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Executive Director's Report

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR STEVE HEMINGER’S REPORT TO THE
COMMISSION MEETING OF SEPTEMBER 28, 2011

SUMMARY OF EVENTS:

Last Bay Bridge Steel Shipment
Oakland, August 28

The last major shipment of steel deck sections for the new suspended portion of the new east span arrived from Shanghai in late August. Our contractor American Bridge/Fluor (ABF) installed the first of the four deck sections last week. In another very visible milestone, ABF also has completed installation of the four construction catwalks that will be used to erect the main cable of the suspension span. The cable work itself is scheduled to begin in earnest early next year.

Asilomar Conference on Climate Change
Monterey, August 31

I was invited to speak at this annual conference sponsored by UC Davis about the impact of climate change on the rising levels of San Francisco Bay.

APEC Conference
San Francisco, September 13

I spoke at this conference of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum at the request of the office of U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu on the challenge of adopting a sustainable community strategy in the Bay Area.

State Senate Interim Hearing
San Jose, September 13

I testified before an interim hearing of the State Senate Transportation and Housing Committee on Assembly Bill 57, the legislation we have sponsored to add two seats to the commission representing the mayors of San Jose and Oakland. The hearing felt very much like “old home week” since the session was chaired by one former MTC commissioner (Senator Mark DeSaulnier) and he was joined at the dais by another former MTC commissioner who authored the bill (Assemblyman Jim Beall). Senator DeSaulnier plans to hold another two hearings on November 10 in San Francisco and December 1 in Oakland to discuss the subject of “regionalism” in the Bay Area.

CTC Meeting, Petaluma
September 14-15

I made three separate presentations before the California Transportation Commission (CTC) on the Bay Area Toll Authority, Plan Bay Area, and MTC’s application for authority to expand the region’s network of express lanes that is before you for action today. If you approve submission of the application, the CTC is scheduled to act on the application at its October meeting.

Obama Signs SAFETEA Extension
Washington, DC, September 16

President Obama has signed into law the 8th extension of the current federal surface transportation program authorizing legislation that expired two years. We are now four extensions shy of the record 12 extensions that preceded enactment of SAFETEA itself in 2009. This latest extension is for six months until March 2012. Whether the prospects for a long-term authorization bill improve during a Presidential election year is anybody’s guess. One encouraging recent development comes from House Transportation Committee Chairman John Mica, who is reportedly looking for additional revenue to supplement the meager receipts in the Highway Trust Fund to avoid a steep reduction from baseline funding levels in his authorizing bill.

Title VI Compliance Review
Oakland, September 19-21

Officials from Federal Transit Administration (FTA) headquarters were in town last week to conduct a compliance review of MTC’s procedures and practices for implementing Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. We expect to receive a draft report of their findings within the next few months.

CARB Hearing on San Diego SCS
Sacramento, September 22

I testified before the California Air Resources Board (CARB) at an informational hearing on the first Sustainable Community Strategy (SCS) to be considered for adoption by the San Diego Association of Governments next month. Due to the different planning cycles in California’s metropolitan areas, San Diego is first out of the starting gate for SB 375 implementation, to be followed by Los Angeles and Sacramento in Spring 2012, with the Bay Area bringing up the rear in Spring 2013.

Map of the Month

This chart compares support for transportation measures among Bay Area voters with voters statewide. It confirms what many of us already suspect, namely that our region’s voters are more willing to tax themselves to support transportation. The gap between the Bay Area and the state average is most noticeable with respect to rail improvements financed by general obligation bonds. The greatest gap occurred in November 2008, when 62 percent of Bay Area voters supported Proposition 1A, the high-speed rail bond, versus only 53 percent statewide. On the other hand, Bay Area voters are less supportive than the average Californian towards measures aimed at protecting local and state transportation funding from being diverted to other purposes.


MTC Operational Statistics

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


Upcoming Events

October 16-19 — Rail-Volution Conference, Washington, DC
October 21 — Silicon Valley Structures Conference, San Jose
October 25-28 — AMPO Annual Meeting, Dallas

Executive Director's Previous Reports