All right. Welcome to the first day of our meeting in San Diego. Beautiful San Diego.
I'm going to turn to Justin Hall to do roll call and instructions.
Thank you, chair. Commissioner Bradshaw. Commissioner Cruz.
Present. Commissioner Eager.
Here. Commissioner Elliott. Vice chair Falcone.
Here. Commissioner Guardino. Commissioner Lugo.
Here. Commissioner Mann.
Commissioner Tiffany here. Chair Grisby present. Senator Cortese. Assemblymember Wilson chair
we have quorum. Thank you. You can now do instructions too. Thank you. Welcome everyone
to day one of the August 2025 CTC meeting in San Diego. Please note that because this
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Thank you all for joining us today.
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Thank you, Justin.
We will now turn to the welcome to the region,
Lisa Heapner, Chair of the SANDAC Board of Directors.
Hi.
Hi there, thank you so very much
for having me here to welcome you all.
This is an honor to have you, Chair Grisby, Vice-Chair Palkone, and Commissioners.
My name is Lisa Huebner, and I have the privilege of serving as chair of the San Diego Board,
and as mayor of the city of Solana Beach, which I think many of you have been able to
visit and see some of our projects there.
On behalf of the San Diego Board and staff, welcome to our beautiful San Diego region,
also to our beautiful new boardroom.
We are experiencing some challenges with our acoustics, so please speak very closely to
the mic when you are speaking so everybody can hear you.
It's been lovely having you all here this week, and I know many of you were at the Otay
Mesa Port of Entry yesterday, or OME as we call it, to celebrate the completion of State
Route 11 transportation infrastructure that will connect the future Port of Entry with
Mexico to our local road and highway network.
OME is a powerful example of what can be achieved when federal, state, and local binational
partnerships work together for a common goal.
Before I continue, I would like to take a moment for our tribal acknowledgment, which
we do prior to each meeting, to acknowledge the land that we call home.
The tribal nations of the San Diego region have historically faced injustices.
We acknowledge the harmony that existed between the land, nature, and its original peoples
who have since endured displacement, persecution,
and systemic oppression.
We pay our respect to the unceded territory
and homelands of the 17 tribal nations in our region,
the most in any county in the United States,
from four cultural groups, the Kumeyaay-Digeno,
the Luceno, the Kupeno, and the Cahuilla.
The land has nourished, healed, protected,
and embraced them for many generations
in a relationship of balance and harmony.
As members of the San Diego community,
we acknowledge this legacy.
we aspire to learn from indigenous traditional knowledge
and experiences in undoing the justices of the past.
As many of you know,
SANDEG is a metropolitan planning organization
for the San Diego region, representing 18 cities,
the county, and 17 tribal nations.
We also serve as the region's tolling authority
and the administrator of TransNet,
the voter approved countywide half cent sales tax
that allows SANDEG to fund and leverage funding
for critical transportation improvements.
Our role is to bring local leaders, community voices,
and state and federal partners together
to plan, fund, and deliver projects
to keep people and goods moving.
Our region is home to more than 3.3 million people
and serves as a hub for international trade,
military operations, tourism, and innovation.
With such a vital role in California's economy,
we are committed to building a safe, reliable,
sustainable transportation network that advances the state's climate equity and economic goals.
We shape this vision through the regional transportation plan, our blueprint for how
people and goods move throughout the region and by managing a portfolio of more than 200
active projects. The projects in the plan range from major highway and transit improvements
to bikeways and active transportation to cross border infrastructure that keeps our economy
competitive. As we continue this work, we are navigating a period of uncertainty around
transportation funding. Mixed signals from the presidential administration have raised
concerns about the stability of both discretionary and formula-based federal funding. Recent
federal actions have highlighted the vulnerability of California's long-term transportation vision
when federal commitments shift. The investments made possible by the bipartisan infrastructure
law have been instrumental in planning and advancing critical projects throughout the
San Diego region and beyond. As Congress begins shaping the next federal surface transportation
bill, we can and will continue to champion the importance of sustained federal investment.
However, it's important to recognize that the level of federal support in future years
remains uncertain. These headwinds make the role of the state and the California Transportation
Commission more critical than ever. Your leadership and commitment to meaningful investments
provide that even in turbulent times, California's transportation system continues to grow to
meet the needs of today and tomorrow. Rather than simply tell you about our work, I'd
like to show you our work. This short video, and I'll step out of the way so everybody
can see, highlights how San Diego is connecting communities, improving mobility choices, and
delivering projects that make a real difference
for people's daily lives.
As the video highlights, none of this would be possible
without a strong partnership with the state.
From the Otay Mesa East port of entry,
which will modernize cross border trade
and reduce emissions to the Sandigito Lagoon double track,
which is enhancing passenger rail reliability
on the low sand corridor,
from advancing the SR-94 125 connector project
to improve safety and traffic flow
to the I-805 South Managed Lanes conversion,
expanding travel choices in one of our busiest corridors.
Your investments are not just projects on paper,
they are proven game changers for mobility, for safety,
and for sustainability in our region.
Chair Grisby, Vice Chair Falcone,
and Commissioners and Director Taylor,
we thank you for joining us this week
to witness firsthand the impact of your support.
We'll complete that video in just a moment.
Thank you for your trust, for your partnership,
and your commitment to building a transportation system
that works for every Californian.
We look forward to continuing to work side by side
to keep our projects on track,
to strengthen our communities and keep California moving.
I hope you enjoy the rest of your visit
and have a very productive meeting.
Thank you.
And continue with the video, please.
All right, thank you, Lisa.
We are so proud as commissioned to be a partner
with SANDAC and to support all the great work
happening in the region, thank you.
Is there any public comment on this item?
There's no public comment on the side. Thank you. Great. Thank you. Um, anyone from the
dias like to make a comment? Vice chair. Folk on. Thank you, Mayor Huebner, uh, for welcoming
us and or sand egg, um, accommodating us in this wonderful space. Uh, it's been a long
time coming wanting to have a CTC hearing, um, at a sand egg facility. And this has turned
out to be wonderful. And I know that you personally had a hand, uh, in this. And so appreciate
that. And for the words of a continuous partnership with the state and with the
California Transportation Commission, seeing some of these projects come to
fruition and being part of of the transformation in this region, it's
really gratifying especially with with the event that we had yesterday. That's
decades of work that we have all have really put into seeing some of these
the city of Santa Barbara. And
uh we can move on thank you so much Lisa uh next up we will cover uh approval of minutes
uh Justin Hall good afternoon commissioners tab three is the approval of the meeting minutes
from the June 26 27 2025 CTC meeting tab four is the commissioner meetings for compensation
and tab five is the committee member conversation staff recommends approval thank you any public
comment on this item there is no public comment thank you um any comments or questions questions
from the dience see none entertain a motion i'll make a motion so move by commissioner tiffany is
their second second second by commissioner cruz all those in favor closed abstentions
Motion passes. Thank you. Uh next up we'll go to uh
Item six commissioner chief deputy director paul
And I I can't I never mentioned your last name. I just call you paul
Paul gee. Yeah, all gee is fine
Hi, good afternoon everyone. Uh, so i'm stepping in today in place of tanisha who is recovering from ankle surgery
but I'm pleased to report that she's on the mend and I hope you'll join me in wishing her a speedy
recovery. I'd like to thank Mayor Huebner for welcoming the Commission to the region and SANDAG
for hosting us at your headquarters today. We were pleased to attend the State Route 11 Siampre Viva
interchange project ribbon cutting yesterday and celebrate this milestone for the Otay Mesa East
support of entry. Later in our agenda, we will have an additional allocation request
to continue the progress being made on this transformative project, and we look forward
to that. I also would like to welcome Director L. Tewansi to her first Commission meeting
since of resuming the role of Caltrans Director. Commissioners, we've had an active summer
since the Commission met in June in Sacramento. Last month, Commission staff participated
in a regional transportation funding workshop in Fresno hosted by our ex officio member assembly
member Lori Wilson. At the workshop Caltrans and commission staff describe the state's transportation
funding system as well as some of the findings of the commission's 2025 state and local transportation
system needs assessment. These regional workshops are an important step in gathering feedback from
communities across the state as we continue to think about how to secure a sustainable
transportation funding mechanism.
Thank you to Assemblymember Wilson for continuing to lead on this important issue and we look
forward to participating in future workshops.
The topic of sustainable funding for our transportation system also relates to an item on our agenda
today when Caltrans presents the 2026 STIP Fund Estimate for your adoption.
The fund estimate projects the amount of available funding for the next cycles of the state
transportation improvement program and the state highway operation and protection program.
The fund estimate in the STIP guidelines you will be asked to adopt will establish the
parameters for the project lists that will be brought for your adoption early next year.
While revenues for these programs are largely stable due to inflationary adjustments to
the gas tax. Fuel consumption is projected to continue to decline over the program period,
putting our future funding resources in a precarious position. As California continues
to experience large, unanticipated emergency damage needs, we must be strategic as we invest
that precarious funding to meet our asset management targets for the state's transportation
system. In the shop alone, we are projecting nearly 600 million dollars less in funding capacity
per year compared to the prior funding cycle. Later in our agenda, staff will provide an
evaluation of Caltrans's progress toward meeting the asset management performance targets.
Although we are on track for most of them with our existing funding levels,
the projected funding declines in the future may jeopardize our ability to fulfill the fix it first
mandate established by the legislature and upheld by the voters. We will continue to work with Caltrans
and our regional partners to ensure these priorities are at the forefront as we begin
developing the next program of projects for the STIP and the shop. And I'd like to thank Casey
I see more get areas Jaden gales and Lori waters for their work preparing the step guidelines and also would like to thank one Guzman who worked for the Commission for many years and came back as a retired a new attend recently to provide additional
support commissioners we have a number of other items on the agenda that speak to our continued partnership with regional agencies staff will be presenting the final transportation data program proposal prepared pursuant to Assembly Bill 744.
this proposal outlines a framework to support continued collaboration with
our regional partners on transportation data modeling and analytic tools that
help agencies make progress in meeting our shared transportation housing and
climate goals thank you to our stakeholders for participating in this
effort to develop the proposal and thank you to Sheila and us for coordinating
the Commission's work on this and delivering the final proposal that will
be presented later in the agenda.
Commissioners, we will also hear an update
on the comprehensive multimodal corridor plan guidelines.
These guidelines drive investments
that improve the performance of key transportation corridors
by expanding multimodal choices for travelers.
This update will align with the current solutions
for congested corridors program guidelines ahead
of the next funding cycle for that program.
Commissioners, after the Commission adopted
the Senate Bill 1 competitive programs at the June meeting, staff began holding debriefs
with applicant agencies. We appreciate the willingness of project partners to receive
feedback from our program staff, and look forward to seeing unsuccessful applicants
return with more competitive applications and future funding cycles. And as a reminder,
all applicant agencies are encouraged to contact our Senate Bill 1 program staff to set up
debriefs, if they're interested. I have a few stopping updates for you today,
commissioners. Lola Tijo has joined our planning team. Lola joins us from Caltrans,
where she was most recently the interagency freight program manager
within the Division of Transportation Planning. Kevin Harris has joined our
administration team supporting our human resources functions. Kevin comes to us
from the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and has experience in
the Human Resources Units of multiple state agencies going back to 2007. And lastly, Christine
Gordon has rejoined the Commission as a retired annuitant supporting our Administration team.
Before retiring from the State Water Resources Control Board in 2024, Christine was the program
manager for the local partnership program here at the Commission. Please join me in welcoming
Lala and Kevin to the Commission and welcoming Christine back. Commissioners, I have one more
item to mention. Caltrans chief deputy director Mike Keever will be retiring from the department
after 40 years of state service and this will be his last commission meeting. Mike has been
a tremendous partner to the commission in his many roles with Caltrans, including as
chief engineer, deputy director for project delivery, as well as acting Caltrans director.
And I've had the personal good fortune to work closely with Mike in our respective roles
as chief deputy director.
Mike, thank you for your service to the department
in the state of California.
You will be missed and we wish you all the best
in your next chapter.
Mike is so touched that he said drinks are on him tonight.
And commissioners, that concludes my updates for today.
As a reminder, our next meeting will be in Merced
on October 16th and 17th, thank you.
All right, thank you, Paul G.
Is there any public comment on this item?
There's no public comment. Thank you. Thank you. Uh, any questions,
comments from the guys
hearing none, we can move on to item seven commissioner and ex officio
reports. Uh, I will start, um, earlier this year, Southern California
experienced one of the worst fire disasters in our history. During these
difficult times, we witnessed the bravery of our Caltrans colleagues who
kept the transportation system operational for emergency services and evacuees. In addition,
multiple transit agencies stepped up to assist with evacuations by making their vehicles
and operation centers available, and they transported folks to emergency shelters.
Due to their efforts, hundreds of people were rescued even while many in the Caltrans family
and transit agency employees own homes burned. The California Transportation Commission extends
our gratitude to these brave individuals and would like to present resolutions to Caltrans
and the multiple transit agencies involved. We have several Caltrans District 7 employees here
today to accept this resolution on behalf of the hundreds of Caltrans employees who assisted
during the fires. We have Gloria Roberts, District 7 Director. John Yang from Construction.
Lauren Wonder from External Affairs. Tyrone Quesadillas from the Emergency Operations
Center. And Bob Best. Scott Akimura. Scott Solvayan. And Stephen Wells from Caltrans
District 7 field maintenance. Would you please come up to accept this
resolution and then after is I'll call up our transit and operators. Thank you
so much for your service. We really appreciate it. Thank you and here's the
the resolution.
All right, thank you so much.
We really appreciate your service.
Next up, will you please come to accept this resolution?
We're gonna talk to the transit operators
in attendance today.
We have access services,
Administrative Services Cooperative Inc.,
also known as LA Yellow Cab.
the LA County Aging and Disabilities Department,
the LA Department of Transportation,
Pasadena Transit, Santa Clarita Valley Senior Center,
Santa Monica Big Blue Bus, and via Esperanza services.
Please come up to accept this resolution.
All right, once again, a round of applause for our heroes.
Thank you.
This once again proves that together
we can weather any storm, regardless of the conditions.
any other commissioner reports? I see Commissioner Lugo. Thank you, Chair. I
wanted to just take a moment to recognize the loss of somebody who had
come to speak in front of the Commission a number of times, both virtually and in
person. Benito Flores, who was part of the Reclaiming Our Homes group in El
Sereno in the LA area, he passed away in late July and when I learned of his
it really reminded me of something that is a a major challenge for those of us
on the commission and those who work with the state transportation system
which is how can we support local residents who have good ideas about how
to utilize parts of our system that are underutilized or how they might actually
be able to live better alongside this state infrastructure that we're the
stewards of. I first met Benito in August 2023 when I was invited to meet
with the reclaimers in El Serrano and learn about their their work. They had
made this very simple connection between their lack of shelter during the
COVID emergency when Californians were directed to shelter in place and vacant Caltrans-owned
housing in the El Cideno area along the canceled 710 North Extension corridor.
And that simple connection from their perspective, there's a need for housing, there's available
housing, was not something ultimately that the agency has been able to support.
And I've gotten to learn a lot in the last few years about how our land disposal process
works at Caltrans and the complexity of the laws and procedures that are in place.
And I am sorry that I wasn't able to offer much help as a commissioner to Benito in his
struggle to stay in the housing there.
But I hope that I started on a path of learning through talking to him and others in the reclaiming
our homes project, so that I as a commissioner can help support ways that Caltrans is trying
to innovate and look for innovation in our own backyards and see where sometimes the
people who are just out there living with the state transportation system have good
ideas about how to use it. So we have all kinds of promising examples of that kind of
work here in District 11. One of the projects that was mentioned in the video, which is a
collaboration with Mundo Gardens and Urban Collaborative Project in National City and
Southeast San Diego, is an ongoing effort to take a community held vision for some public space
around state highways in that area and transform them. Closer to my home in District 7 in Los
and we are looking forward to
making sure that we bring
this opportunity back to us.
I know in Los Angeles our
regional transportation agency
L.A. Metro has been engaged in
a years long process that
continues to identify projects
off that same 710 freeway
corridor that will invest in
community mobility instead of
adding to highway lanes. So I
know that Caltrans can say yes
support that innovative work.
And I hope that in doing that, we can carry on in Benito Flores's memory, the work of
bringing community into our state transportation system.
Thank you, Commissioner Lugo.
We really appreciate the knowledge and expertise you bring in bringing in community voices
is so important.
Thank you.
Any other commissioner comment?
I see past chair, Commissioner ego.
Thank you, Chair Grisby.
I just wanted to say a congratulations
to Tulare County Association of Governments,
TCAG and District 6.
I was privileged earlier this week
to travel to Pixley for a groundbreaking
and it's part of the finish the 99 coalition there.
If some of you don't know where Pixley is,
it's between Bakersfield and Tulare
and I'm going to age myself here.
If you ever watched Petticoat Junction,
you know they all went to Pixley
when they went to the big city.
But this really was an amazing event.
They had so many dignitaries there
because people understood the importance
of that section of 99 as one of the legs
in the completion of that entire region.
So congratulations to District 6,
Congratulations to TCAG.
And we know things don't happen in a vacuum.
So Caltrans, thank you for all that you do.
Special thank you to Donna Berry.
I think we wanna make sure we say thank you to everyone
for all the work that they do.
Thank you.
And thank you, Commissioner,
for always bringing the Central Valley voices to the table.
Thank you.
Vice Chair Fauclone, did you have your hand up?
Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
the spirit of completion of of highways and corridors. Chair Grisby and I had the pleasure
of attending the ground well actually it was a check presentation for the highway 9 to
highway 1-1 in Santa Barbara that last leg of multimodal corridor project. It was a very
exciting event and it brought not just the the committee of Santa Barbara but
their neighboring communities and Ventura, Solvang and others and so
congratulations to to district five and SB CAG and thank you for allowing us to
be part of this really important occasion that that brought the community
together it was it's very evident that this is a really important corridor to
complete. And it is it is truly a multimodal opportunity. And
yeah, no, in the spirit of saying, finally, the 99 will be
done. The saying throughout that whole event was the one on one is
almost done. And so we we feel that and we are appreciative of
being part of that. So thank you. And then, of course, yesterday was a huge
personal event for me, and it was really heartening to see my fellow
commissioners and California Transportation Commission staff at the
Otay Mesa East port of entry. Actually, it's not the port of entry, it's
the road leading to the port of entry. We still have a ways to go in
terms of constructing the actual port of entry, but completing the SR11 and
Siempre Viva Interchange is a key and last part milestone
towards actually realizing a dream, a vision,
that I personally have had the honor of being
part of 20-something years ago.
And it just really highlights that the projects that we do,
they're complex, and they're important,
and they're transformational, and they take time
and perseverance and it made only more complicated
because it's a binational project.
And so it shows that the state,
not only of California and Baja California,
and our regions and all of our agencies,
Caltrans has been instrumental in developing that project
as well as SANDAG and the community,
how important it is to come together for something so,
so monumental, and we look forward to a future groundbreaking of the port of entry. And so I
thank my colleagues for being at that event, and it meant a lot. And then welcome to Dina
at the dais. We're glad to have you join us, and we look forward to working with you.
We're sad to see Mike Keever. I was shocked, and I've looked up to you, and I've learned a lot
from you and many of my colleagues, I'm sure, share the same sentiments. And I just want
to thank you for, you know, the service that you have given to the state of California.
And then welcome finally to new CCC staff coming in and joining us. I do remember Christine
Gordon. I remember giving her a hard time about going into water issues. That's a, that's
no joke and so it's it's great to have her back in the transportation realm so
with that thank you for giving me the time mr. chair thank you vice chair and
you were excellent MC yesterday so good commissioner Tiffany thank you chair
just want to chime in a couple things first of all I was fortunate enough to
be there at the ribbon cutting that Vice Chair Falcone just
mentioned.
And yeah, it was an exciting event,
I think particularly to see the partnership, the US-California-Mexico
partnership, when we're dealing with so many issues on a national basis
and to see how successful that partnership can be
and should be, not just in California.
But anyway, that was a great event and congratulations.
I know you put a lot of time and effort into that.
I also wanted to, as far as district five
that co-chair Falcone mentioned.
Also, I was fortunate enough to be
at a presentation at Santa Cruz County Transportation
Agency in Scotts Valley for the completion
or the last piece of the multimodal project
from Watsonville to Santa Cruz on Highway 1.
It's amazing how popular one is when you are presenting
$128.7 million check.
So, but this is my first time being able to do that.
And I certainly enjoyed doing that.
And congratulations to Santa Cruz on that project
that we've been working on for so long.
Normally being here in San Diego,
finally this is where I would be trash talking
with my friend Clarissa,
but I can't after being swept by the Padres.
So I'm going to have to keep quiet about that.
But anyway, thank you, Chair.
All right, thank you, Commissioner.
Any other commissioners
would like to make a statement or a comment?
Hearing none, we're going to move on to item eight.
Oh, thank you.
Any public comment on this item?
There is, we have one virtual attendee with their hand raised.
I will call on now Roberto Flores.
Please unmute yourself to give your comment.
Can you hear me? Can you hear me? Yes, we can. Yes. My name is Roberto Flores. I'm not
blood relationship to Benito, but he was my brother and got the privilege of working with
him for five or six years. And I want to thank Commissioner that mentioned his name and honored
him. Thank you so much, Commissioner Lugo. And I just want to let everybody know that
We are in crisis here on the sales process.
The Robert E. Bill is being violated
on many different accounts.
There are approximately 50 tenants
that have been disqualified from purchasing their houses illegally.
The regulations are in violation of the law.
And you're going to hear from us until this
is resolved. What we're asking for, we're asking for transparency and clarity. We're
asking for the, I'm sorry here, we're asking that the Robert E. Bill be implemented the
right way. We're asking that there be no sales if they're not to a tenant. We're asking that
the escrow process be expedited for those tenants that are in escrow. The tenants from
information from VRG and Caltrans themselves have been told that their escrow process is
going to be three years, two to three years long. Uh, we're asking that Carolyn.
Thank you sir, your time's up. But we really appreciate you sharing your views today. Thank
you so much. We're asking that BRG be removed. All right, great. Uh, next up, we will go ahead
of eight. Uh, Chair, we do have one more comment. Yes. Uh, I'd like to call on Ricky Alderson.
Please unmute yourself to give your comment. Hi, I appreciate it. Thank you. Um, I won't
You know, there's no.
I don't believe her. The point that was just made,
but I wanted to thank commissioner Lugo for, for mentioning Benito,
particularly as it relates to people have been in homes for 40 plus
years.
And are being denied their, you know, elderly, their ADA.
Tenants and they're being threatened to be sold homes.
Underneath them.
We have tons of empty homes that are creating a horrendous neighborhood.
And there's really nobody who's following the spirit and or line by line rules and parts of the Roberti Act.
And what I'm asking for and what we're asking for is that these either be moved to an agency that can take care of these things.
of these things has been 40, 50 years.
Not to mention many years since the 710
was no longer going to be built.
Senator Sasha Renee Perez and Assembly Member John Horadian
and Assembly Member Mike Fong
were all at an August 9th meeting we had
where we were very specific in our asks.
And we ask you to take accountability
and put this into action without delay.
Thank you.
Thank you, I understand we have one more.
We do have one more.
I'd like to now call on Kelly Brinkman.
Please unmute yourself to give your comment.
I'd like to call on Kelly Brinkman.
Please unmute yourself to give your comment.
Okay, can you hear me?
Yes, we can hear you.
Okay, hello.
Thank you, Commissioner Luebo for your comments on Benito.
I knew him as well.
Hello, my name is Kelly Brinkman
and I've lived on the 710 stretch
in my Caltrans home in Pasadena for 18 years.
Investing my heart, my labor, and my spirit
into this community.
In 2015, tenants along the 710 corridor
were told to prepare for the sale of the home process,
a process that never came.
Now many properties sit empty and neglected,
while families who cared for their homes for decades
remained in limbo.
Recently, we were given just 30 days
to decide whether to buy our homes as is
at thorough market value,
yet no one will even tell us
what the federal market value is.
We get vague answers and no clear path forward.
There is a better way.
In the 1970s, Caltrans tenants
in Silver Lake formed a cooperative.
They bought their homes, preserved the affordability
and kept their community strong.
This model still works.
We are ready to follow it.
We asked, number one, United Caltrans tenants
be included in the appropriate transportation agenda.
Two, a moratorium on non-tenant sales replaced.
Three, the removal of Carolyn Damby
and VRG from the tenant sales process.
Four, HCD to take over sales.
Five, expedite escrows for tenants already in process.
I love Pasadena.
I've worked here, volunteered here, and built my life here.
With your support, we can turn years of waiting
into stability, equity, and lasting community ownership.
Thank you for your time.
Next, I would like to call on Sean Salazar.
Please unmute yourself to begin your comment.
Yes, hello, can you hear me?
Yes, we can hear you, thank you.
Yes, hello, I wanna thank everybody
for hearing us out on these issues.
I met Benito Flores as well.
I wanna say rest in peace to him.
I am a tenant amongst the 710 corridor
the El Sereno area. Um, I have I can attest that we have been going through
plenty issues with the sales process. I myself am amongst the few, the many I
would say that have been denied their right to purchase their property at an
affordable cost. We have been told that this is a direct violation of the
Robert the act, the regulations that Caltrans has imposed on these people
amongst this corridor are unfactual.
They're imposing a minimum income requirement
of housing expenses that are inaccurate.
And because they're inaccurate and there's no way
to factually determine that a family household will pay them,
we should not be disqualified for them.
That is what Caltrans is doing.
They are disqualifying us for an invalid reason.
Um, I want to say the people are suffering, the people are stressed, the
people are going through a horrible time with this sales process.
Uh, we demand change.
I agree with Kelly Brinkman's demands.
Um, she implemented great demands there.
Um, I want to attest to those.
We need change and we need it now.
We're working with legislation as well.
Um, we need your support as well.
CTC, we need you guys to step in and hold Caltrans accountable for
their actions because they're not listening to the tenants. They're not listening to us.
They're not listening to reason. And we need someone to step in and force them to listen
to reason and really give these homes back to the people as the Robert act intended.
So we need this to happen. And we need this to happen. Now we wait. Thank you for sharing
your views. We waited too long. Any more public comment. There's no more public comment for
this item. Thank you. Thank you. Also would acknowledge Senator Cortese has joined us.
We always appreciate seeing you. Um, any other, uh, commissioner reports, uh, or ex officio reports.
All right. Hearing none, uh, we will move on to, uh, item eight under secretary hacker.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Good afternoon. Uh, great to be here in San Diego with all of you. I'm James
hacker, CalSTA undersecretary, here to provide a brief agency update.
First of all, I want to echo members of the commission and Deputy Director Golzewski.
I think I got that right.
I can just – cool.
Just to say congrats to Mike Keever, who I've worked with closely for the last couple of
years.
You've been a huge asset to Caltrans and to the state, and you'll be missed.
So thank you for everything.
I'll jump into it.
Do we have a presentation for me?
All right, next slide.
Start with some personnel updates.
First, congratulations to Tammy McGowan,
who was recently appointed by the governor
to be senior advisor to the secretary
for strategy and operations, moving from her previous role
as deputy secretary for communications.
This role, she'll be directly supporting the secretary
and providing high-level guidance
around strategic agency issues, as well as directly overseeing
ARCOM's work, Tammy has – or was at Caltrans for 36 years before she moved over to agency
most recently as deputy director for public affairs, and she's been deputy secretary
for communications at Cal – at CalSTA since 2022. She received her bachelor's degree
in communications from Sacramento State, and we look forward to continuing to work with
her in her new role. So congrats to Tammy. Go to the next slide.
I also want to say congratulations to Kimberly Erickson, who's back filling Tammy as the
new Acting Deputy Secretary of Communications at CalSTA.
She's been the Assistant Deputy since August of 2024, and prior to this, she spent 24 years
at Caltrans, most recently a statewide division chief over right-of-way and land surveys.
And prior to that, she was the chief of staff to the director during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Congratulations, Kimberly.
We're looking forward to working with her in her new role as well.
I want to say congratulations and welcome to Jen Ann Lee,
Kelsa's new Deputy General Counsel.
We're lucky to have her join the team.
She's got an extensive background in infrastructure
and transportation issues,
and we think she'll be a big asset to the team.
Most recently, she was at an energy regulatory firm
where she represented mostly public agencies
and infrastructure issues.
Prior to that, she spent time at the California at Cal EPA,
both at CARB and the State Water Resources Control Board.
She graduated magna cum laude from Sacramento State
with a bachelor's degree in civil engineering.
She is a licensed engineer and received her JD from UC Davis
and is a member of the State Bar of California.
So congratulations and welcome to Jen Ann.
Now I'll jump into the more detailed agency updates.
First around climate action updates on two executive orders
as requested by the commission at our last meeting.
First an update on EON 224, the Enville housing
and its implications for recently passed legislation
around BMT mitigation.
As a reminder, in February, 2024,
the governor issued EON224 to support efforts
to transform underdeveloped
and underutilized infill sites for housing
as a way to sort of align infill housing development
with state climate policies.
It also directly supports or furthers certain pieces
of the 2021 Climate Action Plan
for Transportation Infrastructure, or CAPTIE,
which directed CalSTA and CalTrans to explore mitigation banks and exchanges.
There's a lot of stuff in this EO, but the two most pertinent parts were related to CalTrans.
One was the use of housing as a VMT mitigation, and the other was the development of a VMT
mitigation bank to speed and sort of smooth the implementation of that particular mitigation
option.
Building on this EO, in the most recently passed budget, there were two bits of trailer
bill, AB 130 and SB 131 that sort of pushed some of these goals forward. They included
a role for the transportation sector and the state's transportation agencies to assist
in building faster and more cleanly across the state. Among a bunch of housing-related
reforms, there was – there were CEQA exemptions for high-speed rail stations and maintenance
facilities, as well as a streamlining of SQL reviews for housing and infill infrastructure.
Importantly, as part of this bill, it also directed the creation of a SQL VMT mitigation
bank, building directly on the directives of EON 224. This mitigation bank is intended to provide
an optional compliance tool to allow project developers to more effectively and efficiently
fulfill their SQL requirements and to mitigate the VMT impacts of certain transportation projects.
It's designed – or it's intended to sort of help meet legal obligations while advancing
the state's housing, transportation, climate, and equity efforts, so it's intended to be
sort of a win-win approach.
We're currently in the development phase of the mitigation bank.
It's – there's a steering community development team being convened by the Governor's Office
of Land Use and Climate Innovation, or LCI.
Convened by LCI, CALSTA is part of the leadership team developing those guidelines.
along with the sort of larger interstate interagency team.
The legislation directs that mitigation bank to be up by July of 2026.
There's a lot of work to be done.
That effort is just getting started now, but we are trying to hit the ground running.
And so at our next meeting, I anticipate being able to present a more detailed work plan
with sort of key milestones to get us from now to when that program is supposed to go
live next fiscal year.
Um, This, like I said, was sort of intended to help, uh, smooth the
application or the, the implementation of housing as a VM team mitigation
strategy, uh, as part of this and also in line with that executive order.
Uh, Caltrans is updating, uh, what's called the transportation analysis
under CEQA or TAC, uh, which, um, should be coming out relatively shortly.
Looking for the director doesn't contradict me.
Um, and that'll be, uh, the draft, uh, is going to basically provide some
clarification and some some direction for the way the Caltrans assesses
mitigation under CEQA for certain transportation projects and we'll
clarify that housing is an acceptable mitigation strategy under certain
conditions and as appropriate. The second EO update here is N2725, which I
shared last month. The governor or CalSTA was charged by the governor along with
several other boards and agencies as part of that executive order to develop
policy recommendations for actions within state authority to further advance the state's
zero-emission vehicle goals, particularly in light of the recent rescission of the state's
Clean Air Act waivers, which complicate some of those efforts.
CALSTA has met with commission staff as well as the various CALSTA departments to brainstorm
and develop some potential policy options for additional things the state could do within
state authority to further incentivize and drive further adoption of zero-emission vehicles,
including light, medium and heavy duty ZEVs.
That includes looking at funding, processing regulatory reforms, partnerships, as well
as potentially some legislative changes.
As part of the implementation of that executive order, agency leadership participated in a
series of four public dialogue sessions hosted by the California Air Resources Board.
Those were in Fresno, Sacramento, Long Beach, and one online session to get public input
and to sort of take additional input on options for the state to drive those ZEV goals.
Secretary Elmashaq and I spoke and participated in two of those, but we had CALSTA participation
at all four of them.
As part of this effort, CALSTA has developed a series of policy recommendations that we've
now shared with CARB and with the governor's office, sort of a wide range of things that
we've worked through at the other departments and agencies, including things like looking
at opportunities to leverage eligible and existing funding for improving the use of
those funds for the adopter, for the implementation of zero-emission vehicle charging infrastructure,
potential regulatory efforts that could make it easier to own and operate a zero-emission vehicle,
stuff like that. That's currently being, I guess, sort of packaged and consolidated,
and so we're anticipating that report to come out potentially as early as Friday,
which I guess is tomorrow. So stay tuned for more on that one.
Once that's out, we look forward to working with the Commission and with other stakeholders to
implement the recommendations and the directions in that report and whatever further direction
and comes from the governor's office on this effort.
Next slide.
All right, in terms of ongoing innovation,
the, I guess, update one additional executive order update
and then an update on DMV's AB rulemaking.
First, as a reminder in 2023,
the governor issued EON 1223,
which directed state departments and agencies
to look for opportunities to leverage Gen AI
to improve state policymaking
and the sort of general government operations.
Caltrans has been at the forefront of this effort
since it was issued.
In the first round of proof of concept projects
that was initiated by the State Department of Technology,
Caltrans launched two gen AI pilot projects focused on one,
enhancing vulnerable road user safety,
and two, gaining traffic mobility insights
on the state highway system.
Following those first two initial pilot projects,
which were completed in January of this year,
Caltrans awarded two six-month contracts for an extension and a build-out of an initial
phase implementation project basically to take the findings of those pilots and turn
it into a long-term tool that we can hopefully roll out and operate statewide.
Some more on that in the future.
Beyond these two pilots, Caltrans is working on two internal efforts, the first exploring
ways to use the M365 copilot tool to improve internal efficiencies and two finding ways
is to improve the navigation of the extensive knowledge
and data systems on the Caltrans internet.
Caltrans has a lot of data,
and so finding ways to help us better navigate
and parse that data is gonna help us make
better policy decisions and better design decisions.
So we're looking to drive some of that internally
within our existing organizations.
As part of that, Caltrans has implemented
one of the first AI leadership roles in the State Department.
They've created a Chief Data and AI Officer.
We'll develop sort of the Chief or the Data and AI Office
Caltrans, which is intended to provide high level policy governance analytics and sort of oversight
of the full suite of Caltrans data and AI tools. And we're hopeful that that's going to help us
sort of speed the adoption of these tools and generally improve efficiency and outcomes coming
out of Caltrans. Moving on to DMV autonomous vehicle rulemaking. DMV is continuing their work
on that rulemaking. We received more than 80 comments from the public as part of the first
round of public comment which ended in June. Caltrans or not Caltrans DMV is working to
consolidate some of those comments and identify sort of what the proper response is. Some of this
will likely result in updates to the proposed regs, so stay tuned for those to come out in the
relatively near future. That will likely trigger a new comment period and give the public additional
opportunity to provide input into these important regulations as we look to bring our current set
that are regs up to date.
There we go.
So safety two quick updates on the safety front.
First, the OTS Traffic Safety Law Enforcement Forum.
OTS held their law enforcement forum on July 22
here in San Diego, brought together
more than 300 law enforcement personnel, prosecutors,
toxicologists, and researchers, and served
as an opportunity for attendees to discuss pressing traffic
safety issues and discuss sort of the state of the art
state of current knowledge on ways to improve traffic safety. Attendees heard from OTS director
Stephanie Doherty, Secretary Omashakan, and CHP Commissioner Duree pictured here, and we're
looking forward to taking some of the lessons learned from that forum and rolling them out
statewide. Second, the state priority safety corridor program. Back in April, Secretary
Omashakan previewed that he would be – that we would be adopting this program and kicking it off
this year. We're going to be focusing on three corridors, which you've now identified, all of
all of which are in Southern California.
Cal State worked with UC Berkeley to identify those
and is now working with relevant locals
to sort of scope and identify potential interventions
on those corridors.
We'll be rolling those out publicly later this month.
And following the rollout and the launch of that effort
will be convenient task force for each individual corridor
as a way to sort of drive those interventions
and set up a system whereby we can sort of
assess effectiveness before, during, and after,
with the idea being that hopefully this is a program
that will scale once we've sort of targeted
these individual corridors for sort of intensive review.
We can then take, we've learned from that
and identify further safety corridors in the coming years
and sort of keep working through the issue as we go.
Equity, two quick updates.
For the first time, Cal State officially participated
in the Sacramento Pride March in June,
along with six other state agencies and multiple departments.
The attendees celebrated equality and showed our support
for our LGBTQ employees and communities.
Second, the master plan on aging.
CALST is actively engaged
with the California Department of Aging
as part of the update to that master plan
to identify ways we can support
more accessible transportation options statewide,
consider our aging population in the CAL-ITP implementation,
and to identify any data gaps
that are preventing us from sort of identifying ways
in which we are underserving our aging population
sort of the solutions to those issues. So we're looking forward to that coming to fruition.
Economic prosperity to pick up two more quick updates here. First, the supply chain stakeholders
roundtable meetings, like I think I mentioned last time. CalSTA, in close collaboration with
GO-Biz, CDFA, and other partner agencies, has convened a recurring series of supply chain
stakeholder roundtables. And then to sort of strengthen communication and improve coordination
between the state's public and private sector freight community, so state agencies, the ports,
our labor stakeholders, freight companies, and to serve as a platform for dialogue and coordination
as we sort of work through some of the issues that have occurred given the current chaos in
the trading system. These roundtables have helped elevate industry perspectives on issues, including
labor impacts, port cargo volume, freight bottlenecks and potential solutions,
further deployment of zero-emission vehicles and infrastructure, and implications of the
continuously evolving international trade dynamics. And so, as things sort of remain
unsettled on the trade front, we anticipate these roundtables will continue and hopefully
give us a chance to sort of identify and solve issues before they come to a head.
Lastly, IIJA reauthorization subworking groups. There's a series of subworking groups working
through sort of priorities and proposals for reauthorization of the IIJA, council work
with Caltrans to convene subworking groups on a variety of topics, one of which was economic
prosperity and goods movement, basically our freight working group, Deputy Secretary of
Freight Policy Christine Casey opened and led the first session of that to sort of help
folks identify priorities and highlighted our recent developments and the state's continued
investment in this space through programs like the Port and Freight Infrastructure Program
or PFIP, Forward Infrastructure Development Program, PIDP, our efforts around lithium
valley and key bi-national and harbor maintenance priorities.
This underscores the state's continued commitment to goods movement and to trade, both international
and international.
And we anticipate this will be a key part of our effort around IIJA reauthorization as
we come into that process.
Go to the next slide.
That's it for me.
Thank you very much.
Happy to answer any questions that you all have.
Thank you so much, Undersecretary, very informative and great work happening.
I understand we have public comment, let's go with online first.
For online public comment, I'd like to call on Ricky Alderson.
Please unmute yourself to begin your comment.
Hi, thank you so much for your report, very informative.
As you're talking about this comment with regard to AI initiatives, I think it's important
that Caltrans moves forward with AI.
I think that's great.
I think we need to stress trust.
Must be the foundation of how and when
and in what ways we use it.
We must improve transportation and public services
as a result of it through ethics
and integrity and transparency.
This means to me five things,
making sure that's designed with ethical design.
It has to have a real clear understanding
of bias and inequality,
and it should protect event privacy, civil liberties,
and community rights.
Second, integrity and accountability has to happen.
Humans must remain responsible for the AI decisions
with clear oversight and documented audit trails.
Third, veracity, it has to be accurate,
relevant and up-to-date data with clear disclosures
where the data is coming from and the quality.
Fourth, transparency, the public should always know
where and how AI is being used on our behalf
and in our support of things to make decisions.
And finally, we must continuously evaluate it
as it continues to be an opportunity space for us.
It'll also continue to be a place
for manipulation and control.
So I ask today that Caltrans adopt a publish,
a clear set of ethical AI principles,
including transparency, veracity,
integrity and public oversight,
so that every AI decision is accountable
and trusted by the people it serves.
Thank you, Director Hecker,
for considering these principles
because I know it's important and I work in marketing.
Any additional public comment online. There's no more online public comment. Thank you. Thank you. We do have some in the room. Terry, Akimi Hernandez. The maze we've created will not come out of your time. Hello, nice seeing you.
Hi, good to see you as well.
Hello, everyone, commissioners, staff,
and if we can go back on the presentation
from Mr. Heckert for the CEQA portion of that.
My name is Keri Akemi Hernandez.
My traditional name is Kerabara Thunderfoot.
I'm joining you today from the San Francisco Bay Area,
where the indigenous land is Patwin, Pomo, Wapo, and Miwok.
and Aloni, and I'm also here as a guest on Kumeyaay Land.
So their indigenous relatives were at the border
crossed them.
But what I wanted to talk about today with the CEQA
is just making sure that whatever is being fast-tracked
is not leaving out bringing indigenous voices to the table
and making sure that the Grave and Repatriation Act is still
being honored, and that in addition to NAHAC,
that unrecognized tribes are also given consideration.
And so when we're thinking about community outreach
is to have those voices mentioned.
So that's all for you today.
Thank you.
Thank you.
That's it with public comment.
Is there any comment or question from the dais?
Vice Chair Falcone.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
And thank you, Undersecretary Hacker for being here
and for your update.
And for being there yesterday,
I neglected to mention you.
Thank you so much for representing the administration
as been an important champion for Hotaime CE.
So thank you for being there.
As it relates to generative AI
and appreciate the thoughtfulness
and really thinking about how to really utilize this tool
in assisting in transportation planning
and really getting to some of the finesse
on how to serve our system better
and therefore our travelers.
I was kind of stimulated by some of the comments
that were made by the commenter earlier about trust.
And many folks that have adopted AI see the utility in it,
but many, many, most, probably most public,
most in public do not really understand it.
They hear about it and there's a lot of mythology
that is surrounded with gen AI.
And so in that sense, is there,
as you're rolling out these tools
and you're bringing in the chief AI officer,
is there opportunity for engagement
to start really talking about
an understanding application of AI and transportation?
Thank you, Commissioner.
I appreciate the question.
We're at the beginning of a long process, I think.
The technology is still shockingly new
and I think folks are still figuring out
not just what all the possible uses are,
is sort of what the first possible set of uses are.
From our perspective, this isn't like a shiny object
or a fun tool for the sake of being a shiny object or a fun
tool.
We think there are real opportunities
that this could be additive to what the department is doing
and sort of help us provide better outcomes
and better service to the public rather than simply sort
of offsetting or replacing certain functions
within the organization.
The trust comment is an important one,
particularly when you're talking about
the deployment of these technologies on public assets,
like the state transportation system.
And so, you know, I think sort of from the agency perspective,
you know, very much agree with the concern and the point,
you know, Caltrans, like I said,
the beginning of this process,
and there's a lot of work to be done.
And so I'll maybe leave some of the details to the director,
but I think there's gonna be a lot of conversation
to be had about the right way to deploy this tool.
You may comment.
Yeah, I think undersecretary covered it really well.
We are at the very beginning of the process.
And I think a big part of what we intend to do
is as we advance in the usage of AI,
we will continuously communicate what's happening
and seek that feedback.
Transparency is very important,
and the trust of the public is very important to us.
So we certainly appreciate the comment
that we heard from the commenter earlier,
and it's something that's front and center
in our deployment of this effort.
Thank you.
Any other comments or questions for the dais on this item?
We're hearing none.
We're going to move to Caltrans director, Dina El-Tawansi.
Want to welcome you to the commission.
I know this is your first meeting.
I really enjoyed working with you
when you're a Bay Area director.
And I'm so excited that you're in this role.
So welcome and take it away.
Thank you very much.
Good afternoon, Chair Grisby, Vice Chair Falcon,
and Commissioners, Dean Altante,
Director for Caltrans, and I'm thrilled to be here
down at the San Diego region,
joining you for a Caltrans update this afternoon.
Let's go to the next slide, please.
Deputy Director Paul and Undersecretary
already beat me to this announcement,
but I'd be remissed if I don't say
that I'm sharing with deepest appreciation
and a touch of sadness,
the announcement of my keyverse departure.
Mike has had 40 years of service within the department,
and his last day is going to be September 4.
Over his distinguished career, Mike
held numerous leadership roles, including acting director,
chief engineer, deputy director of project delivery,
where he oversaw a program of nearly 9,000 employees
and an annual budget over $2 billion.
In that role, he was responsible for every phase
of transportation projects statewide
from environmental approval to design
through construction completion.
Mike's contribution are hardly limited to just our department,
as he has spent decades shaping infrastructure policy
and research through active involvement in ASH2, TRB, NCHRB,
and leading universities, as well as fostering strong
partnership with federal, state, and local agencies.
His leadership is leaving a legacy
that will continue to shape Caltrans for years to come.
I want to take this moment to personally thank
Mike for his friendship and mentorship for me
and many of us on our executive board
and throughout the department.
With his retirement, this retirement is a big loss
for Caltrans, but we do wish him every happiness
as he embarks on the next chapter.
Mike, thank you for your service
for all the people of California.
We really appreciate you.
I tried to talk him out of it, but I wasn't successful.
So next slide, please.
I also want to share a couple of other uh leadership updates at Caltrans. Uh effective
beginning of july uh Dave Amble has been the acting district director for district four.
Dave has more than 35 years of experience and has held key leadership roles across both district
four and headquarters include chief deputy district director, deputy district director
of maintenance, principal transportation engineer and construction and acting chief of the headquarters
Division of Maintenance. His deep knowledge of Caltrans operations and strong leadership
background make him a very well-equipped person to guide the district during this transition.
I'm confident that D4 is in good hands and we as we conduct the search for the permanent district
director. Also related to AI and some of the conversations that were shared earlier with
Undersecretary, Caltrans has taken a strategic step towards a more data-driven and innovative
future with the creation of its first chief data and artificial intelligence officer, CDAO.
This new executive role will lead enterprise data management, AI governance and analytics strategy,
ensuring that the data and the AI use are used responsibly, effectively, and in alignment with
state priorities. Dara Wheeler, who has more than 30 years of public service experience, has been
appointed as inaugural CDAO. She has served in multiple leadership roles in Caltrans
headquarters, including her previous role as the chief of the Research Innovation System
Information Program. I look forward to all the positive impact that they're all due in
this new role. Next slide, please.
I have a couple of other very important updates. On July 18th, Caltrans released its first
Transit Policy for a 30-day public commenting period.
This marks a significant milestone for the department.
It is the first ever Director's Transit Policy and it sets the stage for a long-term strategic
commitment to public transit on the State Highway system.
The policy reflects a broader shift in how Caltrans approaches transportation planning,
prioritizing flexibility, context sensitive transit solutions that serve all ages and
all abilities. It also establishes a clear vision for integrating public transportation
into the fabric of the state's managed roadways, enhancing access and connectivity across the
system. The draft policy is organized around three foundational pillars, planning, projects
and data with the goal of applying design flexibility and innovative approaches to strengthen
transit networks. To support this work, Caltrans is also developing a director's transit policy
implementation action plan which will detail the concrete steps the department will take
to bring this policy to life. On August 6, the Caltrans office of transit planning held
the statewide workshop to review the draft policy with external partners. The workshop
was attended by approximately 128 people. We are currently seeking your feedback on
the draft policy through August 18th and will be welcome the input from all our partners
and from the public. This is an important opportunity to help shape the future of multimodal
transportation California and Caltrans truly looks forward to collaborating with communities
and local and regional partners to build
a more connected, accessible,
and sustainable transportation system for everyone.
Next slide.
I also wanna share some of our successes
that I'll look for next year on project delivery.
In fiscal year 24-25, Caltrans delivered a remarkable
turnaround on project delivery rate
for one of its highest risk project portfolios.
More than 40% of the project
in this lost fiscal year faced significant challenges.
These challenges ranged from complex right-of-way needs
to non-typical permitting, unique environmental studies,
railroad coordination, and the volatile market conditions.
Delivery rate of potentially 60%
was projected mid-year for that portfolio.
However, through coordinated effort across the organization,
a statewide portfolio resizing effort
and the guidance from the CTC,
Caltrans closed the year with 83% delivery rate.
That's up from last year, 70%.
So we delivered, we put out 207 projects out of 250
at an estimated $4.3 billion construction capital.
The current fiscal year 2526,
Caltrans plans to deliver 229 project valued at roughly
close to $6 billion, 5.87 billion.
to strengthen project delivery, risk management,
and accountability, the department's also
advancing multiple initiatives, including the statewide project
delivery training, which is starting in September,
providing targeting sessions to improve collaboration
between project managers and project engineers.
And I have to note here that we have a substantial number
of new staff within the department.
So this is really an essential step
to make sure that our new staff are trained
and are going to be up to speed.
Also, high-risk project workshop is
going to be launched in September,
bringing together project delivery leaders
from across the state to develop innovative risk management
strategies.
We're also updating our project development team guidance.
Another initiative is the early design emphasis,
really looking at that input early on in design, prioritizing
up front design activities to minimize late changes
and also to control costs.
Streamline project tracking to improve reporting and risk
monitoring at all organizational levels for faster
issue resolution.
And also the building on and continuing
to prioritize and have proactive community engagement,
initiating early outreach to prevent the late scope changes
or additions, and also build stakeholder alignment early on.
These efforts are not only building on the momentum
that we've started in 2024-25 success,
but also laying the foundation for stronger and more resilient
project delivery for years to come.
Next slide, please.
I am proud to also share some of the positive news
that we have.
So California once again demonstrated
leadership and excellence and innovation earning more project wins at the annual
wash two awards this year more than other any astral western region state.
There were 36 projects considered across four categories 11 were selected as winners and
California took home three. The Stratford King River bridge replacement on state route 41 in
district 6 won the award of operations excellence for a medium-sized project.
This project delivered 31 million upgrades to a critical freight and travel corridor
linking the Central Valley and coastal region. The work included replacing a 78-year-old
structured, structurally deficient bridge in under 150 days of foreclosure. I want to congratulate
District 6 and Director Navarro's team on that project. The award for the best use of technology
and innovation for a small project went to the Caltrans vendors day which was created
by the division of research innovation and system information under dara wheeler's leadership.
This event brought together hundreds of participants dozens of vendors to brainstorm and tackle
California's transportation challenges. Nearly a hundred vendor submissions were received
leading to the launch of the Caltrans vendor portal a streamlined tool to evaluate vendor
solution and improved contract engagement. Congratulations to Dara and the DRIZZY team
on that one. And finally the award for safety for a medium project went to the state route
25-152 turbo roundabout near Hollister in district 5. This project transformed the collision prone
intersection into one of the nation's safest most efficient design. As only the second turbo roundabout
in the United States. It features enhanced signage, lane dividers, and a truck apron
for large vehicles. Congratulations to District 5 and Director's Eats team.
Each nominated project first competes regionally. Within its size category, the winner advances to
the national competition. While we hope to see these projects receive recognition again at the
the national level. We are immensely proud of how they have already improved
the California transportation network and the lives of the people we serve.
Next slide, please. We're also proud to share the Caltrans District 12
director lands. Al has been named as the 2025 Woman of the Year by the Orange
County chapter of W. T s, an international organization dedicated to
the advancement of woman's career, career and transportation. This award
celebrates her outstanding contributions to the transportation industry, the positive impact
she continues to make both within our team and beyond, and her commitment to advancing women
and minorities in the field. Director Zell will officially receive her award on Thursday,
December 4, 2025, at the annual WTS winner in Irvine, California. I'm excited to see her
receive a much-deserved recognition, and I look forward to seeing what she accomplishes next.
Next slide, please.
Next slide.
So that concludes on that celebratory note.
I conclude my presentation.
I'm ready to take any questions or comments.
Thank you, Director.
Any public comment?
Yes, we have a public comment
that I will read aloud right now.
This comes to us from Ricky Alderson.
I would like to ask about the mandate and scope
of responsibility for Dana,
particularly in her role related to data and AI at Caltrans.
Specifically, what are her stated priorities in this position and how will she be held
accountable for achieving them?
How will transparency be ensured in both her decision making process and the outcomes of
her initiatives?
What measurable results should the public expect to see within her first year in this
role?
The public needs clarity, not just on the title, but on the actions, deliverables and
standards by which her performance will be evaluated.
Thank you. Any other public comment? There are no other public comment. Any
questions or comments from the dais? All right. Thank you director for your
report. Next up we have we're withdrawing item 10 and moving to item 11 regional
agencies moderator Carla Anderson. Welcome. There we go. All right. Can you hear me now?
all right great good afternoon commissioners I'm Carl Anderson with
the Metropolitan Transportation Commission standing in for Louis Jow and
I'm here to provide the Regional Transportation Planning Agency's update.
The RTPA group held its August meeting yesterday afternoon upstairs at the San
Diego Association of Governments where we received and discussed updates from
our state partners. As such I'd like to share one critical update from our
meeting along with a highlight of one item on this month's agenda. First and
And unfortunately, most importantly,
we are navigating some familiar and rough waters
with recent federal rescission
of California's emissions waiver.
Our region's transportation improvement programs
and regional transportation plans rely on data
and modeling tools that the California Air Resources Board
and ultimately the United States Environmental
Protection Agency approved to advance transportation
priorities and projects.
With the way we're rescinded,
Those state level models are now invalidated,
placing us in a position where we will not be able
to advance certain critical
and major infrastructure projects across the state.
You may recall we were in a similar situation
during the previous implementation
of this administration safe rule.
At that time, after considerable political back and forth
and litigation, the ultimate solution came
from coordinated work at the staff level
between the California Council of Governments.
Thank you to Tanisha if you're listening.
RTPA's, the CTC, Caltrans and CARB.
By augmenting our state modeling tools,
we were able to bring our TPA and MPO plans into compliance
and allow projects to move forward without waiting
for prolonged legal battle or political battles.
This time finding that solution may be more challenging.
Still the question before us remains the same.
How can we collectively work within the new federal rules
to identify a path forward without an extended stalemate
in the courts or political arena.
In response to this, the RTPAs are currently coordinating
within ourselves to document and quantify the exact impacts
that the waiver rescission and think through viable options
to avoid debilitating project delays.
We plan to share this work with our partners,
hoping it will dovetail and support broader communication
and coordination of all relevant players
throughout the state, as we seek a solution to this problem
and avoid our vital transportation priorities
becoming political collateral.
Next, and in much better news,
I'd like to express the RTPA's strong support
for the 2026 State Transportation
Improvement Program guidelines.
Yesterday, Casey Morgutetes shared
the final 2026 STIP guidelines with the RTPA's,
and we're in full support of this year's updates.
We wanna thank Casey and her team
for another successful and smooth guidelines
development process.
And especially for being so receptive
to the RTPA's requested revisions.
We are also appreciative that Casey and her team
will be holding office hours for our Regents
to answer any questions about the STIP program
to ensure a successful programming process.
The RTPA's would also like to thank CTC and Caltrans staff
for all their hard work in developing the fund estimate.
We look forward to working with the CTC
to develop our regional transportation improvement programs throughout the remainder of this
year and to finalize the 2026 step early next year.
That concludes my presentation and update from the RTPAs.
I'm available to answer any questions.
Thank you.
Thank you.
I understand Chief Deputy Paul Gee would like to make a comment.
Yeah, commissioners, I just wanted to note that in response to Carl's comments about
the federal government's illegal rescission
of California's Clean Air Act waiver.
That's something that we as staff have been talking
with our partner agencies that CARB and Kyle Tran's about.
And we do hope to bring together our state partners
and MPOs sometime in the near future
to have a discussion about some of the impacts
that Carl's referenced.
All right, thank you so much.
Any public comment on this item?
We do have an online attendee with their hand raised.
I'd like to now call on Vincenzo Capparelli.
Please unmute yourself to begin your comment.
Hi, my name is Vincenzo Capparelli
here on behalf of CalCog.
I want to start by thanking the board
for that opportunity to comment
and the presenter for his presentation.
I want to speak directly to one thing
that was mentioned in the report,
the federal waiver and air quality conformity issue.
I just want to say that we look forward
to working with you all on this as the issue develops.
We understand the, and we understand the gravity of it.
We are currently in discussions with our members
to gather the necessary information
and we'll be working collaboratively with our TPA Group,
Caltrans, CARP, CTC and other relevant stakeholders
so that we can be coordinated and strategic
as we navigate our next steps.
Thank you.
Thank you.
There's no more online public comment.
Thank you, I appreciate that.
Any comments or questions from the DICE?
Hearing none, we really appreciate your report.
Thank you.
All right, thank you, Chair.
Right.
Next up, we will hear from item 12 regional.
Oh, thank you.
There's some public comment that we received
in the prior item that we need to go back to item nine.
First up, we'll hear from Brett Cooker.
Yes, there you are, sir.
The mic, turn the mic on.
Turn the mic on.
Thank you.
John Elliott on the next one on the list.
Sorry for the little snafu there on my speaker's lips.
But, you know, I mean, I'm not surprised
our voices have not been heard.
You know, my name is John Elliott, no relation.
But my wife and I own a small outdoor store
on Highway 79 at Discounts O'Junction.
And my building was built in 1915,
and the people across the street, the restaurants, 1925.
State Highway came to, everything's been fine
for all these decades.
back in last December, we get approached by Caltrans staff.
And they're saying, so we need a permit for our parking
because it encroaches within the 80-foot right away.
It's gone round and round and round.
And now suddenly, they're telling us
that we cannot park where we have parked for all these,
for literally 100 years.
They've gone in.
They've marked the whole subdivision
as a no parking zone.
It's been devastating.
They are going to take away our parking.
It's going to put us out of business.
One of the commissioners mentioned community visions.
Our community plans, our sub-regional plans,
our general plans, this is a scenic highway.
We have scenic overlays.
We have eight historical designators on our properties
just to protect us.
And now they're coming in, then they're going to take us out.
And it's just traumatic.
It's rattling.
It's really getting to us.
It's happening right now.
And we've got our local staff, our politicians, state
senator, assemblyman, supervisor.
They're all trying to they're all on our side trying
to stop this from happening.
But it's just, I don't know if we can stop it.
We need help.
I appreciate it.
I don't know if this is real protocol,
but it's the best we can do.
Thank you very, very much for your time.
All right, thank you, sir.
Just to clarify, you're John Elliott and Brett Cooper?
No, Mr. Cooper's over here.
Oh, yes.
John Elliott is next group.
All right, thank you.
Please.
Yeah, I'm Brett Cooker.
I own the business across the street, the restaurant,
and like John said, the building's been there
for 100 years.
The parking has been there for 100 years.
When the property was deeded to Caltrans,
They built the state highway, the parking remained for 100 years.
Nothing's changed.
And I just want to throw out there that there was an accident in 2021.
Caltrans was held liable and was sued.
Because a car driving by hit two girls.
They were walking on the highway, and they didn't get killed.
But anyway, Caltrans is held liable.
now we find that you could find out through the court records that Caltrans
was held liable because they hadn't done anything to protect pedestrians so I
guess their answer is take our parking pedestrians go away and that's it
business is closed so I think there's some protocols that are not being
followed here and I'm hoping that you could look into that and get us some
kind of resolution that works. Thank you very much. Thank you. We will now go back
to the agenda item 12, rural counties task force chair Aaron Hoyt. Good afternoon
chair Grisby, vice chair Falcom, commissioners, executive director Taylor
and senator Cortese. My name is Aaron Hoyt. I'm the deputy executive director for
Nevada County Transportation Commission and chair for the Rural Counties Task Force representing
the 26 rural regional transportation agencies and local transportation commissions. I'll start my
remarks today with just an apology for not being there in person to present to you today and enjoy
all that sunny San Diego has to offer. The last time that the Rural Counties Task Force met with
Caltrans and CTC staff was at our July 18th meeting. We heard a number of informative updates
And I just wanted to thank the Caltrans planning team for reaching out to us for a number of those presentations.
We heard about the California freight mobility plan for 2027 and the critical rural freight corridor designation process.
Many of the state highways run through rural communities in the rural region, so we were appreciative of hearing about that process.
We also had Kayla McDonald of your staff present an update on the AB 251 vehicle weight study.
And then we also heard our regular staff updates on agenda items that you'll be acting on today.
And I'd like to thank, first off, thank Lori Waters, Casey Moore Gutierrez, and Keith Duncan
for the engagement opportunities offered on the state transportation improvement guidelines
update and the development of the draft fund estimate.
We fully support the staff's recommendations and we look forward to working with KC to
submit our regional transportation improvement programs by December 15th.
Another item on your agenda today, we heard from Sheila NS about the final AB 744 transportation
data program proposal.
The program presents a great opportunity for rural counties and our much larger MPO brothers
and sisters to access data and tools that may we may not typically have access to or
would consult out to other firms in the private sector who have expertise in these. So I think
it's my opinion that the hybrid implementation model option C is presented could be the most
beneficial across the state for rural RTPAs as well as the larger agencies pursuing competitive
funding while still allowing some of the smaller RTPAs to utilize a central procurement process if
that's the best option. Should the legislature act to implement AB 744 with funding, the rural
regional transportation planning agencies will look forward to taking advantage of this opportunity
to increase our data on our tools and development of our regional transportation plans. In closing,
always appreciate the opportunity of Caltrans and CTC staff for presenting to the rural county's
task force on upcoming planning efforts and various activities. I appreciate the opportunity
to present to you today. Thank you. Thank you, Chair Hoyt. Any public comment?
There is no public comment. Thank you. All right. Anyone from the dais has a question or comment?
All right. Hearing none, we appreciate your report. Thank you so much, Chair Hoyt.
Next up, item 13 has been withdrawn. So we're moving to item 14, equity initiatives update
California. Great thank you. Good afternoon commissioners. Tab 14 is an information item.
I will provide an update from our August EAC related events and then pass it to EAC chair
Martha Armas Kelly and member Luolani Vasquez. To start us off I want to extend deep gratitude
to the district 11 equity and engagement team for hosting EAC members and staff this morning
on a most excellent and informative tour and best practices discussion of some of your district's
equity related successes and challenges. We leave inspired, energized, and enlightened.
Next, I'm pleased to report that ad hoc subcommittees of the equity advisory committee
met in June and will be meeting again in August. And as a reminder, our three ad hoc subcommittees
approved by committee members in May, our community engagement practices and policies,
transportation planning and program guidance, and data implementation.
All three subcommittees continue to discuss and receive information from all three agencies
in alignment with the work plan and member requested topics of interest that fall within
the committee scope.
In August subcommittee members will discuss and deliberate topics such as elements of
the Caltrans Statewide Engagement Playbook and the Transit Policy and Implementation
Plan.
They will receive an update on feedback received and next steps for the comprehensive multimodal
corridor plan guidelines and receive an informational update on Assembly Bill 744 focused on advancing
statewide transportation data tools for local and regional jurisdictions.
We busy out here.
So ad hoc subcommittees are anticipated to meet again in November 2025 and in February
2026.
And our next full committee meeting is scheduled to be held virtually on September 5th.
And members will discuss and possibly take action on the vision, mission, and foundational
principles for transportation equity item. And thank you so much to everyone
here and members for working so diligently to develop what I consider a
very, very powerful statement. Um, and, uh, before I pass it to E C. Chair
Martha Armies Kelly, I will briefly introduce member pool on Evasquez, who
will be spotlighted today after her remarks. Member of ask us serves as the
injury prevention specialist and community outreach coordinator at Scripps Mercy here
in San Diego. And we thank chair Armies Kelly and member Vasquez for sharing your time with
us today. So with that, I'll pass it to chair Armies Kelly.
Good afternoon. I am so pleased to be here and I thank you for the opportunity. Today
was a very special day. We were able to receive a tour. We'd like to thank all the members
that are here from District 11 and their graciousness, being out with Commissioner
Marclara Sepalkone and so many others that were here today, including Breni Asetuno and
Nick Buenviaje, and I just want to say that today we were able to visit a part of San
Diego that is sometimes forgotten and to see the work that District 11 is doing and their
commitment to bringing equity into a community that, for the most part, generationally,
has been marginalized, but through their efforts, they are really pushing for connecting corridors,
creating and working with other collaborators, including the institutions such as school
systems, and also the local public works to create opportunities for students that would
have to travel up to 2 miles on a tram, you know, walking through an overhead bridge to a school
site because it's not available. And it's kind of an injustice at this time of our growth and
development to see that that's still happening, that people are still having to like, you hear
the stories about, I had to walk 5 miles to get to school every day. These kids are walking
like up to five miles, because if you think about there and back and to see how district 11 is
collaborating and working to just do to break down these barriers and to connect people to the
spaces that they need to be in and their intention and their real practical vision for building
equity. We say equity as a word, but if it was taken away, how do we really see those changes?
and I was enlightened as well as my colleagues that were there and present to see that Caltrans
and CalSTA and the commission are working together to make these changes for this community. So
I just want to a shout out to district 11 today for having us be part of that and be able to
share in the vision. I'd like to share also that we're formalizing and closing that door on the
vision and mission statement for the EAC and as we get closer to that time these are those
opportunities that we want to embed on on a more visual aspect of the vision and mission statement
and how each community even though we may have different needs the disparity is present in all
communities and the work that we do is inherently just tantamount to making those changes and
bringing that connection for folks to to lessen that burden including things like health, access,
safety which is so important and I'll put that plug out again and I'll say it again and I'll
always say it at my meetings. Catch me at my best and today was a day that I feel that we caught
this community at their best doing what they best do best and I encourage you if you see somebody
out there whether it's Caltrans or whether it's the CalSTA or if the
Commission doing a great job or in your spaces let them know that you're
catching them at their best. We want to start improving the branding and the
recognition of the things that we do do rather than things that we don't do. So
thank you.
Good afternoon. I have some slides. Perfect. Thank you. Good afternoon
commissioners, guests. My name is Poulani Vasquez. I know that's a mouthful but
please feel free to call me Pua.
I'm the trauma injury prevention
and community outreach coordinator
for Scripps Mercy Hospital.
We're an adult level one trauma facility
here in San Diego.
Next slide please.
So here on this slide is the map
of the trauma catchment system here in San Diego County.
Scripps Mercy catchment is that orange triangle
towards the bottom middle of the map.
And just to level set with you guys,
The trauma, trauma injuries are a level of injury.
So when you are not feeling well
and your doctor's office are closed,
you go to the urgent care.
When you may be feeling as though
you have some heart palpitations,
you're not sure if it's a heart attack,
you go to the emergency room.
If you are severely injured on a highway in a car crash,
you're brought to a trauma center.
So our traumas are dependent on the catchment of our area.
So at Scripps Mercy, my first level,
my first mechanism is falls,
and that would be everything in the green.
My second is all transportation related,
and that's everything in the gold.
Next slide.
We do a lot of work
in all the different mechanisms of injury.
I provide a lot of classes.
Last year, just 98 alone classes and workshops.
Next slide.
When you look at where injury prevention is
along the injury timeline,
It's the very first phase of the injury timeline.
It's supposed to be before people get injured.
We're working alongside within the community,
educating them on ways that they can keep themselves safe.
I also do education within the hospital
with emergency medical service providers,
first responders on that golden hour of opportunity.
I do education with policy makers.
I do education with engineers.
All types of people to talk about that safe systems approach.
Next slide.
When we look at San Diego specifically,
we are making improvements with severe injuries,
but as you can see, deaths on our roadways
still do increase and exist.
Next slide.
We do many different classes.
I have a saying that something that's good
for an eight-year-old is good for an 80-year-old.
Transportation safety is equity.
Making our roads safe is something that's good
for all people.
Next slide.
We do education in classrooms, next slide.
And we do education out in the community,
really bringing the education to where the people are at.
I really feel like walk audits are some of the best ways
to teach our community about how to get involved
and make transportation systems safer for themselves, right?
Really having them get active in their communities
and bring that transportation safety alive.
really talking about complete streets, that sidewalks,
where it's safe to turn, speeds,
really having them understand
how velocity impacts fatalities.
Next slide.
What's really interesting is that here in San Diego,
we're kind of the ground zero
when it comes to micro mobility, right?
The e-bikes, the e-scooters.
We did a countywide poll for trauma data.
And when we look at that age distribution
of the traumatic injuries.
We see a lot of talk that's done
for those younger bike riders, right?
Everybody talks about those kids on those e-bikes,
but what's really interesting
when you look at that age distribution,
look at the 60 to 69-year-olds.
It's really the returning bike riders as well.
So we developed education
that addressed the younger bike riders
as well as the older bike riders.
It's very similar to that curve
that we see with the motor vehicle injuries.
We also saw that the larger amount of injuries,
so over half of the injuries came from solo falls.
So really addressing bike skills.
So we developed on bike education
as well as classroom education.
We bringing in that equity piece, that inclusion piece,
we deliver it in person, we deliver it virtually.
Next slide.
This is some of the different education that we do.
we have a very robust helmet distribution education,
bringing in that motor vehicle injury education
that we all know about.
I talk about role modeling and how important it is.
So when a parent comes to my table to ask for a helmet,
and they don't have a helmet on,
I make sure that they get a helmet too, right?
Next slide.
These are some of the statewide coalition
and work that we do.
Next slide.
And when we talk about the interconnectedness
of transportation safety, right?
Violence definitely is one of that,
and this is some of the work that we do
with the interpersonal violence reduction.
Next slide.
And we'll skip over this one.
Next slide.
And none of this could be done without partnerships, right?
Partnerships that we have together here in this room,
as well as partnerships with law enforcement.
This was an event that I did with law enforcement,
first responders, and also retail locations
for those e-bikes to talk about,
How do you talk to parents about the different classes
of e-bikes?
How do you talk about helmets?
A bike helmet is not okay for an e-bike, right?
They have to have a helmet that's rated for an e-bike
for the speeds at which it travels.
Parents don't know that.
Nobody talks to parents about that, right?
Nobody knows that.
Next slide.
This is just an example of some of the county partners
that we use.
Next slide.
And this is an example of some of the national partners.
none of it can be done without the partnerships.
And that's it, thank you.
Pause here for any questions for my team or our members.
Thank you so much, Micoria.
Any public comment?
Yes, we have one virtual attendee with her hand raised.
I'd like to call on Carlos Carlos.
Please unmute yourself to begin your comment.
Hi, thank you, thank you for all that wonderful work
you guys are doing over there, really exciting stuff.
I was inspired by hearing best of the best there
and so I wanna have a go here.
You see, I was going to wait and speak on other reports,
specifically item 36 on the agenda.
However, I think that the equity and fairness component
of today's meeting speaks to it.
Commissioners, thank you for the work that you do
and also for really the opportunity to speak here today.
My name is Carlos Cardone.
I volunteer with United Caltrans Tenants
along the former SR-710 route in the Tri-City areas of,
was it Pasadena, South Pasadena and El Cerino in Los Angeles.
I'm here to speak on a matter of great importance
you know, our communities and folks that live along the corridor. It's a matter within your
jurisdiction and, you know, I was going to speak to an item 36 today because that item covers the
710 North stuff and so we believe that there's room for updates on the SR-710 home sales process
within future agendas and so I wanted to bring that to your attention because it's not on the
agenda today and it should be. We're just trying to find a place for it and we think that the equity
and fairness part of the agenda would be a very good place for upcoming CTC meetings to consider
you know, really having a way to report back
on what's happening there.
And as you've heard from other tenants
and you'll continue to hear,
there's some sort of an unspoken policy
of delay and disqualifying.
It's really negatively impacting tenants
and the community we've seen people displaced
as a result and so on and so forth.
You know, we have a higher expectation.
We believe that, you know, Caltrans is very capable
of so much, we depend on them for so much.
And this is an area that we believe lacks any real transparency.
And so we know from experience that we've had in talking to tenants,
there's a process that I believe Carolyn Dabney at Caltrans and the Veterans
Realty Group have been engaged in now for the past two years.
It's a practice that violates the spirit of uplifting our communities and
returning these homes back to the community and it violates the spirit of
the Roberti Bill. I don't know what you guys have heard,
but it's our understanding that almost no homes
have been sold to any existing tenants,
even though we were assigned a first priority
and tenants have been waiting for years.
So the so-called escrow process is one that people
have been waiting on for quite some time.
So I don't know, we just ask that this is something
that needs to be looked at closer, it needs to be fixed.
I mean, tenants come first.
We're asking that the responsible folks at Caltrans
become good partners to the community.
We ask that, you know, Carolyn Dabney stop
with the unspoken delay and disqualified policy,
expedite the sales process to tenants now.
We ask for competition in the form of-
It's your time's up, sir.
Thanks so much for your comments.
Any additional public comment?
We do have one more public comment.
I'd like to now call on Kelly Brinkman.
Please unmute yourself to begin your comment.
Hello, can you hear me?
Can you hear me?
Okay, thank you so much.
last, this is to, in addition to Carlos's comments, last week I contacted the California
Transportation Commission and spoke with Doug regarding the seven tenants and properties.
Doug informed me that CTC relies on Caltrans words that they are adhering to the Roberti
bill. I find this deeply troubling given the well-documented issues with El Sereno,
south Pasadena and Pasadena. Caltrans has not been responsible stewards of these properties
and continues to perpetrate the injustices just as it did back in the 1960s when it displaced
black and brown families. I recently attended a 710 Connect meeting where I watched amplified
voices of people and families displaced by the freeway of Pasadena. This documentary spoke about
the injustices and the need for appropriate reparations. We urgently need CTC intervention
to ensure that current Caltrans tenants are not subject to the same systematic wrongs
that have persisted for decades and we'd really appreciate your help with this. Thank you.
Next, I would like to call on Linda Ponce. Please unmute yourself to begin your comment.
Hello hello we can hear you okay okay thank you for listening to me. Hello members of the CTC
my name is Linda Ponce. I've been residing here at 5532 Templeton Street for 32 years in El Serino
along the 710 corridor. I have lived at this residence a long time 32 years as a loyal
Caltrans tenant in good standing. I am currently being disqualified by Caltrans as affordable
price buyer. Caltrans claims a disqualification is due to insufficient household income. The
housing expense requirements are unfaxial. Since I've been disqualified for affordable,
Caltrans has given me the only option to purchase of their market value. The fact that I was not
qualify for affordable makes no sense to allow me to purchase fair market. I
demand the options for both because my only option is fair market. I am demanding
Caltrans allow me to reduce the cost of repairs due to the many years of
deferred maintenance and lack of major repairs needed. Thank you for listening.
We just received another public comment
that I will read aloud right now.
If Caltrans does not honor the Robert Bill, Robert E. Bill,
why were they put in charge?
Some of this, some of this homes have asbestos,
homes that are deteriorated due to lack of maintenance.
Why can someone just step up and do the right thing?
Thank you.
Next, I'd like to call on Sandra Saucito.
Please unmute yourself to begin your comment.
Unmute.
Yeah, hello?
We could hear you, Sandra.
Feel that this whole process is not transparent.
We need to know the criteria for which you guys
are denying everything that the tenants are saying.
Am I on?
Yeah, I feel that this is ongoing and the community needs answers.
We are tired of all the related housing related entities coming into our neighborhoods and
displacing the people who already have roots here in El Serrano.
And so we want, yeah, we want a fresh start.
We want Carolyn Dabney out of this whole process.
We need all the products that all these entities
would bid in deep pockets to leave El Serrano.
And the community needs to get ahold of all those products
and become autonomous.
We are tired of Caltrans really.
That's all I have.
Thank you, next I'd like to call on Sean Salazar.
Please unmute yourself to begin your comment.
Yes, hello, can you guys hear me?
Yes, we can hear you.
Yes, hi, so, since we are speaking on the 710 again,
as you know, two minutes is not enough.
We need more time and we need public hearings
from the legislation.
Caltrans, as I mentioned,
there is no reasoning with Caltrans.
They do not care what the tenants have to say.
They do not care that we suffer.
They take pride in denying us and disqualifying us.
The Roberti Bill was meant to allow us
to purchase these properties
and they have found regulations
and ways to disqualify us from purchasing them.
And it is unjust.
There's one word, it's unjust.
And we need someone to come in to force them
to do the right thing,
because they obviously are not listening to the tenants.
There may be only a few people commenting today
on this CTC meeting, but trust me,
there are plenty others and plenty others are suffering.
I need the CTC to do what they can
and we are doing everything we can on our end.
The fact is, these disqualifications
could quite possibly displace these tenants.
There is no guarantee of renting from an HRE.
They cannot guarantee it.
Their house can be sold at auction
and they will be displaced.
There was a law put in place to prevent that
and they are evading that law.
Carolyn Dabney does not listen to reason.
She is unfit and incapable of being in charge
of an affordable sales program
and a program that is meant to allow
to provide the people in these homes to purchase them.
We need her out and we need the hired real estate company
that Caltrans has hired out as well.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Next, I'd like to call on Suzanne Easter.
Please unmute yourself to begin your comment.
Yes, hi.
I'd like to speak as someone
who has actually been qualified in escrow.
I live in South Pasadena as a Caltrans tenant for 30 years.
And when I entered into my contract,
I asked very specific questions before signing.
And one of the main things I was told
is that this process would take approximately a year.
I do understand that they cannot be specific
about that timeframe,
but I am at approximately one year since signing.
I received an email a couple of weeks ago
from the realtors saying that they are currently
only repairing about five homes a year.
And there are 30 homes in front of me.
If you do the math,
they are not going to get to my sale for seven years.
Now, there are vesting clauses in this contract
and you cannot really fully vest for six years.
I didn't agree to 13 years.
And at seven years, completing escrow,
you're putting me at 13 years.
That is not what I asked for.
It's not what I was told.
It's completely unfair.
And if they knew how many homes they needed to repair,
it is on them, the onus was on them
to make sure that they had the proper infrastructure
in place in order to do that in a timely manner.
There are older folks in these homes
could literally die before they are able to close escrow at this pace. So they need oversight. I've
been trying to buy my home since 2001. I've been in a market value sale and two Roberti sales and
they have evaded closing escrow on any of those sales and it looks like this is going to be the
same thing if there isn't some serious intervention and oversight. Thank you. There is no more public
the comment. Thank you. All right. Thank you. So any questions or comments from
the dice, right? Hearing none, we're going to take a 15 minute break. Thank
you. Yeah.
All right. Um, we're gonna start with item 15. Vincent. Good afternoon,
commissioners. Tab 15 is an action item for state and federal legislative
matters. The Legislature is currently on recess until August 18th. When they
return fiscal committees will have until August 29th to pass bills to the floor
and then each house will have until September 12th to conclude any remaining
business for this session. Staff is not recommending any additional positions
for pending legislation however because the commission will not meet again before
the legislature adjourns for the interim recess staff recommends that the
commission delegate the authority to take a position on bills to the executive
director upon console consultation with the chair and vice chair until the next
regular commission meeting as a commission has done in recent years this
concludes my report and staff recommends your approval all right thank you Vincent
any public comment there's no public comment for this item thank you all
right thank you any questions or comments from the dais so moved so moved
by pastor eager is there a second second by vice chair of Falcon all those in
favor. Opposed? Abstentions? Motion passes. Now moving on to item 16. Also,
Vincent. Commissioners tab 16 is an informational item. Keith Duncan from
Caltrans Budgets will present the item on budget and allocate allocation
capacity. Thank you. Thank you Vince. Chair, commissioners. Good afternoon.
Happy Thursday. As mentioned, Keith Duncan Caltrans Budgets and I'll be
doing tab 16 the budget and allocation capacity update next slide please well
we just finished the 2425 fiscal year so we'll do a couple fiscal year highlights
no low lights this time as shown on your screen through last fiscal year the
Commission allocated eight point one billion dollars on to 928 projects eight
point one billion it's a hell of an accomplishment I mean I you guys did
good work. Granted, that's 66% allocated, but 8.1 billion. Great job. 4.2
billion does carry over, and we'll talk touch on that in a moment. Next slide,
please. Next. Just a quick update regarding departmental activities when
it comes to the G 12. The G 12 is delegated authority by the Commission
of the Department to make a minor adjustments to project allocations.
Last year we did process two adjustments on 275 projects worth the
total value of four point six billion dollars and then those adjustments
resulted in a net savings of 232 million dollars those funds are returned back to
the respective programs the STIP the state transportation improvement program
and the shop state highway operation protection program and those funds are
made available for additional funding additional project needs next slide
please here just showing a quick comparison how last fiscal year compared
the prior three. And you can see the orange is red line. You can see how last year was
the highest from a percent allocated when you're looking at the last four years. Next
slide, please. And here just showing total dollars allocated while we didn't meet the
year before his highs, we have two consecutive years of over $8 billion allocated. So again,
great accomplishment as we're looking through the amount of funding being invested in both
of the state and local transportation systems.
Next slide, please.
Here, just a quick update
regarding state transportation revenue levels.
As we looked through last year,
you can see the Department of Finance projections
fell within 2% of the actual revenue
that came in across all state revenue sources.
The two primary reasons we should display this information
is because first thing, stability.
When it comes to the state's general fund,
we've seen some fluctuations over the last couple of years,
but at least within 2%, we'll give Department of Finance
some credit a little bit in coming relatively close there.
We do know as Chief Deputy Galosuski mentioned earlier today
related to our state transportation specific to fuel,
fuel consumption is dipping down,
so we know that trouble's coming,
but at least knowing that our transportation revenue
did come in line with projections is good news.
And again, the other reason is my friend Garrett Franklin
will be up here in a few moments
regarding the STIP fund estimate
And as you may recall, back in March and June
or March and May, we agreed to use Department of Finance data
as the basis for our projection tool.
So again, kudos for the Department of Finance
for coming relatively close,
but we're still gonna give them a hard time
that they missed diesel sales tax about 13%.
It's always good to get better.
Next slide, please.
Next, just a standing update related to federal funding.
As we've shared the last few meetings,
our FHWA formula funds continue uninterrupted.
So our core programs, we continue to allocate,
continue to obligate, continue to use our funds
without interruption, as well as preparing
for August redistribution in the coming weeks
or in the next couple weeks.
The other update, the National Electric Vehicle
Infrastructure, NEBI, those funds have been freed up.
So we are working quickly with the Energy Commission
to get those projects ready and obligated.
Next, related to the discretionary funds,
we continue to see those funds trickle out,
continue to see delays as they review the programs.
So we are working quickly whenever funds are freed up
to continue to oblige or at least get the grant agreements
executed and obligate the funds as quickly as possible.
Next slide, please.
And as we look to this new fiscal year,
so $8.1 billion allocated, great job.
New challenge, $11.2 billion available
for this new fiscal year for you to allocate
across all programs.
That accounts for 6.8 billion of your base funding
we presented as part of your draft allocation capacity in June. That includes about 4.2-4.3
billion of rollover the funds that were not allocated allocated last year and then an
adjustment of about 133 million dollars to the TIRCP transit inner city rail capital program
which is just reconciliation of the auction proceeds auction proceeds came in a little bit
higher than anticipated. So new challenge 11.2 billion ahead of you. Next slide please.
All right looking ahead for upcoming events as mentioned my friend Garrett will be up here in
a few moments or probably two agenda items for now to present the 2026 STIP fund estimate
for your consideration for adoption. We are about two weeks at least within the next two to three
weeks FHWA will release August redistribution numbers as you may recall last year we came in
second place second place to Texas so hopefully this year we'll look to try to go over first place
And then as we look forward to October,
October 1st is the beginning of the federal fiscal year.
And it is the final year
of the current five-year Transportation Act.
So looking forward to eagerly providing input
as well as looking forward to what the next act may offer
or potentially an extension as we've seen in prior acts.
So next slide, please.
With that, I'd like to offer my thanks all over again
to CTC staff, our Caltrans financial programming
and our Caltrans budgets team.
that successful 24 25 and I look forward to even more successful 25 26 and I'm
available for any questions you may have. All right thank you Keith. Any public
comment? There's no public comment for this item. Thank you. Thank you. Any
questions or comments from the dice? Hearing none, thank you so much. We
appreciate the report. Thank you. Yes indeed. Next item is item 17, KC. Good afternoon
commissioners tab 17 is an information item. This is the hearing for the draft
2026 state transportation improvement program guidelines providing the final
opportunity for public comment prior to adoption. The guidelines are under tab
18 attachments B and C as required by statute the STIP guidelines must be
adopted every odd numbered year at the same time as a STIP fund estimate. These
guidelines outline uh sorry these guidelines outline the policies and
procedures for the development adoption and management
of the STIP.
Statute further requires at least one public hearing
before adopting the STIP guidelines.
The draft 2026 STIP guidelines are divided into two sections.
These specific guidelines which outline the schedule
and funding available for the 2026 STIP as reflected
in the department's 2026 STIP fund estimate under tab 19.
The permanent guidelines describe the ongoing policies
and procedures for the development, adoption,
and management of the STIP.
Commissioned staff held a workshop
on the draft 2026 STIP guidelines on May 5th, 2025,
and presented the initial draft
at the June 2025 Commission meeting.
An additional public workshop was held on July 22nd.
All proposed changes were developed in coordination
with the Interagency Equity Advisory Committee,
public stakeholders, local agencies,
county transportation commissions,
regional planning agencies, and Caltrans.
The draft 2026 STIP guidelines include two changes this cycle.
For the specific guidelines, the uncommitted funding section was updated.
Previously, the STIP required all proposed projects to be fully funded, except for those
seeking Senate Bill 1 program funds in the upcoming cycle.
The update now allows more flexibility, no longer limiting SB1 projects to a single cycle
and adding active transportation program
and federal discretionary funds
to the uncommitted funding section.
For the permanent guidelines, section 48,
the display of project descriptions and costs
has been updated to require regions to provide project
and or page numbers from the adopted
regional transportation plan
that correlates with each STIP project.
That concludes my update.
As a reminder, this is an information item.
Staff recommends that you open the hearing
public comment all right thank you so much any public comment on this item we
do not have any public comment on this item thank you thank you anything from
the dice but that's right we have some in-person comments Patricia Chan from
LA Metro turn the speaker on there we go I'm Patricia Chan with LA Metro and I
would like to express our support for the 2026 STIP guidelines as proposed we
appreciate staff's work on the guidelines. It's such a large complex program and we recognize the
tremendous challenge involved with making it work for all the eligible agencies with our different
sizes and needs. We are grateful for the improvements that STIP funding supports within our county and
And we look forward to working with staff to develop and deliver our 2026 our tip.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Next up we have Kenneth Cal.
Good afternoon commissioners Kenneth Cal with the Metropolitan Transportation Commission.
I couldn't only have Patricia from LA speak in support and I would never want to miss
an opportunity to thank your staff for all their hard work on this.
you know, Casey and Lori and Juan have done an amazing job and outreach.
And I wanted to really appreciate specifically the opening of, um,
uncommitted funding.
That was something that we had discussed and they considered and are
recommending that change. So I wanted to thank you and staff again for that.
MTC is in support of these guidelines and we look forward to working with your
staff on programming these funds. Thank you.
All right. Thank you. Uh, Mike Whitman, Nevada County Transportation Commission.
Thank you, Mike Woodman, executive director
of the Nevada County Transportation Commission,
Chair Grizzby, Vice Chair Valkone,
fellow commissioner, Senator Cortese,
wanted to speak to you today to voice my support
for the STIP guidelines, and to acknowledge
the robust, transparent, and effective engagement
of your staff.
And I know this is something that you hear often,
but we would not state this if it truly wasn't appreciated,
and your staff truly set the standard for engagement.
The minor changes provide flexibility
when programming projects,
helping regional agencies of all sizes
ensure delivery of regional priorities.
And we'd just like to acknowledge the efforts
of Casey Morgatarrez, Lori Waters, and Juan Guzman,
and their commitment to effective engagement.
And that concludes my comments, thank you.
All right, thank you, Mike.
Any questions or comments on this item?
Hearing none, we're gonna move on to the adoption
of the item, item, yeah, 18.
Casey.
I think we have to confirm
that the hearing is closed first.
Ah, okay, so the hearing is hereby closed.
Okay, thank you.
All right.
Tab 18 is an action item.
Staff recommends that you adopt
the 2026 State Transportation Improvement Program guidelines
as presented under tab 18's attachments B and C.
Staff also recommends that you authorize staff
to make any minor technical changes
to the guidelines as needed.
Before I conclude, I wanna publicly thank my peers.
I was unexpectedly out of the, excuse me,
I was unexpectedly out for two months
and as the Commission's sole subject matter expert
on the STIP, my absence presented challenges.
I wanna especially recognize my manager Lori Waters
for her understanding and flexibility
along with my peers, Rebecca Light,
Jayden Gales and Juan Guzman.
While my name appears on this book item,
the true recognition belongs to them.
Finally, I want to thank our stakeholders
for their patience and for helping guide the changes
to the uncommitted funding section to STIP cycle.
I'm grateful to work alongside
such a supportive management team, peers, and stakeholders.
With that, staff recommends your approval of tab 18.
Thank you.
All right, thank you, Casey.
Any public comment?
We do not have any public comment on this item.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Anything from the dais on this item?
Vice Chair Fulk on.
Thank you.
There's no questions.
I just wanted to acknowledge and welcome back Casey.
We missed you.
And it's wonderful to hear how collaborative
your colleagues rallied around you.
And I do see sprinkles of you in this work.
And so congratulations and thank you to the stakeholders
for making public comment and acknowledging the work
and the engagement through the workshops
and appreciate all the contributions
that our partners put into these guidelines.
And so if it is okay with my colleagues,
I'd like to make a motion to support.
So moved, Vice Chair Falcone.
Seconded by past chair, Eager.
All those in favor?
Opposed?
Abstentions, motion passes.
Thank you, Casey.
uh next up is item 19 vincent commissioner's tab 19 is an action item garrett franklin from caltrans
budgets will be presenting the 2026 state transportation improvement program and aeronautics
account fund estimates upon presentation of the fund estimates staff recommends your approval
thank you so much good afternoon commissioner is garrett franklin caltrans division of budgets
I'll be presenting the proposed 2026 state transportation improvement program and aeronautics
account fund estimates. Next slide please. So the development of the fund estimate process has
included a series of milestones over the course of the calendar year. It began with an overview
in January, detailed assumptions in March and in May, a draft fund estimate presented in June,
and most recently the STIP workshop in July. That brings us to today with the proposed adoption
of the 2026 cycle fund estimate. Next slide please. So here's a list of updates since we last met in
June. The state highway account, public transportation account, road maintenance and
rehabilitation account, and aeronautics account are now reflective of account activity with the
the beginning balances of July 1st, as well as the enacted 2526 budget. In
addition to that interest earnings are based on that updated beginning balance
as well as the latest interest rates. No change has been made to either the
step or the shop target capacity. The aeronautics account fund estimate target
capacity was adjusted down 1.5 million dollars and that was to reflect the
updated balance and commitments over the fund estimate period. Next slide please.
So this table displays the target capacity for both the STIP and the SHOP.
Over the six-year fund estimate period, STIP capacity is 3.3 billion and
and shop capacity over that same period is 27 billion.
Based on the balance of the 2024 shop
after accounting for June actions,
the new target capacity over the six year period for STIP
adjusted to approximately $1 billion
and the six year, excuse me, five year total target capacity,
excuse me, new program capacity of 1.1 billion
is unchanged from the June Commission meeting.
Next slide, please.
Regarding the Aeronautics Account Fund Estimate,
the target capacity over five years is $8 million.
As I mentioned earlier,
this was an adjustment of 1.5 million from June
and was due to the updated balance,
as well as the commitments over the FE period.
It's worth noting that this target capacity
is net of the priority grant program,
which is called the airport annual credit program,
which is $1.5 million annually
and is reflected in the total local assistance row
on the slide.
Next slide, please.
So given that this is an action item,
the department recommends adoption
of the proposed 2026 fund estimate.
Upon adoption, publication of the book
will be completed within 60 days
and will be made available electronically
on both the commission's website and the department's.
Next slide, please.
And with that, I'd be happy to answer any questions.
All right, thank you so much.
Any public comment?
There's no public comment, thank you.
Thank you.
Any comments or questions from the dais?
Hearing none, is there a motion?
So moved by Commissioner Eger, is there a second?
Seconded by Commissioner Tiffany.
All those in favor?
Opposed?
Abstentions?
Motion passes.
Thank you very much.
Thank you.
On to item 20,
final transportation data program proposal, Sheila.
Thank you.
So good afternoon, everyone.
I'm pleased to present the final proposal
developed in response to the requirements
of Assembly Bill 744,
followed by a formal staff recommendation
for your consideration.
This recommendation reflects nearly two years
of extensive collaboration among local,
regional and state agencies.
And it embodies a shared commitment
to improving how transportation data
is used to support equity, efficiency
and transparency across California.
Next slide please.
The initial objectives of AB 744
are to evaluate the tools currently used
by local, regional and state agencies
to collect and analyze transportation data.
gain an understanding of what types of data and tools
are needed by local, regional, and state agencies.
And finally, recommend a path forward
that not only addresses those gaps,
but also explores different tools or methods
that could improve how agencies access this data.
Next slide, please.
Commissioned staff conducted a multi-method approach
to stakeholder engagement throughout 2024 and 2025.
This included virtual meetings, multiple surveys,
in an initial kickoff webinar, followed by three workshops.
After the bill was enacted in October of 2023,
commission staff held a virtual kickoff webinar,
followed by several virtual meetings
with local regional and state agencies.
Multiple surveys were conducted,
the first of which focused on identifying data outputs
reported and reporting criteria,
such as where the outputs are reported,
how often it's reported,
and what tools are being utilized
to assist with reporting efforts.
The second survey focused on regional transportation
planning agencies and members of the rural counties
task force and aimed at identifying additional outreach
opportunities, preference of funding path,
potential challenges that would impede AB 744 implementation,
identification of current tools being utilized,
as well as for what purpose,
and future needs supporting the state transportation
and climate goals.
The third survey involved member trends of transportation and housing related
state agencies. In addition to the initial kickoff webinar,
commission staff conducted three workshops to share progress,
review data and preliminary findings and gather stakeholder feedback on proposed
implementation options.
So our stakeholders included metropolitan planning organizations,
regional transportation planning agencies,
members of the rural county task force vendors,
other State Department of Transportation
and subject matter experts from a diverse group
of agencies specializing in transportation planning,
housing policy, environmental justice, and data analysis,
each bringing critical perspectives
to help shape our understanding of the bill's implications
and the needs associated with its requirements.
Each stakeholder brought critical perspectives,
And I just said that, so my apologies.
Okay, so, just wanted to make sure we got it.
So, continue collaboration with these partners
and the Interagency Equity Advisory Committee
will remain a priority
if the legislature advances a proposal.
As mentioned earlier, a key objective of AB 744
is to evaluate the current landscape
of tools being utilized,
as well as agency needs specific to implementation
of data tools, engagement insights related to the assessment
and identification of data tools were as follows.
The top three reported transportation data outputs
were travel time, vehicle miles traveled and safety,
geographic information systems, or GIS tools,
such as ESRI, ArcGIS, and QGIS were noted
as most widely used, mobility analytic tools
such as Replica, NREX, and Streetlight
were popular among metropolitan planning organizations.
And for specialized tools and analytic platforms,
metropolitan planning organizations
rely more on travel demand modeling tools
like Bentley Cube or TransCAD,
whereas state agencies use tools such as Google Earth Engine
and RStudio for environmental analysis
and spatial data integration.
It's important to note that the tools referenced
were identified through stakeholder engagement
and represent only a small sample of existing tools.
And for additional examples mentioned during this process,
please refer to Appendix B within the draft proposal.
So several common barriers to adopting data
and modeling tools emerged across agencies
and these challenges generally fell
into a few key categories.
Lack of technical expertise, limited staff resources,
budget constraints, and concerns about data redundancy.
Beyond technical challenges,
agencies also highlighted financial constraints
and procurement challenges,
especially among smaller organizations.
Next slide, please.
So the findings from stakeholder engagement
revealed persistent gaps in data accessibility,
funding support, and the standardization of tools
and practices across the state.
To address these challenges in alignment
with the goals of AB 744,
Commission staff recommends supporting
a hybrid implementation option
that combines the benefits of a competitive funding program
with the efficiency of centralized procurement.
Under this option, a state agency would allocate funds
to eligible agencies throughout, excuse me,
through a competitive process,
giving them the flexibility to procure data
and modeling tools that best meets their specific needs.
The designated state agency
could also explore establishing a mechanism
that allows multiple agencies
to apply jointly as a consortium.
So just a couple benefits of the hybrid option,
agencies would have the choice to either procure tools
independently using awarded funds
or opt into centrally procured tools
depending on their capacity and needs.
Master contracts through the Department of General Services
can be leveraged which will reduce administrative burden
and accelerate the procurement process.
Shared licenses and centralized purchasing can lower costs
and promote more efficient use of public funds.
And the option to apply jointly enables small
or resource limited jurisdictions to collaborate,
share costs and improve access to advanced tools.
Smaller and underserved communities would benefit
from group procurement opportunities
and technical support helping close that technology gap.
The proposal recommends that legislature
take the following actions to support effective
implementation, allocate funding to expand statewide access to transportation data, modeling
programs and analytic tools, enable flexible procurement, allowing agencies to choose tools
that best meet their needs rather than forcing a one size fits all approach, ensure continued
stakeholder involvement to inform implementation and support a successful outcome.
Next slide, please.
So the proposal underwent a 30-day public comment period from June 13th through July
13th and feedback received focused on prioritizing foundational and widely used tools, encouraging
interagency collaboration and offering general input to help shape future guidance or program
guidelines.
A clear majority of comments, letters express support for a flexible hybrid approach that
It allows agencies to select tools that meet their specific needs and no letters received
oppose this option.
The final proposal can be found on the commission's website under AB 744.
We're extremely appreciative of the partnership over the last 20 months between Metropolitan
Planning Organizations, Regional Transportation Planning Agencies, Rural Counties Task Force,
as well as fellow state agencies, including but not limited to the Department of Housing
and Community Development, Department of Finance,
the Strategic Growth Council,
the Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation,
and of course Caltrans.
Their active engagement and thoughtful input
have been critical in shaping the path forward.
Additionally, I would like to point out
that we will be providing an overview of AB 744
and the proposal to the Interagency Equity Advisory Committee,
Subcommittee on Data Implementation
during their meeting on August 19th.
and then once approved,
the proposal will be submitted to the legislature
by September.
Once submitted to legislature,
we will continue to monitor the legislative process
and stay engaged as it moves forward.
Commissioned staff will share updates
as they become available with stakeholders
through our AB 744 stakeholder email list.
And that concludes my presentation.
Staff recommends approval of the Assembly Bill 744
final proposal.
Thank you, Sheila.
Any public comment?
Yes, we have one written public comment from Ricky Alderson.
I'll read now.
On AB 744, I just want to understand
where the money's coming from, which budget is paying for this,
and how much will it cost?
We've already heard about cuts and delays to other projects
until 2028 or later.
How do we know this won't get delayed to or end up
helping only certain areas while others are left out?
There's no other public comment.
Thank you.
All right, thank you, sir.
Anybody from the dais questions, comments?
Vice chair Fokker.
Thank you, Sheila.
The only question I had, because you've done a lot of work
and I've asked a lot of questions.
And maybe I've asked this question again already
and I'll ask it again.
In terms of alignment from varying sizes
of our external stakeholders, is it pretty much aligned
in terms of hybrid?
It sounds like there's unanimity,
But in terms of engagement, did you
get a good swath of folks that provided comment
on these options?
I'm sorry, so did our large MPOs and our,
we heard from Erin from the rural counties,
and they're supportive of the hybrid.
I just want to make sure that our urban, all of our partners,
large, small, resourced, under resourced, yeah.
So what's kind of exciting about this too,
is in one of our workshops,
the idea and the support came from
rural county task force members
and members of the RTPAs too.
So it was, that was exciting.
Right, right, all right, congratulations.
Thanks.
Indeed, congratulations.
Any other comments, questions from today's?
Is there a motion?
Moved by Commissioner Cruz.
Is there a second?
Seconded by Vice Chair Falcone.
All those in favor?
Opposed?
Abstentions?
Motion passes.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Next we have item 21.
Update on preparing for the 2028 games.
Laura.
Good afternoon commissioners.
Tab 21 will feature an informational presentation
from Jacqueline Torres, Senior Director at LA Metro.
Her presentation will highlight some updates
to the Mobility Concept Plan,
which guides transportation enhancements
for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
With that, I will turn it over to Jacqueline
who is joining us virtually today.
Good afternoon, commissioners.
My name is Jacqueline Torres.
I am a senior director
in the Office of Strategic Innovation here at Metro.
My apologies, I could not be there in person today,
but it's my pleasure to return and present to you
on Metro's work as it relates to the 2028 Games.
Next slide, please.
Today I'll go over the 2028 Games landscape,
Metro's Mobility Concept Plan or MCP
as I may refer to it later in the presentation,
the Reconnecting Communities and Neighborhoods Grant or RCN
and funding and I will close with a question and answers.
Next slide please.
The 2028 Games is anticipated to be one of the largest
peacetime gatherings in US history.
We will be the third city to host the Olympics
for a third time behind London and Paris
and this will be our first time hosting the Paralympics.
So since starting to plan,
we've been faced with several challenges.
Paramount among them is a lack of dedicated funding,
specifically for transportation.
And since this games will be
a national special security event,
that means that there will be little or no parking available
at any of the venues.
Lastly, different to other efforts that we're accustomed to,
there is little to no flexibility in our project schedules
due to the dates or an event.
We now currently only have 35 months
until opening ceremonies.
Next slide, please.
So the 2028 Games by the numbers,
we like to look at this holistically,
looking at and understanding what the scale
of this operation includes.
So as I mentioned,
LA28 will be the biggest Olympics ever.
We're expecting about 15 million tickets to be sold.
Just to compare the 1984 Games,
there were only 5 million tickets sold in 1984.
We're going over 80 different competition training
and accommodation and other venues.
And one thing that we like to focus on, especially at Metro
is understanding that the peak day spectator trips
is doubling of what we currently operate today.
So we're looking at over an additional 1 million spectator
trips every single day.
Next slide, please.
So this is an updated venue map.
A little earlier this year
there was an announcement of new venues.
Some notable changes include the removal of Santa Monica
and the inclusion of Venice Beach, Santa Anita Park,
South El Monte Shotgun Center, Pomona Fairplex,
the Universal Studios lot, just to name a few.
Next slide.
With the games governing structure,
there's an official agreement between LA,
the city of LA, the host city, LA 28,
Organizing Committee and the International Olympic Committee, the IOC. The Games Mobility
Executives, or the GME, was established several years ago and it's a cohort of Southern California
Agency partners. So while there's no official agreement between GME, the Games Mobility
Executives, and LA28, the GME agencies have been collaborating together on mobility and
and transportation planning efforts
for the games since its inception.
Next slide, please.
So as mentioned, the games mobility executives
or the GME listed here on the right-hand side of the slide
have been working together and are taking an active lead
on one or more priority work streams.
Each of these work streams have their own set of projects
and priorities intended to improve mobility
during the 2028 games and are aligned
with Metro's Mobility Concept Plan, MCP.
Next slide.
So Metro's mobility concept plan,
MCP work streams are shown in the slide.
And as I mentioned, align with those in the previous slide,
but going into a little more detail on these,
the first pairing of these that are listed here
are the game's essential projects.
Now these are temporary in nature.
The first one is the game's enhanced transit service
or GETs in its acronym,
are the additional buses that will be required
to meet the added demand that we will see,
as I mentioned, the over 1 million daily spectator trips.
The Games Route Network, or the GRN,
are the dedicated lanes on the freeways
and arterials meant for the LA-28 credentialed stakeholders.
Those include athletes, technical officials,
dignitaries, media, et cetera.
So anyone, essentially, with a badge from LA-28.
The next pairing are the legacy infrastructure projects
and are equally important.
These include projects ranging
from first last smile improvements,
to bus priority improvements, key station
and mobility hub improvements,
as well as our zero emission bus program
and projects from our partners involving enhancements
to access services, fleet electrification,
Metrolinx 2028 games readiness program
Caltrans is integrated transportation management. Lastly, Metro is also working on legacy programs
like open streets, transportation demand management, and universal basic mobility.
Next slide, please. This is a map that shows our infrastructure projects both from the Mobility
Concept Plan, MCP, and the Reconnecting Communities and Neighborhoods Grant, RCN. RCN is a subset
of projects that were from the MCP so it's all interconnected and as you can see the projects
range from mobility hubs and key stations to first last mile light world transit improvements
and bus corridor enhancements. So far the only projects that have been fully funded are those
connected to the Reconnecting Communities and Neighborhoods grant and with that I'll go to the
next slide. That is the Reconnecting Communities and Neighborhoods grant so our grant was entitled
removing barriers and creating legacy. So, as I mentioned so far, this is the only federal funding
that Metro has received for a subset of the Mobility Concept Plan projects. The goal of the
projects included in this grant are to improve connectivity and equity in LA County's transportation,
focused on disadvantaged communities. Since before the grant submittal, we've been working with 13
different partners across the region and continue to work with them to develop scope and will
will ultimately work with them to deliver the projects prior to the 2028 games. The
total program amount is 161.5 million and we have projects across the region as you
can see on the map that include 35 miles of bus priority enhancements, five first last
mile corridors, three open street location, five mobility hubs, 60 additional bike share
stations and five years of our GO-PASS transit subsidy program.
Next slide, please.
So we are on a very expedited schedule and have already completed environmental clearance
in the winter of last year.
Also last winter, we made sure to secure the grant agreement with the FTA so that has been
squared away.
We're now currently working on 30% design, are expected to finalize that phase later
this year and start final design in the new year.
So ultimately, we expect to finalize all construction
by December of 2027, just in time for the summer 2028 games.
Next slide.
So here we see each of the priority work streams
with their respective leads from the GME and the status.
We are in the process of working with our games mobility
executive partners on refining the individual estimates,
but are estimating approximately a total of $3.2 billion
for all of the projects and programs
that each of these workstream have in them.
And the last column highlights
when we would need the implementation funds by,
so in order to deliver by the 2028 games.
Metro continues to look for state
and federal funding opportunities
and will continue to work with our GME partners
in this pursuit.
So with that, I conclude my presentation.
I'm open for comments or questions.
Thank you so much.
Thank you.
I see any public comment.
Yes, we have one written public comment from Ricky Alderson.
I will read now.
These projects are so important, not just for the games,
but for everyday life after.
My mom has MS and depends on accessible transit
and safe connections.
Things like better first slash last mile options,
bus lanes, and station upgrades would
a big difference for her. I really hope these get the funding and priority they need so they can
actually happen and last beyond 2028. There's no more public comment. Thank you. Thank you.
I appreciate that. Any questions or comments from the dais? Just I'm gonna recognize Elliott first.
Where do I speak so I can speak to the stories? There you are. I don't know. I can't see you on
on my screen, I guess I'll look up there.
Hi, $3.2 billion necessary for implementation.
Are you able to sketch out for us what's committed,
what has a reasonable expectation,
and what your gap looks like across
all of those different horizontals?
So we're currently working, as I mentioned,
with our GME partners to refine the numbers,
but I will tell you that the bulk
of that $3.2 billion is necessary for the GETS,
the Games Enhanced Transit Service.
So that's the additional buses that we will need
in order to meet the demand
that will be placed on us in 2028.
So as we continue to refine these numbers with our partners,
we will be able to get that gap.
But as I mentioned also, the RCN,
the Reconnecting Communities Grant,
for 161 and a half million program amount
is what we have so far of the 3.2.
So there's a significant gap, exactly.
Well, my next question was going to be
what keeps you up at night.
And I think I have a sense of the answer.
So I suppose I'll pose the question,
but I can assume the answer.
What keeps you up at night?
The funding.
Yeah, OK.
Well, I guess while we're having this conversation,
you mentioned pursuing state and federal funds.
The state is in structural deficit
for the next several years to carry us through 2028.
And the federal government shows no desire
to collaborate with the state of California,
although perhaps the Olympics are a bright spot for reasons.
So if you're $3.05 billion short on a $3.2 billion program,
what are the big chunks that you're looking at?
So the big in terms of which funding opportunities.
funding opportunities. Okay. So we have been pursuing actively since the MCP,
the memorability concept plan has identified these work streams with
discretionary funds, right? And so we've been applying to all sorts of
discretionary funds, as I mentioned, reconnecting communities has been the
only successful one so far. We're currently waiting to hear from the
CMAC STPG funding as well. We've applied for that. We also are under the understanding that
in previous games, both in Salt Lake City in 2002 and in Atlanta in 1996, there were substantial
federal funding that came from the government. And so that is our working assumption. However,
we are, as I mentioned, still actively looking at different opportunities to work both with
the state and federal governments in order to help us alleviate this gap. Nothing has been
confirmed so far. So that is our struggle. And you don't have a sort of rule of thumb
about of your $3 billion gap, how much you expect federally versus how much you're looking to the
the state for anything like that. It's just whatever you can find. Exactly. We have put
forward presidential budget ask. We have been doing that since last year, I believe, and
continue to do that. The 3.2 billion. Oh, the full. Yeah, the full amount. Um, I appreciate
the conversation. Thank you, Mr. You're welcome. Right, Commissioner Cruz. No, my questions
These were along the same line, just concerned about a federal contribution to fund Olympic
projects over the next few years.
This is an incredible opportunity for us as a state to build out infrastructure, not just
to meet the Olympics, but you got World Cup, you got Paralympics, but also to build out
a transit network that can function at a high level.
And then lastly, it's an opportunity to create so many good paying jobs in Southern California
and throughout the state that we have to do everything we can to convince our folks on
the federal level to make these investments.
It's vital, but given the circumstances and sort of the bleak comments, I'm concerned.
But we're committed to everything we can, I'm sure as a body, to help make this happen.
So thank you for all your hard work.
I appreciate it.
thank you commissioner commissioner tiffany thank you chair um so assuming that the the
funding is there and successful games i'm just piggybacking a little bit more on commissioner
cruises comments um how much of the money uh will uh go beyond the games go beyond the events that
it's being spent for how much how much is for infrastructure that will carry on that will be
a benefit to you know Los Angeles visitors and residents going forward after the games.
Thank you for your question. So of the 3.2 billion I believe there was a slide previous
that showed that the legacy projects are just up up towards 1 billion those in the legacy
infrastructure projects. And what do those amount to? Are they highways? I know you mentioned buses.
Can you get into a little more detail? What, you know, what are those legacy projects that
will carry forward? Sure. So let me recall that slide so that we have the different legacy projects
or bus order enhancements. If we can go back to that slide. Keep going. That one. Sorry.
The next slide. Going down. Perfect. Excellent. So the legacy infrastructure projects, as I mentioned,
they involve first, last mile. So looking at improvements between the station that will be
utilized by the spectators and workforce all the way to the venues. Bus priority improvements. So
So those could be improvements to shelters
or bus-only lanes throughout the county.
We have the mobility hubs as well.
And those are customer experience improvements
and amenities at existing Metro Mobility Hubs.
We have light rail transit improvements
that are basically operational and reliability improvements
improving our resilience.
So in case something goes down, one of the lines,
There are several interlocks and siting projects for that.
Key stations, so we have about three key stations
that we've been actively looking to improve
and that is LA Union Station as well as Pico Station
and lastly, 7th Street Metro Center.
So we know that these three stations
will be receiving the most demand.
And so we're looking to improve those stations as well.
So those are the infrastructure type projects
that we're looking at.
I hope that has answered your question.
Yes, thank you.
Thank you.
Commissioner Lugo.
Thanks for the presentation.
And as an LA resident, I am listening,
especially Keene Leagues.
We're all curious to see how the next few years unfold.
So a couple of questions.
One is around the transit ambassadors
who have recently become an in-house program at Metro.
How are they being, how are you all planning to utilize them
during the games?
And then I have another question around this games route
network.
And it looks like that's under the Caltrans umbrella rather
than Metro.
But I was just kind of wondering if there's precedent.
I was just doing a little quick searching on it.
It looks like it's a newer element of the games.
but wondering if there's precedent for utilizing that
as the basis for a bus only lane network following the games.
Because if the work is gonna go into identifying
that good connectivity during the games,
it seems like that might highlight a really good corridor
of bus lane connectivity.
So those two questions there for you.
Thank you.
So I'll go with the first one,
which is the transit ambassadors.
We learned from Paris that they had a lot of volunteers,
a lot of people at the stations,
to provide guidance on how to get to venues,
how to access the system.
And so we are hoping through
this transit ambassadors program,
that same sort of accommodation, right?
That same ease.
We understood that passengers in Paris
were able to get around freely
because of these volunteers showing them,
which stops to get out and how to get to the venue.
So I think that starting early as we have at Metro
with the ambassadors and getting people accustomed
with using them as a resource at our stations
will only sort of by the time the games come,
it will be clear and obvious what their role is
within the stations.
And there will be integral to make sure that passengers
are able to flow through our stations with ease
and navigate our stations,
because sometimes our stations
are a little bit difficult to navigate.
The second question regarding the GRN,
the Games Route Network.
Yes, it is, I believe, a relatively new
sort of priority for the IOC,
the International Olympic Committee,
as well as the Local Organizing Committee.
And so, yes, Caltrans, our partner, our GME partner,
Games Mobility Executive Partner is leading this.
I did not mention that 80% of the GRN,
the Games Route Network is on the freeways,
and about 20% is on our arterials.
To answer your question more specifically,
that 20% on arterials would be a good way
to look at corridors for bus-only lanes in the future.
So primarily the GRN are routes to connect venues.
And so venues from the athletes village, right?
So the idea is to get the athletes
from wherever their accommodations are,
primarily the athletes village to any one of the venues.
And so there's been a network that has been predefined.
Like I mentioned, 20% of them are on arterial.
So in theory, yes, we could look at those
that are on arterial to become bus only lanes after.
Of course, we would have to work with our city partners
because ultimately is within their jurisdiction
to make these permanent.
Great, and follow up question there.
Is the Games Route Network something
that's publicly available at this time?
That I would have to check with our partners at Caltrans.
I do believe that Metro has presented on that before,
so it might be on one of our board.
But I don't know if we've ever presented,
but I can follow up and get that answer to you.
Great, thank you.
You're welcome.
All right, I'm on the public-facing Metro website,
the 28x28 initiative.
It looks like most of the projects
are targeted for completion by 2028,
but there is one listed public that's not.
That's the LA River bike path.
And I'm wondering if you have any updated information on that
and what challenges you might be facing there.
Thank you for the question.
So it is, and I apologize right now, it is a bit confusing.
So the 28 by 28 is a set of projects
that Metro is currently working to develop,
and we have funding for.
Now the MCP, the mobility concept plan, which I presented
here aside from the 161.5 million are unfunded projects that are hoped to be delivered by the
games and the river path question is not within the MCP so I unfortunately am not the project
manager for that and do not have an answer for you. All right thanks I appreciate it. Any other
questions or comments from the desk? Who was first? Commissioner Mann. Oh yeah please no I already.
Thank you so much for all of this. I really appreciate it. And as Commissioner Lugo shared,
also being from the LA area, this is obviously top of mind for everyone. And you use that number
of the 35 months that are remaining as we move towards the world coming to our area.
And I'm curious that when we look at all of these, you know, being able to see
the amounts that each of this is going to cost and where the gap is. Can you talk a little bit
more about prioritization? So as we get closer and closer to the gains and the funding hasn't come in
if that occurs, we'll see what happens. I'm hoping for the best for everyone. But what's
going to stay and what's going to go? How are you going to prioritize what's moving forward?
thank you. That's a great question. So we are currently in the process of working with our
games mobility executives partners looking at all of the different projects and programs that are
within each of the different work streams and seeing sort of when is the cutoff date, if you
will, right? By when do we need implementation funds? And I do believe my last slide had that
sort of last one we need the funds by. If we can go back to that slide, perfect. The implementation
fund needed by and then there's that column for each of the different work streams we have listed.
So we would need implementation funds by August of 2026 for the games enhanced transit service.
And that's pretty much, I think, the earliest that we're looking at. So our apologies. July
2026, I think, would be the earliest. And so we're working with our partners to
have a prioritization list that incorporates these implementation, this column, understanding
when we need the funds by. So we do have a little bit of time, but we are working with our partners
to come up with a prioritized list. Unfortunately, if we do not get funds by this deadline on the
right-hand side, we will have to start cutting projects because they essentially will not be
be able to be delivered before the games, Commissioner Elliott. Um, thanks. I
appreciate the chance to, uh, I don't get to hear. We don't get to hear this
often. So this is a little bit shocking. Um, so if there's a $3 billion gap
here and that chart that you were just showing, there are a whole bunch that
are January of 26, including what I understand to be some pretty important,
Uh, not bells and whistles, but pretty fundamental strategies to move people
around the region for the games.
And, uh, January of 2026 is like three weeks from now, it seems like.
And so I guess the question just to build on, um, commissioner man's,
uh, $3 billion does seem to me to be an achievable amount of money in
the time that's available.
And, you know, I understand there was a, I believe a billion
dollars that was provided by the Trump administration in the bill they just
passed I understand there was a request for something like 200 million dollars
for transportation which even if that were to be funded by the feds is less
than 10% of the need I mean what it what is the at the at that at that executive
committee that you've that that trans the transit property executives is there
a break glass plan here. I mean, understanding that as we miss funding deadlines, things
fall off, but then everything falls off. And that's not necessarily a sort of a prioritization
strategy. And I know you were just one agency among many, so I'm not asking you to speak
for anyone. I'm sort of just wondering, I'm sort of wondering what's going to happen here.
If, you know, Senator Cortese is with us so he can speak to this with more authority than
than I can, but several billion dollars out of the state budget
doesn't seem realistic.
The president appears just made an investment in the Olympics
entirely for security, which is also very important.
So where's the reality check on this?
Thank you for your question and concern,
and I share that same concern.
That's what keeps me up at night is the funding.
But I will say that in October of last year,
our Metro board approved some monies
to continue the design of some of these
that Metro is leading.
So for example, the mobility hubs,
some key station and LRT improvements
that we have yet to get funding for.
So we're continuing that we're going into 15% design
in the prioritization on the Metro led projects.
We will see what the gap is still in order to complete those
and are hoping to take that to our board
to get more monies for the Metro-led projects.
Again, to your point,
I can only speak to the Metro-led projects
and we are actively working
on trying not to let these projects die.
So our board has approved some
that will allow us to do environmental clearance
and 15% design,
and that will buy us a little more time, right?
And so we're doing what we can at the staff level
to make sure that we keep these projects alive.
And I appreciate you're the one here facing the wolf.
So thank you for doing your best to keep a smile on your face
as I answer these questions.
I just, it really, I'm an interested Californian.
So part of this is that I get to ask you these questions.
And so thanks for the answer.
I'm enlightened and educated.
But the other part of this is when push comes to shove here,
$3 billion is going to become a smaller number.
or and or every pot of money is going to start to feel a lot of pressure to reprioritize and to the
extent that three needs to become a smaller number I mean just be honest about it that's going to
happen on the natural and then whatever the remainder is this commission has responsibility
for a lot of those other pots and you know I this is not a question it's a comment when we start to
see statutory change to move money from something that's been promised to something else because we
have these needs that's going to flow through here and I just don't have
anything insightful to say other than that makes me nervous because we are
already through previous presentations we've had previous Commission meetings
we understand we're tens hundreds of billions of dollars short of what we
need to do to maintain state of good repair in the state for things that the
other 39 million Californians need and so it just starts to make me really
like to answer questions.
Were you really, really, really nervous about the pressure that's going to get put on S.P. one and on general fund and on cap and trade and on this and on that and the other things and I have no question here. I'm just very, very nervous about that and the and it's really fundamentally the question which is a rhetorical one is how does three become less than three in a in a systemic and thoughtful way that's that's really the question and again, Mr. S. I appreciate you being here. That's not a question I'm intending you to answer. It's a rhetorical question but thanks again for the presentation and for entertaining these questions.
the city of Los Angeles. Thank you, Commissioner Commissioner Eager. Yes Thank you, Jacqueline. Um,
Michelle Elliott, I think. To answer your question from my point of view, it would keep me up at
night is the coordination that it's going to take to get this monumental task done on the
collaboration. Now you had a slide that showed the city of Los Angeles and L. A 28 and then a third
entity at the bottom that was executives, correct?
Yes.
And I think in your presentation, you said,
but we don't have a contract or MOU with that organization.
Everybody's just sort of working on their own.
That would keep me up at night
that if those three entities don't come together
and have a concrete contract to say,
here's how we're moving together to get to this place,
how will you ever get there?
That's a great question.
So we can actually go to the next slide, I believe.
I think, yes, that one.
That one shows the GME, the Games Mobility Executives
cohort.
So you see the agencies that are within the Games Mobility
Executives.
So it's the LA-28, the Organizing Committee,
the City of Los Angeles, ourselves at Metro, Caltrans,
Metrolink, LADOT, and SCAG.
So yes, I did say that we as a GME
do not have an official agreement, if you will,
with the local organizing committee with LA-28.
They are a part of the GME.
They are working with us, providing information
that we need in order to do our planning, right?
Metro is currently working towards an MOU, just Metro,
with LA-28 because Metro is a lead of that first one
you see which is the games enhanced transit service which are those additional buses and the bulk of
the 3.2 billion dollar ask. Now LA28 has not and that was one of the challenges that I mentioned
earlier in my slide we have zero funding for transportation. LA28 has allotted zero funding
for transportation and so that is the challenge right while LA28 and Metro are working on an MOU
you know the the good faith of the GME is working to get to get all of these planning efforts
underway and we have since we've started working together several several years ago and so we've
collectively also gone after state and federal discretionary funding for the priority projects
because not all the priority projects belong to metro so we're working collaboratively in that
fashion, right? But yes, I agree. It is concerning that there is no sort of agreement amongst the
collective of the GME with LA-28. Now, I cannot speak for the other agencies, and if they
also are trying to get MOUs with LA-28. But I know I can say, from a metro standpoint,
we are working on an MOU with LA-28 because we have the bulk of the responsibility to transport
the spectators and workforce when they come in 2028.
Any other questions or comments from the DICE, Vice Chair Focar?
Thank you, Ms. Torres. And thank you for fielding all of our questions. And thank you to my
colleagues for asking such great questions. I have two questions. One about, you know,
we talk about funding, we're talking about coordination. My question is about delivery
and getting procurement ready.
Let's just say we wave the magic wand
and we come up with $3.2 billion.
How are you going to deliver it?
Do you have a good pool of vendors?
We're a very busy state, lots of projects.
What is the capacity for on the procurement and delivery side?
That's a great question and something
that we also thought of early on,
understanding that we would have to work
with our vendor contract management team
within Metro to deliver any projects
that Metro would be responsible for delivering
should Metro receive funds to deliver them.
And so we are still currently in a blackout phase,
but we do have a game support services contract
that we're hoping to be sort of announced in September.
So that vehicle, that contracting vehicle
will allow us to do this work.
So we're hoping to go to September.
We're still currently in the blackout phase,
but we do have a contracting vehicle
should the board approve it.
Are you having, thank you for that.
Are you having like workshops or what do you call it,
sort of vendor roundtables or what have you,
just to kind of determine if you,
if folks have the capacity to do this work
in such a quick amount of time.
So I understand that there was some outreach done
several months ago looking at different ways of how we can
sort of roll this out, understanding
that there will be an increased capacity need for vendors.
And so I don't know the particulars
of this particular contract.
I don't know how many firms are in there,
but I can only imagine that there are several firms
with several subcontractors, et cetera.
But I do believe that there was some early engagement
to sort of test and see if there would be capacity, right?
And we do believe that there is capacity.
OK, great.
And my question comes from lots of discussions
we have on this commission about project delivery
and bids not enough bids or bids coming too high.
And so that's the impetus of that question.
And let me just say, really appreciate the humongous effort
that is that you have been undertaking
in what is before you.
We call this the LA Olympics,
but this is not just LA.
This is all of us, this is California.
And I would say this should be honestly a national effort.
And so I will be bold in saying that you shouldn't be alone.
And in that spirit,
what is the opportunity for collaboration?
So we're hearing about infrastructure
and the cost for infrastructure.
What are the opportunities, let's say, for vehicles?
Because you're going to need a lot more transit type
of vehicles.
How are you reaching out?
Or are your neighboring regions reaching out to say,
how can we help to help kind of reduce some of that burden?
Definitely.
Thank you for that question.
Our operations team, since we are leading
the Games Enhanced Transit Service,
which are the additional buses that are needed,
our operations team has been actively working
with our municipal transit agency partners
to see not just from the region, but across the country,
to see what is the pool of additional buses
that perhaps some agencies are ready to retire
that they can give to LA Metro to operate during the games
that still have a useful life, right?
And so we're looking to work,
we've been working with APTA to do surveys,
to figure out, you know, what are these numbers?
What are the quantities of buses
that these agencies can give or possibly even loan?
There is a precedence too, right?
There was a thousand buses that was sent to South Lake City
from across the country, right?
We need more than that, but we're working with our partners
and have secured some buses.
I can't give you the details because I don't know them.
Our operations team is actively working
on securing those buses.
And so we are working again, like I mentioned,
through APTA and other transit organizations
to make sure that we continue working
with our municipal partners to actively look
for the fleet that is needed for the games.
Right, well thank you again for the presentation
for fielding all of our questions.
And I won't speak for the San Diego region,
but I have heard whisperings and conversations
and anticipation of what Los Angeles is gonna need.
And so I'm not sure what the nature of that is,
but certainly there's acknowledgement
that you have a heavy task ahead of you.
And so it is an opportunity, I think, for collaboration.
So thank you again.
And one final question from me.
Is there a lead that's coordinating
all these agencies when they work together?
I guess in the emergency management world,
it might be like an incident command leader or something
that helps facilitate conversations and be
the place where the buck stops.
as it relates to the Games of Ability Executives or Metro?
I'm just referring to all the organizations
that are working together that you had a slide up on.
Who's helping to coordinate that
and make sure that they're moving
and moving in the same direction.
So, the slide that had the Games of Ability Executives,
that cohort of agencies, LA 28,
the Local Organizing Committee is helping to coordinate
our meetings.
there are meetings at the principal level
and meetings at the staff level as it relates to projects.
So LA28 is doing that coordination
and has been doing that coordination.
But again, each of the different agencies
have their respective priorities
and are leading their priorities.
All right, I appreciate that.
Any other questions or comments from the guys?
Sorry, Commissioner Elliott.
Three, whoever makes three comments on one item.
So Klarsa actually asked most of the question.
I was going to ask a two-parter, you've
answered the question about the leasing mutual aid
situation for buses.
So if that's about $2 billion of $3 billion,
and that's fundamentally an operational cost, not
a capital cost, there's no life after on an asset
that you're renting from Austin, Texas, or whatever,
which is probably the smart way to do it
from a fiscal perspective.
So you're not buying a bunch of buses that you don't need.
On the other hand, that's probably
limit pretty substantially the colors of money that you're able to access, which just makes
me even more acutely concerned about the squeeze here and even more acutely questioning, underlining
our chairs question about responsibility here because from a CTC perspective, from
State of California administration perspective, $2 billion in basically unrestricted money
that's not available from GEO bonds
or from capital programs.
I mean, I have no idea where you're going to find that.
And so it's just, how does three become less than three
when two of it is a difficult color of money to chase,
just extremely stress inducing?
But you know that already.
So I'm not telling you anything you don't know.
It is.
We are, so I don't think I mentioned this
in my presentation, but we've said it,
Metro has said that the number of buses that we had estimated
was 2,700 buses that we would need
to operate the additional demand.
And that's twice as much as we currently operate currently.
Now, to answer your question more specifically,
we are working with our operations team
to see how we can reduce that number, to optimize
and to reduce the $2 billion, as you quoted,
the $2 billion for the gets to make it less than that, right?
And so how do we make it less?
We're working with LA-28 to optimize competition schedules,
right, to make sure that there's no overlapping
and so that we would need additional buses
more than we currently need.
We're also, as I mentioned,
working with our municipal partners on a loan of buses
or a giving of buses, right?
So if they're retiring their buses
that they still have useful life,
we're getting those buses and maybe for free, right?
I can't answer the very specifics
in terms of what our operations team is doing,
but we are working on ways to reduce that number of 2,700,
which would essentially reduce the overall amount
that we need for the gets, right?
That's how we're trying to reduce it at all costs.
We understand that reducing the buses-
Yeah, I do, and no other question.
I just wanted to say thanks again for sharing all of this.
I appreciate it.
It's Mr. Min.
Thank you.
I really appreciate you sharing all of this
and answering all of these questions.
This has been really helpful.
As I'm kind of sitting here and thinking about this
because I hear so much about it,
the reality is that this is happening.
There's going to be gains in LA in 2028.
This is going to occur.
And I do share the same concerns
in terms of this particular budget
and how that's going to be funded.
And we'll see how all of that further develops.
But these are occurring.
And the reality is, as was mentioned earlier,
is that, yes, they're occurring in Los Angeles.
But I can tell you being from the East Coast
that everyone that ever interacted with the East Coast
thinks that San Francisco and San Diego and LA
are right next door.
And so if they're coming into town,
they're going to be coming to all of California.
And even some of the conversations
that I've had with different transit agencies,
they're also thinking about what does it mean
when people come because they're going to be planning
on visiting all of these different areas.
So this is the LA snapshot of something
that's very discreet within the broader scheme of the games.
But this effort really is a California effort
because people are gonna come
and they're not gonna come for a day.
They're gonna come for multiple days, weeks,
and they're going to get to experience various aspects
of our beautiful state.
That speaks nothing to what our commitment is
to financing this, but I do want to just kind of elevate
that because there is a lot of like nitty gritty details
of how this has all come about,
but we're hosting games in 2028.
Thank you.
Thank you, Commissioner. And thank you, Jacqueline, for filling our questions. As you can hear,
there's a lot of concern here, and we wish you the best and look forward to further updates.
Thank you so much. On to our last item of the day, item 22, Destiny.
Good afternoon, commissioners. Tab 22 is an informational item covering our standing innovations
and transportation agenda item.
Arun Prem, executive director
with the San Diego County-based nonprofit agency,
facilitating access to coordinated transportation,
will present on the organization's work
to improve special needs transportation
and fill gaps in transportation services
for seniors, veterans, people with disabilities,
and low-income households.
So with that, I will turn it over to Roon
to begin his presentation.
Thank you.
Can you hear me?
Commissioners, Chair Grisby and also our San Diego
Representative Vice Chair Falcone,
thank you so much for your support.
I'm Roon Prem, Executive Director of FACT,
facilitating access to coordinated transportation.
So following up on the LA-28 International Olympics,
at least shifted my perspective
on our funding woes in San Diego.
With me, I have for moral support,
my board chair, Susan Haffner, right here,
and Christian Hernandez, operations manager,
Wave Christian, thank you.
It's an honor to speak before you today.
I'm so proud to have this opportunity
to showcase the innovations in transportation services
that FACT has made with funding we received
from Caltrans, Sandag, as well as FDA.
FACT's creativity has saved this region millions of dollars.
We're a very small agency providing 40,000 trips a year,
but over the 16 years that we've been in existence,
almost 20 years actually,
we have saved a lot of money
through our innovative practices and creativity,
and I want to call attention to that.
And it's helped us serve so many more people
than would have been possible with the traditional approach.
And all this while building and reinvesting
in local transportation infrastructure,
the small local taxi cab, and the medical van services
that form the backbone of our operations.
Before I explain more, I want to brief you
on facts, organization, and scope of work very quickly.
So what is fact?
Next slide, please.
There's also a one-page handout for you
to telling you about fact.
So nonprofit formed in 2005,
and our mission is to provide special needs mobility,
and our service area is all San Diego County,
and we act as mobility manager,
and I'll talk about that more.
Next, please.
These are all our writers.
We don't use actors for our images,
So just wanna give you a feel of our service.
Our governing board, on the next slide,
we have nine board members, many of them elected,
and then some experts, including Susan,
and community organizers.
Next slide, please.
What is FACT's role?
In 2006, we were designated by SANDAG, competitively,
as the Consolidated Transportation Services Agency.
That's a state designation,
and access in LA and Paratransit Inc. in Sacramento
do similar roles as FACT for San Diego.
And you heard a lot about coordination earlier.
I worked in LA and coordinated
with the 48 transit operators in LA for LA access.
It's always a challenge,
but it's always a rewarding thing when you accomplish that.
What does FACT do?
Next slide, please.
another one of our riders and our vehicles.
Sorry, next one, please.
So everything we do has to do with filling gaps
between transportation services in San Diego County,
and that's the CTSA mission, and we take it very seriously.
We provide referrals to all the other
specialized transportation services in the region.
So before we accept a trip, we make sure that
there isn't another provider already ready
to provide that trip, so we're not duplicating service
or wasting a trip, the cost of a trip that way.
We operate Right Fact, the name of our service,
and Right Fact now, and I'll talk about that in a minute.
We reduced the cost of transportation
through a transportation brokerage,
and we built a brokerage from scratch
within our organization.
How does that work?
I think you're all familiar with Uber, for example.
When Uber, when you request an Uber ride,
it goes to typically the closest,
in terms of distance, the closest driver.
So this is not a great comparison,
but with fact, when you call for a ride,
it goes to the provider that has the lowest cost.
So it's not distance-based,
but we have a menu of prices that we've collected
from our local small vendors,
And we've put them in our software.
And when we dispatch a trip,
it goes to the lowest cost of all those trips.
And this happens in real time.
And all these prices were negotiated with the vendors.
So the result is a brokerage that is extremely cost-effective
and a model for the whole nation.
We started this brokerage in 2012.
We used to spend $39.50 on a one-way trip
back in 2012 and reduce the cost of that one-way trip to $10 as a result of this brokerage.
Next slide, please. Why is FACT needed? Because FACT, because San Diego County severely lacks
accessible vehicles. One way to appreciate FACT's role here is to appreciate that in San Diego,
there are seven taxi caps only that are wheelchair accessible. For New York City,
that number is 5140 vehicles. That's half of their taxi fleet. And for San Francisco and the bay area,
it's one in every 25. In San Diego, it's seven. So as you can imagine, if you call for an Uber ride,
the response is going to be, sorry, nothing's available. And facts doing in a small way,
our job, our work to build that capacity by applying for grants and then sharing
vehicles through grant funds with local operators so that they can be available
to the public as well as to facts writers. We also provide transportation.
The only agency that provides these rides that are affordable and that are
also seamless. We don't require people to transfer going between cities or
jurisdictions are rural to urban. It's a one seamless trip no matter where you go
in San Diego and some of these trips as you can imagine in San Diego County are
very long from Fallbrook to the VA in the Hoya for example. So we're a single
seamless countywide operation although we're very small and limited in what we
do. Next slide please. I want to show you a little clip 30 seconds only so please
spare with me. I would like to thank this program and the fact that they provide
transportation for us to get here. They're on time, they're friendly, we have
super friendly. Sometimes we have really good conversations with them on the way
home but as a whole I commend the program and I'm very grateful for it.
I just want to thank, from the bottom record, I just want to thank you and them for having this program for us, otherwise we'd be stuck at home.
I would like to thank-
I would like-
So it's, I think that's, they said it better than I could have said, that if you don't have this, you're stuck at home and not able to live your life.
We fund our services through comparative grants from section 5310.
Um, local, um, I'm sorry, state access for all funds the state, the senior mini
grant funding, which is local sales tax based. And then we also provide, we
generate our own revenue by working with scripts, try City Health, San Diego
County and others STG and e where we provide fee for service for for these
organizations to meet their needs along with what their clients need. So we
don't just depend on grants. We also generate revenue that we then cycle
into our services. The funding that we have is limited and it's not dedicated.
So that's something that's constantly a challenge for fact. Next slide,
please. I like to share these images of our vehicles and writers going about
San Diego. Next slide, please. And right back now, finally, is another grant
that we were successful with.
We comparatively won this grant from CPUC,
the only grantee in San Diego that was successful
because of our experience.
And we will kick off this program
that will provide on-demand accessible transportation.
So basically calling an Uber with a wheelchair capacity
and getting that ride within the hour,
usually within 40 minutes.
So we're very excited about that.
This is the second cycle of getting that funding
and we are planning to kick off the service on October 30th.
I'm sorry, the date before you is wrong.
October 30th, it's a Thursday,
and those of you in San Diego, you're welcome to join us.
We'll be in touch and provide you the details
at Caltrans District 11 headquarters.
Look forward to that.
And the final thing I wanna show you is one of the things
I'm really, really proud of.
Next slide, please.
This image from the Union Tribune from the launch
of our last iteration of Access for All program,
where we provided on-demand service,
also our writers from Chula Vista.
Thank you very much for your time.
Thank you.
Is there any public comment on this item?
There's no public comment on this item.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Any questions or comments from the data?
I'm sorry.
I believe there were two public comments on this item.
Mark Fletcher and Kate Peckerer.
All right, first up is Mark Fletcher.
I have the podium right here.
Right there.
Microphones right here.
Anybody?
Thank you.
Thank you for joining us.
Many people are nervous about speaking in public,
including myself.
But I stand proudly before you advocating for fact
transportation because my father taught
me to be a good citizen.
My father was John Raymond Fletcher,
a veteran of World War II, a sergeant in the Army infantry,
who served proudly in the Pacific Theater
and sought combat on the islands of Okinawans
He lived the last 50 years of his life in Cardiff by the sea, California.
He was a homeowner, a taxpayer, a voter.
One of those solid citizens that the greatest generation seemed to produce like liberty ships during wartime.
And when there came a time in his life when he needed accessible transportation,
he called on his government and they said, sorry, you don't live within three quarters of a mile of a fixed bus route.
So if you want to utilize our services you need to come to us.
I'd like to tell you something. People who need accessible transportation, if they could come to you, they wouldn't need you.
My father had to suffer this indignity and frustration for the rest of his life.
And when there came a time in my life when I needed accessible transportation, I too felt the sting of rejection until I called fact.
They answered the phone and said, yes sir, we can help you.
That's what we do.
What I wouldn't have given to have been able to make that phone call for my father.
Fact is a safety net for all people in San Diego County who don't have access to any
other form of accessible transportation.
So please do all you can to support fact so no other fine citizen gets left behind like
my father was.
Thank you.
you for sharing your father's legacy and service to the country. Really, really appreciate
it. And thank you for your comments. Next up is Kate Pecora.
Thank you, everybody. My name is Kate Pecora. I live here in San Diego. It's very nice to
meet you all and thank you for the opportunity to speak with you today. Following up from
Mark, I have a very similar story in that we are all beneficiaries of accessible design.
single person in this room is and I grew up with a disability. I live with muscular dystrophy.
When I was five years old, I was diagnosed, I lived out in Boston and I made a decision
that that diagnosis wasn't going to be the limitation of my life. I've traveled to nearly
every state in the country. I'm gone more than I'm here in California, but my life was
really put on hold one day in November of 2023 when I came into a major car accident,
which is not the reason for the wheelchair, but nonetheless left me without a car for
several months here in the county of San Diego. And I am not an ambulatory wheelchair user.
I cannot get up and walk. I can't transfer into a regular car and my chair doesn't break
down and what Arun was saying earlier the fact about there are seven accessible vans in this
county. It's completely and totally unacceptable and not only does it not serve individuals with
disabilities but it's also about seniors and low-income folks people who need to get to hospital
rides without the assistance of a caregiver. It's about preserving dignity and independence
And I found, through fact, the ability
to regain that independence in the time when I was without a car.
Should they be the only safety net program here?
I don't necessarily know.
But I know I have had success in every instance
of working with them over the past couple of years.
And they've really been a game changer for folks
here in the San Diego community needing
accessible transportation.
Thank you so much.
Yes, every American deserves freedom and independence.
Any questions or comments from the guys outside?
All right, Commissioner Tiffany.
Well, I just want to say, wow, those last two speakers,
incredibly impressive.
Thank you so much for coming and telling your story.
And fact, it is amazing.
It is a model that we should see throughout the country,
I would think.
Thank you very much.
Thank you.
Hearing none, we appreciate that last presentation.
And this was our last item of the day, so we are adjourned.
Thank you so much.
Thank you.
Patriotic story, a listening story.