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For Immediate Release

MTC Honors "Shining Stars" at 24th Annual Awards Ceremony

Contacts:

Catalina Alvarado
510.817.5783

Reka Goode
510.464.7706

OAKLAND, Calif., Oct. 24, 2000... The Metropolitan Transportation Commission will honor a group of programs, organizations and individuals from around the Bay Region on Wednesday, Oct. 25, at the Commission's annual awards ceremony. The winners have been shining stars in promoting smart transit usage and keeping the Bay Area moving over the last year. The awards ceremony will begin at 9 a.m. in the MetroCenter Auditorium, located at
101 Eighth Street, Oakland.

"This awards program, now in its 24th year, has become an institution in Bay Area transportation," said MTC Executive Director Lawrence D. Dahms. "It is important to show that good ideas and hard work can make a difference."

The Grand Award this year will go to the Transit-Oriented Development Incentive Program, created by the City and County Association of Governments of San Mateo County. This initiative encourages municipalities to locate residential projects within a 1/3 mile radius of BART and Caltrain stations by offering them a financial incentive. Housing constructed in proximity to transit stations and providing at least 40 units per acre earns the community in which it is located up to $2,000 per bedroom in additional funding for transportation projects.

Congresswoman Ellen Tauscher is this year's recipient of the John F. Foran Legislative Award, which recognizes a legislator whose work has had a positive impact on transportation. Congresswoman Tauscher represents the 10th Congressional District in the East Bay, and has been a strong voice for the Bay Area on the House Transportation Committee. She has fought to protect the ability of local officials to make the best transportation investment decisions for their own communities, and was instrumental in delivering critical federal funding for the region's rail expansion program, which has produced new rail service in the East Bay and the Silicon Valley.
This year's Doris W. Kahn Accessible Transportation Award will go to Miriam Gholikely. A Daly City resident, Gholikely has been at the forefront of transit advocacy in the Bay Area and the nation for nearly three decades.

Caltrans Chief Deputy Director James Roberts will receive the Greta Ericson Distinguished Service Award for career achievements in transportation. Roberts is an internationally known expert on seismic design and engineering, who oversaw the seismic retrofit of some 2,000 California highway bridges.

The Special Employee Award will go to Stan Hull, a bus operator for the Central Contra Costa Transit Authority who has consistently earned high praise from riders and his employer.

Awards of Merit will be presented to the following winners:

  • AC Transit, UC Berkeley, the city of Berkeley, the Associated Students of the University of California and the Graduate Assembly will share honors for implementing the Class Pass, which gives Cal students unlimited access to AC Transit's bus service for a per-semester fee.
  • Go Geronimo, an innovative rideshare program in west Marin County, is recognized for bringing transportation alternatives to a low-density rural community.
  • Outreach Inc., Santa Clara County's paratransit provider, will be honored for its unique Guaranteed Ride Program, which provides emergency or transitional transportation for the county's welfare-to-work participants and their children.
  • Pacific Bell Park's highly successful transit campaign, which resulted in half of all baseball fans taking public transit to the new park, will bring honors to those involved in the effort: the San Francisco Giants, San Francisco Municipal Railway, Caltrain, BART, Golden Gate Ferry, Alameda/Oakland Ferry, Richmond Ferry, Blue and Gold Ferry, RIDES for Bay Area Commuters and the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition.
  • The San Francisco Labor Council will be honored for averting a strike and ensuring uninterrupted paratransit service for the Golden Gate Regional Center's disabled clients.
  • The Sunset Development Company will be honored for funding additional County Connection express bus service between BART and San Ramon's Bishop Ranch Business Park.

MTC is the regional transportation planning, funding and coordinating agency for the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area.

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