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TRANSACTIONS NEWSLETTER ONLINE
May/June 1999: TransLink®

MTC Revisits the Regional Transportation Plan

When they adopted the 1998 Regional Transportation Plan last fall, MTC's commissioners left a piece of unfinished business: how to close a $375 million gap in capital funding to repair or replace the region's public transit vehicles and facilities. In May, they resolved the issue when they adopted a plan amendment that identifies sources for the missing funding.

Regional Transportation Plan cover

At the same time, the amendment factors in projects that will be built with funds from Santa Clara County's 1996 Measure A/B sales tax increase. A lawsuit questioning the validity of the sales tax had put the projects in jeopardy. The legal challenge has now been resolved, paving the way for including the Measure A/B projects in the plan.

To reserve your copy of the amended plan, e-mail your name and address to the MTC-ABAG Library, fax the information to 510.817.5932 or call 510.817.5836.

Federal Funding Flows

Transit facilities and streets and roads throughout the region received an infusion of $1.3 billion in federal funding from MTC in May. In keeping with MTC's recently adopted Regional Transportation Plan (see above), much of the money is earmarked for repairing, renewing or replacing existing transportation infrastructure over the next three years.

The largest slice of the $1.3-billion pie is reserved for the region's public transit operators. Fully 86 percent of the total funding package, or $1.1 billion, will finance the rehabilitation or replacement of buses, railcars and maintenance facilities, as well as special equipment needed to comply with the provisions of the Americans With Disabilities Act.

Programs and projects to better manage the Bay Area's transportation system also received funding. "Customer service" programs such as the Freeway Service Patrol, the tow-truck service that aids motorists on the region's most heavily traveled freeways; TravInfo, the telephone (817-1717) traveler-information system; and other regional technical and marketing assistance efforts will share $13 million. An additional $42 million will go to fund a range of traffic signal synchronization projects, and assorted improvements to transit, ridesharing and bicycle/pedestrian facilities.

Roadway funds round out the financing package, with $159 million slated for repaving, repair of storm damage, intersection improvements and other projects throughout the nine Bay Area counties.

-- Joe Curley

For a complete list of projects see the 5/25/99 release in Press Releases.

Big Bucks Needed for State's Roads and Transit

Over $100 billion in new funding will be needed in the next decade to maintain the state's existing transportation network and make needed improvements to accommodate increased demand for transportation services, according to a California Transportation Commission (CTC) report released in May. "This is a staggering sum of money," said Therese McMillan, MTC's manager of Funding and External Affairs, "especially when you consider that the funds required would be in addition to moneys currently expected to be available for transportation." In the Bay Area alone, almost $20 billion in supplemental funding is needed, McMillan added.

Regional agencies identified the following significant funding shortfalls: state highway system, $19.6 billion; urban rail and busway expansion, $15.4 billion; local arterial roadways, $13.1 billion; local street and road repavement, $10.5 billion. Information provided by Caltrans, transit operators, local jurisdictions and others boosted the total estimated shortfall beyond the $100 billion mark.

The effort was mandated by Senate Resolution 8, sponsored by Senate President Pro Tem John Burton of San Francisco. Its intent is to identify candidate projects for funding under Sen. Burton's Senate Bill 315, a proposed $16 billion bond measure. SB 315 has passed the Senate, and is awaiting action by the Assembly Transportation Committee.

-- Joe Curley

A synopsis of the CTC needs assessment report is available online at: www.dgs.ca.gov/ctc/reports.htm.

Gateway Park Takes Shape

The dream of a lush greenway to anchor the Oakland touchdown of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge is closer to reality thanks to a commitment by MTC to allocate $120,000 to the East Bay Regional Park District for project planning for the new fiscal year. Envisioned as a complement to the bridge's new east span that is now in the final design stages, the Gateway Park would transform what is currently rather bleak and nondescript Bay frontage into a natural haven landscaped with tall grasses, ponds, scenic outlooks, picnic areas and other amenities.

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