Report to the Commission: October 23, 2024
Personnel
Retirements
- David Cooper, Graphic Artist Coordinator, Legislation and Public Affairs section
New Appointments
- Andrew Bell Jr., Contracts Specialist; Procurement, Risk and Property Management section
- Stella Becerra, Principal, Compliance Manager; Procurement, Risk and Property Management section
- Thalia Leng, Principal, Transit Fare Programs, Regional Network Management section
Updates
Bay Bridge West Span Main Cable inspection
Caltrans is starting the Main Cable Wrap Investigations project to ensure the longevity of the Bay Bridge. It includes unwrapping and testing several locations along the main suspension cables and testing a few suspender ropes, and it will be the first time such an in-depth investigation has been conducted on the West Span’s cables. The inspection is expected to last nine months and will be followed by a detailed report on the cable's condition and recommendations for maintaining the cable in a state of good repair.
Joint Venture Silicon Valley Poll Briefing
MTC staff attended the Joint Venture Silicon Valley briefing in San Jose on October 8th where the 2024 Silicon Valley Poll was introduced and summarized for partners and the public. As MTC seeks to advance both a transportation revenue measure and an affordable housing measure, our work is informed not only by our own polling data but also by important regional polls conducted by JVSV’s Institute for Regional Studies and the Bay Area Council. Some key takeaways include:
- 7 out of 10 Bay Area residents think their quality of life is declining, with 47% considering moving from the region due to high cost of housing or tax rates.
- Top issues for people were housing, homelessness, cost of living, and for the first time, the income gap. What’s fallen out of the top? Transportation!
- What do people think we should do? Build more housing!
West Oakland Link is a Caltrans Federal Grant Priority
In September, Caltrans partnered with MTC to submit a $32.5 million grant request for the West Oakland Link from the Federal Reconnecting Communities Pilot Program. The West Oakland Link is a proposed elevated pedestrian and bicycle pathway connecting West Oakland with the existing East Span Bay Bridge path and the Judge John Sutter Regional Shoreline. This project is part of the Bay Skyway vision, a partnership between MTC, SFCTA, and Caltrans to provide a nonmotorized connection between the East Bay, Treasure Island, and downtown San Francisco.
Statewide Motorist Aid Committee
The Statewide Motorist Aid Committee, comprised of 16 Freeway Service Patrol and 22 Call Box programs throughout California, held their annual meeting on September 30th and October 1st in Folsom, CA, hosted by MTC's Service Authority for Freeways and Expressways. MTC’s Incident Management Task Force also held an inaugural statewide Traffic Incident Management Seminar on Day 2 of the event. Over the two-day period, nearly 50 representatives from Caltrans, metropolitan planning organizations, the California Highway Patrol and more discussed ways to improve incident-management on the state highway system.
AC Transit Zero-Emission Bus University and Workforce Development Partnership Launch
On October 3, MTC’s Alix Bockelman, Craig Bosman and Margaret Doyle visited AC Transit’s Training and Education Center in Hayward to celebrate the launch of the Zero-Emission Bus University, a workforce development partnership between AC Transit, Chabot-Las Positas Community College District and the Amalgamated Transit Union. The new partnership allows AC Transit maintenance trainers to become instructors of record and enables participants of their apprenticeship program to earn half of the college credits they require to achieve an Associate of Science degree.
Earthquake Preparedness
October 17 marked not only the annual Great California Shakeout but also the 35th anniversary of the Loma Prieta earthquake, an event that reshaped many of our communities and profoundly reordered the Bay Area’s transportation priorities. The lessons learned in 1989 about the value of bridge maintenance and rehabilitation, and about the importance of robust and reliable transit service, are worth heeding today as we tackle new funding challenges to ensure the long-term preservation of our seven state-owned bridges and the continuation of vital transit service across the region.
Bay Lights 360 New Installation
Installation of a new Bay Lights 360 system on the Bay Bridge will begin this November, scheduled to be illuminated in March 2025. The Bay Lights is an art display sponsored by the non-profit organization Illuminate, installed in 2013 to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Bay Bridge but turned off in 2023 due to battering from the marine environment. The new system will contain 48,000 new energy-efficient LEDs and, like the previous display, will appear to be moving in a wave-like pattern programmed by artist Leo Villareal.
Looking Ahead
THRIVE with Bay Area Transportation
On October 30th, MTC and the Mineta Transportation Institute are co-sponsoring an in-person summit in San Jose to discuss Bay Area transportation with industry leaders, elected officials, students, disability & environmental justice advocates, and more. Speakers include Commissioners Matt Mahan, Cindy Chavez and Margaret Abe-Koga. See details and register.