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Speaker
Buddy introduced today's speaker: Amy Rein Worth.
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Welcome, Madam Mayor
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Amy is the Chair of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) where she represents Contra Costa cities. Amy has served on the Orinda City Council since November 1998 and is currently serving her third one year term as Mayor. Amy has a degree in History from UC Berkeley. She lives in Orinda with her husband Tom and daughters Betsy, Annie and Kate.
Amy talked about her role on the MTC. She succeeded Sarge Littlehale. Transportation is important to Contra Costa as we represent 14% of the Bay Area population, but 60% of Contra Costa commuters commute to another county.
The Bay Area is one of the largest metro areas whose focus is regional and international. The Port of Oakland is an important part of that, as its traffic is 50% import/50% export; as compared to the port of LA/Long Beach which is 90% import/10% export. The MTC looks at how do we keep our transportation infrastructure competitive for our children and grandchildren? Bay Area is expected to go from 7 million to 9 million in population with a combination of net migration and organic growth.
We have been working on the Caldecott fourth bore for a quarter century. It should open in November of this year. Caldecott bores will have dedicated lanes going into each tunnel. Construction is completed and the safety system is being tested, including the fans. The fans are important for air quality. In the Devil's Slide tunnel, the old cars that went through on the inaugural run set off the fans.
A $280 billion investment in transportation is part of the regional transportation plan. Plan includes: Measure J for Contra Costa County; expanded BART service; widening of Hwy 4 and electrifying Cal Train. The Express Lanes at the bridges, with Fastrak payment options, utilizes excess capacity. Smart corridors using technology are improving traffic flow. Smart metering on Highway 4 is currently being implemented.
Amy spoke briefly about the Bay Bridge's 'hydrogen embrittlement' issue. Even with the bolt problem, there is a big safety difference between the old bridge and the new one. The public has been engaged and informed about the issue throughout the review period.
Regarding the BART cooling off period and in response to a question about not allowing transit workers to strike, Amy pointed out that legislation may not be the solution. It would not achieve goals and could be a high price to pay. BART has high, non-salary employee expenses. Public interest needs to be protected and anticipation of possible strike causes anxiety. The question of how to bring costs in line, negotiation versus legislation, is a big one and there are political issues to address.
High tech job growth is a factor in regional transportation planning. In the case of the Ferry versus BART, transportation redundancy is important. People seem happier on the ferry and it is good competition for BART. Ferry service from Richmond is currently being evaluated.
Amy also addressed the current discussion of housing in our downtown areas. Most Bay Area cities are built out and the State requires affordable housing in all communities for teachers and office workers. The goal is to provide housing within the existing urban footprint. It isn't just younger people who want to live near transportation but empty nesters as well. Plans call for 180K housing units to in-fill in cities near transportation hubs and downtowns. As you increase the density in the downtown you can funnel dollars into public transit, pedestrians and bikes but significant resources are needed. There are two sides to the issue among the public: people who don't want change and people who want to live downtown. Developers must provide mitigation to support sorely needed infrastructure and parking. The three Lamorinda communities are working together to address senior housing needs.
Remember we are back at Celia's next week so please join us!
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