San Leandro Mayor Elected County Transportation Commission Chair

Press release from Alameda CTC:

Jan. 31, 2021

The City of San Leandro Mayor Pauline Cutter and the City of Emeryville Councilmember John Bauters were unanimously re-elected as Chair and Vice Chair, respectively, to the Alameda County Transportation Commission (Alameda CTC) at its first Commission meeting of 2021.

“It is a privilege to continue to lead Alameda CTC in partnership with Vice Chair Bauters and all other Commissioners as we forge ahead to deliver crucial projects and programs, especially during these difficult and disconcerting times as we navigate Covid-19,” says Chair Cutter.

When initially elected, Chair Cutter outlined several priorities for 2020 and beyond, with the Countywide Transportation Plan, updated in 2020, guiding Alameda CTC’s decision-making over the next 30 years to prioritize projects, programs and strategic priorities. Those initial priorities include:

###liSan Pablo Avenue Corridor Project and the East 14th Street/Mission and Fremont Boulevard Multimodal Corridor project.
• Ensuring safe mobility options for bicyclists and pedestrians, as the Commission has done in the wake of the pandemic with the successful COVID-19 Response Bicycle and Pedestrian Grant Program.
• Pushing forward rail strategy in partnership with other agencies, importantly the Countywide Rail Safety Enhancement Program, which is successfully underway.
• Expansion of model educational and supportive programs like Safe Routes to Schools and the Student Transit Pass Program, both of which have bloomed during FY 2020-21.
• Expansion of express lanes, having completed the Interstate 680 (I-680) Sunol Express Lanes project and moved forward with closing the gap between State Route 84 (SR-84) and Alcosta Boulevard with the SR-84 Widening and SR-84/I-680 Interchange Improvements project that merges two projects in partnership with Caltrans, generating an $18 million cost savings.

Particularly for 2021, Chair Cutter’s key initiatives include:

• Advancement of Active Transportation and safety for all ages and abilities.
• Advancement of Transit Oriented Development that supports transportation, housing and jobs through strong partnerships.
• Delivery of environmentally supportive and equity-focused investments and programs, including transit, bike and pedestrian improvements, and new technologies for clean air and safe communities.

Alameda CTC implements the voter-approved Measures B and BB, as well as the Measure F vehicle registration fee, to improve transportation throughout Alameda County. The Commission is comprised of 22 members, with the following representation:

• All five Alameda County Supervisors
• Two Oakland representatives
• One representative from each of the other 13 cities in Alameda County
• One representative from AC Transit
• One representative from BART

Voter-approved Measure BB enables Alameda CTC to leverage local dollars to support multimodal infrastructure, enhance and support transit service and provide programs to communities throughout Alameda County, allowing the agency to meet its mission to make Alameda County more vibrant and livable.

"It is exciting to continue this collaborative work, and I concur with Chair Cutter that ensuring safe mobility for bicyclists and pedestrians is paramount,” says Vice Chair Bauters. “And the way we do that is with projects like the I-80/Gilman Street Interchange Improvement Project that will reconfigure the interchange, improve navigation and safety, while also closing the gap in local and regional bicycle facilities between the Bay Trail and North Berkeley.” Construction on this project begins in spring 2021.

Alameda CTC’s Chair and Vice Chair are elected to serve a one-year term. A complete list of Commissioners can be found online at https://www.alamedactc.org/about-us/commission/.

This press release was produced by Alameda CTC. The views expressed here are the author's own.