And that's all I have to say.
All right. We will get started
right now. I'm going to turn to
Douglas to call the roll and
give instructions.
Justin.
Excuse me, Justin.
Thank you, chair. Commissioner
Bradshaw. Commissioner Cruz.
Commissioner Eager.
Here.
Commissioner Elliott.
Here.
Vice chair Falcone.
Mr President. Commissioner Lugo. Here. Commissioner man. Commissioner Tiffany. Chair Grisby. Senator
Cortesi. Assemblymember Wilson. Chair we have quorum. Thank you so much please also do instructions.
Welcome everyone to day one of the May 2020 or the June 2025 CTC meeting in Sacramento.
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Thank you all for joining us today.
We know your time is valuable,
and we appreciate you sharing some of it with us.
Thank you, Justin.
We will now turn to our welcome to the region,
Darren Suehn and Casey Lisham.
I think I see red, all right.
Thank you, Chair Grisby.
Good morning, commissioners.
It's a pleasure to be here this morning to join you.
We thank you for inviting the Sacramento Area
Council of Governments or SACOG to welcome you
and share a little bit about what we've been doing
up in the region.
Can we get the slides on the screen, please.
Great, thank you.
Next slide, please.
Great, thank you very much.
My name is Darren Soon.
I'm the current chair of the SACOG Board of Directors
and a council member for the city of Elk Grove,
where a city of about 180,000 people
just on the southern edge of Sacramento.
I'm joined today with Casey Lisan,
SACOG's deputy executive director
of planning and programs.
I know our executive director, James Corliss,
has been before you earlier this year in January.
SACOG is where local government leaders across the region
come together to advance the goals of economic prosperity,
connected communities, and vibrant places.
SACOG works with its six counties and 22 cities
to solve similar challenges, or challenges that are too big
for any one jurisdiction to solve on its own.
Next slide, please.
Next slide, please.
I wanna thank you, take this opportunity to thank you
for the staff recommendation of 25 million
in local partnership competitive program
or LPP funding for the I Street Bridge.
It's a much needed improvement to connect the cities
of Sacramento and West Sacramento over the Sacramento River.
The more than $300 million project
with state, federal and local funding commitments
is greatly needed to improve connectivity
between the two communities.
It includes a conversion of the existing bridge,
which also received active transportation program
or ATP funds into a bike pedestrian facility
to provide an additional non vehicular crossing.
There are currently few options for residents
to cross the rivers surrounding Sacramento's downtown
compared to other river cities across the country.
We're working to change this.
And one example is the city of Sacramento is moving forward
with a design for a new bridge over the American River,
the Truxle Bridge.
It's an alternative to I-5 and a direct,
dedicated transit right away
and safe bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure.
We're currently seeking federal, state funding
to continue moving this project forward.
Next slide, please.
Our primary responsibility designated
by the federal government requires SACOG
to maintain a regional transportation plan
that must be updated every four years
in coordination with each member agency.
Releasing the draft plan for public comment
just a couple of weeks ago,
we reached a major milestone
in our Metropolitan Transportation Plan
Sustainable Community Strategy or MTPSCS,
which we call the 2025 blueprint.
The development of this plan focused
on a robust public outreach
and is rooted in the triple bottom line
of equity, environment, and economy.
Now we need to focus on implementation,
supporting our cities, counties, transit agencies,
and other partners to ensure the plan can become reality.
Implementation will drive SACOG's work
for the next five years.
Next slide, please.
One example of blueprint implementation
is our Green Means Go program.
SACOG's current long range plan
envisions an ambitious but achievable land use future
with about two thirds of the expected 278,000 homes
built by 2050 occurring in existing cities,
suburbs and small towns, what we call infill areas.
It envisions the revitalization of the region's green zones,
which are city and county self-nominated commercial corridors,
rural main streets, and other location-efficient places
near existing jobs and services.
It does this through a multi-pronged strategy
aimed at providing technical assistance
to local governments around meaningful policy reforms
to make it easier and faster to build much-needed housing,
funding for these reforms and targeted infrastructure
investments that reduce the costs and stimulate development.
SACOG currently has over $11 million of planning funding
and $44 million of capital funding on the street
as part of this program.
And we are already seeing housing getting built
like the San Juan affordable housing project
on Stockton Boulevard.
Next slide here, please.
Next slide, please.
Thank you.
So you can see here this vacant site of the old San Juan
Motel, which has straddled both the city of Sacramento
and unincorporated Sacramento County
and is along one of Sacramento Regional Transit's most used
bus routes, and also the future home
to one of the region's first bus rapid transit lines.
Next slide, please.
With the help of Green Means Go Investment,
it is now the site of the San Juan Affordable Housing
project. A key policy of our draft 2025 blueprint is to continue the momentum of the green means go
program by identifying a stable source of funding like the state regional early action planning
funds or REAP funds to continue this investment in housing in our region. Next slide please.
While land use is the key lever reducing our greenhouse gas emissions, transit plays a vital
role in our region, providing economic mobility and improving the region's economic competitiveness.
As you can see here on the slide, 68% of housing and employment growth is projected in communities
with existing transit service. We need to triple today's existing weekday transit service to meet
our greenhouse gas reduction targets. Five to 10% of our region's households don't even have a car.
Next slide, please. SACOG is focusing heavily on how we can support our region's transit providers
in their work increases competitiveness and ridership. We're hosting workshops, tours,
and other educational opportunities for our board and partners. In fact, that was just up in the
Seattle region with our executive director learning how transit up there is being implemented in
in suburban communities.
And so I'm really excited for this region
as well to do more transit in this area.
Next slide, please.
We're setting a vision
with the next generation transit strategy,
planning for a high capacity bus network
that is fast, frequent, reliable,
with a focus on riders who need it the most.
We're also programming financial support
through the crucial SB 125 funding,
which is helping sustain our transit providers
as we plan for long-term financial stability.
We were grateful to see the legislature reject
the governor's proposed cuts to this critical program.
Next slide, please.
Now I wanna zoom out and recognize the great partnership
SACOG has with our two neighboring regions,
the MTC Bay Area and the Bay Area
and San Joaquin Council of Governments.
Together, we're calling it,
or we call it the mega region working group.
Each agency nominates four representatives
from their board or commission,
and the working group meets three times a year.
We kicked this off in 2020 with the formal MOU.
We've also held two in-person advocacy days in Sacramento.
The work group discusses key shared priorities
and long range planning,
implementation of zero emission vehicles, roadway pricing,
and works collaboratively to support funding
for the 12 working group adopted
transportation project priorities,
affectionately known as the Mega Region Dozen.
And it's paid off, helping us secure key grant funding
to fully fund four of the Mega Region Dozen projects
listed here.
So thank you very much for your support.
Next, I want to introduce Casey Lizan.
She's gonna talk about very briefly
on how we do our work at SACON.
Casey.
Thank you Chair Soon.
Thank you very much for having us here, commissioners.
Just briefly, we want to talk about
how we've been doing a lot of our work,
because we really, over the last few years,
have sharpened our focus on how we can really
better engage the partnership of local government
and community members
to really reflect the diversity of our region.
And so what I wanna give you is a couple of learnings
that we have from that, which we are very excited
to really scale across all of the work that we do.
We are a diverse region geographically,
politically, economically, demographically,
And given all of that state and federal maps
that try to represent disadvantaged communities
or equity communities, they just don't reflect
really the reality that our residents
and our communities feel on the ground.
And so what I have up on the screen here
is just to try to snapshot out of one of our projects,
the Mobility Zones projects working across six counties,
again with community organizations
and with our city and county staff and representatives.
Across each of those six counties,
we did a lot of work to understand
what are the values within each of the counties
and the communities there.
And then we paired those values with quantitative data.
So looking at demographic, economic, environmental data
to try to say, OK, given your values
and what's important to you as far as equity in your community,
how is that reflected on a map?
And so really this tells a story that in El Dorado County,
It's older people aging in place in fire prone areas.
That is a big equity concern there.
In Sacramento County, it's refugees.
We have one of the largest Afghani populations
in the United States and in Yubin Sutter counties,
it's a lot of youth who need ways to get around
and don't have great ways to get places.
Next slide please.
And so we took that and we paired it with,
as I said, all of that data
and we came up with our bottoms up equity priority map
for the Sacramento region.
So that when we took this to our board and went back to the communities and the local governments that we worked with, they looked at that and said, yes, this reflects my reality.
And from there, we will be able to use that to develop our programs and our funding priorities so that we can build a pipeline of equitable projects to support the mobility needs in these communities. Next slide please.
The other program that is really building off of this is our engage in power implement grant program.
My colleague Rosie Ramos was here earlier this year to talk about it. This is our first time with a dedicated funding source for disadvantaged communities to
work in partnership with their local governments to create solutions to the problems they've identified. And again, we're very excited that this is going to create a pipeline of projects that are fully supported across the very diverse Sacramento region.
Next slide please. And I hand it off to Chair soon for the last slide.
Thanks, Casey. We just wanted to end this again on our Youth Leadership Academy.
YLA, we know you've seen this before, but this is where we bring the next generation in and teach
them about the work we do and what our member agencies do. We're really proud of every class
this year as they come through learning about how we collaborate together as a region, as you can
imagine, how exciting it is to see the next generation getting involved in this work. So
This last cohort graduated about 40 individuals across the six-county region so we're proud of
this and with that I want to thank you again for the work that you all do to improve mobility in
this state and the opportunity to be here this morning. Thank you very much. Thank you. Any
questions or comments from the dice? Commissioner Cruz. Thank you Mr. Chair and thank you Darrin
for being here today and SACOG for all the hard work you do in our region.
I see firsthand the work you do to address our mobility needs, improve air quality.
And then Green Means Go is a great program that will provide the backbone infrastructure
to attract private investment to meet our housing needs and, you know, in the region.
So I really applaud your efforts and look forward to working with you moving forward.
absolutely. Thank you, Commissioner Cruz. Any other commissioners? I'd like to give you kudos for
finding a way to include rural and urban conservative and liberal communities into equity values and
what that means for them. So congratulations. Thank you very much, Chair. Appreciate it.
All right, next up, we're going to move to voting on tabs three through five. Justin?
there were no public comments on that last item. Yes, thank you, I should have asked that.
Yes, we will be taking tabs three, four, and five together.
Tab three is the approval of the meeting minutes from the May CTC meeting on May 15, 16, 2025.
Tab four is the commissioner meetings for compensation and tab five is the committee
member compensation. Staff recommends your approval. All right, thank you. Any commissioner
Okay. All right. Thank you.
Uh, any other questions or
comments on this item? Any
public comment? Is there a
motion moved by Commissioner
Tiffany? Is there a second?
Seconded by Commissioner
Cruz. All those in favor?
Opposed? Abstentions? Motion
passes. Next we're moved to, uh,
tap six Commission Executive
soon and Casey for welcoming the commission to the region. It's always a
pleasure to host our partners here in Sacramento. Thank you for allowing me to
be a part of your Youth Leadership Academy. It really is a phenomenal
program and I really enjoy participating in it. I'd like to start today with some
congratulations. As you likely have heard last week, the governor appointed Dina
El-Tawansi as Caltrans director. Dina has been a strong partner during her
tenure as district four director and I look forward to continuing that
partnership at headquarters. Congratulations, Deena. I'd also like to
thank Mike Kiever for his continued partnership while serving as the acting
Caltrans director during the cinnamon period. And lastly, I'd like to welcome
CalSTA's new Undersecretary James Hacker as well. We're glad you could join us
today and I'm looking forward to working with you in your new roles. I'm skipping
ahead a bit but I'd also like to thank and congratulate the five Caltrans
employees who were recognized with the Governor's State Employee Medal of
Valor and who we will be hearing a bit more about later today. I'd also like to
thank the Commission staff team for all their hard work leading up to this
week's meeting. As the last meeting of the fiscal year June always has a packed
agenda and I want to acknowledge the team for the many hours they've spent
preparing the items for your consideration today and tomorrow. In addition to our small
but mighty team of 39, this also includes Jaime, Christina, Nicole, and Christopher and
the whole team at Caltrans CTC Liaison's office. With the items on this week's agenda, over
the course of this fiscal year, the Commission will have allocated more than $13 billion
to transportation projects across the State. These investments and the careful stewardship
of these public dollars are an accomplishment we all should be proud of. Thank you for all
of your hard work team. Commissioners, we have a busy agenda this
week. Later today, commission staff will present funding recommendations for the fourth cycle
of Senate Bill 1 competitive programs. The investments we recommend today consist of
$1.5 billion across the solutions for congested corridors program, the trade corridor enhancement
program and the local partnership competitive program. With the Senate Bill 1 funds, the
recommended investments leverage an additional $15 billion in federal, local and other state
funds and combined they will create more than 220,000 jobs. The suite of projects delivers
on the statutory mission of Senate Bill 1 by expanding safe, multimobile travel options
in communities across the state, reducing greenhouse gas and air pollutant emissions,
and building a world-class freight system that ensures goods can move efficiently and
support our vibrant economy, now the fourth largest in the world.
Presenting these staff recommendations is the culmination of a tremendous amount of
work on the part of the Senate Bill 1 staff team.
Over the past year and a half, they have held workshops, updated guidelines, met with stakeholders,
prospective applicants and evaluated dozens of project applications.
I would like to congratulate Naveen Habib, Beverly Newman-Berkard, LaShara Ward, and
Matthew Yosgott, as well as all of our project evaluators, including members of our Interagency
Equity Advisory Committee, for your hard work getting us to this point.
Staff will also present the final programming action for the 2025 Active Transportation
Program with the Metropolitan Planning Organization component.
This component includes more than 60 million dollars for products selected by seven of
the large MPOs that will expand Biking and Walking options in those communities.
Congratulations to Anya Ollenbacher, Ilika Changizi, and Jayden Gales for closing out
another successful program cycle strong.
I know you are already looking forward to kicking off cycle 8.
Commissioners, later today, staff will also present the draft guidelines for the 2026
transportation improvement program. As part of this process Caltrans will
present the draft fund estimate for both this program and the state highway
operation and protection program. In both these programs we anticipate having
significantly less funding available for new projects than we did in the previous
cycle this time two years ago. We've discussed the 10-year 215 billion
dollar transportation funding shortfall identified in our needs assessment at
at length in recent months,
and we are now beginning to see the practical impacts
of that shortfall in our work as a commission.
As we work towards finalizing the fund estimates in August
and adopting new programs of projects early next year,
commission staff is continuing to work with the legislature
and our stakeholders to draw attention to this issue
and help develop potential solutions.
This week, staff will also present the commission's
proposed 25 through 27 strategic plan for your approval.
The process of developing a strategic plan began last year
and included a public workshop
and feedback from commissioners, staff,
the Interagency Equity Advisory Committee,
and other partners.
This plan is intended to guide the Commission
in the coming years as it carries out its mission
to invest in transportation that improves communities,
the environment, and the economy,
and fulfillment of the Commission's vision
for a safe, equitable, and multimodal transportation system
for all Californians.
We look forward to implementing this plan
and reporting on our progress
at future commission meetings.
I'm very pleased that the entire commission staff team
has been engaged in developing this plan.
And I think that speaks volumes about the pride
they've taken their work and their service
to the state of California.
But I'd like to recognize one person in particular
for his work in bringing this plan into reality,
our chief deputy director Paul Goloszewski.
Paul has shepherded the strategic plan
through its development and the document
He will present later today, reflects the care
and thoughtfulness he and the entire team
have put into this process.
Thanks, Paul.
Commissioners, I have one additional informational update.
Commission staff recently held a virtual kickoff workshop
to launch an update to the commission's
comprehensive multimodal corridor planning guidelines.
Comprehensive multimodal corridor plans
are used to optimize all modes of travel
within established corridors
in order to reduce congestion.
By statute, a project must be in a comprehensive multimodal corridor plan to be eligible to
compete for funding in the solutions for congested corridors program.
Commission staff expects to release the draft 2025 comprehensive multimodal corridor planning
guidelines in early July for a 30-day comment period.
A second public workshop will be held at that time, and we look forward to engaging with
the public and our agency partners as we work towards bringing final guidelines to the Commission
in December.
I have one staffing update today. Justin Mann. Justin Mann has joined the
Commission supporting our engineering team. Justin is originally from the
Sacramento area and is also a recent graduate of Sacramento State. He is new
to state service and we are happy to have him join our team. Welcome Justin,
really happy to have you. Before I conclude, I would like to take a moment
to recognize a longtime public servant who recently passed away. William Bagley
served in the State Assembly for 14 years until becoming the first chair of the United States
Commodity Futures Trading Commission. He also served terms on the California Public Utilities
Commission and the University of California Board of Regents and perhaps most notably
six years on the California Transportation Commission, including a term as chair.
Commissioner Bagley passed away earlier this month at the age of 96. I'd like to take a moment to
to offer my condolences to his family and loved ones
and to recognize his years of service to his community,
his state, and the nation.
This concludes my updates.
As a reminder, our next meeting will be in San Diego
on August 14th and 15th.
Commissioners, as I conclude my report,
I'd also like to recommend your approval
of the proposed commission meeting schedule
for calendar year 2026.
Thank you.
Thank you, Director Taylor.
We will now move on to public comment on this item.
And first up is Senator Melissa Hurtado, District 16.
And after her would be Assemblymember Greg Hart.
Good morning, Mr. Chair and members of this commission.
It's an honor, this is my first time here,
but it's an honor to be here in support of the work
that we're hoping that could continue to go on
in Senate District 16 in the counties of Fresno,
to Larry, Kings and Kern for far too long.
yeah whoo-hoo for far too long this highway has had a bit about of a bad
reputation at times being called the highway to hell and the reason for that
is because of how dangerous it has been it's a rural area for a very long time
the event the investments haven't been coming to the region and and we're
making a lot of progress there's a lot of growth and I want to continue to
support the safety of the constituents there and all of the Californians that
drive through this highway freeway.
And I'm here in support of the funding
and I hope that you can approve the funds for them.
So thank you for having me here.
Thank you for your work.
Thank you.
Thank you for coming.
Next up is Assemblymember Greg Hart.
Good morning.
Good morning, Chair Grisby and commissioners.
It's really an honor to be here with you today
and see so many good friends.
I'm Greg Hart, the Assemblymember
from the 37th District in Santa Barbara
and South San Luis Obispo counties.
Thank you to the commission and the staff
for recommending a completion
of the US-101 multimodal corridor project in Santa Barbara.
Our region has long embraced
a multimodal transportation vision
that we call a lane and a train.
That includes expanded rail service,
better bus connections,
and a strong active transportation network.
As one of the two North-South arterials in California,
US-101 is a vital corridor for goods movement,
tourism, and daily regional commutes.
Thanks to our strong long-term partnership with the CTC,
Caltrans, and CalSTA, we've been able to turn
$180 million in local transportation funding
into nearly a billion dollars in improvements in our region.
Approval of this funding will finally complete
the last remaining segment of what has been
a 16-mile 17-year construction effort.
I've been personally involved in this project
for more than 20 years when I began working
the Santa Barbara County Association of Governments as the public information coordinator in 2004.
This historic day has been a very long time coming and many people have worked very hard
to conceive, plan, execute this project with deep engagement from the many stakeholders
in our community and with your collaboration and cooperation.
I'm deeply grateful for the CTC staff and commissioners and SPCAG staff and leadership
and board members who have deserved tremendous thanks for persevering to delivering this
truly transformational transportation project in my district. Thank you and I respectfully ask for
your adoption of the SB1 competitive grant staff recommendations for the US-101 multimodal corridor
project at the appropriate time. Thank you very much. All right thank you sir. Next up is Mayor
Randy Routhy. Good morning chair Grisby and commissioners my name is Randy Rouse
I'm the mayor of the city of Santa Barbara and currently the chair of the
Santa Barbara County Association of Governments. Assemblymember Hart stole
most of my thunder in my notes so I won't I won't repeat some of the facts but
this is a crucial corridor. It serves a community and Vandenberg Space Force
Base as well as the University of California Santa Barbara. It's a
critical corridor for an area that is actually relatively expensive to live in
so we are a very commuter dependent both in the lane and the train concept so
this final piece of the puzzle is a real connection between Southern California
and the Central Coast and it's vital to our economy and certainly vital to the
people who live in the area we are a participating agency we there's as Mr.
Hart said we put in 180 million of measure a funds and the Caltrans has
committed over 300 million estate dollars over the corridor it's been a
fabulous partnership Caltrans has been wonderful work with we appreciate your
indulgence in considering us for this funding and we encourage you to follow
through and finish with the funding as we like to say the one-on-one is almost
done thank you so much all right thank you that's a good phrase any other
public comment in the room or online we do have past chair Gardino has his hand
raised yeah we'll do that when we get to Commissioner comments we have no other
online come. Sorry, someone just raised their hand. Gail Pellerin, I will unmute you now.
Right, Gail, you're up. Hello, how are you? Can you hear me? Okay, good. Hi, so my name is Gail
Pellerin, and I represent Assembly District 28 in the state legislature. And I'm pleased to share
my strong support for the adoption of the Watsonville-Santa Cruz multimodal corridor program.
cycle four project and I urge the commission to adopt the staff recommendation for funding
this important project. This project provides much needed congestion relief along highway one
and other local roads and it reduces transit travel times. Many of my constituents face
long commutes in our small county here in Santa Cruz and it decreases single occupancy vehicle
miles traveled, and promote sustainable transportation by increasing access to bus service, biking,
and walking. The introduction of new rapid bus routes enhances transportation equity
by connecting underserved communities to jobs, schools, and healthcare. Additionally, the
planned roadway safety improvements along Soquel Drive will benefit all road users.
a regional benefit. The project strengthens connections between Santa Cruz County, the
Central Coast, and the San Francisco Bay Area. So I just wanted to express my strong support
for this work and thank you for your consideration of adopting this important project.
Thank you Assemblymember. Thank you. Any other public comment? There are no other public comments
at this time. Great, thank you so much. Next we'll move on to Commissioner comments and questions.
First up is past Chair Carl Gradyum.
Thank you Chair Grisby and colleagues. I'm on my way and forgive me that my
flight just touched down from out of state and I'm working my way up to Sacramento.
I just wanted to thank and recognize Assemblymember
Martin from the Santa Barbara area. I've had the pleasure of
working with him for more than two decades. He's always been a staunch supporter of this project
and he expressed that this morning, but thank you for coming over to our hearing today to
continue to try to advance what you believe is best for your region.
All right, thank you. Any other questions or comments from the DICE?
Hearing none, we can move on to commissioner.
Do we need to vote?
Oh, we do. Okay, yes.
Take a motion.
Moved by past chair, uh, eager. Is there a second? Second. Bradshaw. Seconded by Bradshaw.
All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Abstentions? Motion passes. Now we'll move on to Commissioner
Reports. Any commissioners that would like to make a report at this time? Oh yes, uh,
Senator Cortese. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Um, commissioners, um, just, uh, first of all,
let me just indicate as the ex officio member from the Senate
that, and I know we'll have a legislative report later,
but we're obviously right in the throes
of the budget process.
We will be here basically through tomorrow
voting on budget items.
And I suspect Monday will be more of the same.
I will say, generally speaking, that's coming along well.
So we will have a budget and trailer bills
in that process will continue throughout the summer,
actually in terms of the trailer bill process.
So no major changes to report
that I think wouldn't have already been expected.
Let's put it that way.
It'll defer to staff for the remainder
of the legislative report.
I did wanna touch upon something that we've been working on.
I've been working on primarily with Senator Caballero,
and an additional group of legislators from both houses,
which for shorthand, we talk about
as concern for legacy projects.
And some of that's just been stimulated or initiated
by need, by the usual process of folks coming
into our offices, talking about the need for augmentation
for projects that are absolutely critical.
And I know that that's, on transportation projects
up and down the state, probably a common refrain.
But what has really been a concern is where do you go
when you have something that requires
a little more magnitude than what we typically do.
From a Caltrans standpoint, of course,
you know, we're dealing with them and what I'm going to talk about next just for a couple
minutes is something Caltrans leadership has been working with us on and fully understands.
But I wanted to use this opportunity to alert the Commission to the same same issues and
in fact I know Senator Caballero and I will be submitting a letter soon which will include
the commission as a recipient on the topic I want to focus in on more specifically as
an example of what I'm talking about. And that example is Caltrans is of course currently
developing the 2026 draft project list, the 2026 shop draft project list, I think that's
expected in January. But in the meanwhile, the US Bureau of Reclamation is conducting
a dam safety retrofit at the BFS dam, San Luis reservoir, with completion expected by
late 2027, early 2028. So as they say in the construction business, this is a today project.
Following this, the San Luis and Delta Mendota Water Authority plans to raise the dam by
10 feet, which is a wonderful thing from a climate resilience standpoint because it adds
130,000 acre-feet of storage capacity, enough water to supply 400,000 homes
annually. You know the storage there is shared not only by the Delta Mendota
area but you know throughout in Santa Clara County, my own home county, full
disclosure but of course all the way to Los Angeles. The dam raise itself is a
650 million dollar project and please for purposes of today I'm hoping you're
listening as as sort of an example of unmet need. 650 million dollars
including 150 million to elevate a segment of highway 152 which among other
things is a major goods movement corridor. That will be funded 70% by
by SLDMWA participants, 30% by the federal government.
So at a time when we're seeing clawbacks,
contract cancellations and all kinds of other things
across major need areas, issue areas,
including transportation, here's an absolute commitment
by the federal government to supply 30% of this project.
The project can't happen without seismic and safety upgrades along a one-mile stretch
of Highway 152, and that highway again needs to be raised in order for the entirety of
the project to work, to make sense.
Either that or you would have to lose Highway 152, gain the water storage, and divert that
traffic theoretically up Highway 5 to the 580 corridor to the ultimate which
I don't think any of us would consider a very good idea so a lot of us in the
legislature believe among other things and criteria it's inequitable to ask
local water rate payers in a few regions of the state that are using this major
storage facility to bear the full cost of state managed state mandated seismic
improvements particularly given the broad statewide benefits. So we want and
when I say the broad statewide benefit clearly a major highway corridor like
152 I think as we all know has broad statewide benefit. So it would be our
position to urge that a portion of this need be funded or begin to be staged
through the 2026 shot. Next month Caltrans will provide the Commission with
the updated 2026 fund estimate which will include several billion dollars in
unprogrammed capacity and this project which is widely supported and has no
known opposition aligns with Governor Newsom's water supply strategy known as
adapting to a hotter drier future and we think should be prioritized accordingly.
just a couple other points and I'll conclude none of this is news to anyone
on this Commission but leaving leaving us short should that happen worst-case
scenario of these highway improvements in assuming the federal dollars are
either at risk or deployed irrespective of our ability to meet the need on 152
neither is a scenario that you know that any of us would be happy with but on the
positive side I think it's at least in the group of legislators that I'm
working with including including senator Caballero and again we've shared this
with Caltrans the counter cyclical investment opportunities of these larger
legacy projects is enormous at this time when we're losing federal dollars right
and left it's it's an opportunity to keep them keep people working in granted
just about every highway project in the state can make that claim but it's an
really an opportunity for long-term workforce employment and development with
the kind of apprenticeship programs and in such that that come along with the
type of labor that are deployed on this this kind of a project. So again, this is
was just an opportunity for an oral report from me, kind of a verbal FYI, and
I appreciate the Commission's I know it's a long day today and I appreciate
the Commission's patience in allowing me to run through that. Soon we'll have
that all in a written correspondence to be shared by Caltrans. Our own leadership who's
been involved with this project in both houses at the highest levels, the governor's office,
and of course the commission. I just didn't want that to be a surprise when it comes along.
Thank you so much. Appreciate the opportunity. Thank you, Senator. Any other commissioners,
commissioner Tiffany. Thank you chair. I just wanted to mention a follow-up with Senator
Cortese's comments. This is in really in my backyard 152 and in Pacheco Pass which I came
over this morning and so I'm very familiar with the project that he's referring to. It would have
as he stated, a huge impact on the area and the whole state of California in terms of water.
The county I come from, Samio County, depends on the water there as well as, of course, Santa Clara
County and many other areas. So just joining in to say that, yeah, potentially a great project,
very important projects. Also, of course, in Speaker Rivas's backyard as well coming from
Hollister-Samuel County. So, I just wanted to echo Senator Cortese's comments. Thank you.
All right. Thank you. Any other commissioner reports? Commissioner Cruz.
Oh, I just wanted to thank the senator for his comments and also agree the importance of
that project as it relates to water but also the infrastructure associated with
You know, brain our state in alignment as far as being seismically fit and whatnot.
But thank you, Senator.
I look forward to working with you as well.
Any other commissioners?
Um, I have a couple of slides for my report.
Um, could we tee those up?
Very cool.
So I attended the California foundation on the environment and
economy transportation conference.
The foundation brings together business, labor and environmental groups to discuss
pressing issues impacting our state.
an environment meant for dialogue and understanding. I was on a panel with fellow Commissioner Joe
Cruz, where we discussed natural disasters and climate change and how to prepare workforce
and infrastructure for the changes already underway. I was also humbled to be honored
during a Juneteenth celebration at the conference, MC by our own ex-officio member,
Assemblymember Lori Wilson also recognized that this event was CalSTRS Secretary Tux Amishakan,
CARB Chair Leanne Randolph, and Sam Asafa, Director of Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation.
Next slide. I also was able to attend a fabulous event. This is the opening of the new Windsor
Smart Extension in Sonoma County and let's go ahead and play this clip. Just wanted to show
how big the crowd was for this event. Very large. Folks are out to celebrate their new train station.
Goes on and on. Next slide. And this is the official train coming through. We go ahead and
play that one. Now of course Windsor is a town of 26,000 people. This is just a component of the
multimodal work near the 101 corridor. These include bike infrastructure, improvements to
to Highway 101 and this new extension
and supportive land use, including affordable housing.
So congratulations to that region.
Next slide, or is that one?
Okay, I also attended the Inland Empires
Monday morning meeting, a confab of local leaders
from local industry, university chancellors,
elected officials and transportation leaders.
The meeting was an excellent opportunity for me to hear
about the region's economic development strategy
and the region's transportation priority.
So I really wanna thank them for inviting me down for that.
Also once again, congratulate Dina,
one of our own from district four, congratulations.
And that's my report.
So moving on, we will move to public comment.
Is there any public comment on this item?
There's no public comment.
We're moving on to item eight,
Calida Undersecretary James Hacker.
Welcome, James.
Good morning.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, members of the commission and CTC staff
and everybody for attending today.
I am new Calida Undersecretary James Hacker.
Still new on the job.
This is week two, I think it's day eight.
So playing catch up, enjoying getting to know the team,
sort of learning folks' roles,
as well as the large amount of work
that's currently going on under sort of our agencies and bit.
I've worked closely with CalSTA in the past,
as well as with the CTC in previous roles.
I came from the governor's office,
so I was most recently Deputy Cabinet Secretary,
and before that I was in the Senate,
so I've been in and around transportation for a long time.
And I'm excited to take this role
and work more closely with you all.
We can go to the next slide.
I wanna echo Director Taylor and Chair Grisby
in congratulating Dina for being appointed,
the current Chief Report Director
for being appointed the Caltrans Director.
Dina's been powerhouse with Caltrans for nearly three decades
and we're excited to have her at the helm.
She's got wide ranging leadership experience,
a great deal of technical expertise
and a deep understanding of the transportation challenges
facing the state and how to address them.
This appointment's effective July 1st,
we're very excited to have her on board
and I'm sure you'll hear more details about Dina
during the Caltrans report later today.
So yeah, and I also wanna take the opportunity
to thank Mike Keever for stepping in
and serving as Caltrans director
following Tony Tavares' retirement.
He's done a great job,
and we're excited to hear more from him
later this morning as well.
We'll go to the next slide.
Thanks.
Snow will jump into sort of core four updates.
We'll start with equity.
First, the Equity Advisory Committee, or EAC meetings.
CALS has been working with the inter-agency
Equity Advisory Committee to establish ad hoc subcommittees,
which I think you'll be hearing more about
from my colleagues later today.
And these subcommittees were excited to dig deeper
into equity efforts around things like community engagement,
policies and practices, transportation planning
and program guidance and data implementation.
These topics are cornerstones of our agency
and we're looking forward to continuing to bring ways
to implement these areas and to drive solutions statewide.
The transportation planning subcommittee met June 18th
and received an overview
of the Transit Transformation Task Force,
which is a particular interest to the EAC
which I'll be speaking more about a little bit later. Moving on to sort of broader equity actions at
the agency is that the largest work on our side has been continued coordination with our agency
departments and commissions about new and changing federal direction related equity.
And so we're working with our partners to better understand the parameters and changing terms and
conditions for things like funding, small business requirements, and sort of navigating the new and
change in environment with our federal partners generally. We're also continuing to work with
our sibling state agencies to develop clear program and policy language to describe
the need for additional equity work and the impacts for projects and programs across the state,
as well as to receive and to work with them on guidance for funded projects and programs
to make sure we continue to drive these investments and get the benefits that we're all looking for.
We'll go to the next slide, talk about safety. Just a couple of points here. First,
CHP's maximum enforcement period. CHP recently conducted a successful
statewide maximum enforcement period, also known as an MEP.
This MEP ran from 6am on Saturday June 7th through 5.59am on Sunday June 8th,
focused primarily on speeding, which is one of the most dangerous behaviors we
regularly see on the state highway system.
During this MEP, officers conducted 21,414 enforcement actions,
issued 17,949 citations, including 12,355 speeding citations, as well as 373 DUI arrests,
all in the interest of sort of driving increased safety on our roadways.
Moving on to DMV's driver safety program. This is DMV's program that promotes driver
safety by monitoring and evaluating driving performance of licensed drivers.
In 2024, this group handled 134,316 DUI cases and 104,108 medical license cases.
And data in from a recent program review showed that since from January 23 to May 2025,
the timeline for processing DUI hearings went from an average of 176 days to 78 days in May 2025,
and the timeline for processing medical hearings went from an average of 66 days to 35 days.
Additionally, the branch or the team's improved its processing of DUI and medical cases not
requiring a hearing to an average of 10 days, all of which helps DMV sort of process these cases and
these issues more quickly, take the necessary actions and make sure that we're keeping dangerous
drivers off the roadway. Moving on to DMV's autonomous vehicle regulations, as Secretary
Omashokan shared with you in May. The DMV has proposed updates and revisions to its existing
autonomous vehicle regulations for the first time in several years. The proposed changes first would
create a pathway for the testing and eventual operating permitting of heavy duty vehicles above
10,000 pounds and would also make a number of substantive changes to DMV's overall regulatory
framework including increasing things like enforcement abilities and increased oversight
reporting. The 45-day comment period for this rule ended on June 9th, on June 10th,
DMV held a public hearing in San Francisco with CHP to collect verbal comment on the rules.
The department is now in the process of reviewing those comments
and looking at any necessary changes in the regs that may be necessary to respond to those
comments if the departments do make any substantive changes they would
re-release the change regs and that triggers another 15 day comment period
so still lots of work to be done and lots of opportunity for public
engagement before that process concludes I'll move on to the the road safety
action plan it's called the RSAP Caltrans finalized the 23-24 RSAP what's called
the completion and evaluation report in early May of this year which is basically
looking at outcomes from that 23-24 plan. The 23-24 plan was the department's first ever
and worked to integrate the department's safe system approach as called for by the director's
policy on road safety. Lessons learned from that plan and that following report had informed the
25-26 RSAP which was recently signed by the Caltrans Chief Safety Officer on May 27th of this year.
The 2526 RSAP will continue to institutionalize safety across all of Caltrans's operations,
which is critical for reaching our goal of zero accidents. And lastly, just a couple of CHP updates.
CHP recently graduated two sets of cadets. First, Cadet Training Class VI24,
which is the largest class to graduate from the CHP Academy since 2022, graduated 133 new CHP
officers. They graduated on in May and they began work across one of the 102
CHP area offices on June 9th. Alongside them the CHP held a graduation ceremony
for the CHP's six new canine teams that includes three patrol and narcotics
detection teams, one patrol and explosives detection team, and two
narcotics detection canine teams and they began work earlier this month as
well. So if we can move on to the next slide. A couple of updates on climate action. First,
Governor Newsom recently issued Executive Order N2725, which is in response to the federal
government, so we consider to be an unlawful pull down of our clean air waivers. The EO does
a number of things across a number of different agencies, departments, and commissions, but most
applicable to CALSTA directs a number of state agencies, including CALSTA, to assess additional
actions to support widespread ZEV adoption across the state and issue recommendations
to the governor within 60 days of issuance. Force for additional actions the state could
take, including strategies for consumer protection, infrastructure build out,
voluntary engagement, as well as increased local partnerships.
Kelso staff will be working with other departments and agencies, including CARB,
to develop those recommendations in response to the order in the coming weeks. We might not say
may but I think the we will likely be reaching out to CTC staff in that process to help with it
and please contact our team if you have input on strategies through which the CTC can help us
advance the goals of the EO. Other major item here is the transit transformation task force
who's been working away for the last year plus. Their key focus is still delivering the statutorily
required report in October. All the committee members remain committed to that goal and are
working hard on it. Our recent meeting, which was scheduled for June 10th in Los Angeles,
was rescheduled due to the ongoing events in L.A., so that is tentatively set now for the second
half of August, and so we look forward to continuing that work. Just a couple of points
on other recent climate events. CALSA's participation in climate events plays an
important role in sort of agency leadership and in driving climate action, so a couple of highlights.
The 2025 CalSTA Emlet Rail Dies Carbonization Forum,
Emlet is the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure,
Transport, and Tourism occurred earlier this year down in LA.
That implemented a 2024 memorandum of understanding
between CalSTA and Japanese Emlet
and looked to drive cross-border collaboration
on things like infrastructure build-out, technology adoption,
and broader decarbonization efforts across the state.
Additionally, LA Metro's LAX Metro Transit Center
grand opening occurred, which is the image you see here
on the screen.
This was completed project with many years in the making
and overcome many challenges to get to the finish line.
And its completion aims to be a boon to everyone who lives
and works in LA or travels through LAX.
It serves LAX the second busiest airport in the nation
and will have direct connections to two metro rail lines
and 13 bus lines across both metro and municipal buses,
creating additional opportunities for transit use
across the LA basin, and also gonna provide
for hundreds of thousands of people
who will be attending the Olympics, the Paralympics,
and the upcoming World Cup in the coming years.
So we're very excited that one got across the finish line.
And lastly, Cal State staff attended
the California Foundation on the Environment and the Economy
that the chair highlighted.
I participated on a panel with Congressman Vince Fong,
and he discussed recent actions in Congress
and with the federal government and the impact on California.
And I discussed opportunities that the news administration
and the state writ large has to continue
to drive sort of our priorities.
And we had, I think, what you would call a spirited discussion
about places where we may overlap and places where we may not.
But overall, a good conversation.
We can go to the next slide.
Speaking of spirited discussions, high-speed rail,
we're excited that the project continues its forward momentum.
And we're excited to share that as of June 16th,
the Avenue 56th grade separation project
into Larry County, which you see here was completed.
It's the first major project,
major structure completed into Larry County.
Project was previously impacted by the 2023 floods,
but the new overpass is now open.
It covers 219 feet and takes local traffic
over the future high-speed rail tracks,
as you can see there under the overpass.
In terms of general project progress,
we've now completed 53 major structures
complete across the 119-mile initial construction segment,
including bridges, viaducts, and grade separations.
69 miles of guideway are complete
with active construction continuing across Fresno,
Kings, Tulare, and Kern Counties,
constructions advancing on the nation's first
dedicated high-speed rail yard in Fresno County
with completion targeted at the end of this year.
In terms of workforce,
The project is employing a weekly average of about 1,700
workers daily with 97% of the dollars spent on the project
going to California-based firms and generating an estimated
$22 billion in economic impact statewide.
Importantly, the authority is preparing
a request for expressions of interest
to begin the process of formal industry consultation
to explore opportunities for formal public-private
partnerships for a project delivery and operation
to attempt to drive some creative solutions that
deliver project segments faster, potentially
lower cost. We're finding ways to commercialize assets and allow for the project to be financially
self-sustaining and delivered on time. I'll take some plots for that one. Appreciate that.
An important part of that, Governor Newsom's cap and invest proposal which is currently before
the legislature and I know is a subject of ongoing budget negotiations. Governor proposed including
at least a billion dollars a year for the project through 2045 which would help
solve or eliminate the funding gap from Merced to Bakersfield and help
stabilize project funding in such a way that makes it easier to sort of plan for
the delivery of work better schedule that work as well as also by creating
some of that funding certainty make things like the the request for
expressions of interest that I talked about more appealing to our potential
private partners so we look forward to those conversations and to landing that
conversation with our legislative partners um it's impossible to talk
about high-speed rail without talking about the feds right now so just a
couple of notes on the recent letter from the FRA we've reviewed the FRA's
letter and I think fair to say that the authority strongly disagrees with the
reports conclusion they've issued their initial response within the the original
and they believe seven day timeline and they're working now in a more detailed
rebuttal to the letter in the coming weeks I think from the projects
perspective there have been no material changes to the project since our last
successful federal review which was in October 2024 when the project got a
clean bill of health from the FRA so the authority the administration don't feel
that there's any real legal basis to what the Trump administration is trying
to do so we're preparing our response to sort of rebut some of those claims and
we look forward to those conversations with our federal partners. Regardless of
that conversation the administration remains committed to the project and
looks forward to delivering it as planned. Next slide, please.
Economic prosperity. Just a couple of points here. First, the tariff roundtable. West Coast
ports want to thank the Commission for hosting a productive roundtable on May 19 that included
Secretary Omashakan, Director D.D. Myers of GO-Biz, and CDFA under Secretary Birdsong.
Secretary Omashakan delivered brief opening and closing remarks, and we enjoyed a productive
I think conversation with freight and port stakeholders,
you know, discussing impacts of recent tariff
and trade disruptions,
ways that they are adjusting to them,
and then things that this sort of working to talk through
and identify ways that the state can help support
some of their responses.
CALSA continues to engage with our freight support
and supply chain stakeholders,
and to help ensure some of that open communication
and data sharing so that we can be helpful wherever we can
as things continue to shake out
in the broader trade environment.
Talking about that broader trade environment, just a couple of statistics on the tariff
impact at West Coast ports.
Just a couple of measures.
First, container ships anchored off US ports, which is usually a helpful measure of sort
of port congestion.
Post-COVID we're averaging one or two a day anchored off shore.
In early April that went to zero before stabilizing.
Now we're back up to around two.
So, you know, these, the overall ship traffic is fluctuated.
Largely driven by tariff induced supply chain adjustments,
particularly on things like EVs, batteries and steel,
which are major,
major commodities moving through the West Coast ports.
Blank sailings, also known as canceled scheduled vessels.
So if somebody schedules a trip and then cancels it,
Blank salines at Porta Valley and Long Beach increased
by 21% from 10 to 31 combined vessels.
It's a very large increase.
The associated capacity loss was roughly 215%.
So I mean, we went from 119,500 TEUs
or 20 foot equivalent units to 376,400 TEUs
in lost or canceled capacity.
Ocean carriers largely responded by going
to fewer vessels, but larger vessels,
which mitigated some of the impact,
but the upshot is that we're seeing less cargo flow
through the ports, which means less work at the ports,
less work in the warehouses and less business
along the supply chain as a whole.
As part of that, rates per 40-foot container
increased from about $3,000 in early March
to roughly $3,261 by April, 12.6% increase
as folks tried to sort of get ahead of tariffs
or respond to them.
Upshot is that as fewer containers are coming in,
it's getting more expensive to ship those containers,
which again, just sort of rebounds through the supply chain.
All this rolls up into sort of cargo port volume declines.
In May, Port Sevillean Long Beach,
which combined handled about 35%
of the country's containerized imports,
dropped by 30 to 35%.
Port of L.A.'s daily vessel arrivals went from 12 to five.
Port of Long Beach saw a similar decline.
Combined with the blank sailings,
this will likely, in the coming weeks and months,
lead to a sizable decline in cargo volume moving through the ports which is gonna like I said sort
of have large knock-on impacts across the overall California supply chain which could impact up to
roughly 900,000 jobs. Some sort of specific impacts of those things you know we're seeing
some disruptions in the warehousing and inland logistics industries especially in the inland
empire you know cargo is down although the logistics experts are noting that there has
been sustained demand for imported goods, which has mitigated some of the impact, but the question
is sort of how long is that going to last. Farmers, especially in Central Valley, have
faced elevated import costs in fuel and fertilizer at uncertain export prospects as sort of foreign
tariffs, you know, increase or decrease based on U.S. actions, all which creates significant
uncertainty and makes their business environment harder. In manufacturing hubs, areas like Fremont,
who have a large semiconductor and EV footprint are re-evaluating expansion and investment
opportunities which has sort of led to a slowdown in deal making and project commitments.
So that is the supply chain update. Moving on to DMV mobile driver's licenses.
Number of individuals obtained the MDL continue to take up.
Warmore Californians are making the move and as of about 15 minutes ago, the number of people
on the mobile driver's license on the DMV wallet is 657,260, on the Apple wallet is
687,436, and on Google wallet is 124,848, showing sustained interest in mobile DL and
sort of additional, you know, digital identity management. So we're excited to continue that
work. Next slide. I want to thank everybody for being here today and for giving me the
time to speak, and I'm happy to take any questions. Thank you, Undersecretary. Is there any public
questions. Um I want to make a
comment on this item. Yes, we
do have one virtual attendee
with their hand raised. Diego
are I will unmute you now. Sir
you're on. It looks like Diego
has lowered their hand. Okay
Great. Um, any questions or
comments from the dias for this
here. And then I'm going to
prepare a slide for the next
time we see which I believe
will be in August and director
Kiever, I'm going to ask the
same thing of you. So maybe
it's just sort of one joint
thing, which is there is an
executive order that was
issued last year. And the
number is N2-24. It's around
housing and how the different
agencies and departments
across the state can do more
to work together to support
When you think about. Where
the agency is directed to do
certain things undertake
certain efforts love to get an
update from you at the August
meeting or whenever is.
Whenever is easiest for you on
how the agency is doing to make
progress on those goals and
I'll Mrall say the same to you.
I won't ask after your
presentation, but the same
would go. Thank you very much.
Thank you, Commissioner eager.
I get the questions almost every day.
So we want to make sure we put it out there.
High-speed rail is continuing.
This more than 1,500 construction workers
are still out there every day.
And whatever's happening in the federal arena
has not stopped the progress of high-speed rail.
So I just want to make sure I say that,
that you confirm that for me.
A hacker, please.
Yeah, that's correct.
Although I would make a minor update
that the current numbers I have
for daily dispatch workers is north of 1700.
So the work continues.
All right, any other commissioner comments?
Seeing none, thank you, Undersecretary and welcome.
Next, we're moving on to item nine,
Caltrans Director Keever.
Yeah, thank you Chair Grisby,
commissioners, Executive Director Taylor,
Senator Cartesi, Mike Keever,
acting Caltrans director for the next few days.
So what that makes me is the future former
acting Caltrans director, but also the former,
as well as the future chief deputy director.
So I was just kind of fun to say,
but I appreciate the opportunity to give the update here.
If we could go to the next slide.
So I too want to,
share in the announcement and the pleasure in, you know,
having Dina El Tawansi join us
as our next Caltrans director.
When I put out the announcement,
I wanted to make sure I had the opportunity.
I want to say it here.
I've known Dina for a long time.
So this is my colleague, this is my friend,
and I really look forward to working with you, Dina,
in this role coming forward.
And I just want you to know, you know, just, you know,
how the good hands that we're in
going through this transition.
So Dina has 27 years of distinguished public service
and she's been and previously we've heard comments on this
but currently in her role as the Bay Area
district four director
but she's held many other leadership positions
both in headquarters in Southern California as well.
Dina has a bachelor's degree in civil engineering
from Cal Poly Pomona, as well as a master's degree
in construction management from Long Beach State.
She is a licensed professional engineer
in the state of California
and a certified project management professional.
Dina's swearing in, as was mentioned, is July 1st,
but Dina, they are not waiting.
Your placard is up here and they're waiting for you.
And so just, again, one more time,
if we can, you know, congratulate,
you know, all of them.
We can go to the next slide, please.
So one of the major items here on the agenda today
are the SB1 competitive grants.
And I wanted to say a little bit about this.
So CTC will be considering, you know,
the next program of projects
for the three main SB1 discretionary grant programs.
So local partnership program,
the solutions for congested corridors
and the trade quarter enhancement program.
And as executive director Taylor mentioned earlier,
these programs will provide approximately $1.5 billion
toward dozens of projects across the state
over the next two fiscal years,
addressing, and we've heard some of the public comments
already, critical infrastructure needs
and advancing the state's transportation goals.
So Caltrans is one of many agencies submitted applications
for projects to be considered for this funding cycle.
And while applying for competitive grant funding
is a pretty routine process for Caltrans,
we are the DOT for California after all,
this cycle of project nominations marks the first time
that we've used the Caltrans system investment strategy,
a lot of you may know this better as CSIS,
to help guide the prioritization of projects.
So using CEASIS, that fulfills a department goal
to bring greater technical rigor and transparency
and how Caltrans sets its investment priorities.
It also fulfills a commitment made
in a climate action plan for transportation infrastructure.
Most of you know it probably as CAPDI,
which was adopted by CalSTA in July, 2021.
So as this funding cycle marks the first time
that we have used CSIS in this context,
I'd like to briefly explain what it is
and how it guided Caltrans project nominations.
Next slide, please.
So as mentioned, the development and the implementation
of CSIS was one of the key actions outlined in CAPDI.
Its development is also aligned with key goals
in the California Transportation Plan 2050.
CCIS is a data-driven framework and a performance driven approach that helps
guide Caltrans transportation funding and investment decisions in alignment with CAPTI.
CCIS provides a tool that uses clear objective criteria to assess projects that are being
evaluated for potential funding. So this tool, it allowed our Caltrans staff with their expertise
and knowledge of the projects to provide their assessment using the CSIS tool to the Caltrans
SB1 Executive Committee that deliberated and made the final recommendations to the Caltrans Director
on the Caltrans applications that were ultimately submitted to the CTC.
For this cycle of the competitive SB1 programs, each project that was submitted to the department
for consideration was first screened for the project's eligibility for the specific funding
program, in this case TCEP and SCCP programs. So the evaluations were balanced with factors
that included alignment with the program's goals, public engagement, project funding, schedule,
statewide prospective considerations among others. In other words, the project's alignment
with CAPDI goals was one of many considerations for Caltrans project prioritization recommendations,
which were provided to CTC staff. And if during the SB1 executive committee deliberative process,
the CSIS assessment changed, Caltrans did not go back and change staff CSIS scores.
Thus, the CESA scores are not the final product. They are an important input into the deliberative
process. So, CESA is a tool that Caltrans uses to assist us with our decision making.
Other agencies also competing for these funds have their own process to decide on what projects to
submit to CTC. It's not part of the CTC process, which is published and documented by the CTC.
So as not to interfere with CTC's competitive process, Caltrans does not anticipate releasing
the CCS related scoring information until the week of June 30th. So this is the first cycle
of using CCS. It was an important part of our process and as will be shown when we release
the information, it was significant in our decision making. We appreciate all of the input
that we received during its development and will continue to seek input as it evolves
and improves over time. In addition, Caltrans is planning to conduct additional stakeholder
engagement to address potential future updates to the CSIS framework that may be necessary
due to emerging priorities, evolving data, methodologies, or feedback on this funding
cycle. We anticipate seeking stakeholder input on proposed CCESIS modifications in the future.
Next slide, please. So a little bit on, you know, where we are. We're wrapping up a fiscal
year here. So just wanted to kind of hit a kind of a buy the numbers on a few topics.
So the first is safety. So since 2023, Caltrans has invested on average about a billion dollars
per year on safety improvements. These investments are prioritized for strategic highway safety
plan challenge areas, which you see there in the slide, which account for the majority
of fatalities and serious injuries on the transportation network. A single crash can
have multiple factors, so it can fit into multiple challenge areas. For example, lane
departures account for approximately 45 percent of fatalities and serious injuries on California's
roads. To address this, we're implementing median barriers, rumble strips, safety edges,
and horizontal curve warning signs, for instance. Additionally, Caltrans is using innovative project
delivery methods such as the Highway Maintenance for Safety Program, HM4 for the Wongs out there,
to deliver those types of safety improvements much quicker than traditional delivery methods,
so taking advantage of that program. And those examples of those improvements might include
rumble strips, reflective markings, crosswalks, and wrong waysigns, for instance.
So with these investments, Caltrans is focused on implementing engineering solutions as one part
of the safe systems approach to address safety. And we look forward to continued collaboration
with partners to further accelerate safety in challenge areas such as speed as mentioned
by the undersecretary and impaired driving. Next slide, please. So the influx of investment
in infrastructure that California has seen from from Senate Bill 1 and the Federal IJA Bill
in recent years has translated into record levels of construction work for Caltrans during the last
fiscal year. At one point, we had more than a thousand projects under construction worth a combined
total of over 15 billion dollars, so a record for us. Since the start of the fiscal year,
we've been performing on average over 440 million dollars of construction work every month
with a peak of just over 680 millions in the month of October. So these monthly
achievements translate into significant results on a on a much larger scale and so far in fiscal
year 24-25 we've completed at least 624 construction projects with a value of nearly 4 billion dollars.
Each of these completed projects represents tangible improvements in people's daily lives,
enhancing safety on our roads and making communities smoother and more efficient.
And generations will be able to benefit from these investments. Next slide please.
I want to provide an update on on PCH. So at the end of May, the US Army Corps of Engineers
completed the majority of its debris removal on PCH, which paved the way for the reopening
of the roadway to public use. Governor Newsom announced this milestone ahead of the important
Memorial Day weekend. While very pleased with the progress we've been able to make so far
following the LA fires, we're reminding people that repair and recovery work continues. This is
a construction zone still, and there will be intermittent lane closures and work ongoing.
there'll be the 25 mile an hour speed limit is in place to protect the people that are out there
working there's no stopping or parking allowed in the work zone in addition as recovery continues
we also have private contractors that may be working on safely rebuilding properties along pch
and debris hauling trucks will be entering from pacific palisades we're reminding drivers and i
ask that anybody that travels on this please slow down, use caution and protect those that are out
there working to help you with the recovery in this area. Next slide please. In light of the recent
milestone on PCH, I'd just like to give a shout out to the hundreds of Caltrans and contractor
employees who have gone above and beyond over the past several months to help the region recover
from the devastating wildfires. There we've acknowledged them before. I just can't say enough
the dedication of the people that we had out there right after these fires. So Caltrans
construction and maintenance crews were on the ground the very day the fires broke out.
They're working shoulder to shoulder with contractors to begin the long and difficult
recovery process and there after months of this work the commitment has not wavered.
These people have been out there working six-day weeks, 12-hour days since January 8th,
many of them averaging 12 to 14-hour days in the initial aftermath, and there was so
the response effort it demanded and it thus received extraordinary endurance and dedication
by these individuals. Very proud this is part of who Caltrans is. In addition to the tireless
efforts of Caltrans personnel contractors have played a critical role in supporting recovery
operations on the ground, including debris removal, slope restoration, traffic control,
and electrical work that's going on out there. I want to thank everybody that has collaborated
through this. We have our LA Director Gloria Roberts here. She's reported on PCH many times,
many, many, many meetings and working to try to make all of this happen. I've been out there
with them. It's incredible, the dedication, the collaboration that's taken to do all of this work.
There's still a lot of work to do, but that progress reflects the resilience, professionalism
of everybody that is out there deeply grateful to everybody that is doing that work on behalf of
the people in California and in the Malibu and PCH area. Next slide, please. And lastly,
last week, five Caltrans employees were recognized with the Governor's state employee
Medal of Valor. So this is the highest honor bestowed to public servants who perform
extraordinary acts of heroism above and beyond the normal call of duty and great risk of their own
lives. So I want to make sure I want to say their names and I want to talk about what they did.
So John Bedoya, District 8 Highway Maintenance Worker, and Isai Camino, District 8 Highway
Maintenance Lead Worker were acknowledged for their courageous actions taken to rescue a mother
and her child from an overturned vehicle on Interstate 15 on January 7, 2024.
Vernon Ladd, retired District 6 landscape maintenance worker and Jarrett Walter Lopez,
District 6 equipment operator, were acknowledged for their heroic service rendered while assisting
a group of children to escape their damaged school bus after collided with a fuel truck
on State Route 41 in Fresno on May 13, 2024. And Jerry Prado, District 7 maintenance area
superintendent for intervening in a suicide attempt and providing physical and emotional support
to a community member in crisis on March 13th, 2024. We're extremely proud to work with people
like this here at Caltrans who acted with courage and selflessness to save others.
Please join me in honoring them. That concludes my remarks today. Thank you for giving me this
opportunity. Thank you, Director. Is there any public comment on this item? There is no public
comment. Thank you. Thank you. Any commissioner comments from the dice? Vice Chair Falcone.
Thank you, Chair. And thank you, Acting Director Kiever. Just want to thank you for
your service and your continued partnership with us. Appreciate your really walking us through the
the CEASIS process and how that informed your project applications. I went forward to SB1,
really appreciate that and understanding that this is your first cycle of CEASIS, so appreciate
understanding that better. Also, I want to also congratulate Dina, your incoming director,
excited. You see a trend in leadership and transportation, and it's really exciting.
And look forward to your partnership with us, Dina, and joining us with the dias in the future.
But I also want to, you know, uplift your wonderful workers that continue. I mean,
every time I see them on the highway, it's very humbling that they're there.
serving us, ensuring that our highways are safe and that they are maintained
and that they're you know they're providing jobs for workers but you know
we always have to be mindful of their safety too. We need to serve them by
being thoughtful in in in our travel along the system so thank you for always
highlighting your workers. Finally, I also want to welcome Under Secretary
Hacker. I don't mean to hijack the Caltrans update but looking forward to
working with you. I'm not as organized as my esteemed colleague Commissioner
Elliott, but I do want to make this request and I made this request last last
hearing about an executive order that that that the governor signed in regard
I think last April of this year regarding a general generative AI and
how it may help with road safety and reduction of congestion. Really interested
in hearing how that will be implemented in transportation and how these emerging
technologies will help us do our work collectively. So with that, thank you, and look forward
to working with you. Thank you, Vice Chair, and definitely a plus one in all those comments.
Any other commissioners? Seeing none, we can move on to item 10, which has been withdrawn,
to item 11 with Carl Anderson regional agencies moderator. Great. All right, can you hear me?
Awesome. Good afternoon commissioners. I'm Carl Anderson with the Metropolitan Transportation
Commission and I'm here today to provide the regional transportation planning agencies update.
The RTPA group helped held its June meeting yesterday afternoon at the Sacramento Area
Council of Governments. We received and discussed key updates from our state partners. As such,
I wanted to share a few updates with Commission from our meeting and a few comments on specific
items to this month's agenda. First and probably the item that everyone is eager to talk about
today are the cycle for SB1 competitive program recommendations. The RTPA's fully support the
staff recommendations and would like to thank the SB1 team, specifically Matthew Yasgat,
Beverly Newman-Berkard, Naveen Habib, Lashar Award, and all the CTC and Caltrans staff who
supported the review and development of all of these programs. It's evident that the
recommended projects align with the voter approved and legislative intent of each of these programs,
collectively advancing the shared regional and state transportation goals.
To round out this year's this fiscal year's SB1 programming activities, the RTPA's are working
closely with CTC staff and our local jurisdictions to ensure that the SB1 local streets and roads
project lists for next fiscal year are submitted on time. Next, and also in this month's agenda,
The CTC staff will present the staff recommendations for the Metropolitan Planning Organization
component of ATP cycle 7. The RTPAs are also fully supportive of the staff recommendations,
which include $61 million in programming for 34 projects. I'd also like to thank the entire ATP
team for developing a fantastic program this last cycle that will advance the safety and accessibility
for numerous transportation users in each of our regions. The last set of agenda items that I want
to comment on today are the draft 2026 STIP or state transportation improvement program fund
estimate and program guidelines. Caltrans staff presented the draft state transportation
improvement program fund estimate yesterday which sets the funding for each county in the 2026 STIP.
The RTPAs would like to thank CTC and Caltrans staff for all their hard work in developing the
fund estimate and the program guidelines. The RTPAs look forward to working with CTC to develop our
regional transportation improvement programs that funnel up into the STIP through the remainder of
the year and finalize the 2026 STIP early next year. And finally at our meeting yesterday we elected
Lewis Zhao from the Orange County Transportation Authority as the new moderator for the fiscal year
25-26 year. I'll officially pass the baton off to him and he'll provide RTP updates to your group
throughout the rest than throughout the next year. That concludes my RTP update and I'm happy to
to answer any questions. Thank you Carl, it's been great working with you doing your term.
Any public comment? Yes, I would like to call on Carolyn Reyes.
You should be able to unmute yourself. Carolyn just put their hand down. Thank you.
No problem. Any commissioner questions or comments? Thank you Carl.
Next up is keep done.
No, part, Erin Hoyt, Rural Counties Task Force Chair.
Good afternoon.
Good afternoon, Chair Grisby, Vice Chair Falcone,
Commissioners, Executive Director Taylor,
and Senator Cortese.
My name is Erin Hoyt, Deputy Executive Director
for the Nevada County Transportation Commission
and Chair for the Rural Counties Task Force,
representing the 26 Rural Regional Transportation
planning agencies and local transportation commission.
The RCTF has not met since our last May meeting,
so I don't really have any updates
on recent conversations and discussions
with CTC staff and or Caltrans,
but I didn't want to note that we are tracking
the AB 744 transportation data program,
as well as today's SB1 program recommendations.
The AB 744 program represents a great opportunity
for rural agencies and other larger MPOs across the state
to have access to more centralized data and tools
that they may not currently have.
Many rural RTPAs utilize consultants for this data
because they have access to the tools.
They have the expertise where a lot of staffing
at the rural RTPAs, we don't have the staff
or the expertise to really purchase
and invest the time on these tools.
So I think this is a great opportunity moving forward.
And then with SB1 recommendations today,
they contain a suite of projects
greatly influence and help out multimodal and gives movement projects across the state.
There are even a handful of RCTF agencies who are on the list of recommendations for today's items.
This has been a highly competitive program and I commend all those agencies being considered
for funding today in their efforts. I also applaud your staff for conducting an open and transparent
cycle with the development of the guidelines, hosting office hours, and the due diligence that
that they invested today in order to arrive
at their recommendations.
I do have a feeling, and maybe you do as well,
that we may hear some commentary today.
That commentary may raise questions
about the recommendations that we may hear from staff.
But I think the real question in my mind is,
do these projects being recommended for funding
meet the intent of the voters,
the requirements of the guidelines,
and are they consistent with CAPTI?
If so, they should be considered worthy of funding.
These projects have been in the pipelines for many years,
maybe even decades.
And I think over time,
we will start to see a slow change to maybe other projects
that meet those ideals of what we want to see in the state.
And as my last item today, I'll close out my remarks.
I'm proud to announce that the National Association
of Development Organizations,
this is in association with the rural planning organizations
of the state, has awarded the Rural Counties Task Force
Rural Induced Demand Study,
a regional excellence and regional transportation award.
NATO, National Association of Development Organizations,
is a Washington, DC based association
representing rural planning agencies across the nation.
One of the initial goals of this program of the study,
the Rural Induced Demand Study,
was to further conversation about rural induced demand
and the understanding of it.
We've achieved the goal at least of having conversations
the state level. I understand that the SB 743 working group is, you know, picking up where that
study left off and conversations at the state level of how to address this and this issue,
but exceeded our expectations that we'd receive a national award. So I do want to say that the
RCTF should be proud of what they're doing. They're small, but they're mighty and to get some national
recommendations to seize our expectations. So with that, I want to thank you again for the
opportunity to present and I would be glad to answer any questions you may have.
Thank you. Any public comment? There's no public comment at this time. Thank you.
Thank you. Anything from the dais? Thank you for your report. Moving on to item 13, Keith Duncan,
self-help counties coalition. Good afternoon to you. There we go. There we are. Thank you,
Chair Grisby. I'm unfortunately not going to receive a Caltrans pension. I'm not Keith Duncan.
and I'm just Keith Dunn, your humble servant,
but I appreciate the promotion.
I'm here today on behalf of the Executive Director
of the Suffolk County.
We've had a busy spring working with the legislature
and policymakers to help move transportation policies forward.
We're involved in a number of discussions.
There are many of which have been gone over already,
so I'll spare going into those exact details again.
I will tell you that we are
and have just introduced legislation with Senator Perez
to look at making sure that citizens who reside
within transportation districts within a county
are afforded their constitutional rights
to move forward with citizens initiatives
and ensuring that they're doing that in a way
that meets all the abilities that are given to them
through the constitution and recent court cases
and other decisions to make sure that those programs
and projects receive full sunlight and the guardrails
that are needed to make sure the taxpayer's dollars
are protected.
I do also wanna tell you that I'm always thrilled
to talk about intermodal, multimodal transportation projects.
I know the SB1 program that's gonna be discussed later
in great detail includes many projects
that some folks may have some additional thoughts on.
But I wanna tell you,
the Suffolk County is our multimodal approach
to transportation infrastructure,
not only includes highways, but also rail, bikes,
peds, and the whole package of programs.
We often, all of us talk about safety,
and I'd be remiss if I wasn't able to look behind me here
and to the men and women in orange and yellow,
carpenters, laborers, operators,
and if I've missed any others, I apologize,
who are the front line of our infrastructure
in the development and building and providing our safety.
And as we look and talk about these projects
that they're putting their lives on the line for every day,
remember that they're the ones
who are providing the safety for all of us
as we look at roads and highways.
and your SB1 program and the projects that you
are considering today really do have a large component,
not only of mobility, but also of safety.
And I would just remind commissioners
and to commend your staff for taking a whole
list of approach at these projects.
And not only are gonna provide mobility for our communities,
but also ensure safety as the roads and highways
are still the most used mode of transportation in our state
and need to be supported, improved and encouraged
to have that safety component.
So I'd like to thank everybody here,
took time out of your days from your day jobs
to come and make sure that we're doing the right things
to provide safety for you
because you provide the safety for our community.
So thank you for that.
With that, I would just also, thank you.
I would like to say that Self Help Counties
is starting to prepare for, I think,
our 32nd Focus on the Future Conference,
which will be in San Francisco again this year.
I anticipate many of you will have invitations
to participate in the near future
and we will welcome those inputs
if other people have ideas.
But again, thank you for the opportunity.
It's good to see you all again.
And with that, I'll be quiet and take any questions.
All right, thanks a lot.
Any public comment?
There's no public comment, thank you.
All right, thank you.
Anything from the dice?
I see Commissioner Brescia.
Hopefully not wasting any time,
but you did mention pension in your first line there.
We have a real healthy pension running the carp,
so you gotta talk to those men and women on there.
I've got my application in, yeah.
Maybe you'd be a good model.
You'd shown some bridge work, Keith.
I know how to swing a hammer, so.
No doubt. Thanks brother. Thank you. Thanks for letting me why is a acre a little bit brother chair. All right Commissioner
proves
No, thanks Keith for that report that and just to piggyback on the whole safety discussion
Because we have seen an uptick in
fatalities and injuries especially in active
construction zones in California and we do a better job of protecting our workers in Caltrans has made that a priority
From day one, but there is a bill that's sort of been the process is a B
289 Haney that maybe at some point we can look at that bill more closely and
Think about taking a position to support and protect our important
frontline workers in California who are on our
Construction zones. So, thank you
All right. Thank you, sir. Thank you very much. All right next up
we're going to do our equity initiatives update. So, Correa. Great, thank you. Good afternoon,
commissioners, executives, and ex officio members. Tab 14 features our standing equity updates item.
I'll first provide brief remarks highlighting recent activities of the equity advisory
committee. Then I'll pass it over to EAC chair Martha Armist Kelly, who offer brief welcoming
remarks and we will close out the item featuring a short presentation from EAC
member and disability and accessibility expert Peggy Martinez. I want to begin
by extending deep gratitude to my colleague Sasha Lincher and the
administration and human resources teams at the Commission and at Caltrans
headquarters and district offices for collaborating and working expeditiously
to ensure our members of the Equity Advisory Committees were able to update and process
their onboarding documents, which came as a little bit of a last-minute surprise need.
The hard work of these interagency teams ensures that the committee members can continue to
receive their well-earned compensation for their advisory support as members of the committee.
So thank you for that interagency collaboration.
And now onto my updates.
The Interagency Equity Advisory Committee held business and executive meetings on May
14th of this year.
At the business meeting, members discussed and approved three new ad hoc subcommittees
which will help the committee accomplish advisory goals associated with the interagency work
plan.
During the afternoon executive meeting, members, commissioners and interagency executives discussed
We discussed next steps on a draft mission vision and foundational principles for transportation equity discussed the 2025 committee work plan and received an update from the Caltrans directors office of equity and tribal affairs regarding Caltrans community engagement
efforts. And as mentioned committee members took action during the business meeting to approve three ad hoc subcommittees, which met in mid June, and are the following.
The community engagement policies and practices subcommittee which elected EAC member Randy Torres
VanVlek as chair. The data implementation subcommittee which elected EAC member Naomi Iwasaki
as chair. And the transportation planning and program guidance subcommittee which elected EAC
vice chair Ana Gonzalez as chair so we really look forward to working with
those new subcommittee chairs to prepare to prepare for our August subcommittee
meetings and the next full committee meeting will be held virtually on
September 5th. With that that concludes my remarks I will pass it to EAC chair
Kelly. Good morning or good afternoon. Chair Grisby, Deputy Director Tanisha
and respected commissioners and leaders present.
I am very happy to be here today
as your newly appointed chair
for the Equity Advisory Committee.
Thank you.
I would like to thank the staff
for all their expeditious and welcoming endeavors
throughout this process.
It was a little bit of a start for all of us
coming back in our second term
and to be appointed as chair
from my respective colleagues was quite a humbling moment
because I really knew that they were all basically new.
They didn't know me.
And to be respected by my peers and elected as a chair
was very humbling, and I take it with a lot of honor.
I want to also recognize Vice Chair Clarissa Falcone
for taking the time and taking the lead
on welcoming both Ana Gonzalez,
Vice Chair Ana Gonzalez and myself,
and putting us under her wing
and really kind of doing what Chair Eager had done for us
in the other term.
And I just wanna say that I look forward
to having time with each and every one of you
to be able to learn and really focus,
which I've had with you as well,
to have an opportunity of understanding
what are the needs for the Commission and to be able to lead in a manner that
is effective and well moving moving and progressing. So far we had a splendid
start with the inclusion of our three subcommittees which as Sequoia mentioned
and their appointed chairs. Right now I just like to mention that member Carrie
Akimi Hernandez and I are working on an innovative perspective with our vision
and mission statement. I can only share a few tidbits today but I can tell you
that it is has movement and that's why I use that word movement because it's not just a linear
document it's so much more. It has color visual creativity as a component for further expanding
the richness of our great state. As we look into meaningful ways to express equity not only in
and written form, but in actionable and tangible outcomes,
it gives me great pleasure to report
that our collective work will not disappoint.
Again, thank you for this opportunity,
and I look forward to coming back in the fall
with a completed document,
which will just explore that idea
of movement and color and richness.
And we see that in our state,
and more than ever at this time,
with everything that is happening outside of these doors,
we wanna be able to show what equity means
if that word was taken away from us,
how would we show equity
through our vision and mission statement?
So thank you.
Any questions?
We're good?
Okay, good, thank you.
Thank you.
Well, good afternoon, everyone.
My name is Peggy Martinez.
I bring, well, I'm here from the beautiful
North Coast of California.
Caltrans District One is my home district
and they have been very supportive
of a lot of the information and concerns that I've raised.
So I want to acknowledge that.
Also, I appreciate the opportunity to talk with you guys
about these concepts that may or may not be new to you.
So the title of, oh, and I also wanna thank Sequoia
because she's gonna read a couple of the various items.
My braille formatting has a little compromised.
So she's gonna help me with that.
So this talk is called some very basic concepts
pedestrian safety and accessibility for people who are blind. So we can go to the next slide please.
So this one is called Disability and Blindness Statistics and Sequoia is going to read out
this content here. Sure Peggy, thanks. The ADA defines a person with a disability as a person
who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life
activity. Generally, this means the inability to see, hear or walk, someone with cognitive
issues, mental health conditions, neurodiverse conditions, developmental delay, and more.
One in four Americans has a disability, according to the CDC from 2020, and according to the
estimates from the 2022 National Health Interview Survey, 50.18 million American adults aged
18 and older reported experiencing some degree of vision loss. Of these, 3.89 million adults
have a lot of trouble seeing, even when wearing glasses, and 340,000 cannot see at all.
Okay, so I think it's important to sort of articulate these concepts as we consider safety
for people who are blind specifically, but I think it's important though to sort of state
the, you know, what is known about disability. People's experiences are very different
based on whether a person is born with a disability, whether a person acquires a disability
later in life. We know that we have a large number of seniors coming into the disability realm.
Disability also does span every socioeconomic and every other demographic that exists.
So people want to get to school and work. They want to contribute. They want to do all the various
things that any person would want to do in their lives and transportation and access and safety
being this incredibly important component. So I'm now going to show several slides
that are sort of designed to be a vision simulation set.
And these slides were I'm showing with permission
by the people who had this idea, which I think
is a really interesting idea, to show you guys a little bit
about vision loss specifically.
So let's move to the next slide.
Sequoia, or person who's ever doing slides, sorry.
All right, so what I'm showing here,
The thing about this slide is it's just
showing a busy intersection.
We have a pedestrian.
We've got a crosswalk.
We've got lots of different things going on
in this intersection.
This slide is basically illustrating
what it would look like for a person who has full vision.
OK.
All right.
So the next slide, let's go to the next slide.
This one is basically the same intersection,
But its focus and function is to show what it would look like
if you basically had like low vision or just some kind
of vision acuity issue.
And in this case, we're just looking at blurred vision.
So that's a person just using their vision.
So let's move to the next slide.
So this one is the slide showing the person,
the same busy intersection.
And the point here is that the person has no central vision.
So this is what someone would experience
who had no central vision.
All right, we can move to the next slide.
All right, so this is when a person has only central vision.
They've got peripheral vision loss.
So our intersection is sort of shrinking.
And it's becoming more and more challenging
for different sets of people.
All right, so let's look at the next slide.
So this is a slide and it's illustrating what that intersection would look like by a person
who has no usable vision.
So just sort of taking you through this little journey to get to give a sense of what some
people experience and the next slide, which we'll talk about and look at now, I think
question then becomes, well all right, if a person is blind or vision impaired, what do we do? How do
we learn? How do people navigate? So Sequoia is going to read us the content for this slide, which
is called orientation mobility. I'll just repeat that. Orientation mobility, independence training.
So we do receive independence training, but I'll just say really quickly that
this particular field of trainers, there's a shortage of orientation and mobility trainers.
So if you know any interested people who would like a very fulfilling career, this is one. So
Sequoia is going to read us a little bit about this. Thanks, Peggy. The white cane and the dog
guide are the primary navigation tools used by people who are blind and deafblind and are
internationally recognized navigation symbols. People who are blind and
deafblind learn cane travel and dog guide skills from master's level,
certified orientation and mobility specialists, or professionals with a
national mobility and orientation certificate. Orientation and mobility
training occurs throughout the lifespan to accommodate learning environments
such as neighborhoods, high schools, college or corporate campuses, a new city
or town, recreation area or park, etc. When one has quote appropriate orientation skills,
one possesses the ability to independently orient in most settings, being clear on the
current location, the direction of travel and the chosen destination. When one has quote
appropriate mobility skills, one can employ the tools, the modes and the means for independently
and safely navigating to the chosen destination?
We'll leave it there, you know, that that's really.
I guess the next slide is going to, we're going to discuss a little bit of this move to the next slide,
because I want to talk about influences that that affect safe pedestrian travel.
So I just want to say really quickly, though, that, you know, you have your orientation
mobility training, you've learned how to cross different types of intersections, you know, you
learn how to board buses, you learn how to navigate in large open spaces, and you know, there are a lot
of variables that occur when things are either installed in inconsistent ways, when there are
various obstacles and various factors that prevent people from feeling or being actually
being safe and then feeling safe in their environment. So we're going to look at this
next the content of slide nine and as I said its influences affecting safe pedestrian travel
and again we're focusing on people with sight loss. All right these include decibel level and
ambient noise, quiet cars, e-bikes, and scooters, protrusions and obstructions on
walking paths, lack of tactile reference points, and lack of related professional
and public education or awareness. So the decibel level as we you know most of
of us know who can hear.
We know that decibel level can greatly
affect many variables as we navigate.
When we've got really great acoustics within a room,
it's great.
When things are really loud, that's really challenging.
When we're out on the street and we've got a lot of noise
from vehicles, or we have no noise from silent cars,
This is a very huge consideration and...
I'll just slip in here.
This is why I think pedestrian hybrid beacons
are so important because they actually cause motorists
to stop where other tools suggest that motorists stop
but motorists often don't stop.
And when you have a quiet car that you can't hear,
traveling toward you or stopping or whatever,
it makes it very hard.
So quiet, silence can be just as challenging as noise.
All right, so protrusions and obstructions,
I think that's pretty self-explanatory.
When the infrastructure is designed with poles and hydrants
and guy wires obstructing sidewalks
that can be problematic.
So yeah, lack of tactile reference points.
We know that truncated domes are used to separate people
from the pedestrian path, from the vehicular path.
And my next slide is gonna talk about that.
But yeah, essentially, I mean, I could talk a long time.
I'm worried I'm taking too long.
But anyway, so yeah, public education
is a very important piece.
And this is something that I and my colleagues are not,
we'd like to see a lot more of.
We'd like to invite any Caltrans and CTC and CalSTA
anybody that is interested in this.
We do have lots of knowledgeable people
that would be glad to help.
So let's look at the next slide.
We just have a couple more to go.
So this next slide is basically a shared use path.
And it has, and so a shared use path being a pedestrian
and cycle path that is shared.
So the thing about this particular one
is that it has a line that is drawn or that is painted on
but there's no way for the blind pedestrian to tell
where the pedestrian side of these shared use paths is.
So let's just go to the next slide, please.
So this next one is showing a tactile delineator.
So this is something that's become more known
and becoming used now.
We have some installed, I was just in San Francisco
and this is where this picture was taken
just at the last CTC meeting, actually.
But so it's not only is it tactile,
but it has high color contrast.
So it can be viewed by people with low vision
and it can be very useful for people who have no vision
and are using their canes
because we definitely really need
and appreciate tactile reference points.
Okay, we'll move on to the next slide.
And I want to, let me see,
I'm just making sure I'm at the right thing.
Yeah, so this is an intersection
that has been installed or the pedestrian aspect
of the intersection that has been placed incorrectly.
And what I'm showing here is that the two poles that are
containing the pedestrian push buttons are not, well, sorry,
we're seeing a ped pole that's in a planter.
And that is going to obstruct somebody's potential reach
range to actually approach the ped push button.
Also, that is not aligned with the crosswalk,
which I'm honestly not sure if that's viewable.
If you can see that it's not aligned.
But my purpose for showing this particular picture
was that because this pedestrian pole is
inside of a planter, it's not a consistent way
of locating a ped pole.
And it's also potentially out of the reach
range for a lot of people.
Okay, so this next slide is an intersection
with everything done nicely
and all the alignment is right.
The truncated domes are aligned properly
within the crosswalk, the ped poles
and the tactile arrows and everything are all aligned.
And this is what we are wanting to point out to you
that when, you know, there are requirements and regulations
for correctly installing pedestrian safety
and accessibility infrastructure.
And we just would like to see that that really be carefully
reviewed before things are installed,
because once stuff's installed, you know,
doing retrofitting is, as we know, extremely expensive.
And it really doesn't happen in any kind of timely way.
And then the way that a person would potentially
get to school or work or to wherever their destination is,
is then compromised.
And then that person may not be able to actually even
travel using that roadway or that crosswalk.
So thank you so much for listening to my presentation.
I think it may have gotten a little lengthy.
Questions, anybody?
Thanks, Becky.
Yeah.
So any public comment on this item?
There's no public comment on this item.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Any questions or comments from the DICE?
Vice-chair Fokkonen.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
And thank you, Member Martinez, for being here
and providing a very unique perspective
and very impactful perspective of the challenges
that the visually impaired face in traversing
our infrastructure and really helps inform
the importance of design
when we're looking at planning our transportation projects
and how we invest.
So thanks, thank you for that and the visuals were very,
you know, it was really impactful for me, for us,
I think, if I can say it collectively for everyone
that it was, you know, very,
it really brought us to your world
and, you know, what you have to experience every day.
On that note, on investments,
I really wanna uplift EAC and the continued work
that you all do.
You're so integral with providing your perspective
and providing a real human-faced representing communities
that haven't traditionally been at the table.
And so thank you, especially as we're looking at
our projects that are being considered for funding with SB1.
Thank you for, you know, informing our guidelines
and also participating in our project selection.
And so having your voice and your assessment of,
you know, what we're doing at CTC, at CalSTA, CalTrans,
I can't, you know, understate how,
or overstate how important you are to what we do.
So thank you again for being here, Member Martinez,
and congratulations again to Chair Armist Kelly.
I think she's still here.
I think she may have stepped up.
Oh, here you are in the back for being here
and we look forward to your continued partnership.
Okay, I just wanna add one last piece
because I'm not trying to have people think
that my world is a world that is not a good place to be.
It's a fine place to be.
What we're asking for is just attention
to detail and good design and solutions.
That's really my request and my purpose.
So thank you.
Yeah, I do have a comment, Peggy, which is my mom
is losing her eyesight.
And she talks a lot about this attention to detail
that you referenced and it's nice to see it framed
in this way, that's understandable so that folks can see.
It also reminds me of the curb cut effect
brought up by Angela Glover Blackwell,
the idea that these improvements benefit everyone.
So thank you for highlighting this.
Oh, any public comment?
They already asked that.
Okay, great.
So now we're gonna break for lunch because clearly I needed.
We'll be back in an hour.
Alright, we're going to start.
OK, we're going to begin with item 15, Justin.
Great. Good afternoon, commissioners.
Tab 15 is the update on state and federal legislative matters.
The book item attachment includes a list of bills monitored by Commission staff.
Staff is not recommending any positions on additional bills at this time,
although the commission previously adopted the support position on SP470 by Senator Laird,
and that bill is still moving through the assembly committee process. Policy committees will continue
to meet until the legislature adjourns for summer recess on July 18th, and then the Senate and
Assembly will return on August 18th to complete their work for the year. As mentioned earlier,
this week the governor and legislative leaders announced a $321 billion budget deal for fiscal
year 2025-26. The budget deal contains no significant changes impacting the Commission's
funding programs, but it does commit to establishing $750 million in no interest general fund loans
to pay area transit agencies. It also defers final negotiations on the extension of cap and
trade or cap and invest until later in the summer. And Commissioners, this concludes my report.
Thank you. And there is a next to, is there action item?
Great any public comment on this item?
I'm not seeing any public comment on this item. Thank you. All right any comment or question from the dais
Uh, seeing none. Thank you so much. Justin, uh, we're gonna move on to
Actually, uh item 16 is still justin great. All right, uh, type 16 is an informational item
Keith duncan from caltrans budgets will present the item on budget and allocation to pass
I think that works. Thank you. Justin chair commissioners. Good afternoon. Happy thursday
Keith Duncan Caltrans budgets and I'll be presenting tab 16 the budget and allocation
capacity update next slide please. All right as noted on your agenda material and the slide
before you of commission through May has allocated about 5.6 billion dollars onto 738 projects
that represents about 46 allocated through the year through the month of May. We know that the
the agenda has over $3 billion, so no pressure,
but that is another sizable investment
to be able to be made.
Some of the questions we do get about this slide,
the intent of this slide is to be kind of a checkbook,
so you can monitor how the allocation capacity
is spent every year.
Next presentation will be the draft fund estimate
presented by my friend Garrett Franklin.
The fund estimate is set for both the SHOP and the STIP,
I'm sorry, the State Highway Operations Protection Program
and the state administration improvement program.
Both the fund estimates are intended
to set the base funding for every year.
The intent of this slide,
as well as any agenda materials
is to be able to monitor how we're making progress
on using those available funds.
So there's a nexus between why this slide is made
and then with our annual, with the biennial fund estimate.
Next slide, please.
Oh, there we go.
Here, just showing how the current year
compares to prior years from the percent allocated.
As you can see, the current year
is the bolder reddish orange line.
And as you can see, we were kind of in the middle
there through the fiscal year,
but now we've kind of reached last year's highs.
So we're making great progress there.
Next slide, please.
Here is just showing the total dollars,
so the aggregate allocated for the year.
You can see where they're still below last year's highs.
Again, no pressure.
There is over $3 billion.
So if we were to get all those funds allocated,
we could potentially have our highest amount allocated
that we've seen over the last several years.
So again, no pressure.
Next slide, please.
All right, as been asked before,
we just wanna provide a quick update
regarding the federal funds,
at least from a fiscal management perspective.
From a federal highway administration,
FHWA core formula funding perspective,
that's the core funding for all the programs
within the commission activities or the commission programs.
That fund, those funds continue uninterrupted.
We continue to be able to authorize projects,
obligate funds, get full reimbursement,
so that our core formula funds continue uninterrupted.
So that's a good thing.
The loan exception, it continues to be the NEBI,
the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Program.
That's the program that Caltrans works
with the Energy Commission to administer.
Those funds continue to be on hold as we await guidance
from the federal government when it comes to
what clarification or what changes,
policy changes that are gonna be made.
in relation to the discretionary funds or the discretion or the competitive programs.
Unfortunately, those grant funds awards are still kind of delayed as those program guidelines
continue to be revised.
We do have a couple that as mentioned last in May, we do still have a couple grants that
are coming through later in the agenda, an allocation for a little over $30 million for
the OTMA supportive entry project.
Part of that is grant funds and then also looking to potentially fund additional funding
for that project grant funds at the August meeting.
We'll continue to keep you apprised on that when we get to the August meeting.
Let's see, and then I think one of the items, just a brief update, I know Commissioner Elliott
back at the January meeting was asking questions about if there's any delays when it comes
to federal aid for emergencies, specific to the federal highway administration funds,
the emergency relief program.
We continue to get funds through that program.
They usually send out tranches probably twice a year.
The one hindrance there is that there's only $100 million a portion for this program.
nationwide. When we're looking at a billion dollars for Caltrans emergencies, it does
a little bit of a delay in getting some of those funds, but that is just a normal process.
The good thing is that the ER program does continue. That doesn't take into account other
commitments that have been made by the federal government to help us when it comes to relief.
Those funds will continue to monitor those, but at least from the ER program, those funds
do continue to be flowing. Next slide, please.
All right, knowing that July 1st is just a couple of days away, happy early fiscal year.
We like to try when it comes to the June meeting, give you a look ahead to what next year's
base funding capacity across all the programs within your purview.
So you're looking at about $6.8 billion in total across all those programs.
Again, STIP, SHOP, I've already done the acronyms.
Those are based on the 2024 fund estimate, and then as we go to next year, we'll be able
to add this next fund estimate. And just a quick clarification, any unallocated funds
that was provided from the prior from the first slide, any unallocated funds, they'll
be added to this total. So at the August meeting, we'll be able to add both your base funding,
as well as the unallocated funding. So we'll see what your total amount is when we report
back in August. Next slide, please. Looking ahead, again, July 1st, enactment of the new
budget. Justin has already hit on the major items from transportation perspective. So
we are awaiting the work by both the legislature and the governor there. The annual inflationary
adjustment to gasoline and diesel excise taxes as is required by the passage of S.B. 1 several
years ago. In August, my friend Garrett will be presenting the fund estimates for your
consideration for adoption, and then I'll also be presenting the final allocation capacity
so we can see what our targets are for next fiscal year.
Next slide please.
With that, as always, I wanna thank CTC staff,
Caltrans Financial Programming
and our Caltrans Budget Team, several billion dollars,
managing especially the chaos.
I call it chaos when it comes to managing the federal funds,
takes a team effort, someone appreciate everyone's help
and I'm available for any questions you may have.
Thank you, Keith.
Is there any public comment?
There's no public comment on this item.
All right, any commissioners?
Anyone in the dais has a question or comment?
All right, thank you, Keith.
Next is item 17, Vincent.
Good afternoon, commissioners.
Item 17 is an informational, or excuse me, tab 17,
is an informational item and Garrett Franklin
from Caltrans Budget will present the draft
2026 State Transportation Improvement Program
and Aeronautics Account Fund Estimates.
Good afternoon, commissioners.
Garrett Franklin, Caltrans division of budgets.
I'll be presenting the draft 2026
state transportation improvement program
and aeronautics account fund estimate.
Next slide please.
So as was discussed during the development process,
prior to providing the proposed fund estimate for adoption,
the department provides draft tables
for your review and insight.
we'll continue to work with
commission staff to incorporate any questions and review that you have.
In addition to that, the 25-26 enacted budget, as well as any associated signed trailer bills
that are available at the time of the August meeting, will also be incorporated into the proposed
tables. Next slide please. So a few key factors have impacted capacity for this 2026 cycle.
Overall, the combined total revenues are relatively consistent over the fund estimate period.
Although the fuel consumption is projected to decline, the funding impact is almost entirely
offset by the annual adjustment inflator to the excise tax.
Commitments have increased to a larger amount
of unprogrammed costs.
Most notably, both the frequency and the severity
of emergencies in the state have increased in recent years.
Due to the nature of these type of events,
the outlay of funding usually occurs more quickly
in a typical shop project. In the last three years, the amount of emergencies has been
double and even triple the amount of emergency relief that the state receives from the federal
government. Supplemental allocations in greater than 120s reflect prior approved adjustments
to costs, and also general fund adjustments to the state highway account influence the
amount of funding that's made available for subsequent shop. Next slide please.
This table displays the target, the draft target capacity for both the STIP
and for the shop. STIP target capacity over the full six-year period is
approximately 3.3 billion dollars and over the six years for shop is almost
cost of a $4.7 billion dollar
This represents a STIP target
capacity that's approximately
4.7% smaller than the 2024
cycle and approximately 13.5%
smaller for shop than in the
prior cycle directly underneath
each program's target capacity
is the balance of the 2024
and the cumulative new capacity available. New capacity for STIP is 1
billion dollars and for SHOP is 11 billion dollars. Next slide please.
Moving over to the aeronautics account fund estimate which is prepared and
provided concurrently with the STIP fund estimate, total programming capacity is
is $9.5 million over the five-year period and this already accounts for $1.5 million in annual
airport credit grant program funding each year of the fund estimate. Next slide please.
So there's two major milestones remaining in the fund estimate development process.
The first is the STIP guidelines and fund estimate workshop that'll occur next month
have a group meeting. On the
22nd. And then, as I mentioned
at the beginning of the
presentation, incorporating
your feedback and guidance, the
proposed tables will be made
available for the August
meeting for the proposed
adoption. Next slide, please.
And with that, I'd be happy to
answer any questions.
the city. If you're raised A C.
Thank you, chair, Risby Garrett. I wanted to dig a little bit further into the the new program capacity for both step and and shop and, you know, I asked this question of CTC staff to compare it to the previous cycle and from what I the numbers I see.
there's a fairly substantial difference from the prior cycle.
I don't know if you have it in front of you,
but what I have is that the new program capacity is going down about 37 percent per
step and about 34 percent for shop, which is pretty significant.
I know you spoke already about revenue is pretty stable.
So you touched on the emergency areas, which is creating quite a bit of problem.
So maybe could you dig into that a little bit further, because, you know,
like I said, the comparison is fairly significant difference.
And if it's not an issue of revenue, then it sounds like there's other concerns.
And I'm asking this question just from a, from our point of view,
is there anything that we can do, Caltrans can do, going forward to put ourselves in a better
position in maybe future cycles? Thank you for the question. So STIP is unique in the sense that
prior to the 2024 cycle there was considerable front loading because at that point in time the
revenue stream was a little bit smaller but then beginning with the 2025 cycle the way that the
program was programmed was relatively consistent funding.
And so now that we're two years on from that program,
instead of seeing the otherwise reduced program availability
for the existing program in those out years,
there's a new higher amount.
So from that new capacity standpoint,
even though the target capacity is slightly less than the 2024
cycle, because we have the tail end
of the current program, program to a higher level,
it has a more dramatic impact on the new target,
excuse me, on the new capacity for the 2026 program.
Now, is that also the case for SHOP as well?
SHOP is different in the sense that to your keen point,
the emergencies have resulted in a sizable increase
that was funding that was otherwise available for SHOP.
So because it's state funded initially
with the goal of receiving the emergency relief
at some point in the future,
the department basically has to account for that upfront.
And given that those projects do spend considerably faster,
it has an even more dramatic effect
on what's available for the subsequent cycle.
And then a related question regarding the revenue,
you're saying inflation pretty much offsets
the situation with the reduction in fuel.
At what point do you see that flipping?
There's gonna be a point where we're gonna start seeing
that revenue stream drop potentially significantly.
What are you projecting on that?
So as far as what we have seen
from the Department of Finance,
knowing that the fund estimate goes out
to fiscal year 2030-31, we see the decline in consumption
almost entirely offset by the inflationary adjustment.
that said the rate of decline does increase
as those years go out.
So I would say as early as the next fund estimate cycle
is when that conversation is gonna be even more acute.
And also any changes at the federal level
or perhaps even within the state
with things like the increase in zero emission vehicles
would also have an effect on that.
And it kind of speaks to the benefit
of this being an iterative process
that occurs every two years.
because even though the program extends beyond that,
it gives the department and the commission an opportunity
to level set on where we are and make those adjustments.
Okay, thank you for your answers.
I have a follow-up to Commissioner Tiffany's question.
So just for my edification,
you're saying the revenue is stable
because of the inflation adjustment, right?
On the excise tax, you are correct, yes.
But that would mean that we don't have
a hedge against an inflation.
So there would be a decline in purchasing power, correct?
That would be bigger than the numbers presented here.
Correct, and the idea that despite the declining consumption,
the revenue is relatively stable is not going to be the case
if the consumption continues to decline
at a more aggressive rate.
And as you're saying with the hedge for the increased costs.
Okay, is there a figure on what that loss purchasing power
might be because we may already be in that situation now, right?
I don't have that available, but we will work with commission staff to get you
that. All right. Great. Thank you. Any other questions for the guys?
Hearing none. Thank you so much for your presentation. Uh,
next up we are going to item 18, Lori waters.
Good afternoon.
Tab 18 is an information item to present the draft 2026
STIP guidelines. As required by statute, every odd numbered year and at the same time the STIP
fund estimate is developed, the STIP guidelines are updated. These guidelines describe the policies
and procedures for the development adoption and management of the 2026 STIP. The STIP guidelines
are divided into two sections, the 2026 specific guidelines and the permanent guidelines. The draft
specific guidelines were released as a pink item. So they are here in the meeting as a pink item
should be in your handouts. The specific guidelines provide the schedule and the
funding available for the 2026 STIP as shown in the draft fund estimate under tab 17.
It also includes any policy areas that we want to emphasize for the 2026 STIP.
Important updates to the specific guidelines, as reflected on the pink attachment, include
the statewide capacity for the 2026 STIP Fund Estimate identifies new net new capacity, mostly
in the two years added to the STIP, which is fiscal years 29, 30, and 3031. It also identifies
small amount of new capacity in the first three years of the 2026 dip, but
it is very small. The capacity in 26 and 27 through 28 29 will be sufficient to
meet programming commitments and cover some cost increases. There's no base
minimum for the 2026 fund estimate. This is because the limited capacity through
and every project through
2728 is not sufficient to fund
the unprogrammed share balance.
The 2026 STIP fund estimate
indicates a negative program
capacity for the public
transportation account or the
PTA. Therefore all rail and
transit projects currently
programmed in the STIP and those
nominated in the 2026 STIP
As a reminder all cost increases on currently programmed projects will impact programming capacity available for new programming.
The permanent guidelines describe the policies and procedures for the development adoption and management of the step.
All proposed changes to the draft guidelines were developed in coordination with the regions Caltrans and the interagency Equity Advisory Committee.
The last step cycle, the 2024 step, included some significant additions and revisions,
including a new community engagement section, additional language requiring regions and
Caltrans to incorporate complete streets elements to projects when feasible, requirements for
Caltrans in each region to include a fact sheet summarizing their proposed investments
incorporating the Climate Action Plan for Transportation Infrastructure, cap
tie, throughout the guidelines. This cycle, the changes to the permanent guidelines
were minimal as we continued to improve the implementation of the policies
adopted in the last cycle. Of note however, we did make a few revisions
including adding the active transportation program and federal
discretionary programs as admissible sources of uncommitted funding and
and we included a glossary section
as a reference for acronyms used throughout the guidelines.
Adding a glossary was at the suggestion
of one of our equity advisory committee members.
We appreciate the EAC's guidance
on how we can make our guidelines more understandable
to those not in the transportation field.
A joint workshop including Caltrans and CT staff
is scheduled on July 22nd
to discuss the draft 2026, STIP fund estimate
and program guidelines.
The workshop is available to the public
and comments are welcome.
The final guidelines will be presented
to the commission for adoption in August
after a public hearing is held.
Again, this is an information item,
but I'm happy to answer questions.
All right, thank you, Lori.
Is there any public comment?
There is no public comment, thank you.
Thank you.
Questions, comments from the dais?
hearing none thank you so much thank you next up is item 19 with Paul strategic plan thank you
this is an action item to approve the commission's 2025-27 strategic plan the proposed strategic
plan outlines the commission's mission vision and goals and objectives for the state's transportation
system and there should be a slide deck thank you you can go to the next slide here you can see the
proposed vision statement, which is for a safe, equitable, and multimodal transportation system
for all Californians, and the proposed mission statement, which is to invest in transportation
that improves communities, the environment, and the economy. I'll note that the vision and mission
statements, as well as our entire strategic plan, is in alignment with those developed by our partners
at CalSTA and Caltrans. Next slide please. The strategic plan has six high level goals
and each of these goals has about three to five specific objectives associated with them.
I'll just be showing the six goals on the slides but we'll verbally mention a few of the objectives
as well. Goal one is to prioritize safety. This goal will guide the commission's investments
and projects that focus on reducing hazards for all users of the transportation system.
Motorists, pedestrians, cyclists, individuals with disabilities, users of mass transit,
and also the individuals who build and maintain California's transportation system,
many of whom are here today. Goal number two is to elevate community voices. And to meet this goal,
the commission will invest in projects that are shaped by inclusive, transparent,
and meaningful public engagement.
The commission also will focus on public education,
helping people understand how transportation decisions are
made and how they can actively participate in shaping them.
Next slide.
Goal three is to ensure a healthy environment for all.
This goal will guide the commission's investment
decisions to promote environmental sustainability,
public health, and social equity.
Goal number four is to move people and goods efficiently.
To meet this strategic goal,
the commission will invest in projects
that expand accessibility and mobility options,
allowing residents to get to destinations
essential for their wellbeing in a reasonable time
and at a reasonable cost.
The commission also will invest in projects
to improve the flow of goods across key trade corridors
and thereby support a vibrant economy.
Next slide.
Goal number five is to partner for success.
With this goal, the commission commits
to maintaining strong partnerships
across all levels of government,
as well as with community organizations,
industry, and the public.
There is also an objective associated with this goal
for the commission to engage tribal governments
to ensure meaningful and timely input
in transportation decision making.
And that brings us to the last goal, number six,
which is to support a team where people continue to thrive.
Here, the commission will commit to continuing its investments
that enhance employee engagement and performance
and to maintaining workplace culture rooted in respect,
equity, and continuous learning.
Next slide.
And that concludes my overview of the strategic plan vision,
mission, and goals and objectives.
I'd like to thank everyone who participated
in the development of the strategic plan,
including commissioners, commission staff,
inter equity agency,
inter equity equity advisory committee members
and our partners at CalSTA, Caltrans
and other organizations.
And we particularly appreciate all the feedback
we received at the public workshop
and the EAC meeting held last December.
And finally also would like to thank our consultant team,
Eileen Jacobowitz and Selena Polston
from California State University Sacramento,
their assistance was invaluable in guiding this effort.
And with that, staff recommends approval
of the commission's 2025-27 strategic plan.
All right, thank you, Paul.
Is there any public comment?
I'm not seeing any public comment at this time.
Thank you.
Commissioner Eager.
Yes, thank you.
I got a little tear in my eye here, Paul.
So when I suggested a strategic plan,
I think it was four years ago, yeah.
And I think Tanisha had a look in her eye like,
are you crazy?
Because coming from the private sector,
you put together a strategic plan,
you hire someone, you go to a meeting or two
and then you get one.
The process that this took was monumental.
And I certainly understood that.
and working with CalSTA and Caltrans.
We want to thank them so much for assisting us
in this process, but Paul, you and the staff
that took this on and worked so hard
to make sure it wasn't just a document,
that it was a working document,
that it was this plan that we have for the future
of transportation in the state of California.
Now, why would I cry over a strategic plan?
Really.
You're a proud momma.
Yes, I am so proud.
This was the idea four years ago of where we wanted to be.
I just wasn't sure we would ever get there.
But I just wanna thank you and the staff
and the people that you hired so much
for all of the hard work getting us to this place
because this is that document that we dreamed
that you were gonna be able to do.
So I just wanted to thank you
and hopefully you'll let me make that motion
to accept this moving forward.
Thank you for your leadership, Commissioner Eager,
Vice Chair Falcone.
Yeah, thank you, Chair.
And congratulations to the staff and to all of us
in our collective work that we did,
and especially to the proud momma here next to me.
And it's for good reason, right?
I mean, I think it memorializes some of the things
we're already doing but it enhances and and it challenges us to to you know have a compass
right a north star in the work that we do um and I I've said before it you know what what I want to
see is um and and echoing what commissioner eager uh mentioned is that we want to see this
come into action, that it's something that is actionable, right? It's not something that
sits in the shelf and looks pretty and is a trophy. But you know you're already doing the work,
we're already doing the work with our partners and with all of you, but it will help us,
you know, it'll help direct, you know, keep helping us direct the work that we do.
I just want to offer our assistance as a commission, you know, to staff, this is not all just, you know, staffs heavy lifting that we all need to do this together and ensure that we're all all bought into making this this document.
council. Um, implementable and,
you know, something that that
we can show showcase in the
work that we do. So I just want
to uplift the work, um, and
congratulate you, Paul and
everyone of the staff. And the
E A C and those who have
contributed to this document.
So thank you. Thank you. Any
other comments from the dice?
motion to, uh, any public comment or motion? Oh, okay. Moved by a commissioner eager. Is
there a second? Seconded by vice chair Falcone. Uh, all those in favor. I opposed abstentions.
Motion passes. Congratulations to the commission. Next, we're on to, um, one of the big items,
20 solutions for a congested corridor.
Naveem.
Commissioner, TAP20 is an action item to adopt the 2024 solutions for congested corridors
program.
In an increasingly uncertain period with greater disconnects and mounting challenges, the transportation
community continues to bring people together.
Engineers and advocates, planners and policymakers, project managers and community members all
all working towards a shared goal to keep Californians connected through a dynamic and
agile transportation network.
The solutions for congested corridors program is a competitive program created by Senate
Bill 1 which funds targeted improvements to reduce congestion across the state in alignment
with adopted comprehensive multimodal corridor plans, also known as CMCPs, and regional transportation
plans or RTPs.
funded in this program expand travel choices, stimulate neighborhood vibrancy, preserve
local community character, and provide environmental benefits.
The program has evolved with that goal as its North Star.
Throughout this fourth program cycle, we collaborated with our program stakeholders to reaffirm
a central idea.
When infrastructure is designed with a people-first mindset, it supports a vibrant economy, elevates
community voices, moves people and goods efficiently, ensures a healthy environment, and fosters
meaningful and successful partnerships. The Commission established the 2024
Solutions for Congested Corridors Program as a two-year $480,956,000 program
and received 19 project applications totaling over $1.2 billion in funding requests
just this cycle. Requests continue to exceed program capacity by nearly $1 billion each cycle,
which demonstrates a great need for projects that address congestion across the state.
Commissioned staff supported by the California Department of Transportation, affectionately known as Caltrans, led a comprehensive review of all nominated projects using the criteria outlined in the 2024 solutions for congested corridors program guidelines.
Including corridor level impact, environmental readiness, public engagement, land use and housing alignment.
leveraged fund commitments and consistency with comprehensive multimodal border plans
and regional transportation plan.
In addition, California Department of Housing and Community Development staff evaluated
land use efficiency and housing benefits, and members of the Interagency Equity Advisory
Committee evaluated community engagement narratives.
Based on this comprehensive review and as detailed in Attachment B of this book item,
staff recommends funding seven projects for a total of 482,926,000 dollars. The recommended
2024 solutions for contested corridors program exceeds the identified funding capacity by 1,970,000
dollars and will be supported by future project cost savings consistent with the program guidelines.
The seven recommended projects provide a variety of benefits grounded in a performance-based
multimodal and community first investment strategy to reduce congestion in California's
highly traveled and congested corridors. The recommended investments leverage an additional
$13.5 billion in local, state, and federal funds that will create over 180,000 jobs and provide
communities with accessible and multimodal options to safely bike, walk, drive, and ride transit to
their preferred destination. Investments include a new passenger rail extension,
bike and pedestrian safety improvements, bus rapid transit expansion, and system technology
and mobility hub upgrades that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and give travelers real alternatives
to congestion. These projects demonstrate cross-agency collaboration and the evolution of cleaner,
safer, and more responsive transportation systems. Since the project nominations were submitted on
On November 19th, 2024, and staff recommendations were published on June 6th, 2025, we have received numerous comment letters which are included as attachment C in this book item, and as subsequent posted, as subsequent posted updates to the agenda.
Commission staff will offer optional debrief sessions in July for agencies that submitted project.
That submitted project nominations, interested agencies may request a session by emailing at C C P.
At, see a T. C. dot C. A dot G. O. V.
This presentation represents over 24 months of meetings debriefs workshops trainings orientations and office hours.
Where commission staff collaborated with various stakeholders and experts to prepare and adopt the program guidelines.
And evaluate all project nominations to arrive at these recommendations.
This would not have been possible without the support and assistance from all of our teams.
I would like to personally thank each individual commission and Caltrans team member who assisted with the evaluation process.
Sheridan Nansen, Francis Dios Sanchez, Vanessa Fahl, Leanne Badion, Emily Gibson, Rebecca Light, Shanique Labouette, and Cara Chu.
A special recognition for planning team members Laura Penny Baker, Cherries Amora and Destiny Preston for their thorough review of all submitted comprehensive multi-modal corridor plans and environmental documents.
And to Kat Kim for her thoughtful and supportive partnership during this process.
Thank you cheers to the entire SP1 programs team for sharing their expertise and always lending their support and assistance.
Our subject matter experts from the Interagency Equity Advisory Committee,
we thank Peggy Martinez for evaluating project equity and community engagement.
From the California Department of Housing and Community Development, we thank Western Starbird,
Michael Brotman Velasquez, Jasmine Moore, and Thomas Brown for evaluating land use
efficiency and housing benefits. Our incredible executive management team, including Executive
Director Tanisha Taylor and Chief Deputy Paul Velazowski, for their guidance, expertise,
and patience through this two-year long process. Our deepest gratitude to all of our stakeholders
for their continued support and involvement with our programs. And last but certainly not the least,
thank you to our fearless leader, Deputy Director of Senate Bill 1 Programs Matthew Yoskod.
Since few words can truly express my gratitude, I will simply say it has been a genuine privilege
and pleasure to be on your team these past four years. Thank you very very sincerely for everything
you do. Again, thank you all. These recommendations reflect our shared efforts,
shaping the corridors Californians will rely on, and proving that purposeful leadership drives
lasting policy change. Together, the seven recommended projects build upon the momentum
of past funding cycles toward a transportation system that is community-centered, multimodal,
sustainable, innovative, and resilient. These recommendations are more than a programming
action. They are a commitment to co-designing California's transportation system by the people
or the people. The staff recommendations are consistent with program statute,
the adopted program guidelines, and the adopted comprehensive multimodal corridor plan guidelines.
Commissioned staff recommends your approval of TAP20 to adopt the 2024 solutions for
contested corridors program. This concludes my remarks. Thank you for your time and attention.
All right, thank you so much. We're going to move to public comment now. First up is Congressman
Liccardo. Welcome to you, sir. Hello, Chair Grisby and to the board of the California
Transportation Commission. Thank you for first hearing public comment. We're grateful for that.
We don't do enough of that in Congress, but I do want to say thank you in particular
for your consideration of these seven projects and particularly the $75 million for the BART
Silicon Valley project under solutions for congested corridors under this item and then
under the local partnership program item 22 the $25 million as well. This BART extension is
critical and something I've been working on with a whole lot of other folks for literally a quarter
century. Bart Silicon Valley phase two will finally provide in the Bay Area a
ring of rail around the bay, connecting many overlooked neighborhoods in and
around downtown San Jose, a city of a million residents and some of the
surrounding communities finally being able to connect people in their housing
to the jobs throughout our Valley and throughout our region. This project
that directly addresses systemic transportation inequities
by connecting underserved neighborhoods.
And California has already invested
nearly $7 billion in state and local funds,
Californians, I should say.
And those commitments have unlocked
more than $5 billion of federal new starts funding.
We look forward to doing all we can
to continuing to support this critical project.
Thank you very much.
All right, thank you, sir.
Next up is the mayor of San Jose.
Matt Nathan
Good afternoon commissioners. I'm Matt may hand mayor of San Jose. Thank you all for your service to our state
I am here to voice strong support for item 20 and and coming up soon item 22
Which will allocate critical funding for phase two of the Bart Silicon Valley project
Thank you chair grisby commissioners executive director Taylor and staff for your partnership as well as the metropolitan
Transportation Commission. I would also like to give special thanks to Commissioner Carl Gordino for his leadership on transportation
locally here for decades and statewide as well as our hometown senator Dave Cortese who does so much on
transportation and many other issues
San Jose as you heard is preparing for significant population and economic growth in the years ahead as California's third largest city San Jose
according to MTC
Plan Bay Area 2050, the San Jose Metro area should see 33% of all new homes and 36% of
all new jobs across the nine-county Bay Area region.
This funding will advance a transformative public transportation project in active construction,
unlocking over 45 million square feet of transit-oriented development in our city and beyond and ushering
and jobs, housing, and vibrant public spaces near a clean and fast rail.
Bart to Silicon Valley isn't just a nice to have, it is central to meeting our region
and state's growth potential and expanding economic opportunity for all.
Thank you again for your service.
I respectfully ask for your support for these projects.
Thank you so much.
Thank you for joining us.
Now we will move on to public comment in the room.
Next up is Sarah Christian, Executive Director Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation
Commission.
Good afternoon commissioners and staff.
I'd like to thank the staff for their hard work on coming up with these recommendations.
It's a multi year process and they're very dedicated group.
So Santa Cruz obviously we're one of the awardees and we have the Watsonville the Santa Cruz
Multimodal Corridor Program which provides high quality transportation, choices, improves
transit service and reliability, addresses safety, advances equity, and reduces VMT and
greenhouse gas emissions.
Congestion in our region is crippling to the economy and the quality of life of our region.
This recommended award is transformative to our region by addressing the most constrained
portion of our multimodal corridor locally known as the Aptos Strangler where Highway
1, Soquel Drive and the Santa Cruz branch rail line all converge in the middle of our
county. Thank you to staff for recommending our project for award and I urge your support
in adopting these SCCP and LPP programs. Thank you very much.
Thank you. Next up, I'm going to call up Justin Paddock after him will be Jeffrey Dunn and
Kiana Valentine. So Justin Paddock is up first. Good afternoon. Thank you for joining us.
Thank you so much. My apologies for the run. Justin Paddock on behalf of the American Council
of Engineering Companies of California here to support tabs 20, 21, and 22, and also align
our comments with Transportation California. Happy to answer any questions. Thank you so much.
All right, thank you. Next up will be Jeffrey Dunn. And I was amiss to not mention earlier,
we're doing a two minute per speaker. Thank you, sir. Welcome. Good afternoon, Chair Grisby,
members of the commission. I'm Jeffrey Dunn, Director of Government Community Relations at
Metro Lane, passenger rail operator for the five county, seven California region serving a resident
population of 20 million people by providing safe and efficient transportation across its
545 mile network. Metrolink thanks the Commission for its consideration of the Metrolink sustainable
locomotive replacement project for award of 54.6 million dollars from the 2024 solution for
congested corridors program. This critical funding will allow Metrolink to procure 12 new tier four
locomotives to add to its existing fleet of 40 tier fours, the largest in the state.
retiring in the process 12 legacy tier two locomotives to fully transition the Metro Link
fleet to the cleanest commercially available locomotives in the world today. This generous
award will add to existing funding already secured by Metro Link in the amount of 98.2 million
dollars consisting of 87.4 million of Carl Moyer grant funds which are at risk for loss if this
funding is not awarded and an additional 10.7 million of funds committed by the five county
Transportation Commissions which comprise MetroLINK. Transitioning these locomotives to Tier 4 aligns
with the goals of the SCCP grant program and the state's ambitious Climate and Greenhouse Gas
Emissions reductions goals by operating far cleaner than the Tier 2 locomotives they replace.
Tier 4s emit 76 percent less nitrogen oxide emissions, 73 percent less particulate matter
emissions and 53% less reactive organic gas emissions than tier twos. Upgrading
these 12 locomotives to tier four will avoid more than 2 billion new vehicle
miles traveled in Southern California and reduce an incredible estimated
average 7,155 tons of carbon dioxide each year every year over the next 25
years. This will add synergistic air quality benefits to those already
provided by Metrolink is the first passenger rail operator in the country
to run all of its locomotives on renewable fuel, which are derived from
plant, vegetable, and animal-based fats and oils.
Sir, time's up.
Okay, thank you very much. I really appreciate it.
Next up is Keanu Valentine, Transportation California, followed by Jeanie Ward-Warner.
Good afternoon, Mr. Chair and commissioners.
Keanu Valentine, on behalf of Transportation California,
proudly representing the statewide transportation construction industry that designs, builds,
repairs, and maintains our multimodal infrastructure in the state of California.
TC and our member agencies strongly support the staff recommendations, which reflect sound
performance-driven stewardship of SB1 funds.
They align with the legislature's intent to invest in multimodal solutions that relieve
and the city of California. We
while also creating high quality construction jobs
that strengthen communities and the economy.
These investments reduce greenhouse gas emissions,
reduce safety issues for all users of the system
and expand access to sustainable transportation options.
The SCCP program before you today advances
both short-term congestion relief
and long-term transformation
that of California's most critical transportation corridors,
enhancing mobility for both people and goods,
improving travel times and delivering real benefits
to communities across the state.
The transportation construction industry
strongly supports these recommendations.
They uphold the goals of SB1 and provide a model
for high-impact collaborative infrastructure investment.
We urge the commission
to adopt the staff recommendations in full.
Thank you.
Thank you for joining us. Next up is Jeanne Ward-Waller followed by Francisco Salcito.
Welcome. Thank you. Good afternoon Chair, Commissioners. I'm really happy to be with
you here in person. I'm Jeanne Ward-Waller here representing Climate Plan alongside many of our
partners who are also here. I'm really excited to commend the CTC and your staff for the strong
slate of multimodal projects for solutions for congested corridors. I particularly want to
recognize Caltrans and SANDAG for the 805 project that told Lane HOT, HOV to HOT, excuse me,
conversion project. This is a cost effective highway project that will not only provide long
term benefits to travel on the corridor without widening. It will also invest toll revenue into
transit and active transportation options in the corridor. We would love to see more projects like
that project. We expressed concerns to you in a letter about two projects with highway expansion
components, but appreciate that they are part of larger multimodal corridor improvements
that have strong community support. The staff recommendation shows great progress
in continuing to align this program with the adopted CAPDI update and we're pleased to support
it. Thank you Jeannie. Up next is Francisco Salcedo followed by Martha Armaz Kelly. Good afternoon.
Good afternoon everyone, my name is Francisco Salcido. I am a field representative for the
NorCal Carpenters Union, Local 46 here in Sacramento. The seven projects recommended
for funding for the solutions for congested corridors program aligned with our state goals
of investing in multimodal transportation options to allow Californians to travel safely and
efficiently. These investments also address a growing problem for residents across the state.
Not only do these projects would facilitate the movement of people, but they also ensure that
goods can travel throughout the state connecting Californians to our two job opportunities.
We support investments in high quality construction jobs that will uplift workers and protect all
people who use our transportation system. This program focuses focus on a multi multimodal
approach to transportation investments meets Californians where they are and improves what
they need whether it be active public or highway transportation methods. The recommended projects
projects have been advanced based on CTC staff's recommendations that these projects are ready
to deliver, which maximizes our investments by reducing costs associated with delays.
These projects are ready, are ready to be built and our members are ready to build them.
We encourage you to vote, advance these projects.
Thank you.
All right.
Thank you for joining us.
Next up is Martha R. Miss Kelly followed by Kenneth Cal.
Good afternoon again.
Thank you.
As one of the EAC members who volunteered to review grants,
I would like to take a moment for a comment
reflecting on the process of SB1 review.
First of all, with respect to all staff
and their rigorous efforts
to bring these recommendations to process,
I commend all for their work.
I also wanna thank efforts of staff to incorporate the EAC
and the engagement of this process.
I do have some reflections on how we can continue
to incorporate equity considerations for future rounds.
We were given a select number of grants to review
pertaining to a specific section. As a part of the EAC ongoing mission and work, I would like to
continue developing with staff in achieving a more robust effort to address equity as part of
the program guidelines. To continue making the grant process more transparent by ensuring
priority populations are truly benefiting from these grants. As we move forward it is hoped that
we will use opportunities to fortify processes for community engagement as a driving principle in
and developing RFPs.
RFPs that will not only reflect community engagement
components, but inherently connect community
from inception of projects to completion,
thus creating space for intentional engagement.
The theory behind this is that if we allow the community
to know what we're doing in their community
from the beginning of these projects
when we're developing these ideas
and they are following through us,
that in turn really creates community engagement.
I commend all for what we have done,
but we have much more work to do
and I look forward to the opportunity
of having more possibilities for the EAC
to continue in these efforts,
as well as supporting anyone
that would want to incorporate community
and have these thoughts as their forefront.
Thank you.
All right, thank you so much.
Next up is Kenneth Cow and after that is Patrick Boyler.
Good afternoon, commissioners. I'm Kenneth Cowell with the Metropolitan Transportation Commission.
I'm here to express my agency's support for item 20. We have three items, three transit projects on
the agenda for you to consider. We have San Francisco MTA's train control upgrade project,
which will upgrade them from five and a quarter inch floppy disks, if you remember those,
into the 21st century for their metro muni system. The BART project will be extending
I wanted to thank you for
inviting me to be here.
We will be bringing BART into
downtown San Jose and onward into
Santa Clara, which will link our
largest city in Northern
California with the BART system.
And finally, the smart extension
to Healdsburg, which
Chair Grisby mentioned just
recently opened to Windsor. This will
extend it to Healdsburg, enabling
even more ridership.
So I want to thank
I know it took a lot of time and effort and want to congratulate and commend them for our job. Well done. Thank you
Thank you
Next up is patrick baller followed by eddie comes
Patrick boy low deputy political director operating engineers local three
On behalf of our local and the heavy equipment operators. We represent we wanted to thank staff and agree with their recommendations for the congestive
corridors projects that have been picked. These will be good paying union jobs for not just
operating engineers like us, but for carpenters, laborers, and many other building trades members
in Northern California and beyond. All right, thank you, sir. Next up is Eddie Cummins,
followed by Tom McGuire. Good afternoon, Chair Grisby and commissioners. I'm Eddie Cummins,
General Manager of the Sonoma Marin Area Rail Transit District. I want to thank the commission
and staff for the recommendation to extend our system to Hillsburg. This project will
reduce congestion on Highway 101 improving multimodal connectivity and expanding access
to affordable housing, tourism, and economic centers. The project includes track upgrades
to support both passenger and freight service that will support economic development in the region.
Our system helps the Bay Area address climate change, mode shift, traffic congestion, and
and mobility options, especially for service workers
and underserved communities in the region.
Smart ridership is currently at an all-time high
and continuing to increase.
Our new Windsor station is already performing
at a high level and I expect similar results from Hillsburg.
I appreciate the CTC's partnership
and ask for your adoption of staff recommendations.
Thank you for your consideration.
All right, thank you for joining us.
Next up is Tom McGuire followed by Michael Pickens.
Good afternoon, commissioners.
Tom McGuire, chief megaprojects officer for the VTA.
I wanna thank the staff and commissioners
for consideration of items 20 and 22.
And we wanna thank the Metropolitan Transportation Commission
for the nomination.
VTA is ready to deliver Bart's Silicon Valley phase two.
With our environmental clearance completed,
our design advancing,
and having broken ground on the project,
we're gonna deliver this transformative project on time
and with full accountability.
Our partnerships with labor,
Our local jurisdictions and our peer agencies are strong.
We're applying cost saving innovations in our design
and we're maintaining our focus on safety,
reliability and service quality.
Bart Silicon Valley will integrate Caltrain,
Capital Corridor, ACE and VTA's local light rail
and bus network offering seamless connections
across the entire Northern California region.
Every design and delivery decision we're making
has been made with the single goal
of reducing our long-term operating costs,
ensuring financial sustainability and aligning
with the aggressive and progressive local land use policies
and goals for affordable housing and development.
Phase two of Bart Silicon Valley builds on the momentum
that we have from the on budget delivery of phase one
by bringing nearly $7 billion in state and local funds
to match the historic federal commitment of $5.1 billion
from the federal transit administration.
We're committed to fiscal discipline, technical excellence
and transparent delivery of this historic project.
And we stand ready to complete this critical investment
and move Silicon Valley into the future.
Thank you.
All right, thank you so much.
Next up is Michael Pickens followed by Will Barrett.
Good afternoon.
Good afternoon.
Thank you, Mr. Commissioner, fellow commissioners, staff,
and I want to also thank Caltrans and all their staff
for all the work they've done
on this congested corridors program.
I'd like to touch on two projects.
I'm the district rep for the operating engineers
over in Snowman County.
First one would be the smart extension to Healdsburg.
that is a vital transportation easement project for our area.
It only will provide good jobs for workers that live in the area that will prevent
them from having to commute two plus hours down to the Bay Area,
the greater Bay Area for work or over to the Valley for work.
It will keep them local and working on projects for the foreseeable future.
It will also help ease congestion on one on one in my area.
And the other project is Highway 37, a much needed,
needed real-world solution to a severe choke point in the corridor.
For someone who travels that road every day, it is vital that we need not only for safety
improvements on there, but to keep people from sitting for 45 minutes to just go two
miles on a piece of road.
It is not going to change anytime soon.
There are thousands and thousands of Californians who just cannot commute to work.
This is a real-world solution to a real-world problem.
I urge you to adopt the TAB-20 item and thank you very much for your time.
All right, thank you for joining us. Next up is Will Barrett followed by Kathy Studwell.
Hi, good afternoon, I'm Will Barrett with the American Lung Association.
First of all, I want to say thank you to the staff and support their work and ongoing effort
to develop this suite of projects which are really rooted in active transportation, the cleanup of
of rail, increasing transit access, and other investments
really rooted in clean air advancement in California.
So we definitely appreciate that.
Much of the strategy set aligns with the Kapti framework
that we've long championed before you
and really wanted to emphasize that the shift here underway
to away from highway widening
and to cleaner, healthier transportation choices is critical
as Californians face the most difficult air pollution burdens
in the United States.
90% of Californians live in a community with unhealthy air.
Five of the 10 smoggyest cities in America are in California,
as are five of the most soot polluted cities in America.
We know the transportation is a leading source of these health
hazards, and too many communities
face too much diesel exhaust from the freight movement.
So these types of projects can really
go a long way to addressing environmental injustices.
But we know that these pollution burdens today
lead to costly unaffordable health emergencies and so this is a good step to addressing that
and this funding is really more important as we see more and more attacks at the federal level
trying to dismantle California's Clean Air Act authority, California's health protective
leadership and we need to do more things like this. So I just wanted to emphasize that again,
the work being done here to make this transition to cleaner, healthier, more sustainable transportation
is critical from a public health perspective. And we want to make sure that as you consider
this item and the next item, you take that to heart, that more focus on, away from highway
widening, more focus on sustainable transportation choices that don't add to our air pollution burdens
are more critical than ever. So thank you very much. Thank you to the staff. Thank you.
next up is Kathy Studwell followed by
Sarcas Katjic. Good afternoon Chair Grigsby, Executive Director Taylor,
Commission members. My name is Kathy Studwell. I'm the
acting manager of the grants program at SFMTA. I'm here to give my sincere
thank you to the staff of the Solutions for
congested corridors program without their support and encouragement we would never have been able
to put in the level of effort required over a two-year period to submit this application.
I also want to extend my sincere thank you to the staff in the strategic investment program at
Caltrans D4, Cameron Oaks, Marissa Brown, Josephine Millot, and many others who worked
with us as true partners to put this application together, meeting with us on a weekly basis and
towards the end almost daily. Without their advice and their guidance, we would not have been
successful. So I am truly grateful. The grant through this program is going to complete our
funding required. It is matched by 146 million of federal, other state and local funding. So it's a
great investment for the state. It also is cost effective. For every dollar put into this project,
the community wins six dollars in benefits and that is in travel time savings that is in travel
cost savings that is in reduced crashes including reduced fatalities and it is going to improve
access to jobs and other opportunities. So thank you again, very appreciative.
Thank you so much. Next up is Sarcas Kaczczyk followed by James Teu.
Thank you Chair Grisby, commissioners and Executive Director Taylor.
Sarcas Kaczczyk with the Santa Barbara County Association of Governments.
I'm here today to express our support and gratitude and thanks to the commission
for the investment in our corridor. It's a little surreal to be up here today to be honest with you
because we've been working on this corridor for over 20 years in partnership with Caltrans and
our local partners. So we're really excited to be here. With approval of the staff recommendation
today, we are happy to say that you're providing the final piece to the funding puzzle for
us to complete the corridor. This is a puzzle that includes over 20 pieces of funding. And
that's everything from Federal Transit Administration to STIP to even Proposition 1B. So it just
gives you an idea of how long we've been working on this corridor and we're thankful for the
partnership. I did want to say today that with once we complete our corridor
we will have had 16,000 jobs on the corridor since that time, so we're
thankful for that. I wanted to thank Matthew Yosgott, Navin Habib,
Brevalinima Burkhardt, LaShara Ward, Kayla Giesi, and the SP1 team. You guys are very
professional professional and um always looking at ways to help partners deliver on projects and
so we're appreciative of that. I also wanted to thank um the Caltrans team for all their partnership
with us um along the way um including uh angel pile with the sp1 program uh so with that uh
we're thankful for all your support and your investment and uh support those staff recommendation
Thank you. All right, thank you. Next up is James Pugh followed by Vanessa Schoenwald.
Thank you commissioners. James Pugh speaking on behalf of NextGen California this afternoon.
We just wanted to voice our support for the staff's recommendations on the Solutions for
Congestity Coordinate program today. These recommendations include significant multimodal
investments that will provide long-term travel benefits to Californians across the state.
I'm personally excited to ride a Silicon Valley FART extension to visit some family when it's
finally completed, but I also wanted to uplift projects like the 805 South Managed Lands
Conversion, which will convert existing HOV lanes to toll lanes and reinvest those revenues
in nearby clean modes of transportation. Projects like this can serve as a positive vision for the
future of transportation corridors around the state, and NexGen would like to commend District
So that's my goal.
I thank you again.
Thank you so much and thank you to the CTC staff for putting
it forward.
Thank you, CTC staff for the recommendations of projects that
will reduce traffic statewide and help align our transportation
investment profile with our cap ty goals.
Thank you.
All right. Thank you, James.
Next up is Vanessa shown wall.
Followed by Natalie Graham.
behalf of the Ventura County Transportation Commission. I'd like to
express strong support for the Santa Barbara US 101
multi-modal corridor project. This project is a top regional for the
Santa, this project is a top regional priority for the Santa Barbara County
Association of Governments and is equally vital to Ventura County serving
over 100,000 daily travelers and providing the only reliable north-south
connection along the central coast, especially when I-5 is closed due to
weather and emergencies. This project or Sandbag and BCTC have partnered for many
years to provide transit service in the 101 corridor, including the Coastal
Express bus service operated by BCTC. This funding will help advance that
partnership through the purchase of new zero-emission buses supporting both
counties efforts to reduce emissions and meet the state's climate and equity goals
the city of Santa Barbara. We
Good afternoon, Chair and members. My name is Natalie Brown with the Planning and Conservation League.
We'd like to thank the staff for their hard work on the solutions for congested corridors program
and support the staff's recommendation. The investments in sustainable and multimodal
transportation including rail, active transportation, transit, and toll lane conversions
are the right choices for long-term transportation and congestion reduction.
This includes our strong support for the 805 South Managed Lanes Conversion Project,
a cost-effective congestion smart solution which reinvests converted toll lane revenues in transit
and active transportation in the corridor. We do share prior concerns raised on highway
expansion components of two projects, the Highway 1 auxiliary lane in Santa Cruz and the Santa Barbara
Highway 101 segment 4E widening, but we urge the funding of the beneficial multimodal aspects of
these projects. We thank the CTZ staff for their hard work and for their recommendations that will
reduce overall VMT in line with the CAPDI framework. Thank you so much. Thank you. I just
also want to remind people to please speak slowly so our translation services can keep up.
thank you. Good afternoon.
Good afternoon, Chair members
of the committee, Kendra Ramsey
of the California bicycle
coalition. I want to say that we
support investment in
sustainable transportation
options which enable all
Californians to have mode
options including biking and
walking in transit and moving
away from investment in highway
expansions and VMT reducing
projects. Therefore we strongly
support the staff recommendations
It'll be a long term investment
for us, multimodal investments,
and we'll provide long-term
benefits to Californians.
We do share the prior concerns
about the highway expansion
components of two projects
previously mentioned, but as my
colleagues mentioned, strongly
support the multimodal components
of those projects.
We think this is an excellent
program.
We thank staff for all of their
work and the volunteers who
scored these projects, just
really excellent to see alignment
is Zach Gross followed by Doyle Ratford. Good afternoon, welcome. Good afternoon, commissioners
and staff. Zach Deitch Gross with Transform. I apologize for messy handwriting. We are
happy to support the staff recommendations for this program, particularly significant,
sustainable and multimodal investments. I specifically want to call out three programs, Smart to Healdsburg,
community train control system and BART to Silicon Valley as programs we are really grateful
are being funded here.
Transform works on housing and transportation issues in the Bay Area with a focus on climate
equity.
We are actually partnering with the School of Arts and Culture in San Jose on their TOD
program, and funding for programs like BART to Silicon Valley support access to these
important cultural assets and improve the vibrancy of our communities.
Thank you so much for your time.
All right.
Thank you for joining us.
up is Doyle Radford. Good afternoon, welcome to you. Good afternoon, respected Commission.
My name is Doyle Radford Jr. and I have the honor and privilege to represent the men and
women of Loyuna Labors, Local 185, some of whom came down today to support this. So we're
here to speak in favor of staff's recommendation of item number 20 as well as item number 22.
multi-modal transportation projects improve quality of life, the environment, the economy,
and they're going to create lots of good paying construction jobs. And a lot of these jobs are
pathways for individuals that society has given up on. It's a game changer and it gives them a
chance to become productive members of middle class and the society. In closing, I'd like to
thank staff for a sound recommendation and urge you guys to vote yes on this item. Thank you.
Thank you. Thank you for joining us. Next we'll go to the phones to see if there's any public
comment there. Thank you. We have one written comment and eight attendees with their hands up.
I will start by reading the written comment. The statement is from Linda Wilshuson, a former
executive director of the Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission and a former
regional agencies moderator before the CTC. Thank you for the opportunity to comment on this SB1
program. The main thing I'd like to highlight today is something I
parenthetically referenced in my letter in your agenda packet.
And that is the short distance merge problem caused by the two
very close Highway 1 interchanges over Soquo
Creek at 41st Avenue and Bay Avenue in Capitola. Anyone who drives this
segment of our Highway 1 freeway in Santa Cruz knows that this
This location is the highway's chokepoint, not the proposed $300 million project further
south in Aptos.
The proposed Caltrans Santa Cruz RTC Highway 1 widening project before you today will do
nothing to fix this persistent log jam on the highway.
The so-called Creek chokepoint has been made even worse with the Cycle 2 funded Highway
1 widening projects both north and south of the interchange area.
goals of the SB1 program are something I wholeheartedly agree with. It's my
professional opinion that this proposed Santa Cruz widening project will not
achieve California's transportation and climate goals in our county. This opinion
is supported by Caltrans's own environmental review conclusions for the
project. Thank you for listening to my public comment. Next, I would like to call
on Paul Heerling. Hi, good afternoon Chair and Commissioners. I'm Paul Heerling,
with the Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments.
AMBAG would like to echo comments from Assemblymember
Pellerin and the regional agencies moderator and others
in supporting staff recommendations
for the SB1 programs, especially SCCP.
The SCCP program represents a well-balanced,
multimodal suite of critical projects,
which enhance mobility, accessibility,
and safety throughout the state.
AMBAG wants to thank the Commission and Commission staff
for a transparent and equitable process,
which considers diverse transportation needs
across the state.
Thank you.
Next, I would like to call on Carson Link.
Oh, hello.
We can hear you, Carson.
Oh, hello.
My name is Carson.
I am here, Chair and Commissioners.
Thank you so much.
I'm here today on behalf of State Senator Monique Lamone
to express the Senator's support
of the California Transportation Commission
staff recommendations to approve SB1 cycle four funding
to the Santa Barbara County Project.
The approval of this funding is crucial to completing
the Santa Barbara US 101 multimodal corridor project,
a priority project in our district
that would alleviate traffic congestion
on one of the most economically important highways
in our Senate district.
We hope the commission will approve staff recommendations.
Thank you so much for hearing me today.
Next, I would like to call on Catalina Gonzalez.
Please unmute yourself to begin your comment.
Hi all, my name is Catalina Gonzalez. I'm a resident of Southern California and I work as a policy analyst at the Center for Progressive Reform.
I would like to thank staff for their work and express support for the recommendations for the congested corridors program, which includes multimodal investments in rail, transit and active transportation.
The project staff is recommending will provide long term benefits to these corridors. However, there are two projects that include highway expansion components that I would like to raise concerns about.
These include the Highway 1 auxiliary lane expansion in Santa Cruz, and the Highway 101 segment 4E widening in Santa Barbara.
I would like to urge the CTC to move forward with the multimodal aspects of these projects, but not with the highway expansion components,
which are at odds with the state climate statutes and the CTC's goals for clean air, climate, and racial equity.
Meeting these goals will require shifting SB1 funding away from highway expansion.
I also respectfully ask the CTC to oppose approval for six additional highway widening
expansion projects that are recommended by staff under the Trade Corridor Enhancement
Program, including the Los Angeles County SR-71 gap closure and the SR-60 interchange
in the city of Moreno Valley and Riverside County.
These highway widening components and projects not only increase congestion but repeat the
harmful pattern of generating more pollution for communities adjacent to these corridors
and the NGHG emissions and also displacing communities of color. Especially at a time
when there is high demand for high quality multimodal projects and limited state funding,
I would like to recommend and urge the CTC to prioritize projects that spend more cost
effective and spend more spending on cost effective projects that maximize benefits
for communities. Repurposing existing general lanes and increasing the share of bike and
pedestrian transit infrastructure are better ways to ease congestion, provide more transportation
options and reduce emissions. Thank you. Next, I would like to call on Fred Keeley. Please
unmute yourself to begin your comment. Mr. Chairman and members, thank you very much for
the staff recommendation of 128.7 million dollars for a range of programs in Santa Cruz
County Highway 1, a coastal rail trail, some improvements on some of our local streets
that help out with ADA issues and our very robust and effective metropolitan
transit district bus system. We are enormously grateful for the thoughtful work that went into
this and very much appreciate this recommended action and encourage you to go ahead and take
care of it. Thank you very much, Mr Chairman and members. Next, I would like to call on Eduardo
Montecino. Please unmute yourself to begin your comment. Good afternoon, Commission. I
wish I could be there. I'm actually traveling to get there, but you know, transportation, you know,
hit my agenda. So I'm in traffic, but I wanted to provide, you know, some comments about, you know,
supporting staff recommendation on the project for Santa Cruz County.
It's a well-ground commitment to the community, and we totally support it in South County where
our residents, even though it's not adjacent to the projects,
will benefit from our community patterns. So I want to thank you.
Next, I would like to call on Joshua Arce.
Yes, good afternoon Commissioner Joshua Arce on behalf of the California Alliance for Jobs. We're
a labor management collaborative representing 100,000 union construction members from the central
valley to the Oregon border as well as 2,000 industry employers and we would like to offer
up our support for this item item 20 as well as all the projects included same goes with respect
item 22 in in fact which will be heard a little bit later but all of these projects in this item
and in a little bit later the agenda they're all great projects that are going to help
work in families at this critical time by creating union jobs boosting our local and regional
economies they're not only going to do that but because of this all of the above multimodal
That's going to mean more time that those individuals can spend with their families in a better quality of life. So thank you to the staff. Thank you to the commission. We hope that you'll approve this item as well as 22 later in the agenda. Thanks.
We hope that you'll approve this item as well as 22 later in the agenda. Thanks
Next I would like to call on AC. Please unmute yourself to begin your comment. Hi
I just wanted to say thanks for the multimodal solutions for congested corridors, but wanted to
Echo what the previous speaker said about
not
approving funding for highway expansion
specifically the highway 101 and Montague Expressway in Santa Clara County highway widening and
Also the highway 101 in San Mateo County
As well as the one one two eighty in San Francisco highway widening
Yeah, I please don't fund those. Thank you
That is it for public comment on this item. Thank you
Thank you so much. We're going to turn to the dais now
We will take commissioner questions. I see Carl Guardino has his hand up.
Thank you Chair Grisby. We are sharing microphones so I had no button to push.
When it is time, I'd be honored to make a motion that we approve the staff
recommendations, but I just want to call out a thank you to everyone who is here.
everyone who is participating in person and virtually that's the way we have
robust, positive, successful discussions about these improvements and I want to
thank Matthew Yaw's got in his entire team. Not only for the great work Dave
done, the way they pulled in our EAC, HCD, so many stakeholders to help shape how
we viewed these possible improvements. There were tough choices to make with
19 viable grant applications but having constrained funds as we always do and
narrowing it down to seven that I as one Commissioner am just so proud that
we're able to fund and I hope the other twelve know that in the future in this
category or another category that they continue to work with our team to shape
those for potential funding so again mr. chair I don't want to get ahead of you
and our colleagues but I'd be honored to make a motion when you say that it's
appropriate time to do so. Any other Commissioner comments? I see
Commissioner Cruz. Thank you Mr. Chair. I just want to echo comments made by my
colleague. I appreciate all the input from all the various stakeholders
throughout California who make time to not only weigh in through letters and
correspondence, but also to be here today. I think it makes for a very robust
discussion. The vetting process is as equitable, I think, as it can be, and they
staff an incredible job in selecting projects that will move our state
forward. I also want to specifically thank the men and women of the
construction industry, three basic crafts, the carpenters, operators, and laborers,
in California. So thank you for
being here today as well. All
right. Thank you, Commissioner.
Commissioner Bradshaw. Yes,
Good afternoon, everybody. Thank
you, Chair. Uh I want to echo a
lot of what was said today. I
want to make sure I recognize
staff. It's definitely the best
and hard working staff in the
state of California. There's no
doubt about it. Um I do want to
focus on that, but I want to
focus on that. Uh, I want to
I do want to focus a bit on, you know, when we look at the BART extension, I was honored
to be a part of a team working collaboratively that caught the prior presidential administration
like within weeks of the change and were able to help support this project.
But that isn't the power of an individual from a labor union, that's the power of the
men and women in this room that build wealth every single day, put their lives on the line,
with those that work for the state but out there getting it done every single
day. Proud of this recommendation, proud to support all of it and just wanted to
put a little highlight that you heard a lot so it doesn't get lost though about
how this would encourage and support housing, production, the number one driver
crushing working-class folks in our state without a doubt but these types of
projects start to do some connectivity to help our folks move and I believe
every single hand in this room and I'm a hand to back in the day that when you
look at multi multimodal transportation but it's often out of the reach to have
a viable career as a construction hand so anything that occurs housing ties
things together creates that apprentice opportunity to pull folks up very proud
of our equity committee as well and one of the things that I know all the
organizations here speaking on behalf of the Carpenters Union but also to our
partners the labors and the operators we're the ones giving folks opportunity
no matter where they're from we look at a union card we don't look at where you
come from and so folks that need a hand up these projects will create that
opportunity and create a stimulus throughout the area it's a long time
coming all these projects to the thing about just want to mention it maybe I'll
be controversial widening a highways when you look at this stuff this is also
about safety of the community and connectivity and anyone who wants to
check out challenges with the highway I'll throw something on I've thrown down
a lot of times from this dais just go out to 580 and I five three in the
morning get up on the hill near the ultimate there and just check out what
happens to 90% working-class commuters coming in to the west and you'll get an
idea about how we'd have to skin all these challenges in a multifaceted
approach because that situation puts lots of people at risk every single day
and I do not for a minute believe that's created because there was a time when a
lane was added it was created by the decimation of affordable housing for
working-class folks and those who are up against it and so all these projects on
transportation and encourage that as well two-pronged solution to talk to a
a two-prong problem transportation jobs housing so I'm proud to support this
and I want to echo again our brothers and sisters from all of labor that are
supporting it here today thank you brother chair thank you and thank you to
the workers here as well Commissioner Elliott thanks very much I am also proud
to support this item I look forward to voting for it I grew up in on the
Peninsula in the Bay Area that where I grew up there was a deep jobs housing
imbalance and people had to commute from a long way to come to jobs near the area
where I was privileged to grow up. The BART extension and what hopefully one
day a future CTC will approve a full connection of the entire loop. It's
precisely the kind of project that I think is so important that we focus on
because it helps while we while we're not building housing with the BART
extension. We are helping people who have been priced out of the Bay Area to
get to those jobs to take them out of their cars, give them more time, healthier
air cleaner air. It's precisely the kind of project we should be focusing on to
help low income people and working people around the state of California
who need to travel long distances to their jobs. Thank you very much to the
staff for all the hard work on this. Great. Vice Chair Falkland. Thank you, Mr.
Chair. First of all, thank you to the members of the public that took the time
to be part of this process that both supported and expressed concerns about
the projects. I want to also thank those who have brought forward applications.
It's incredibly hard to evaluate the merits of each project and then to to
make recommendations. So, very, very proud of the staff and the work that they've done
and harnessing the cooperation from partners to evaluate these applications, all the hard
work that it took to get to cultivate the guidelines that helped with the selection
of these projects. I'm always in awe with hearing how long it takes to get a project
to come to fruition. We see these projects and we only see sometimes a snapshot of the
whole picture. There's a whole story to these projects and we only see chunks sometimes
and we fund chunks at a time and to hear that projects like the 101 will finally see something
come fully to fruition is you know is amazing because that's decades of work that's decades
of planning the project and garnering support for the project these projects will will serve
people. Help them get to where they need to go. It provides jobs and so I'm personally
incredibly proud of the work that has been dedicated to get to this point where we are
selecting projects that will finish corridors and provide relief for congestion and provide
community-based benefits. And so with that, I know that there was a motion and happy to second,
but again, I really want to uplift the work that staff has done. You guys really, I echo what my
fellow commissioners say all the time that you guys are second to none, truly. So thank you.
All right and uh I'm borrowing my two cents as well uh clearly we can't solve every problem
through transportation but I think the staff work today bringing them together all these diverse
perspectives around our state uh will lead us to a good path and will reduce the out-of-pocket
expenses for the average Californian and put people to work uh so this is excellent work
thank you to the staff and thank you to all you have who have participated and showed up
we love democracy and it's really fun to hear everyone voice their opinion. So now
we will turn to the dais, is there a motion? I'd like to make a motion and I
just want to say I'm so glad that our state senate chair and ex-officio
member Dave Cortez is here because his leadership on many of these regional
improvements that took ballot measures. I just wanted to call out as well it's
such a pleasure working with you on so many of those campaigns senator. So with
that I move staff recommendation on item 20 for all seven improvements. Thank you.
Is there a second? Seconded by Vice Chair Falcone. All those in favor? Opposed?
abstentions. Motion passes. Next up we will go to item 21 trade corridor
enhancement program Beverly. Thank you Chair Grisby. Commissioners tab 21 is an
action item to adopt the 2024 trade corridor enhancement program. The trade
corridor enhancement program was created by Senate Bill 1 to fund freight
infrastructure improvements on federally designated trade corridors of
national and regional significance on California's portion of the National Highway Freight Network
and along other corridors that have high volume of freight movement as determined by the Commission,
including corridors identified in the Commission's Senate Bill 671 Clean Freight Corridor Efficiency
Assessment. The Commission adopted the 2024 Trade Corridor Enhancement Program Guidelines at the
August 2024 commission meeting and these guidelines outline eligibility and
evaluation criteria by which project evaluations were conducted.
The commission received 43 applications requesting over 1.3 billion dollars in
funding. An evaluation team consisting of
commission Caltrans and CalSTA staff reviewed project nominations based on
the criteria identified in the commission's adopted guidelines.
Staff evaluations were limited to documentation submitted with a nomination package, including
the required performance metrics outlined in the program guidelines. Staff recommendations were
published on June 6, 2025 and are included in attachment B. Commissioned staff recommends
funding 24 projects for a total of $810,474,000 in 2024 trade corridor enhancement program funds.
The recommended program is over-programmed by $38,952,000, which will be offset by anticipated
and future program cost savings consistent with the Trade Corridor Enhancement Program guidelines.
These recommendations are in addition to two commission-approved projects that were
previously advanced-programmed in the 2024 Trade Corridor Enhancement Program,
the I-80-US-50 Managed Lanes Project, and the Coastal Rail Infrastructure Resiliency Project,
which together include a total of 185 million dollars of already programmed funding.
Altogether, the total number of projects already advanced programs and newly programmed in the 2024
Trade Corridor Enhancement Program is 26 projects with 995.5 million dollars in Trade Corridor
Enhancement Program funding. These 26 projects leverage an additional 2 billion dollars in
local, state, and federal funds and will drive economic vitality, boosting California's global
economic competitiveness while generating over 39,000 jobs in communities across the state.
Staff recommendations include a broad range of projects that will directly support goods
movement by enhancing the infrastructure that connects California's critical trade corridors,
marine ports, intermodal facilities, rail yards, airports, distribution centers, and border
for crossings, ensuring the efficient flow of food.
Can I ask you to slow down for others, please?
Thank you, Tanisha.
Ensuring the efficient flow of food, medical supplies,
construction materials, and other essential goods
that people, communities, and industries across the state
rely on every day.
The projects achieve freight benefits in many ways.
For example, the recommended projects
eliminate key freight bottlenecks such as at-grade rail
and road crossings and outdated intersection designs,
thereby increasing freight throughput,
improving freight speeds, cutting delays,
providing congestion relief, and reducing truck idling.
The projects also increase rail capacity,
shifting more freight onto trains
and off of congested highways.
Additionally, the program of projects
includes enhancements to on-dock rail,
allowing containers to be moved quickly off shifts
and onto trains.
The projects also provide multimodal improvements
at or near some of California's most critical marine ports,
including the ports of Long Beach, Los Angeles,
Winnie, Richmond, Redwood City, and Oakland.
Additionally, the projects enhance access
to intermodal rail yards, inland ports, warehouses,
and other key freight locations.
Continuing the momentum from last cycle,
the proposed program of projects includes over $94 million
in funding for eight medium and heavy duty,
zero emission vehicle infrastructure projects
that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions
and improve air quality for communities.
With 16 charging locations
along California's most critical freight corridors,
these investments expand the initial viable network
of medium and heavy duty zero emission vehicle
and the structure identified in the Senate Bill 671
Clean Freight Corridor Efficiency Assessment.
The California Energy Commission estimates
that there are 2,044 publicly accessible medium
and heavy duty zero emission vehicle charging ports
available or in development in California.
The eight recommended projects will add 509 charging ports
to this total a 25% increase to the statewide total.
The recommended projects boost charging availability
near the California Mexico border
and the state's most vital marine ports
and along key freight corridors in Northern California
that are currently critically underserved
by zero emission infrastructure for medium
and heavy-duty vehicles.
In addition to freight benefits,
the recommended projects provide complimentary benefits
that will enhance safety and livability
communities across the state while advancing California's climate and equity goals.
Collectively, the projects reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve air quality by reducing
truck idling for truck, by reducing idling for trucks, cars, and trains. Projects also include
habitat restoration elements, climate resiliency upgrades, charging infrastructure for zero-emission
passenger vehicles, and mitigation for vehicle miles traveled through expanded transit services.
The recommended projects include projects that reduce conflict points by eliminated
at-grade crossings, adding protected intersections, constructing roundabouts,
and updating outdated interchanges. Many applicants specifically discussed project features that
enhance safety for California's transportation industry workers. These improvements include
maintenance vehicle pullouts, enhanced lighting, and intelligent transportation system upgrades.
to protect highway workers, as well as rail signal upgrades, maintenance access points,
and advanced control systems to protect railway and port workers. Notably, several of the
proposed projects divert freight traffic out of neighborhoods and onto designated trade
corridors, improving air quality and safety for historically underserved communities disproportionately
impacted by air pollution.
Members of the Interagency Equity Advisory Committee
helped evaluate each project's ability
to demonstrate meaningful and robust community engagement
and respond to the needs of vulnerable
and marginalized communities.
And this input influenced project selection.
For many projects, engagement spanned across years
or decades, and community feedback led
to additional project elements, including class one
multi-use pedestrian and bicycle paths physically separated
from heavy duty trucks and other traffic,
dedicated bicycle and pedestrian overcrossings,
and sidewalk gap closures.
These improvements improve safety
while also enhancing connectivity to jobs,
schools, government services, parks, and places of worship.
Before I conclude, I would like to take a moment
to acknowledge the many individuals
who contributed to this effort.
First, I am extremely grateful
to the TSEP evaluation team, which included John Pray,
Celeste Elmanza, Gwen Hunter, Kenneth Lopez.
Excuse me, can we ask you to slow down, please?
Yes.
Yes, to fingerspell every one of those names.
Thank you.
Oh, yes.
OK, I will go much slower then.
OK, Sheila Innes, Madeline Jacobson, Nicole Jepson,
Raul Lerma, James Schenkel, Mackenzie Metzger,
and Nagesen Afee.
This team spent countless hours carefully
reviewing applications, bringing deep subject matter
expertise and thoughtful feedback
to every stage of the process.
I am also extremely thankful to the three Equity Advisory
Committee members who participated
in the evaluation process, which included
Howard Wong, Gloria Huerta, and Lisa Marie Alvarado.
Their insights and feedback influenced the final staff
recommendations, and I deeply appreciate the expertise
they contributed.
I'm eager to continue building on this partnership next cycle.
Thank you to the entire SB1 team for welcoming me so warmly
when I joined the team last July and for being
such a supportive group ever since.
I especially want to recognize Kayla Geesey whose work leading the guidelines development
last year set our team up for success.
I also want to thank Cheri Zamora from our planning team for her assistance and expertise
in reviewing environmental documents.
I'm incredibly grateful for my team, Kenneth Lopez and Sheila Ennis, both of whom contributed
to the evaluation process while leading other critical TSEP and Assembly Bill 744 activities.
They both were a constant source of support during the staff recommendations process and
were eager to help whenever I needed anything.
Thank you to Tanisha Taylor, Paul Golizzos, Paul I know how to say your name, I'm getting
tripped up because I'm trying to go slow, Paul Golizzoski and Justin Behrens for the
guidance, expertise and trust that you provided over the past several months as these recommendations
have taken shape.
And finally, thank you to Matthew Yasgut.
I think it's clear to everyone how deeply committed he is
to our programs and how tirelessly he works.
But even more than that, I couldn't ask for a more
supportive, thoughtful, caring, or kind person
to guide me through this process.
The staff recommendations are consistent
with program statue and the adopted guidelines.
Since the applications were submitted on November 22nd, 2024,
we have received several comment letters
which are included in attachment C,
which has both yellow and pink updates.
We've received numerous comment letters
since these updates and these letters have been posted
as subsequent updates to the agenda as well.
Additionally, please note that attachment B
has a yellow update with minor non-substantive changes.
So commission staff recommends your approval of tab 21
to adopt the 2024 Trade Corridor Enhancement Program.
This concludes my remarks
and I'm happy to answer any questions.
All right, thank you Beverly.
We're gonna switch it up this time
and go online first for public comment.
And let's start with Senator Grove first.
Senator Grove, you should be able to unmute
to begin your comment please.
I apologize, thank you.
I apologize for that.
Good afternoon Chair Goosby and all commissioners.
I'm State Senator Shannon Grove
and I'm here to offer strong support for item 21,
$62 million for the Tulare Six Lane project.
The Central Valley 99 corridor is key access
through our beautiful state.
Ag goods and movement and substantial North-South traffic
makes this project vital to reduce congestion at a minimum.
And it increases freight mobility
creating seamless corridor and traffic safety.
Thank you for your thoughtful consideration
of this vitally important project
for not only our Central Valley,
but for all of those who travel the 99.
And I'd like to say thank you to Commissioner Cargardino
for your incredible continued advocacy
for our beautiful Central Valley.
I really appreciate all that you do for us.
All right, thank you, Senator.
We'll proceed with the rest of the online comment.
Thank you, Chair.
I'd like to call on Nora Aoudakeel.
Nora, please unmute yourself to begin your comment.
We will move on to the next comment.
I would like to call on Donette Carter.
Please unmute yourself to begin your comment.
Thank you.
Good afternoon, Chair Grisby and members of the commission.
My name is Donette Silva Carter
with the Tularey Chamber of Commerce,
which represents 668 members with over 12,000 associates.
We want to express strong support for the approval
of the California Transportation Commission
staff recommendations for $62.7 million of trade corridor enhancement program funding
for the construction of the State Route 99 Tularee Six Lane and Page Avenue interchange
project.
This would complete the necessary funding for the construction phase of the project,
which is scheduled to start in FY26-27.
The California Department of Transportation and the Tularee County Association of Governments
have already received $98 million
in federal competitive infrastructure
for rebuilding America funding,
and the recommended TCEP funding is being matched
with $11.3 million of TCAG's regional sales tax measure R.
State Route 99 is a critical corridor
for commercial transportation,
supporting commerce in the San Joaquin Valley
as well as other regions to the south and the north.
therefore having an economic impact
across multiple California counties.
Additionally, it's a main artery for visitor traffic
given the central California region
being home to three national parks
seeing well over 5 million visitors per year,
another economic impact.
Plus we also have our resident traffic.
Everyone utilizing SR-99 through Tularey
deserves to have the best possible
travel safety enhancements.
Page Avenue is an important connector
for both residents and commercial traffic.
The proposed enhancement will mitigate safety concerns
and result in a safer vehicle and pedestrian pathway.
Again, we recommend the commission's support
of the funding.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Next, I would like to call on Hisham Noemi.
Please unmute yourself to begin your comment.
Good afternoon, commissioners.
My name is Hisham Noemi.
and the director of programming at CCTA.
On behalf of CCTA, I wish to express our deep appreciation
to CTC staff and commissioners
for nominating the I-680 SR4 project for thesis funding.
This interchange is a critical bottleneck
in Contra Costa County,
and the funding will allow us to enhance safety,
reduce congestion and improve operations for all users,
including freight.
The TSAP funds will be matched
by approximately $160 million in regional funds
to complete the project.
Thanks again, we support the staff recommendation.
Thank you.
Next, I would like to call on Paul Hirling.
Please unmute yourself to begin your comment.
Good afternoon again, Chair and Commissioners,
Paul Hirling with AMBAC.
AMBAC would like to join the many voices today
and supporting staff recommendations
for the TSAP program.
These 24 recommended projects will support goods movement,
efficient freight flows, and economic competitiveness
while improving safety, reducing GHG emissions,
and improving air quality
for disadvantaged communities throughout the state.
Anbag wants to thank the commission and commission staff
for a diligent process again,
and that concludes my comments, thank you.
Thank you.
Next, I'd like to call on Rob Poythress.
please unmute yourself to begin your comment.
Very good, thank you very much.
Good afternoon, Chair and Commissioners.
My name is Rob Poitras, I'm a Madeira County Supervisor.
And you may ask, why is a Madeira County Supervisor
calling in to offer my opinion on a project?
The project that I'm focusing on is the SR 99 Project
in Tulare, Madeira County along with Merced County
and Tulare County form a coalition to finish SR 99.
There are three reasons that we're moving forward with this
and that we work together.
Number one, it needs to be completed.
Number one, safety.
We have too many bottlenecks, too many pinch points
that cause issues for pedestrians and our drivers
and individuals that can cause serious accidents
regardless of where somebody is socioeconomically.
Second of all, we have the goods movement.
We have, we're the main artery up and down the state.
We know in our bodies, if we have any kind of blockages
in our main artery, it's not a good thing.
It can lead to serious implications.
The same thing is happening with SR 99,
with these pinch points up and down the state.
And the third thing is the quality of life for our valley
and as well as our number one economic driver agriculture.
People in our state rely on agriculture,
we're the number one producer of many products in the nation
and the completion of SR 99,
which would mean a long ways of achieving that
would be this particular project approval.
So I wholeheartedly support this particular project.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Next, I would like to call on Sam Emerson.
Please unmute yourself to begin your comment.
Hi, good afternoon, everyone.
My name is Sam Emerson,
and I am the outreach coordinator
for the Mobile Source Air Pollution Reduction Review Committee,
better known as the MSRC.
The MSRC is here today to express our support
for the Long Beach East Los Angeles Corridor
zero emission truck project in Los Angeles County,
which will be funded through the 2024
Trade Corridor Enhancement Program.
The MSRC will partner with LA Metro on this project
to increase access to charging infrastructure
for zero emission medium and heavy duty vehicles
along the I-710 corridor
near the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.
This project will build two new charging hubs
for zero emission drainage trucks,
which will be publicly accessible
and offer capacity to serve more than 300 trucks each day.
This project will not only advance
California's transportation electrification goals,
but will also reduce harmful diesel emissions
that have placed an undue health and economic burden
on frontline communities along the corridor.
Again, the MSRC enthusiastically supports the approval
of the Long Beach East LA Corridor Zero Emission Truck
Project under the TSEP program
because of the meaningful impact it will have
to improve public health, reduce noise pollution
and enhance the quality of life for truck operators
and local residents.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Next, I would like to call on Renee Cornell.
Please unmute yourself to begin your comment.
Hello.
Good afternoon, commissioners.
My name is Renee Cornell, Senior Project Manager
with the San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments.
We would like to express our support
for the SR-71 gap closure phase two project
in the city of Pomona.
This corridor is a vital link for the San Gabriel Valley
and the surrounding region, connecting four counties,
serving thousands of commuters
and supporting significant freight and goods movement.
The SR-71 is a key connector between the I-10, SR-60
and the SR-91 and plays an essential role
in the economic vitality and mobility of the region.
We recognize the importance of this corridor
in improving access to major institutions
such as Cal Poly Pomona and the Pomona Fairplex
and believe the proposed improvements
will significantly enhance safety,
reduce congestion and emissions and improve overall mobility.
With phase one of the project nearing completion,
timely advancement of phase two is essential
to delivering the full benefits
of this long awaited infrastructure investment.
Thank you for your consideration.
Thank you.
Next I would like to call on Carter Rubin.
Please unmute yourself to begin your comment.
Good afternoon Chair and Commissioners.
This is Carter Rubin
from the Natural Resource Defense Council.
Thank you for the opportunity to address you.
NRDC has been involved in the trade quarter enhancement program for several cycles.
And I want to start by acknowledging that the staff recommendation represents
significant progress compared to prior cycles with regard to aligning the
TSEP investments with Governor Newsom's executive order and 1919 and the
climate action plan for transportation infrastructure.
We strongly support TSEP's investments in the staff recommendation in truck
electrification, a state of good repair, rail projects,
and other zero emissions investments.
We are grateful to see such significant investment
in these kinds of projects.
Several more of this type of project
were not included in the staff recommendation.
We strongly hope that those types of projects
will continue to gain consideration
and come back for opportunities for funding in the future.
includes a number of grade separation projects, transportation, zero emission projects, the
kinds of investments that we know will help reduce the impact of the freight sector on
the communities that live near the freight sector and are impacted by truck pollution
and truck traffic. So thank you for your time and consideration and appreciate especially
staff's collaboration with us as we reviewed the projects. Thank you.
Thank you. Next I would like to call on John Swatalski. Please unmute yourself to begin your comment.
Good afternoon, Mr. Chair, commissioners john Swatalski executive director rebuild so Cal partnership representing over 2700 unionized contractors, and there are over 90,000 Union employees throughout Southern California.
Our mobility challenges require investment in every mode, roads, transit, freight, rail,
biking, and walking to ensure that a system that works for everyone in every region.
No single solution fits every corridor.
We need balanced corridor-specific strategies that combine transit enhancements with roadway
improvements and yes including targeted capacity expansions where appropriate.
SB1 is the cornerstone of California's efforts to build and maintain a resilient, equitable,
and yes climate-aligned transportation system.
This is going to create thousands of jobs and as we just heard, specifically heard,
39,000 jobs, 39,000 jobs.
That should not be dismissed but really celebrated.
So I commend you commissioners,
I commend the staff on doing great work.
This is a major public works investment
that is going to benefit working families
up and down the state.
Therefore, of course, we support this recommendations
and urge your adoption.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Next, I'd like to call on Leticia Austin.
Please unmute yourself to begin your comment.
Good afternoon, Chair and members of the Commission.
My name is Leticia Austin,
and I am the Public and Government Relations Manager
at the Port of Waineme,
also known as the Oxnard Harbor District.
I'm speaking today on behalf of the Port of Waineme
in strong support of the Ventura County
Transportation Commission's Waineme Road Widening Project,
submitted under the SB1 Trade Quarter Enhancement Program.
This project is critical in the next steps
in advancing our region's freight mobility
and transportation resiliency.
By expanding the roadway from two to four lanes
and adding class two bike lanes,
this project will relieve congestion,
support efficient goods movement,
and enhance multimodal access across Ventura County.
The Port of Wainimi plays a pivotal role in the region
and national economy as the only deep water port
located between Los Angeles and San Francisco
and the only military deep water port
between San Diego and Seattle.
It connects California growth and US manufactured goods to markets throughout the Western United
States and Southwest Canada, and to keep pace with this essential economic activity, modern
and reliable transportation infrastructure, like Waineme Road, is critical and vital for
us.
The Rice Avenue grade separation recently funded through TSEP was a major milestone,
and we believe that the Waineme Road widening project continues that progress.
With $11.34 million requested for the final design and right-of-way phases, roughly 70%
of those costs, this project is a strategic and cost-effective investment for the state.
We also want to highlight the benefits to active transportation users, incorporating
Class II bike lanes along Wineemey Road, part of the Pacific Coast bike route, we will improve
safety and enhance the overall cycling experience for local riders and tourists alike, and we
We respectively urge the CTC to give this application its full and fair consideration
and thank you for your time and commitment to improving California's freight quarters.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Next, I would like to call on Dohee Kim.
Please unmute yourself to begin your comment.
Good afternoon, Chair and commissioners.
My name is Dohee Kim with the Green Lining Institute and part of the Climate Plan Coalition.
As we all know, California is navigating an affordability crisis, climate crisis, and
public health crisis while frantically addressing devastating rollbacks in federal clean transportation
funding.
And we need to protect environmental justice communities from air pollution-related adverse
health outcomes, such as asthma and lung cancer, due to decades of redlining and disinvestment,
low-income and underserved communities living next to trade quarters, suffer disproportionately
from transportation-related air pollution from diesel trucks, we urge the CTC to reject the staff
recommendation for six specific highway expansion projects, namely SR37, the two-layer six-lane,
SR71, SR132, I-680, and SR60. With California's electrification regulations in parallel during
this critical time when we must invest more in cleaner and multimodal mobility options for our
communities. Half a billion dollars and potentially 73 million dollars more is being asked to fund
irresponsible projects like the highway widening project SR37. And I urge the CTC to consider
life-saving priorities and reject the staff recommendation for these six highway expansion
projects. Projects like SR-37 is an irresponsible investment into a highway project that will
literally be underwater within a decade of completion. With half a billion, we could
build solutions that smartly spend transportation dollars to help Californians breathe easier and
protect their natural environment. And it is critical that the CTC prioritize reducing freight
emissions by prioritizing truck electrification projects instead of funding unnecessary highway
expansion projects. Thank you so much. Thank you. Next I would like to call on Paul Tran.
Please unmute yourself to begin your comment. Good afternoon Chair Grisby and members of the
Commission. My name is Paul Tran, Senior Project Manager with CHISPA. We're the largest non-profit
and portable housing developer in Monterey County. We support staff's recommendation to fund Highway
one fifty six and Caswell Boulevard interchange project. Thank you so much for your time. Thank
you. Next I would like to call on Vivek Bhatt. Please unmute yourself to begin your comment.
Good morning. Good afternoon commissioners. My name is Vivek Bhatt. I am the senior director of
programming and projects with the Alameda County Transportation Commission.
Alameda CTC would like to express its support for staff recommendations under this item.
We are greatly appreciative for the consideration
of funding for the rail safety enhancement program,
which is a high priority safety improvement program
for my commission as well.
We would also like to appreciate the amazing work
by your entire staff, especially Matthew Yozgard
and his stellar programming team.
Alameda CTC also acknowledges
and appreciates the Metropolitan Transportation Commission
and Caltrans for your continued support
and partnership on this effort as well.
Thank you for providing me the opportunity to comment.
Thank you.
Next, I would like to call on Emma De La Rosa.
Please unmute yourself to begin your comment.
Good afternoon.
My name is Emma De La Rosa,
and I'm a policy manager with Leadership Council
for Justice and Accountability.
I'm here to request the commission to deny the approval
of the Tulare 6th Lane and Page Avenue
interchange improvement project,
Approving funding for this project will result
in funding a project with significant unavoidable
and unmitigated environmental impacts
while having specific air quality impacts
on environmental justice communities.
Approval of the project clearly conflicts
with Caltrans and the CTC's equity and climate goals
and thus cannot and should not be approved.
We do not support the capacity increasing
general purpose lanes addition to SR-999
which will induce significant passenger and truck BMT.
The project as proposed further separates
South City of Tulare
and the neighboring unincorporated community
of Matinee Track by providing the transportation system
for the growth of the city's industrial zones,
which separates the community.
The project does not improve connectivity
for pedestrians and cyclists.
In fact, while the project proposal claims
to provide Vanpool, and while it does,
it only provides it for five years,
despite the fact that this project
have lifelong impacts. Also, the additions of sidewalks that the project claims to to implement
to close gaps will only be stretched out to K Street and Laspina Road. That is not a disadvantaged
community specifically. None of the complete streets projects are actually going to make their
way to the community of Matheny Track. Many of us many folks who have provided comments
say that this project is important because of logistics and completely disregard the fact
that there's an unincorporated disadvantaged community in the area the same way that the EIR
also neglected to include it in their in their first draft. Please deny this project. Thank you.
Thank you. Next I would like to call on Farron Lee. Please unmute yourself to begin your comment.
Hi, good afternoon, members of the Commission. My name is Frean Leah. I am Legislative Deputy
for the L.A. County Supervisor, Helis Elise. Speaking on behalf of her support, as a member
of the L.A. Metro Board and Chair Pro Tem of the L.A. Board of Supervisors, Supervisor Helis Elise
expresses her support of the application requesting TSAP funds for the SR-71 North
Segment Gap Closure Project. These funds would be critical to improving access and connections
for trucks and automobiles in key areas of our county. Funding phase two of the project will
complete a series of decades long corridor improvements on SR-71, a critical goods movement
link between i-10, SR-60 and SR-91 including the city of Pomona which she represents and has for
over a decade. A completed SR-71 will serve a large and growing industry and logistics area faster to
destinations, improve freight network reliability and efficiency and implement a multimodal approach
to relieving congestion. Thank you for your thoughtful consideration of this application
and again Supervisor Solis wholeheartedly supports this project. Thank you. Next I would like to call
on Katie Albiani. Please unmute yourself to begin your comment. Hello my name is Katie Albiani. I am
speaking on behalf of Congressman Vince Fong. He is a member of the House Transportation and
infrastructure committee and also represents portions of Tulare County, Kern County, King's
County, and Fresno County. The State Route 99 project is extremely important to our region.
It is going to be an important expansion of our goods movement corridors as well as supply chain
infrastructure enhancements. We support this project and we definitely want this to be pushed
forward by both the state and federal government this is a priority for both the house transportation
infrastructure committee members as well as our partners at the local level this will not only
improve our supply chain corridors but it will also allow for economic growth in the region
which is definitely needed so please accept our support for this project thank you thank you
that concludes all public comment from our virtual attendees all right thank you so we're
So we're gonna go to the room now
and begin with Supervisor Vito K. Esha.
Good afternoon, commissioners, Chair.
Thank you very much.
My name is Vito Kiesa, Stanislaus County Supervisor
and also a member of StanCog as a policy board member
along with a few other boards
that interact with you from time to time.
So quick, I'm speaking in support of Highway 132 West.
And just so you know, back in 1960,
I always like to remind everyone 60 years ago Caltrans was buying right away out there we shelved the project when I say we someone shelved the project and I think they were waiting for me to grow up and then put it in my lap but I can tell you that standing cog and back in 2011 made this their number one priority for the county and in discussions with the community it really boiled down to four things safety component shifting traffic out of the disadvantaged community of West Modesto air quality and the movement of goods and services.
services, pretty simple. I lived in Stanislaus County for 60 years now and there's not a
single person in my county that has lived there that long that doesn't know someone
personally who's died on that road. I know three just up the top of my head. It's very
personal to me. This segment is very much about safety. It is a separated road with
no access, which is really what we need for that roadway. Stanislaus County, and I heard
one of the earlier speakers as an Ag-based economy.
So the whole valley is eight of our 10 largest
major manufacturing employers who are Ag-based,
Blue Diamond, Gallo, Foster Farms, ConAgrit,
and name a few of them.
So this is an extremely important project for us.
I'm proud to say we have the support of the Leona,
local, 1130 local.
We have the support of the California Truckers Association
as well as the West Modesto Community Collaborative,
which is a community based organization,
West Modesto, the disadvantaged area.
Everyone knows that it's time for us to do this.
We appreciate your staff
and all the work they've done on this project.
And we wanna thank you for your consideration,
this very important part project for Stanislaus County.
Thank you.
Up next is council member Elizabeth Wynn,
followed by Troy McNeil.
Good afternoon, chair and commissioners.
Thank you for allowing me to speak.
My name is Elizabeth Wynn.
I'm Vice Mayor at the city of Visalia
and I'm also the Public Transit Agency Rep
at Tulare County Association of Governments.
And I'm here to express support
for the SR-99 page interchange project.
This project is sorely needed from a transit access as well.
The existing configuration is not really safe
for transit buses to enter and exit that,
which limits mobility for our citizens.
And of course, our citizen safety is the utmost importance.
In addition, we have funding planned, mitigation funding
to support regional van pools,
which we are big on in Tulare County
and expanded bus service,
which would offset any potential VMT.
The city of Visalia, although 99 is not right connected
to us, these are our neighbors.
This is our region.
This is important to our transportation, our transit buses,
things that get our folks around and get our goods to market. So again thank you for the opportunity
to speak and express my appreciation for District 6 for their great design over the last decade
and all the great work you're doing here. Thank you. Thank you. Next up is Troy McNeil followed
by Tim Sullivan. Yes good afternoon Chair, Grisby, commissioners and staff. Thank you for the
opportunity to provide brief remarks in support of staff recommendations. Troy McNeal, Deputy
Director of the Darrick County Transportation Commission. I just want to say ditto to Supervisor
Rob Poythress' comments regarding the Tulare East State Route 99 project and add that staff reaffirms
the critical importance of completing the State Route 99 system to improve the safe movement of
people and goods throughout the Central Valley. Thank you. Right, thank you. Next up is Tim
Sullivan followed by Chiana Valentine. Good afternoon Chair Grisby, commissioners, you know
listening to the previous item and growing up in Fremont hearing about the projects in that region
it's just wow a very positive wow. I've since moved to Southern California and I serve as the
assistant city manager for the city of Rialto. Thank you for this opportunity to speak to speak
in strong support of the I-10 Riverside Avenue freight improvement project. So this project
address is one of the most significant freight bottlenecks in our region. In that interchange,
we have 38,000 cars, 7,800 trucks. So that's 20% of that traffic is trucks. It's very significant.
The project will deliver measurable results by adding pedestrian connectivity.
We'll see a 17% improvement in truck travel times by expanding lanes that span over a major
union pacific rail yard also the project will eliminate that major choke point that currently
forces these trucks to cue an idle there's quite a few accidents in this location so we're looking
at a 64 reduction in traffic accidents as well so uh not only that the air quality and improvements
the city of rialto is ranked in the 99th percentile statewide for population uh burden for air
population burden. So with your support the City of Rialto is ready to deliver.
We have strong partnerships with Caltrans who is also a joint nominating
agency as well as SBCTA. This demonstrates our commitment towards this
project. We also have almost 7.5 million dollars already set aside
for the project so we're ready to go. This isn't just a local infrastructure
project. It's a strategic investment in California's freight network and that's what we're looking
for. It addresses our safety concerns while improving the environment and all of the supply
chain efficiencies. Not all, but those deficiencies. I'm sorry. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank
you for your support. Thank you. Next up is Chiana Valentine followed by Sophia Reficode.
Good afternoon again, Mr. Chair and commissioners. Chiana Valentine on behalf of Transportation
California rising in strong support of the staff recommendations for the 2024 trade corridor
enhancement program. Every project included in the staff recommendation is within a CARB approved
sustainable community strategy that meets the region's greenhouse gas emissions reductions
target. These projects integrate transit and bicycle and pedestrian improvements
with targeted roadway enhancements, exactly the kind of thoughtful, multimodal investments the
state needs to make. In fact, some projects that are under criticism today make way for
transit and bicycle pedestrian infrastructure that could not exist but for the highway expansion.
That includes State Route 99, the interchange creates space for bicycle and pedestrian
infrastructure where none exist today and State Route 37 where the additional lane will actually
create an opportunity to put transit on that corridor for the first time ever. While transit
expansions and other modal enhancements remain essential and many rural and growing suburban
regions reliable roads are still the backbone of the region's mobility and most Californians
including myself, depend on a personal vehicle to get to work, school, and essential services.
Research shows that access to a car significantly improves economic outcomes for low-income
households as well. This TSEP proposal strikes a right balance between economic growth and
environmental stewardship, and so for these reasons we ask for the CTC's approval of the
staff recommendations in full. Thank you. Alright, thank you. Next up is Sofia Ravikova followed by
Shelly Kwon. Good afternoon commissioners. Sofia Ravikova with the Coalition for Clean Air.
I'm speaking to you on behalf of Californians who can make it today. Californians have nonetheless
submitted over a hundred letters calling for California Transportation Commission not to fund
dirty, polluting, traffic increasing highway expansion projects within the trade corridor
enhancement program. California has the most air pollution in the entire nation and is one
of the worst states for traffic congestion. Our communities are struggling to breathe,
while climate emissions continue to increase despite our state's efforts to regulate them,
resulting in deadly heat waves and sea level rise. Unlike what the project developers promise,
these highway expansion projects will not reduce congestion. These projects do not consider
or induce demand in their analysis, which states that increased lane capacity contributes
to proportional increase in vehicle traffic, meaning that all these quarters will become
congested in the long term. Not only will these projects contribute to the traffic problem
they're trying to solve, but they will negatively impact the quality of life for communities
living nearby. For example, the State Route 71 gap closure project will increase air pollution
burden on the disadvantaged community it is located in and will also displace households
living near the freeway to make room for the widening. The State Route 37 improvement project
has Caltrans's own analysis showing that this road will be flooded by 2040 due to sea level rise,
meaning that the CTC will spend 73 million dollars on a project that will be unusable by anyone in a
few decades. And finally the State Route 132 rule bypass will move traffic away from a desk to city
center, resulting in a loss of economic opportunities for local businesses while still increasing air
pollution and noise level for residents. California has the opportunity to stop investing in projects
that pollute our air, increase GG emissions, and worsen traffic. We urge you not to approve
these projects today for the sake of communities living near these projects, for the sake of your
children, and for anyone forced to breathe on a healthy air as a result of highways. Thank you.
Thank you. Up next is Shelly Quan and Mike Laura Afterworks.
Good afternoon commissioners. My name is Shelly Quan and I'm speaking on behalf of LA Metro.
We respectfully request your approval
of the staff recommendations today,
which will help us implement projects
that LA County residents have affirmed twice
as part of robust engagement processes
for our long range transportation plan
and our voter approved measure M transportation sales tax.
Firstly, we are grateful for the recommendation
for SR-71 gap closure phase two.
By closing the final two mile bottleneck on this corridor
and reducing delay and congestion
with idling cars and trucks,
the project will help reduce air pollutants
and greenhouse gas emissions.
The project will realize freight efficiency, safety,
and emissions benefits reductions region-wide
by creating a connected HOV network
and modernizing two rail bridges
at the convergence of major freight corridors
that carry goods to and from the ports of Long Beach
Los Angeles, the Inland Empire, and beyond. Secondly, we are grateful for the recommendation
for the Long Beach East L.A. zero emissions truck project. The I-710 South where this project is
located is one of California's top priorities for clean freight and air quality improvement.
This project will provide 133 vehicle or heavy and medium duty truck chargers to support the
transition away from diesel trucks. Again we encourage your approval of the recommendations
all of the projects are not only in alignment with the TSEP legislative focus on projects
that improve freight movement but also reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Thank you.
All right thank you. Mike Laura is up followed by Jeanie Wardwaller.
Good afternoon honorable chair, commissioners, and ex-official members. I'm Mike Lara, mayor of
the City of Beaumont. I appreciate the opportunity I have to speak with you this afternoon.
The Pennsylvania grade separation is a high-priority strategic plan project for the City of Beaumont.
It's more than a road project. It's about improving public safety,
mobility, and air quality, all while keeping goods moving efficiently through the San
and the last one is the first
faster emergency responses, and cleaner air.
It'll provide more reliable access to goods and services.
By easing delays and disruptions in the pass area,
it will improve rail reliability, reduce truck miles traveled.
And this really supports the shift from roads to rail,
which is a Caltrans priority.
So on behalf of the city of Beaumont,
I request your support of staff recommendations
to make this critical project a reality
for the residents of Beaumont and their nearby communities.
So again, I thank you and appreciate your time
this afternoon to consider this item.
All right, thank you very much.
Next up is Jeanie Ward-Waller,
followed by Kyle Swarins.
Good afternoon.
Again, Commissioner Jeanie Ward-Waller
on behalf of Climate Plan.
We want to express serious concerns with the TCIP staff recommendation, especially six highway expansion projects.
According to Caltrans data, state routes 37 truck volumes are only 9% on average and the express purpose of this project is to address commuter congestion, not freight movement with a toad lane that won't carry trucks.
Worse projections by MTC and the Bay Conservation Development Commission show this entire corridor underwater as soon as 2040.
So we want to ensure that you are aware of the serious near term risks to this corridor, which could preclude eligibility for federal funds.
680 at State Route 4, State Route 71, State Route 60 all carry less than the statewide average of 10.5% truck volume by segment. These are not significant trade corridors.
State Route 99 and State Route 132 both have higher than average truck volumes especially State Route 99
but both proposed GP lane solutions not designed specifically to move more trucks
and will induce more passenger vehicles. In a region with the worst air quality in the country
every investment in this region should reduce, not increase, air pollution. You've agreed to
the new CAPDI recommendation for this program to prioritize projects that mitigate increases to
passenger passenger VMT, but not until the next cycle two years from now. The
urgency of the climate crisis is exacerbating the extreme heat, wildfires,
floods, and dangerous weather we are experiencing now and demand different
solutions now. Please don't delay. I'll echo Carter from NRDC in mentioning some
of the other worthy T-SIP applications that we would love to have your support
for in lieu of these six highway expansion projects. Thank you. All right. Thank you.
Kyle Sworins is next, followed by Mike Woodman. Good afternoon, commission. My name is Kyle Sworins.
I've been a union carpenter for 22 years at Carpenters Local 46 and a rep for Northern
California Carpenters for 12 years. We represent roughly 38,000 members in Northern California,
from Kerns County to the Oregon border from the Pacific Ocean to the Nevada borderline.
Our state plays a critical role in our national economy. Our ports, our railways, and our highways
are the veins through which we can transport goods throughout and through the state.
The 24 projects recommended for funding through the Trade Corridors Enhancement Program straightens
our ability to move goods throughout our state while ensuring that we are safely doing so.
By prioritizing goods, traffic, movement out of our neighborhoods and onto our trade corridors
to protect local communities. These projects also increase our capacity for innovating and
efficient transportations through our trade corridors by investing in zero-commissions,
freight infrastructures, utilizing our highly skilled workforce. Increasing efficiently by
reducing idle time and bottlenecks also reduce greenhouse gas emissions throughout the state
and particularly in disadvantaged communities. Overall, the projects recommended for funding
for the trade corridors enhancement programs bolster our economy while reducing negative
environmental impacts of goods movements and move our state forward and on an economic
robust and environmental conscious future. So for these reasons we recommend these projects
receive the funding. I would also like to mention that we actually are heading to a planning
commission meeting here in Sacramento so if they don't have time I'd like to say we also support
22. Thank you for your time. All right, thank you for joining us. Mike Whitman followed by Martha
Ramos-Kelly. Thank you, Mike Woodman, executive director of the Nevada County Transportation
Commission. Chair Grisby and fellow commissioners, I stand before you today to voice my support for
the Trade Corridor Enhancement Program funding recommendations. The funding recommendations
represent geographic equity and address the unique freight and multimodal needs of various
regions across the state. The projects recommended for funding today meet the legislative intent
of the program and are in alignment with CalSTA's Climate Action Plan for Transportation
Infrastructure, which states, it is important to acknowledge that not all highway expansion
projects serve the same purpose or have the same results. There isn't a one-size-fits-all
approach to this issue. Context and specific project analysis and attributes are key to
determining a project's impacts. All of these projects have or will complete the CEQA process
as required by law. It is critical that the CEQA process is not circumvented and that
these projects are funded today. Your staff have carefully and thoughtfully reviewed and
considered the projects before you today and again I voice my support for approval of the
recommendations. Thank you. Right. Next up is Martha R. Mouse Kelly followed by Ted Smalley.
Chair, Martha is left for the day. All right, next up is Ted Smalley. Good afternoon. Good afternoon.
Good afternoon, commissioners. Ted Smalley from Tulare County Association of Governments.
I'm not going to repeat some of the many things you already heard about the 99 project, but I do
want to address two things. One is we are participating the whole valley in a CMCP evaluation
of creating truck only lanes on the 99 corridor. The biggest challenge is we got to get six lanes
to be able to implement that. The second item was brought up about bike lanes and I would just
remind some of you came in 2022 to a town hall and you pointed to this interchange and said,
Ted, what are you going to do about that? We're doing it. We're taking serious about bike and
peds. This interchange is being completely torn down and redone so that we do in fact
accommodate bike and peds, so much so they're being taken the improvements to the major
road to the west and the east of this interchange. And I'll just leave with this that when it comes
hearing public input we've done a ton of that and you've heard from congressional reps in fact I
would just say I think we heard Mr. Gardino's challenge to work together because the letter
from our federal reps were Republican and Democrat and the letter you heard or got was from from the
state was from Republican and Democrat you heard from two senators from our area one Republican
we're a Democrat, we are united and winesty 99 improved and safety improved for our residents.
So we strongly encourage you to approve this. Thank you very much. All right, thank you.
Mitch Mashburn followed by Kenneth Cale. Howdy Mr. Chair. Commissioners, thank you for having me
here today. I'm Mitch Mashburn. I'm the Chairman of the Board of Solano County Board of Supervisors.
I'm also Chair of the SDA, the Solano Transportation Authority and I'm an MTC Commissioner.
I'm here today on behalf of the Solano County Transportation
Authority to express our strong support
for awarding 73 million in TSEP funding
to complete the phase two of the State Route 37
Sears Point, Mayor Island Improvement Project.
State Route 37 is a critical east-west corridor
for the North Bay region,
which connects Solano, Napa, Sonoma, and Marin counties,
and also an evacuation route for the North Bay residents.
Currently, the corridor faces serious challenges,
heavy congestion, no transit options,
and rising vulnerability to flooding.
SR37's current traffic conditions disproportionately
affect low-income commuters, especially those
who live in Solano County and work in Sonoma and Marin.
In fact, 85% of the SR37 users earn
below the Bay Area median income,
compared to 38% on the other Bay Area freeways.
Phase two improvements funded through SB1
will make major differences.
The eastbound HOV lane and toll gantry will be constructed.
Initial transit access and public amenities
will be implemented.
This project also aims to reduce vehicle miles traveled
through toll equity, carpool and transit incentives
and expanded mode choices.
The project is already federally recognized.
It's part of the US Department of Transportation's
regional infrastructure accelerator program.
It received 20 million in project funding.
Phase one was funded through a $50 million LTCAP award.
The multi-agency SR37 partnership agreement,
which includes the California State Transportation Agency.
Thank you, sir.
Thank you, sorry.
Thank you, Mitch, for joining us.
Appreciate it.
Next up is Kenneth Cavill,
followed by Stephanie Moulton Peters.
Good afternoon commissioners and chair. I'm Kenneth Cowell with the Metropolitan Transportation
Commission. I'm here to voice our support for the TSEP program as well as for the number of
projects in our region. I wanted to mention those. We have the Alameda County Regional, or excuse me,
grade separation project. We have Tontracosta IA 680 for interchange and what Supervisor
Mashford mentioned the SR-37 project as well as a number of electrification projects around the
Port of Oakland and other other areas in Alameda County. So I wanted to voice our support as well
as to thank Commission staff again for all the hard work Matthew Osgott's team and Beverly and
the entire TSEP team as well as Caltrans and the AC members who helped review those applications.
Thank you very much. Thank you, Kenneth. Next up is Stephanie Moulton-Peters followed by Mark
Mondel. Good afternoon Chair Grisve, Vice Chair Falcone, Commissioners and staff. I'm Stephanie
Moulton-Peters, a Marin County Supervisor, the Vice Chair of MTC, and a 10-year member of the
Highway 37 Policy Committee. I urge your support of $73 million in TSEP funding for phase two of
of the State Route 37 project.
This corridor is essential for North Bay workers and families,
including two of my own staff and several county department
heads and many, many workers at the county.
They lose up to 90 minutes a day in congestion.
That's time taken from their families and communities.
The current bottleneck is not only frustrating,
it's inequitable.
Some critics argue that it's better for the environment
to skip the near-term improvement
and wait decades for a full viaduct.
That's a false choice.
Both near-term and long-term projects
deliver a two-lane configuration.
The difference is time, cost, and urgency.
Waiting for a viaduct would leave tens of thousands
of people stuck in traffic
and allow the San Pablo Baylands to further degrade.
Instead, the near-term project is nearly shovel-ready
as the most northern connector
in the North San Francisco Bay.
It will reduce travel time,
decrease vehicle miles traveled through pricing strategies,
introducing transit and encouraging carpools,
while also advancing 1,000 acres of ecological restoration,
much of which would be funded through this grant.
The restoration work is time sensitive.
If we delay, we lose that opportunity for restoration.
This project is a both and approach.
It's a reason to deliver benefits now
while still planning for the long term.
This project represents years of collaboration
among the North Bay communities and is a rare.
Thank you so much.
Thank you, appreciate it.
Have a good one.
Next up is Mark Mondel, followed by Patrick Bourileau.
Good afternoon, thank you.
My name is Mark Mondel.
I'm the city of Tulare City Manager.
Happy to be here today.
I am here on behalf of our five elected city council members in Tulare who represent about 72,000
citizens. They have voted in support unanimously for staff's recommendation of the SR 99 Page
Avenue project in Tulare. We're greatly excited about this project and hope you will strongly
consider voting in favor for a number of reasons all of which have already been spoken but a couple
other thoughts for your consideration. One is you know we really believe that this project is going
to help reconnect our community together. As you know now Page is a bridge over 99.
With this project Page will be returned to a surface level roadway with sidewalks and bike
lanes really helping to improve connectivity and mobility east to west in our community.
We think that through Caltrans's process there was very strong community engagement. We participated
as staff in all of those and elected officials in all of those meetings. We continue to have
additional meetings had with the metheny track residents who are as you
know a disadvantaged community just outside the city limits. We continue to
work with them. We've provided them portable water. We're working on sewer.
We've looked at how can we help annex them and bring them into our community.
We're looking at how do we continue the sidewalks and bike lanes from the count
determinists of Caltrans right away in this project and continue that going
forward in the future. So again, we just strongly urge your support of this project. Thank you.
All right, thank you very much. Next up is Patrick Boylou, followed by Jesse Reer.
Patrick Boylou, Deputy Political Director, Operating Engineers Local 3, wanted to thank staff
on behalf of our 41,000 members for their recommendations on the Trade
Corridor Enhancement Program. Specifically wanted to talk about the Highway 37 project.
we've got thousands of members who live in Napa, Solano, Sonoma, Contra Costa counties,
and while this project will significantly increase freight and goods movement between those counties,
it also significantly improve people movement between those counties. The ability for the
workforce to move those through those counties is key for construction workers like the ones
we represent. Right now they're sitting in traffic for hundreds of hours a year,
time will be better spent with their families. So we urge you to take the staff recommendation
and support item 21. Thank you. All right. Thank you. Next up is James Greer followed by Katie.
Come on. Hi. Thank you. There is Jesse Greer. I just want to make sure there's no James Greer.
Okay. Not cutting in front of anybody. All right. Thank you for letting me speak here today.
item 21. Thank you very much.
Jesse Greer, business agent with
the operating engineers, Local
three affiliate of the
Sacramento Sierra Building
Construction Trades Council. Um
I'm a union representative and
I cover the downtown greater
Sacramento area, and I
represent a lot of blue collar
men and women. Um I highly
recommend this. The staff's
recommendation and support for
this. Item 21. Thank you very
Thank you. Okay Cameron,
fill housing. These requests require many hardworking laborers. We know that
road widening and expansion will only create more pollution and eventual
congestion. Meanwhile, building projects for rail, bus lanes, bike paths, road
maintenance, and infill will reduce pollution and provide work for many
across the state. It's poor planning to continue on the same path knowing it's
much higher price for few fewer public options. Kapti calls for funding TCEP
projects that mitigate passenger vehicle traffic and we urge you to implement
that action now. Not wait two more years for this next cycle of funding. I'm also
asking that you support projects that will reduce pollution if for no other
reason so future generations have clean land water and air thank you thank you
Cameron Cameron Richardson is next followed by James Pugh thank you mr.
chair and commissioners my name is Cameron Richardson I'm the director of
technical affairs with the California Construction and Industrial Materials
Association here in support of the trade corridor enhancement program calcium is
a trade association for companies that manufacture aggregates, asphalt, and concrete. These are
essential materials that build California's transportation network of roads, highways,
bridges, rail, transit, bikeways, and walkways. Point of importance. These material producers
are locally invested businesses of both large corporation status as well as smaller family
owned businesses serving every city and county in the state, totaling almost 500 production
sites. We strongly encourage the commission to adopt these staff recommendations for the
SB1 funded programs in this proposal. These proposals all meet the goals of
SB1 to provide improvements to California's
long neglected transportation system. These proposals will advance a balanced
complete corridor's approach to transportation while providing
capacity enhancements to the state highway system.
These projects will benefit Californians through improved safety and connectivity
across regions and communities, supporting climate and equity goals
while reducing emissions and congestion. Also, advancing economic opportunities by supporting
a skilled workforce of thousands across the state. Please note that these projects have
already been through the long and arduous planning process, are well vetted and studied,
and are ready to go. Thank you for your time and your opportunity to voice our support of this
proposal. Thank you. Next up is James Pew followed by Vanessa Schoenwald. Good afternoon again
commissioners or I might say good evening it is 509 p.m Jamie pew with next gen California again
aligning my comments with my colleagues from NRDC and climate plan. My colleagues in a robust body
of empirical research have made the case that adding lanes to a highway does just increase
traffic and hold our climate progress at a standstill and that's all true but I would like to focus
today on the fact that in addition to being bad for traffic and bad for our climate,
it is just a poor use of pretty scarce taxpayer dollars. California's legislature is currently,
as you know, finalizing a budget that is solving a pretty major deficit by making cuts to
important public programs, social services, safety net programs. And as an earlier presentation
highlighted we can anticipate that the gas tax will be declining in the near future.
But looking at these recommendations you would think that Caltrans has money to burn.
There's so many valuable things that we could be funding to deliver a better transportation system
to Californians. We have a housing crisis we could be building more infill housing near transit to
bring rents down, shorten commutes. We could replace federal funding for high speed rail
that has just been clawed back and deliver that project on a more reasonable timeline.
We could electrify the capital corridor so it takes less than 90 minutes to get between the
Bay Area and Sacramento. Took me two hours this morning. Now those aren't examples of projects
that were before staff in this T-SIP cycle but they're nearly a hundred million dollars
worth of T-SIP applications that were left out of today's staff recommendations. Projects
that would help electrify freight corridors and separate grades. Projects that would actually
deliver benefits to Californians. But instead of these projects receiving funding, these are the
types of priorities that face austerity and cuts, while Caltrans spends hundreds of millions of
projects. Those my colleagues have piloted. Thank you. Thank you. Next up is Vanessa Schoenwald,
followed by Greg Strachkaluse. Good evening, Chair Crispy and commissioners. My name is Vanessa
Schoenwald with the Ventura County Transportation Commission, and I'm speaking in strong support
of awarding TSEP funding to the Wineme Road widening project. This project represents a
critical investment in regional mobility, safety, and goods movement. Wineme Road serves as a vital
east-west corridor connecting to the port of Wineme to key highways and industrial areas.
Widening the corridor will relieve bottlenecks, improve travel speeds and reliability, and enhance
safety for all users, including cyclists, as the project also includes active transportation
improvements. The project benefits disadvantaged and low-income communities by reducing freight
traffic through residential streets, and the City of Oxnard helping to improve air quality,
reduce emissions, and shift freight back to the designated corridor. The project aligns
with state and regional goals to support economic vitality, environmental sustainability, and freight
efficiency. I respectfully request your support for this project. Thank you for your consideration,
And I'd like to thank CTC staff as well for supporting this project. Thank you.
All right, thank you. Next up is Greg Strackaloos followed by Zach Gross.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman, commission members. I'm Greg Strackaloos and I serve as Ventura County's
Public Works Agency Director. I'm here to support the Trade Corridor Enhancement Projects,
particularly the Winey Me Road Project. I won't reiterate much of the things that have
already been said about Winemey Road but I would like to first thank the
Commission, Commission committees, and Commission staff for delivering a
well-woven set of projects that provide safe, efficient, and critically important
transportation improvements to the state. The Winemey Road project is a
highway of national significance in the California freight and mobility plan
because it is because of its importance to the Port of Wainimi and also its importance to the Naval bases. Thank you for including the funding for designer and right-of-way improvements. If approved, we will deliver a safe, efficient, and future ready project that accommodates multimodal users using low and zero emission vehicles with autonomous capabilities. Thank you.
Thank you. Next up is Zach Gross, followed by Natalie Brown.
Good afternoon, commissioners.
Zach ditched Gross with Transform.
While we were excited by many of the solutions
for congested corridor projects,
we do have pretty big concerns
with the TSEP recommendations, particularly State Route 37.
It presents a unique opportunity for ecological benefits,
relieving traffic congestion,
and addressing climate resiliency.
But unfortunately, local advocates like Transform
don't believe that the interim project gets us there,
though we're really committed to long-term solutions
along the corridor.
The interim project will cost over $500 million in total,
and will be underwater from sea level rise
within 15 years of completion, which
is why we don't believe that the interim project advances
the long-term vision of the corridor
or will reduce congestion for the passengers who need it most.
And I do want to clarify that this project is largely
passenger project for passenger vehicles, not for trade. And if we're serious about
addressing those long commutes that many folks have talked about, we need to be thinking about
the long-term solutions that make this corridor resilient beyond 2040. And again, we're committed
to doing that, but the interim project does not get us there. Finally, I just want to flag this
project we believe will not be eligible for additional federal funds due to shortfalls or
additional need because it will be underwater and will not meet that 20-year operational life
eligibility. We strongly urge you to reconsider this project and we want to work with you and
Caltrans and MTC and all the stakeholders in the Bay Area to really address congestion concerns on
the corridor in the long term. Thank you for your time and consideration. Thank you. Natalie Brown
is next followed by Kendra Ramsey. Good afternoon again Natalie Brown with the Pliny and Conservation
League. We're strongly concerned with and urge the CTC to reject the staff's recommendation for the
six highway expansion projects, as mentioned by other speakers. This includes the LA County
State Route 71 gap closure widening project, which will add a general purpose lane and a
high occupancy vehicle lane in each direction, converting what is now an arterial highway into
an eight lane freeway. Though we support the inclusion of sound walls, updated rail bridges
to meet current standards, and enhanced pedestrian crossing, we urge the CTC to reject this project
on the grounds that it would induce significant traffic and vehicle miles traveled, and in fact
limit the freight benefits due to increased passenger congestion.
Likewise, the Contra Costa I-680 State Route 4 interchange expansion adds a direct connector
with two general purpose lanes without mitigations for the project's increases to passenger VMT.
These two projects, as well as the four other highway expansions, will not yield improved
freight movement in the long run, as all will be filled with single-occupant vehicles and
exacerbate traffic over time.
Instead, we urge you to implement cap die recommendations for TCEP projects that mitigate passenger vehicle traffic now, without delaying for the next funding cycle.
Climate risks are growing and our toolkit for curbing emissions is shrinking with resources for public transit and active transportation seeing severe cuts and with investment urgently needed for freight electrification.
We urge you to take the actions we know are needed and invest in real solutions now. Thank you so much.
all right thank you. Next up is Kendra Ramsey followed by Melanie Perron. Good evening chair
members of the commission. Kendra Ramsey, California Bicycle Coalition. We appreciate
the progress mentioned before towards alignment with cap tie recommendations for several
electrification and multimodal projects. We are at a critical juncture where our state needs to
be investing in sustainable and multimodal infrastructure and reduce focus on road expansion
and projects that increase VMT and pollution. As was said by and described by my colleagues
from Transform Planning Conservation League Climate Plan, we urge the CTC to reject the
staff recommendations for the six highway expansion projects including State Route 37,
Tulare State Route 99, SR-71, SR-132, I-680 and SR-60. Even short-term goods movement
benefits are not worth the immediate air quality and health harms nor the long-term detriment to
California's climate goals when the lanes fill up with single occupant vehicles over time
as we know they will. Cap-Tie calls for funding T-SIP projects that mitigate passenger vehicle
traffic. We need to be doing this now, not with the next funding cycle. We urge you to invest our
limited transportation resources in real solutions, not highway expansions. Thank you.
Thank you. Up next is Melanie Perron.
Good evening, Chair, Commissioners. To be brief, Melanie Perron, on behalf of the Associated General
Contractors, the only statewide contracting association for General Contractors with over
a thousand members, align our remarks with both Transportation California, rebuild SoCal. Not only
does TSEP provide a transformative opportunity about how we look at the transportation system,
but the other competitive pots do as other competitive pots of SB1 do, so we are in strong
and staff recommendations.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Next, we'll move to the dais.
Any questions or comments from commissioners?
I see commissioner Lugo.
Well, thank you chair.
And thank you everybody for all of those comments.
I think all of us up here are just soaking in,
what we expected to hear,
and then also, you know, mulling over in our minds,
different aspects of projects
that maybe we hadn't considered.
So I wasn't expecting to be the first person on the dais
to comment because I figured everybody,
but we're all tired.
So I'm gonna try and skip quickly through my own commentary
and then pose an idea that I hope, you know,
well, I know is definitely within the wheelhouse
of our fabulous commission staff,
but would definitely need some massaging from them
to get to reality.
You know, there's not necessarily, you know,
I just, in hearing these conversations
over the last few years as a commissioner,
I can see that we're just not necessarily aiming
for the same results from our building projects.
Building projects have, you know,
historically been a source of jobs in our country.
You know, infrastructure means jobs.
And what's tricky about transportation infrastructure
is the thing that's supposed to flow through it
once it's built is not water or electricity,
it's people and people are unpredictable.
And so we've done our best.
You know, I have a lot of respect for the research
that's gone into trying to predict
how changes in our transportation infrastructure
will change demand.
How people are gonna use infrastructure differently
based on what's available.
But I also think that we have a long ways to go
to really get to a more precise place of certainty
in really saying what the effects
of these infrastructure projects are going to be.
I'm a Californian who wants to be able to live a small scale local economic life where
we have thriving main streets, where we have places that kids can get around outside of
cars safely, where we have diverse communities where you don't have to be a millionaire or
a billionaire just to have a home.
And it can be really tough to see that kind of future in the scale of highway construction
that we engage in in our state.
And I know that there are other Californians for whom, you know, a good future life that
they want to be in, that they may not be in today, maybe it's something they're aspiring
to, looks really different from what I have in mind.
might think being able to go from a garage to the parking lot of a you know
plaza where they can go to Target and Walmart or you know whatever that that's
that's a good life and and if they get on a highway to get from home to a
grocery store they don't necessarily see that as something negative whereas from
my perspective and from the perspective of many people who I've collaborated
with over the years in the sustainable transportation space see that as
undesirable so we're just not in agreement about what a good life means
in California and it can be really hard when you know we might say that we want
to promote economic development we want to promote healthy lifestyles and
mobility options for working families but then what we end up getting to over
and over is investing in a certain kind of economy where we're actually building flyovers
to keep people from having access to main streets. We're prioritizing the movement of
goods from container ships to warehouses that are going in and burdening communities that
already have a lot of air quality concerns and issues with access to good jobs. So there's
There's a lot of contradictions in our transportation process in California, and the Transportation
Commission is a really hardworking group of basically volunteers.
We can't untangle it all and figure it all out, but I do appreciate that there is a shared
value for democracy in this space and being able to hear the diversity of perspectives
that people are bringing to the transportation process.
So my request to the commission, okay,
so we had a really valuable series of workshops
that you all offered this spring
focused on performance measures
and you had experts sharing
how the performance measures were created
and then had case studies from different agencies
around the state.
I would personally really value
getting to see a workshop series like that
where we have agencies and districts
that have made the difficult shift, right?
Because one thing I've heard over and over today
is these are long-term projects we're talking about, right?
You know, people are putting careers
into planning these projects.
And there's a definite sense of, you know,
once people have invested a lot of time,
not to mention hundreds of millions of dollars
through different allocations.
There's a sense that not completing these projects
is, would be doing something wrong, right?
We got to get done with these projects that we get started.
So I think it takes really strong leadership
to actually pivot and go in a different direction.
And we have some examples of that in our state.
The one that I'm most familiar with is in LA County,
LA Metro, the 710 South corridor,
there had been a plan back in the early 2000s
to expand roadway capacity on that highway.
And my understanding, I certainly wasn't there
to witness it, but my understanding is that
community advocates were able to raise enough concerns
about what impacts that was gonna have on their communities
that over the course of almost 20 years,
they got the agency to change course.
And I think it was in 2021
that that expansion was officially canceled
and instead they pivoted to using the same money
that would have gone into the highway expansion
to doing community-based improvements.
And I believe one of the projects
that we're voting on today,
the zero truck emission work
is something that's a part of that project.
So, so where are the points in the process where, where there's a decision that's made and you end up either with state route 71, or you end up with the 710 South corridor so that's the same agency, same county, very different municipal contexts in the different
of the county but I think that's just one example. Where are other places in the state where we have
seen a pivot from one kind of development model and one way of spending a lot of taxpayer dollars
toward transportation infrastructure shift and go in another direction. We can do it, we have done
it and I think there's a way to move forward that values the strengths that the different perspectives
and players at the table bring into this process and I would just love to see us help spotlight
you know where where are people doing the the creative work and maybe sometimes the very hard
work of shifting to accommodate a different kind of investment in our our local communities
so I'll stop there and maybe Tanisha can yeah answer my garbled request there and tell us what
what would be feasible?
I will give you a very quick and direct answer.
We can definitely develop a workshop,
give us some time to find the right people
and kind of the right mix,
because I wanna make sure that we are well-rounded
with the strengths and the opportunities for growth
as well as some of those challenges
so that we have a full understanding
of what we're talking about.
Great, next up is Commissioner Eger,
followed by Commissioner Mann.
Thank you, Chair.
First, I just want to say the work that went in
by the CTC staff to make sure that the cream of the crop
rose to the top and the eclectic programs
that are being funded today all across the state.
I'm extremely impressed, so thank you.
For those of you who are on the not funded list
on any of these projects,
If I could encourage you to please,
when staff calls you and says,
let us come and help you for the next round,
because you were this close to being funded this time.
Some of those who are on the list to be funded this time,
were on that, not funded before.
And they did get help, and they are being funded now.
So I encourage you, please don't be discouraged,
try and try again,
because I know there's a lot of great projects out there
that can be funded.
And for the group that's being funded now,
I had the privilege, and I say privilege,
of going into the majority of these communities
and looking at these projects.
Stanislaus County 132, the 99 page, the 58 and Kern,
the 101 in Santa Barbara, and the people that came out
that said, we voted for this in our own community.
These are the projects that we really wanna have
move forward and then we saw what had happened before.
The accidents, the backup on the freeway,
the communities that were being left out.
And that's all certainly just in these last couple years.
And I know y'all have been doing this for 20 years.
I've only been doing it for five.
But I saw these communities and I saw how excited they were
about these projects that are finally being funded.
So I wanna thank all of you who spoke today.
We certainly appreciate all of the opinions
that come before us.
But I do wanna thank all of you who applied
and the staff who did a tremendous job
because this was tough, you know,
with a limited amount of money,
making sure that those right projects
were the ones that are gonna be funded.
to say thank you to all of you and I appreciate you all. Thank you commissioner. Next up is
commissioner Mann. Thank you so much. Well I as with my colleagues I just want to thank again
everyone for taking the time to give public comment today. It's really important. And then
also just thanking the staff for all of the incredible work that they they did. I know that
that this is a lot.
These are big projects and have lots of different components
and elements.
And so being able to come up with a slate,
I really appreciate.
And then I also just appreciate the effort
that all of the applicants put in.
It takes a lot of time to turn around a proposal.
And so for those who are part of the slate,
That's doesn't represent the full body of work
because it's all of those other people who
in the organizations and projects that are not on here.
So as with what Commissioner Evers said,
I do as well would say, you know,
have those conversations with staff and follow up
in terms of what you could have done differently
or how they can help in the future.
However, those discussions go.
From what I heard from the conversation,
I did hear that progress has been made
in terms of how we're looking at these types of projects,
which is just great, and I appreciate that.
I also heard that there was review
by the Equity Advisory Committee,
which is also a great piece to have in there as well.
There were two projects that stood out for me,
two of the proposals for State Route 37, I believe,
and then State Route 71.
And I would like the, if possible,
the applicants of those two projects
to come up and speak a little bit
to the concerns that were raised.
For 37, it was a lot about sea level rise
and the concerns about what this investment will be
and the longevity of it.
And then for 71, there were comments related to congestion,
and so if that applicant could speak too
to those concerns as well.
But I do just wanna just thank everyone
for all of their work and thank you for everyone
who's been there commenting in the audience online
and just really dedicated to the public process.
Thank you.
Thank you commissioner, I see director Taylor.
Gloria, you wanna come up and talk about 71.
I think I'll let MTC and Calvin's D4 duke it out
on who wants to be the first to speak on that one.
So thank you, director Taylor, chair, grisbee commissioners,
and director Keever, Gloria Roberts, district seven
to representing Los Angeles and Ventura counties.
And so commissioner man, thank you for your question.
Related to the SR-71 project,
This is actually the second segment of an existing project
that is currently in construction.
And so this is in an expansion of a roadway
from two to four lanes,
given that because of the heavy volume of traffic
that we have in the significant truck traffic,
the project environmental document
was actually completed back in 2002.
So talking about projects where it takes a couple of decades
for it to come into fruition,
we have gone through the process
in terms of having partnered with LA Metro
with their investments, with their measure funding.
So this project was split into two segments
just because of timing and funding
and as we're going towards the project completion.
And so to not be able to complete the second segment,
which is the north segment of the two segments.
There's a lot of features where it really,
there's significant truck traffic.
And so this second segment actually does a lot
in terms of re-construct,
raising the vertical clearance of the two bridges
that go over the UPR railroad.
And so that actually helps with the freight movement
because it allows their rail freight trucks to double deck
to kind of expand the capacity of the rail
that moves through.
It also provides for a pedestrian overcrossing
that will provide dedicated bike and pedestrian lanes.
And so it is multimodal,
but this is a very congested corridor
in which it is also both for truck and commute
between Los Angeles, San Bernardino counties,
as well as Riverside and Orange County.
And so the second part to your question commissioner man to the displacements currently as Commissioner Lugo reference that, you know, we do change over time.
But given the fact that this project environmentally we cleared it back over 20 years ago and in which the design came through where there were actually displacements with this project.
And so there were 17 residential displacements but they were all the properties have been cleared and they we did offer a relocation assistant program so all of the residents.
Um, have been relocated. And so obviously now we would think twice and really not engage
that because with cap, according to Capitai 2.0, OSOL, this state is very much, um, thoughtful
about, you know, not, um, moving forward in this fashion with the displacements, with
the concerns of housing and the cost of living. And so this is something kind of an example
of a legacy project that we do feel still has its benefits and that we do appreciate,
the commission for thinking about and for recommending approval but they've
all found new homes correct yes I've been relocated thank you yes and if I
could just add this is one project that you're seeing that is being done in this
area and you're seeing it because it is a project that improves freight movement
which is the goal of the trade quarters enhancement program but what you're not
seeing today is all the other investments happening around to the area. There are multiple
active transportation projects which the CDC has graciously invested in the area. Metro
is also doing multiple light rail projects in the area. So just north of here we're about
to extend a light rail which is currently the longest in the world and will be even
longer when it opens in Pomona. And then another project today the MetroLink locomotives approved
under the solutions for congested corridors. They'll also operate right under the rail
bridges, which we're raising. And so there's a lot happening. It's a multimodal effort
to improve everything in the county. And so what you're seeing today is just one piece
of that.
What we're going to hear from the SR-37 folks as well. I think that's part of the request.
afternoon chair and commissioners my name is Duan Nguyen I'm the deputy for
program project management for Caltrans district 4 and the single focal point
for our capital program with me here are some colleagues and for route 37
primarily the part of the project will improve mobility freight movement as
as well as improve quality of life
by providing near term congestion relief
for a main East West corridor in the North Bay,
basically a major connection between jobs and housing
by doing two things.
One is providing additional lane
to encourage carpooling and transit.
And two is provide early opportunities
for nature of bays, flood protection.
I think earlier, Supervisor Moulton-Peter
mentioned that will be about 900 acres
of marshland restoration,
as well as about 300 bayland restoration,
as nature-based flood protection.
The comments regarding the sea level rise,
I will note that that was based on a presentation
in 2020, based on an Ocean Protection Council projection
at the time.
Since then, that's been updated
to the 2024 Ocean Protection Council.
And the sea level rise projection
based on different risk level has actually,
projection now is about half of the 2018.
So the risk level is low, intermediate,
low, intermediate, intermediate, high, and then high.
For 2050, based on the 2024 Ocean Protection Council,
it's about 12 inches.
And on the 2018, that was 24 inches.
So currently, based on the most best available science
that we have at this point,
with the funding approval,
we would be able to finish construction
and realize the benefit for the corridor up to 2050.
And it doesn't mean that by 2050,
the corridor will be underwater.
It just means that based on the risk assumption level,
there will be higher frequency of flooding in the corridor.
I'll be glad to answer any questions.
Do you know how many days of the corridor
being underwater has that been projected?
The flooding is actually based on three factors chair.
There's sea level rise,
and then there's a storm surge and there's King tide.
Currently, you know, based on the FEMA map,
based line flooding and 2050
on the Western side of route 37,
basically West of route 121,
definitely would be
underwater if nothing's done.
This project here is east of 121.
And so currently, based on it's just a frequency of flooding.
There's really no how many days or how many times a year.
And my final question is, we've heard a lot from advocates
about their opposition to SR37.
What alternatives did you look at?
I mean, just driving through that corridor, for me,
It seems like the alternatives may be limited,
but I'd like to hear from you.
Yes, the partnership we've looked at,
as you know, we did the Pell study
or the long range study that calls
for different alternatives from, you know,
via the existing location that we treat option
that goes further inland.
The recommendation from the Pell that engaged
a lot of resource agencies as well, all the partners,
the selected alternative is to stay on the existing
alignment is the least impactful as far as the balancing
between the environment and as you know,
it's right in the middle of San Pablo Bay.
So we did look at an alternative that go right across the bay
on the alignment or the retreat option
that will go further inland.
So all three alternatives.
But the list as far as balancing the environment,
cost and the timing the on existing alignment or along existing alignment is the best option.
Thank you. Commissioner Mann, do you have any follow-up or you satisfied?
No, thank you for allowing me to ask those questions and thank you to the applicants who
came forward. And again, I just, I appreciate all the work that has gone into this process
and the amount of time and hours that people have dedicated, whether it's through the application
process, the review process or even the commenting process. So thank you all for that and thank you
for allowing me to occupy some space to ask you questions. Thank you. Absolutely, thank you.
Commissioner Tiffany. I'm sorry. Just to follow up on that question, there was some confusion
on the 2014-2050 timelines as far as projected inundation.
You made the distinction that there's been more recent data
gathered on potential flooding, and that would be the 2050
timeline, more so, correct?
And then subsequently, when does construction begin and when
does it projected to be end to end on that project?
first on the um um ceo rise projection the project is actually designed for um 100 years
uh in the future so actually it's 21 30 2050 is kind of a mid-year um that we use
as far as construction with the funding approval uh we're anticipating to finish the design by
late next year and start construction okay thank you all right commissioner ellie thanks
chair. I know it's getting late so I'll be quick. I am inclined to support this
item, vote for it. I do have a couple of questions which I think are directed at
CTC staff but if the 37 crew wouldn't mind hanging nearby. I asked staff in
advance of this meeting as I was trying to figure out my thoughts on these
projects who uses state route 37? The answer, 44% of people who use it on a weekday or commuters
of those people, 70% earn less than $100,000 a year and 36% of those commuters earn less
than $50,000 a year. They're going into the Bay Area for jobs. They're living in places
like winters or Fairfield or Woodland. Why are they living in those communities? Perhaps
they love living in those communities and that's where they grew up or perhaps they're
living there because there are no housing options near their jobs. We have created the
conditions where there's not enough housing in the Bay Area. We have created the jobs
housing imbalance. People need to live somewhere. I am not comfortable choking off their ability
to get to their jobs. What we need to do as a state, I believe, is work a lot harder
to streamline a lot more housing in places near jobs. Perhaps that's controversial. I
guess there's a bill moving through the legislature right now. But that's what we need to do.
It brings me to the question about State Route 37, which I heard and I've read the letters
and I've listened closely to the testimony. Again, I'm inclined to support this, but I
do have two questions. The first builds on Commissioner Mann's question, so maybe I'll
I'll start with that one. I'll I'll say both questions at the same time and please feel free to probably Beverly answer them as you see fit. The first I heard a couple of times that because of the flood projections.
This particular project would be ineligible for federal funds. I'd like to explore that a little bit and understand that question. And then the second question.
Well, let me.
Let me stop there. Let me ask that question first and I'll ask the second question after. Thanks.
Thanks Commissioner Elliott. So this project already has federal funds and so
it will be compliant with federal law. And there would, notwithstanding a
politically motivated take back by the federal government, this would continue
to be federally funded. In other words, we wouldn't lose eligibility. Yes. Thanks.
The next question I have is, it was raised a number of times and I'm curious
to the answer. Why is this being funded as a trade corridor project when, as I said,
I thought of it as a commute project. That's why I asked staff about who uses the road.
Yeah. I can tell you more about why it was competitive in TSUB. So SR37 is a critical
east-west route connecting US 101 to I-80.
It's designated as a critical urban freight corridor
and a critical rural freight corridor.
And it carries about 25% of North Bay freight.
It supports about $24.6 billion annually in goods movement.
And it's a critical route for transporting agriculture,
so fruit, vegetables, nuts, grains, animal feed,
in nursery products.
So there's already a lot of truck traffic using the route.
It's a 21-mile route.
And the two alternate routes, if it's flooded,
are SR-12 and SR-116, which is 44 miles.
And the other route is the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge,
which is 43 miles.
So it would be significantly longer truck travel.
and then it demonstrated several freight benefits,
so it will be reducing truck travel time
by 155,000 hours per year.
It's going to, so currently the peak travel time
through this 21-mile corridor is 100 minutes,
and it will prevent the travel time
from rising to 323 minutes, if no action is taken.
And then again, it reduces closures due to flooding,
which would avoid trucks rerouting and adding VMT.
And it removes a major bottleneck between US 101 and I-80.
So those are why it scored well in TSEP.
Thanks.
As I understand it, I don't want to put words in your mouth.
It's really about making sure that this route, while it may
not be considered traditionally a freight route, it's about making sure that we're
not displacing heavy truck traffic onto what are certainly not freight routes.
And I imagine that that is what SP1 and all of the resultant program guidelines
contemplate when we think about T-SIP and freight routes? Placement as
opposed to capacity. Yes, we don't want to displace this traffic onto other routes
which will add to VMT and to air pollution.
Thank you, Beverly.
Mr. Chair, yeah, those are my questions.
I'm comfortable supporting this.
I appreciate it.
Thank you.
Next up is Commissioner Tiffany.
Thank you, Chair.
My comments are going to be a little bit more general.
I was listening to my fellow Commissioner Lugo's comments,
And I thought they were, you know, very thoughtful and with a lot of valid points.
And, you know, the longer I'm on this commission,
the more I realize how complicated a lot of these decisions are.
We've heard people supporting and supporting projects.
We've heard people that are vehemently against some of these projects,
Largely because of environmental reasons
But when I look at you know specifically there's there's many projects like
The Santa Barbara quarter project which is we've heard today
This is the final piece after
Probably 25 to 30 years of trying to get there
You know, certainly a worthy project and certainly how can we as a commission after 25 or 30 years of saying yes
Suddenly say no to a project like that. I certainly can't
Projects like in my close to my backyard
the the Watsonville Santa Cruz corridor, which is
I drive regularly. It's a huge safety issue
Same thing with the 156 Castroville area
Plus many of these projects are
They're multi modal
We hear some comments like this part of the project. We don't like but this part of us is great
well, you can't pick and choose
particularly, so
Like I said, it's complicated and then on top of that
Commissioner Lugo comes from
Certainly a much more urban area than I do so my perspective of course is a bit different
Coming from a rural area and as we were just talking about
In my community
When people are stuck in traffic heading to Silicon Valley because of the the housing job in balance
It is a huge issue. We don't have transit for these people to to do as an alternative
They don't have local jobs to stay so they don't have to commute
They're really their only option is to get in a car and drive
Someday, I hope that's not the case. But right now that you know, that is the case in many of these more rural areas
And that are moving up into a more urban area to find the find the work and so
We have to look at those differently, I guess in the end for me
It comes back to the fact that I think we we do have a tremendous staff. That is an amazing work
here in evaluating these projects and
And I think they've done
you know amazing work to come up with the best projects. I frankly hate to
compliment Matthew too much because because of his affiliation with the
Dodgers but in spite of that in all seriousness Matthew you and your team
have done amazing work. I have a lot of confidence in the work that the
it's been. The staff is done.
And so, um, I'm going to
certainly be supportive of
this. So thank you. All right.
Thank you, commissioner. Any
other comment? I see Vice
Chair. Welcome Thank you, Mr
Chair. I have a question. I
think a comment, um, on the 37
just for my edification. I'm
just kind of looking at things.
Um, from a certain level as it
the city of Toronto. What is the
alternative? Not alternative roots to, you know, plan future travel, but what is the alternative route that can be taken aside from 37?
So in terms of alternate routes to Highway 37, I think the closest is Highway 12, 116 to the north.
And then to the south is the I-580 Richmond- briefing bridge. Both of those would essentially
double the distance in order for people to get to that destination. So Highway 12 and 116 to the
north is kind of like a windy rural road. It's really not easy to get around. And then
582 to 1,000, as you know, the I-80 quarter gets very congested.
The Richmond Self Air bridge itself is congested, so
this would be no easy way to get around. How many miles is a 37?
37 from I-80 on the Solano side to one of the marine side is about 20 miles or so.
25, okay, and how about the route that you just articulated?
Highway 12 on 6th and north, so you would have to go up on highway
29 in through Napa and then go west and then go and then come down. It depends on where you go
I mean you could go up to Sonoma, but
It's almost double. It's not exactly double
I don't have the exact mileage in front of me, but you can imagine that, you know 37 you go straight across but
How I told you would have to go north across and then come back down
Similarly for 580 on the south side, essentially, it would double the distance you could get across. Okay, and thank you for that and
How long would that commute be compared to the 37?
How long?
The actual travel time?
Approximately, yes.
I mean, how much more travel does that require
to take that route?
So I don't have the number in front of me,
but I can imagine it would be a lot longer.
Because people are stuck on Highway 37 today.
It takes 100 minutes for people to get home
from the marine side to the Solano side.
And yet they are still stuck that route
because you can imagine Highway 12 or 580
would take even longer than that, much longer than that.
That's why they are still stuck on Highway 37,
even though they get their delay
for more than 100 minutes on a daily basis.
Okay, and I ask, right?
Because we're talking about,
to Commissioner Elliot's point,
folks are living in those communities that have to commute.
the option then is to take a longer route that sounds like it will take a longer time to get
to where they need to to be which is work right and that for me that that impacts my thinking
in terms of what our investments need to consider you know we have to look at how this impacts people
So that was the question, and that helps me.
Thank you for that.
My comment is, and I really appreciate
my colleagues really unpacking some really thoughtful things.
And it's mulling.
It kind of is aligned with some things
that I've asked in the past.
And it comes down to land use and how we connect people
to that land use.
And land use is hard.
Planning is hard.
The whole process is hard, especially in the local level.
By the time it gets to us, we assume that all of that work,
that the regions and the cities and the counties
and the communities have done the work to really figure out
what it is that they want to be as a community.
And that's why data is so important.
and we're trying to do better at collecting data,
we have to go with what I think right now is what we know.
And all the work that has been dedicated
to get these projects ready for submission,
and then to go through our guidelines
that we continuously refine every cycle.
And I think it's getting better, right?
I see zero emissions.
I didn't even know what that was 10 years ago, right?
Zero emission opportunities, reconnecting communities,
VMT, right?
Actually lessening VMT, I just heard it right now.
It informs me at multimodal.
There was multimodal that was mentioned.
I appreciate all the thoughtful comments
that have been made on both sides,
and it's coming from a place of, okay,
what is best for the people that need this connectivity?
And I have to have faith in our processes,
the work that the staff has done,
all of our deliberations throughout the years
to get to our guidelines and to have that lens
by which these projects go through.
And so, and you know, and I've critiqued in the past
and I'm learning and learning more and more
and it is really such an intricate art
and I appreciate it more and more and more.
And I do appreciate that we have more work to do.
I am inclined also to support
and yeah, I wanna thank all sides that have come today
and really persevered through this whole day
to provide your very thoughtful comments
and support and concerns for our process
and for our projects.
But I have to have faith in, you know,
what all the effort that it takes to get to today.
And so I'm inclined to support and if it's okay,
I would like to make a motion to approve.
and I would like any other comment I mean any other comment uh configure the second the motion
okay yeah we'll get there um I just commit commissioner gordino you have comments
share grisby and I are getting used to sharing the mic and turning it so thanks for your patience
and thanks for your leadership chair grisby um it hasn't come up much yet but I just wanted to
reinforce on one of the other projects that I think had some folks concerned and their legitimate
concerns. But that was the the Tulare Road project that hasn't come up on the
dais and in this discussion. I was very impressed with the way our Central
Valley leaders and communities of all political stripes and and places on the
continuum have come together to emphasize how important that is to their
region. So, as I look at this package and the incredible work that our team has done,
we're so grateful to each of you. I just wanted to call out that project as well,
as one that I find unbalanced, compelling, and to see it so strongly supported across
the political spectrum, all levels of government, and so many members of that community, and
I just wanted to mention that before we vote today.
Thank you, sir. Thank you. Um, any other comment from commissioners? Uh,
so I'll make my comment now, which is I definitely consider myself an
environmentalist. Uh, I care deeply about the environment. I also care about
the economy, care about equity, care about safety. Um, you know, that core
four that we always talk about. Uh, we had a hearing for tolling on on S. R.
37 not too long ago that I chaired and I learned a lot from the people actually
on the ground a room full of actual people members of the public who have very strong
opinions about their commutes and I do believe that the SR 37 improvements are an equity issue
because those are low income people trying to get to work and they have a very difficult time
already and it will only get harder for them as time goes on so I want to make that comment
and is there a motion motion from Falcone and a second by who from eager all those in favor
opposed abstentions motion passes well now move on to the consent agenda you
find that 42 through 69 yes thank you I will present that tabs 42 through 69 our
action items on the consent calendar please make note of the change list which
shows that tabs 65 has been withdrawn and there are changes to tabs 44 45 50
and 63 and so with those changes commission staff recommends approval of
items 42 through 64 and 66 through 69 on the consent calendar all right thank you
any public comment on these items there's no public comment for these
any comments from the commissioners on the dice. So moved by Gardeno, seconded by Commissioner
Tiffany. All those in favor. Opposed. Abstentions. Oh, did I hear a name? Okay. All those in favor.
We already set that. Abstentions. None. Motion passes. We are now adjourned for the day.