Press Releases

For Immediate Release

MTC Holds Public Workshop for 25-Year Regional Transportation Plan

CONTACT:

Marjorie Blackwell
510/464-7884

Ellen Griffin
510/464-7854

OAKLAND, Calif., February 21, 2001...The Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) will hold a public workshop on Bay Area transportation issues on Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2001, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., at the Joseph P. Bort MetroCenter auditorium, 101 Eighth Street, in Oakland. The workshop will be the first significant opportunity for Bay Area residents to learn about and express their opinions on the 2001 Regional Transportation Plan, which will specify how approximately $130 billion in federal, state and regional transportation funds should be spent over the next 25 years.

The workshop will start with an open house, featuring graphic displays that illustrate Bay Area transportation issues and that invite participants to express their opinions on key transportation questions. A public discussion on the issues and questions will follow between 7:30 and 8:30 p.m. The workshop discussion will be audiocast on the MTC Web site at <www.mtc.ca.gov>to enable those who cannot attend to listen in and submit questions and comments via e-mail to MTC at info@mtc.ca.gov.

MTC, as the transportation planning, coordinating and financing agency for the nine-county Bay Area, is required by state and federal law to update the Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) every three years. The plan determines how anticipated federal, state and regional transportation funds are allocated to maintain, manage and improve the region's transportation network. The Commission is expected to adopt a final plan by November 2001.

During the next eight months, MTC will sponsor more than a dozen public meetings and conduct a telephone survey to obtain extensive public opinion on the decisions that must be made, particularly on how approximately $12 billion that is not already committed to regional transportation programs and projects should be spent over the next 25 years.

For dates, times and locations of upcoming meetings in each of the nine Bay Area counties during March and April, check the MTC Web site at <www.mtc.ca.gov>, or leave your name and phone number on the MTC phone information line (510.817.5836), or e-mail your request to info@mtc.ca.gov.

At the Feb. 27 workshop, participants also will have a chance to talk informally with MTC commissioners and to take part in small group discussions on how transportation affects related issues, such as air quality, social equity, and land use.

"The connections between these issues and transportation raise a number of far-reaching questions that we must deal with in the RTP," said MTC Chair Jim Beall, who also chairs the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors. "And with more than $12 billion for regional transportation projects and programs up for grabs, the stakes for setting our priorities are very high. Most importantly," he added, "we want to make the development of the RTP an open and inclusive process and to hear from as many Bay Area residents as possible during the months ahead."

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