies that are being adopted pursuant to Senate Bill 375 (Steinberg).

CTC Endorses Proposition 1A Bond Allocations
Sacramento, June 8

In welcome news, California Transportation Commission (CTC) Executive Director Bimla Rhinehart briefed the California High Speed Rail Authority on the CTC’s plans to move forward to approve a revised Proposition 1A connectivity fund program that includes projects in the Bay Area and Southern California memoranda of understanding (MOU) for early investment in those respective regions. As you will recall, the Bay Area MOU calls for electrification and construction of positive train control technology in the Peninsula corridor between San Jose and San Francisco where high speed trains will share tracks with the popular Caltrain commuter service.

West Oakland BART Fire
June 14

A previously scheduled regional emergency preparedness exercise at MTC quickly transitioned to the real thing when an early morning fire at the West Oakland BART station halted Transbay rail service between Oakland and San Francisco for the morning commute and opening round of the U.S. Open golf championship at the Olympic Country Club. In cooperation with BART, Caltrans, and bus and ferry operators serving the Bay Bridge corridor, MTC staff was able to line up additional transit service as well as provide commuters with timely travel information through the 511 system. The 511 phone number saw a 100% increase in calls, while website usage increased by 400% over a typical weekday. [More info]

Presidio Parkway P3 Closes
San Francisco, June 18

The public-private partnership (P3) financing of the second phase of the Doyle Drive replacement project finally has closed after battling a lawsuit from the Caltrans engineers union and securing a last-minute infusion of public funding from MTC, Caltrans, and the San Francisco County Transportation Authority. The first phase of the project opened to traffic in April, and the second phase is scheduled for completion in 2015.

Commonwealth Club Presentation
San Francisco, June 22

I joined several of my colleagues on the Board of Trustees for the Mineta Transportation Institute at a panel discussion on federal, state, and local transportation issues at the Commonwealth Club. At the Institute’s annual banquet and convocation ceremonies at San Jose State University the following day, I assumed the office of Chairman of the Board of Trustees.

TIGER Grants Awarded
Washington, DC, June 22

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood announced that 47 transportation projects in 34 states will be awarded grants in the latest round of the TIGER program. Two Bay Area projects placed in the money: $15 million for the Port of Oakland intermodal rail project and $10 million for transportation improvements at the new UCSF Mission Bay campus.

TRB Conference
Irvine, June 24

At my second TRB conference in a month, I joined a panel discussion with several California and national colleagues about the future of the transportation industry in an age of rapidly changing population demographics.

Award-winning Interchange

The 880/92 interchange project – the last major capital improvement of the Regional Measure 1 toll bridge program – received a “Tranny” award last month as the Interchange of the Year in 2011. Congratulations especially to MTC’s Peter Lee who was our project leader throughout the lengthy construction period.

Map of the Month

This map illustrates the racial and ethnic diversity in the Bay Area from Census 2010. Racial diversity is measured by a diversity index that reflects the distribution of the proportion of five major ethnic populations (non-Hispanic White, non-Hispanic Black, Asian and Pacific Islander, Hispanic, and two or more races.) The index ranges from 0 (low diversity meaning only one group is present) to 1 (meaning an equal proportion of all five groups is present). The diversity score for the United States in 2010 is 0.60. The diversity score for the Bay Area is 0.84. Within the Bay Area, Solano (0.89) and Alameda (0.90) Counties are the most diverse and the remaining North Bay (0.55 – 0.64) Counties are the least diverse.

• Racial Diversity in 2010 (PDF)
  
  

MTC Operational Statistics

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

• MTC Operational Statistics (PDF)

Upcoming Events

June 28 — Doug Kimsey Retirement Party, MetroCenter
July 20 — Australian Transport Summit, Sydney