Bay Area Leaders to Stand Up for Transportation, Urge Congress to Pass Long-Term Funding Bill

Top officials from more than a dozen Bay Area transit agencies will join together on Thursday, April 9, for a press conference where they will make a unified pitch for Congress to pass a comprehensive transportation bill with predictable, long-term funding for highways, public transit and the rest of America’s transportation networks. The 1 p.m. gathering at San Francisco's Temporary Transbay Terminal mirrors events taking place that day around the country in which transportation agency executives and citizens will “Stand Up 4 Transportation” on the American Public Transportation Association-designated National Infrastructure Day.

Against a backdrop of a Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority bus wrapped with the campaign's logo, transit agency officials will brief the audience and the media on Bay Area transportation investments imperiled if Congress fails to pass a long-term surface transportation bill. The list of Bay Area leaders scheduled to attend include:

• Dave Cortese, MTC Chair and Santa Clara County Supervisor
• Maria Ayerdi-Kaplan, Executive Director, Transbay Joint Powers Authority
• Arthur L. Dao, Executive Director, Alameda County Transportation Commission
• Nuria Fernandez, General Manager and CEO, Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority
• Jim Hartnett, General Manager, Caltrain/SamTrans
• Randell Iwasaki, Executive Director, Contra Costa Transportation Authority
• Nick Josefowitz, Member, BART Board of Directors
• Jeff Morales, CEO, California High-Speed Rail Authority
• Denis Mulligan, General Manager, Golden Gate Bridge, Highway & Transportation District
• Chris Peeples, President, AC Transit Board of Directors
• Ed Reiskin, Director of Transportation, San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency
• Bijan Sartipi, Director, Caltrans District 4
• Michael Tree, Executive Director, Livermore Amador Valley Transit Authorit
• Scott Wiener, MTC Commissioner, San Francisco Supervisor and Chair of the San Francisco County Transportation Authority