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Executive Director's Report

Report to the Commission: February 25, 2026

Personnel

Retirements

  • None

New Appointments

  • Colin Hughes, Principal Planner, Bikeshare & New Mobility Partnerships in the Sustainable Mobility and Operations section.

Departures

  • Anthony Taylor, Program Coordinator III, Planner/Analyst II in the Funding Policy and Programs section, effective Feb. 6.

Updates

El Cerrito Plaza BART TOD Groundbreaking

On March 5, Chair Noack, Chief Deputy Executive Director Alix Bockelman, Deputy Executive Director Daniel Saver and I will attend the groundbreaking ceremony for Parcel A South of the El Cerrito Plaza BART TOD project. The development will be 100% affordable, with 70 units in a six-story mid-rise building. MTC helped this project across the finish line with a $2.4 million Priority Sites pre-development loan that provided permanent gap financing to support architectural and engineering consultants, permits and plan check fees, modular manufacturer deposits, among other costs.

Bike to Wherever Days Pledge to Ride Kicks Off in Oakland

The Pledge to Ride campaign for May’s Bike to Wherever Days kicks off Sunday, March 8 at FansFest in Fruitvale Village, Oakland. FansFest is an annual celebration of Oakland’s rich sports legacy, with music, food and local celebrity guests. Drop by the fest and pledge to join thousands of fellow cyclists who pedal to work, school, errands or just for fun.

Nominate a 2026 Bike Champion of the Year

Do you know an exceptional bicycle rider, policymaker, educator or advocate making a difference in your county? Nominations for the 2026 Bike Champions of the Year are open until March 1. Winners will be announced in late April, just in time to be celebrated during Bike to Wherever Days throughout May. Visit the Bike to Wherever Days website for more information.

National Defense University Presentation

On Jan. 30, Chief Deputy Executive Director Alix Bockelman and Housing & Energy Deputy Executive Director Daniel Saver presented to 80 fellows from the National Defense University international master’s program. The group included military officers from roughly 60 nations, plus 10 American officers. Many of the foreign students are high-ranking military officers, and alumni have gone on to serve as ministers of defense and even prime ministers in their home countries. Alix and Daniel spoke to the group about the role of government in infrastructure, transportation, housing and technology in the Bay Area.

New Bay Area Travel Study Data Available Via Dashboard

A new Bay Area Travel Study (BATS) dashboard is now available to help MTC and transportation agencies plan for a more efficient and more effective regional transportation network. The dashboard allows users to explore how travel patterns — such as mode share, trip rates, trip purpose, trip lengths, working from home and home delivery — vary across counties and demographic groups. The dashboard focuses on data from 2019 and 2023, highlighting how travel behavior changed before and after the pandemic. Knowing more about who travels, and how and why they go from place to place, will help MTC and other agencies develop policies and make informed transportation investments.

BayREN Forum on Powering Data Centers

BayREN is hosting an online forum March 18 to explore the realities of Bay Area data center development, distinguishing between buzz about very large facilities serving “hyperscalers” and the smaller-scale cloud storage projects that are more likely to enter local permitting pipelines. As the demand for digital infrastructure continues to grow, particularly with the advancement of AI, local governments must navigate the complex balance between data center expansion and regional resource constraints. The forum will look at maintaining grid reliability and protecting ratepayer affordability while managing the environmental impacts of intensive energy and water use.

State Transit Loan

Gov. Gavin Newsom last week signed into law state Assembly Bill 117, authorizing a $590 million loan to MTC to further loan to Bay Area transit agencies to avert major service cuts at AC Transit, BART, Caltrain and San Francisco Muni during the 2026-27 fiscal year that begins July 1. The bill reflects the agreement MTC reached last month with Office of Governor Newsom, the California Department of Finance and the Metropolitan Transportation. Negotiated in close coordination with the affected transit agencies — which together face a projected deficit of more than $800 million in the next fiscal year — the new agreement will sustain operations used by hundreds of thousands of daily transit riders across the region. The new law allows the loan to be funded no later than July 1, 2026, using money awarded but not yet allocated for Bay Area projects by the California Transportation Commission through the state Transit Intercity Rail Capital Program (TIRCP). Because many transit capital projects have long construction timelines and the TIRCP is continuously replenished, the loan is structured to uphold the state’s commitments to awarded projects while minimizing risk to project schedules.