MTC Briefing: Staff Consolidation, Toll Bill, New Express Lanes & Much More

 
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  Metropolitan Transportation Commission MTC Briefing: October/November 2017  
  The Bay Area has been deeply affected by the fires in the North Bay. We stand with our community and have posted resources for cities and counties as they start the process of recovery and rebuilding. Our hearts go out to everyone in the North Bay.  
  ABAG and MTC Staff Join Forces  
MTC
  The staffs of the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) and MTC have consolidated and now are working as one integrated team to promote better collaboration on common goals, and to achieve operating efficiencies. To reflect this new era of enhanced regional cooperation, MTC and ABAG have come together online at bayareametro.gov, and launched a new joint email address. MORE  
  Top Stories  
 
MTC   Bill Authorizes Traffic Relief Toll Measure on Ballot
Governor Brown signed Senate Bill 595 into law on October 10, clearing the way for Bay Area voters to decide — potentially as early as next June — on Regional Measure 3, which would raise tolls by up to $3 on the region’s seven state-owned toll bridges to finance a sweeping $4.5 billion package of congestion relief and mobility improvement projects. MORE
 
 
MTC   Bay Area Vital Signs: Emissions Fall as Economy Soars
Dozens of findings on the state of the Bay Area environment were recently released as part of the regional Vital Signs initiative, including data on greenhouse gas emissions, particulate concentrations, ozone levels, Bay restoration, sea level rise and much more. MORE
 
 
MTC   Annual Top 10 Congested Commutes Released
Weekday traffic congestion in the Bay Area has reached a new high for the fourth year in a row, according to new data from MTC. Topping the list of most congested commutes is afternoons northbound and eastbound on U.S. 101 and I‑80 from the I‑280 interchange in S.F. to the Bay Bridge’s Yerba Buena Island Tunnel. MORE
 
 
MTC   Final Plan Bay Area 2040 Released
Plan Bay Area 2040 is the long-range Regional Transportation Plan and Sustainable Communities Strategy for the nine-county region. The recently released final plan can be accessed on an interactive online site, downloaded as a PDF, or viewed in print at the MTC library and libraries around the region. Limited print copies for the public are also available. MORE
 
 
MTC   I-680 Contra Costa Express Lanes Debut
The carpool lanes on Interstate 680 between Walnut Creek and San Ramon were converted to Express Lanes on Monday, October 9. All vehicles using the Express Lanes on weekdays from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. are required to have a FasTrak® Flex or regular FasTrak® toll tag. MORE
 
 
MTC   Ford GoBike Prioritizes Equity
Since its launch this summer, Ford GoBike has attracted 800 low-income members thanks to its ambitious social equity initiative, “Bike Share for All.” The program is designed to eliminate financial barriers for low-income riders, offering them a $5 first-year rate. MORE
 
 
MTC   Governor Brown Signs Legislative Package to Address Housing Crisis
Governor Brown signed a 15‑bill housing package on September 29. The bills include new permanent funding, a one-time jolt of new money and certain reforms as required by the governor, including a bill to streamline approvals for certain qualified housing developments. MORE
 
 
MTC   Cities Keep Pavement Deterioration at Bay
Bay Area cities and counties largely managed to prevent further deterioration of their local street and road networks in 2016. Data show the region’s 43,000 lane-miles of local streets and roads registered an average pavement condition index score of 67 out of maximum possible 100 points last year. MORE
 
 
MTC   Bay Area’s 511 Phone Service Now Available in Spanish
A fully interactive Spanish language voice recognition and response system was added to the Bay Area’s 511 phone system this summer, allowing Spanish-speaking drivers, carpoolers and transit riders to access all the options that have been used more than 80 million times by English-speaking callers. MORE
 
 
MTC   BART-Scoop Partnership Expands to Peninsula Stations
Commuters can get guaranteed parking until 10 a.m. at the Millbrae and San Bruno BART stations when they carpool to the station with Scoop, a rideshare matching app. MORE
 
 
MTC   Celebration Ushers in North Bay's SMART Train
The Grand Opening for the Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit line featured a full roster of local, regional, state and federal luminaries to celebrate the brand-new rail system. MORE
 
  Visuals/Interactive  
 
MTC   Video: The Rise of Rincon Place
The just-opened Rincon Place is a mini-park on the north side of the MTC’s new home at 375 Beale Street in San Francisco. Open to the public, this urban oasis on Rincon Hill offers a short respite of peace for lunch or strolling. Watch a three-minute time lapse of the 14-month construction project. MORE
 
 
MTC   Video: Resilient by Design
Countries around the world will have to adapt to sea-level rise. The San Francisco Bay Area is at the forefront of that trend with the Resilient by Design challenge, which has selected 10 high-powered design teams from around the globe to come up with innovative solutions. MORE
 
 
MTC   Video: Old East Span Pier Implosion
September started off with a boom in the Bay, as crews imploded piers once holding up the old Bay Bridge East Span. Traffic was momentarily stopped on the Bay Bridge, ship traffic was cleared from the surrounding area and air cannons were repeatedly fired off to scare away birds and seals just before the big moment. The process is being repeated several times this fall. MORE
 
 
MTC   Photo Gallery: MTC High School Internship Closing Forum
High school students from across the Bay Area’s nine counties concluded their summer transportation internships with MTC this August. A showcase of the their work displayed the variety of professional opportunities available in the transportation field, and the students each received a certificate for completing the program. MORE
 
 
MTC   Photo Gallery: Transbay Transit Center: Rooftop Garden Comes Into Focus
Construction progress on San Francisco’s new Transbay Transit Center can be seen, notably on the rooftop park and landscaping. The 5.4-acre park will include an amphitheater, gardens, trails and open grass areas, as well as a restaurant and café. The project will replace the nearby Temporary Transbay Terminal with a modern regional transit hub connecting eight Bay Area counties and the greater state through 11 transit systems. MORE
 
  Map of the Month  
 
MTC   Population Growth Variation Across U.S. Counties
This map shows the net population change from 2000–2016 in counties across the U.S. It indicates that the majority of growth in the U.S. population is occurring in just 12 percent of counties, including the Bay Area, which has experienced a 2.4 percent increase in population. MORE
 
 
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