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TRANSACTIONS NEWSLETTER ONLINE

October 2008

Greta Ericson Distinguished Service Award:
Finding Middle Ground Drives Jean Hart to the Top

A driving force in plans to alleviate traffic congestion on Interstate 580, Jean Hart retired from the Alameda County Congestion Management Agency following a 30-year career in the planning field.
(Photo: Noah Berger)

Future generations who traverse the Bay Area may not know Jean Hart’s name, but they will enjoy the results of her planning prowess. During her 14-year tenure as deputy director of planning at the Alameda County Congestion Management Agency (ACCMA), Hart led the way in consensus building for transportation projects that crossed county lines and required multijurisdictional approval. She also was one of the first Bay Area women to reach the upper echelons of transportation management.

“Jean is a terrific manager,” said Dennis Fay, executive director of ACCMA. “She knows when to coach someone and knows how to get others to deliver their best work. She really is dedicated to public service, and giving the public the best work possible.”

Hart was a driving force in the move to convert a section of the carpool lane on southbound Interstate 680 to a high-occupancy/toll (HOT) lane, which experts say will help to alleviate congestion. In the works since 1994 and the first in the Bay Area, the HOT project will allow single-occupant vehicles to use the Express Lane during commute hours for a fee. Hart also was instrumental in getting agreement with various communities through the Tri-Valley Triangle Study, leading to HOV lanes on Interstate 580. Her work included securing a grant to perform a feasibility study, collaborating with multiple agencies to introduce the legislative bill to change the vehicle code and obtaining capital funding.

Hart was asked to serve as moderator of the San Pablo Corridor Study when the issue of traffic congestion and potential lawsuits regarding the possible move of a major medical facility from Oakland to Emeryville were a cause for concern for various agencies. Differing views were ultimately resolved, resulting in the popular AC Transit Rapid Bus route that runs parallel to Interstate 80 from the city of San Pablo to Oakland. The express service, with just five to seven minutes between buses, gives priority to buses so they can maintain their expedited schedules and features electronic signs at bus stops with estimated bus arrival times.

“Jean has tremendous patience, and then finds the combination that works for everyone. In the end, we all walk away thinking, ‘This works, this will benefit my constituents,’” said Janet Lockhart, mayor of Dublin. “There is not a person out there who doesn’t smile when they hear her name.”

After 30 years in the planning field, and capping her career with the 2008 Greta Ericson Distinguished Service Award, Hart is looking forward to having more time for gardening, needlepoint projects, hiking and family visits. She plans to travel to Antarctica and Australia, fulfilling her goal of visiting all seven continents. Hart retired in 2007 knowing that her accomplishments will extend to generations to come, just as the Bay Area’s present infrastructure is a gift from past generations.

— Georgia Lambert

See VIDEO: Jean Hart

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