MTC Seeks Transportation Policy Advisors
OAKLAND, CA — The Metropolitan Transportation Commission is recruiting for 27 individuals to jump into the transportation arena, learn about the complexities of funding, and help identify the connections between transportation and land use, air quality and climate change. MTC is the Bay Area’s transportation planning and financing agency, and there may be a place for you as part of a new Policy Advisory Council slated to begin meeting in April 2010.
The mission of the new citizen panel will be to advise MTC on transportation policies in the San Francisco Bay Area, incorporating diverse perspectives relating to the environment, the economy and social equity. Advisors are eligible for a stipend to cover cost of meeting attendance. Some of the issues that this new panel might be asked to advise on include:
- Regional planning efforts linking transportation, housing and land use plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
- A Bay Area effort to identify public transit service productivity improvements that squeeze more efficiency from the region’s existing transit investments, and pursue new revenues to build a system that could better serve all Bay Area residents.
“MTC must make transportation policy and investment decisions that serve all Bay Area residents,” said MTC Chair Scott Haggerty. “This new Council will give a voice to a range of viewpoints to enhance our decision-making process. I encourage anyone interested in helping us improve Bay Area mobility to apply for a seat.”
Policy Advisory Council membership will be structured around the economy, the environment and social equity. A total of nine members will be appointed to represent economic and environmental perspectives, nine members will represent communities of color and issues affecting low income communities or environmental justice, and nine members will represent the interests of seniors or persons with disabilities.
To apply for a position, or to learn more about the new Policy Advisory Council, visit www.mtc.ca.gov/get_involved/advisory/.
The application deadline is Monday, February 1, 2010. No specific educational background is needed for most seats, just an interest in transportation and how it affects residents in each of the nine Bay Area counties ( Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano and Sonoma). Experience in working on public policy issues or community-related issues is desirable. Committee members are expected to attend monthly meetings held on Wednesday afternoons at MTC’s offices in Oakland, and to serve a two-year term. While positions are voluntary, committee members do receive a stipend for their attendance at certain meetings.
The new Policy Advisory Council, created by the Commission in November 2009, will effectively merge MTC’s three separate advisory committees – the MTC Advisory Council, the Elderly and Disabled Advisory Committee, and the Minority Citizens Advisory Committee. These three advisory committees will sunset with the formation of the Policy Advisory Council.
MTC’s governing board of commissioners will review all applications and make final appointments to the advisory committees. For more information or to obtain an application, call (415) 778-6757, go to MTC’s Web site at www.mtc.ca.gov/get_involved/advisory/ or visit the MTC offices at 101 8th Street, Oakland, during regular business hours.
MTC is the regional transportation planning, financing and coordinating agency for the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area.
Contact:
Ursula Vogler: (510) 817-5785
Ellen Griffin: (415) 778-5254