Summit sponsorships now open!

In honor of our diamond anniversary and this year’s Summit theme Transportation NEXT: New Era, New Vision, New Realities, we are gearing up to host the largest annual transportation conference in California with an action-packed day of breakouts, provocative presentations and the biggest Expo ever. With record attendance last year, nearly 900 transportation leaders convened in Anaheim last October. We expect this year’s event, now on Tuesday, Sept. 6 at the JW Marriott at L.A. Live to attract over 1,000 transportation, business and political leaders!

We’ve enhanced our sponsorship benefits this year in recognition of our 10th anniversary and have kept most of the costs even with 2010 levels, and added opportunities at lower price points to help fit everyone’s budget. 2011 Summit sponsors will experience:

  • Access to public and private sector transportation decision-makers
  • Visibility at California’s largest transportation Summit and Expo
  • Pre-event publicity to thousands of transportation sector professionals
  • Networking with business partners, clients, elected leaders and speakers
  • Value for your investment, with highly competitive sponsorship rates

These companies are sponsoring this year’s Mobility 21 Summit. Will your business be left out in the cold? Click here to view the sponsorship packages. E-mail Marnie O’Brien Primmer for more details or call 949.288.6884.

Honoring the California Transportation Commission for keeping us on track

We’re partnering with the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce to honor the California Transportation Commission on Wednesday, May 11 during a reception in Los Angeles. Ride the train to Union Station and join us for a evening of networking with transportation professionals and elected officials.

Proudly sponsored by: Automobile Club of Southern California, ARUP, Jacobs Engineering Group, Inc.

Sponsorship opportunities available:
$1,000: Includes company logo on event marketing and podium recognition during event program
$500: Includes company name on event marketing

Please contact Marnie O’Brien Primmer for more information on sponsorships.

When: Wednesday, May 11 from 5:30 to 7 p.m.
Where: Traxx Restaurant
Los Angeles Union Station
800 North Alameda Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Registration free, but limited: RSVP online
Public Transportation: Traxx is located inside Union Station. See Metrolink or Amtrak for timetables
Parking: Self and valet parking is available at the station

Southern California reaches consensus on goods movement

If transportation leaders from across Southern California can agree on one thing, it’s the dire need for adequate investment from the federal government in our region’s goods movement infrastructure. Southern California is the heart of the nation’s freight movement system, but our arteries are clogged – freight trains and trucks moving commerce to the rest of the nation congest our freeways, increase air pollution and create delays at railroad crossings. As legislators begin to write the next surface transportation bill, Mobility 21 will submit the following list of goods movement principles for our region to key members of Congress and Senate committees responsible for drafting the legislation.

National Freight Strategy and Plan: The Secretary of Transportation should be directed to develop a national freight strategy that addresses multi-modal freight needs and associated impacts in the United States. In addition to covering domestic freight, the strategy should address the movement of US imports and exports through U.S. ports. A comprehensive, integrated approach similar to Canada’s National Policy Framework for Strategic Gateways and Trade Corridors should be considered.

Senior, Focused Freight Leadership: A multi-modal freight office led by an official at the assistant secretary level or higher should be established within the United States Department of Transportation (US DOT). This official would develop the national freight strategy and associated policies, advocate for freight across the modal administrations and award funding for goods movement programs and projects.

Dedicated Freight Program and Funding: A discretionary, merit-based grant program for goods movement projects of national significance should be established within the Department of Transportation with dedicated funding. The fund should draw from dedicated revenue source(s) that would not impact the Highway Trust fund as currently configured.

Gateways/Corridors of National Significance: Surface Transportation Authority Act (STAA) should include the official designation of a national goods movement system that designates ports/waterways and inland gateways/corridors of national and regional significance as priority areas for national transportation system improvements. Such gateways would include the U.S. West Coast Collaboration (USWCC) ports and previously designated “Projects of National and Regional Significance” in SAFETEA-LU which have made progress in achieving program goals, such as the Alameda Corridor-East Trade Corridor grade separation projects. All projects in the corridors/gateways are to be maintained as high priorities for US DOT, and funded appropriately until they are completed. Freight measures, such as throughput and safety, should be heavily weighted among the criteria used to select projects for funding, and allow prioritization to recognize the region’s congestion levels and non-attainment status for air quality purposes.

Eligible Applicants: Provide that eligible applicants for a goods movement program should include State and local governments, including U.S. territories, tribal governments, regional transportation planning and programming agencies, port authorities, other units of State or local governments and multi-State or multi-jurisdictional applicants, similar to the TIGER program.

Thousands of jobs saved with reenactment of gas tax swap

With your support, despite tough budget negotiations in Sacramento, Assembly Bill 105 — legislation that will reenact the gas tax swap — was passed with the necessary two-thirds majority. Together we have prevented the loss of $2.5 billion in funding for critical state, regional and local transportation projects, provided $1 billion in general fund relief and helped to create or save 63,000 jobs. That’s M21 @ Work.

Check out the factsheet we used to help lead the charge in getting this crucial legislation passed.

Californians can’t afford to delay Fall bond sale

As part of a statewide effort, Mobility 21 is urging the Governor and Legislature to use transportation projects and their job-creating power to help pull California out of the recession. That means state bond sales must continue on time to keep projects from being delayed or halted. However, without a state budget in place, the State Treasurer could delay the bond sale schedule for the Fall. If the Fall sale is cancelled, thousands of good-paying jobs will be lost and millions of taxpayer dollars will be wasted.

Coupled with a favorable construction contracting environment and job creation in one of the hardest hit industries during the economic downturn, the Fall bond sale is essential to keep faith with California’s voters who approved Propositions 1A and 1B to fund key transportation projects throughout the state.

Take action now by signing your name to the letter urging legislators to support a budget that includes a Fall bond sale. Click here to view the fact sheet and see the list of projects and jobs at stake.

OCTA unveils final report aimed at expediting job creation and project delivery

California, along with the rest of the nation, has done more with less over the past few years while weathering the economic downturn. Decreased capital investment in transportation coupled with the length of time it takes for federally funded projects to begin construction has resulted in ?unprecedented unemployment in the transportation industry.

The Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA), in concert with other efforts spearheaded by top Department of Transportation officials and key Congressional leaders, has released the final Breaking Down Barriers report which identifies more than 22 changes to existing federal law, regulations or practices that will help expedite projects and create jobs now. The recommendations from this initiative improve federal processes without eliminating any of the necessary environmental protections required by law.

In a letter to transportation policymakers, OCTA Chair Patricia Bates and OCTA CEO and Mobility 21 Chair Will Kempton describe the nation’s need for improvements to federal processes that delay transportation projects and the creation of much-needed jobs.

“The desire to expedite the long and tortuous road from project conception to project completion has been a good government goal of many for several years. It is indisputable that the time it takes to build a major public transportation infrastructure project is far too long — up to as much as 14 years.” said Bates and Kempton. “But at no time has this need been more pressing than during the current economic downturn, which has brought record-high unemployment to the nation.”

Some of the barriers which can be broken down to expedite project delivery include advancing pre-construction activities, use of the design-build project delivery model and improving efficiencies in environmental reviews. Click here to view the full report.

SUMMIT SPOTLIGHT:
Platinum Sponsor HDR Inc.

At HDR, we share a goal common to communities around the world — to deliver safe, efficient public transportation. With highly qualified highway, rail and transit planners, engineers and architects, we are the ideal partner to guide your project from feasibility through completion. Our expertise encompasses all aspects of a project, from community planning, financial analysis, urban design, architecture, environmental analysis, program management, design and construction management.

In Southern California, HDR employs over 300 staff in seven offices serving public and private clients throughout the region. Local HDR projects include the feasibility analysis for the restoration of the historic LA Streetcar, preliminary engineering and environmental document for the I-15 Corridor Improvement project, program management for the SR-91 Corridor Improvement project, design of the Colton Crossing and Pier B Rail Yard. For the second year in a row, HDR was awarded the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) Grand Conceptor Award. This year’s winner was the Hoover Dam Bypass project. HDR is also involved with thousands of smaller projects across the nation that are not as instantly recognizable, yet they improve the quality of life for residents of the communities where they take place.

“HDR is proud to be a partner of Mobility 21 which effectively gives us all a bigger voice in advocating regional transportation solutions,” said Lisa Reece, Vice President and Southern California Transportation Marketing Manager for HDR. “I am looking forward to the annual Summit, one of the best professional events of the year.”

HDR is an employee-owned architecture, engineering and consulting firm with more than 7,800 professionals in 185 locations worldwide. All of them are committed to helping clients manage complex projects and make sound decisions. Learn more at http://www.hdrinc.com

SUMMIT SPOTLIGHT:
Platinum Sponsor CH2M Hill

As incorporating green elements into transportation design becomes more common, transit operators, transportation agencies and state departments of transportation are looking to measure the “sustainability” of their roads and highways. Doing so provides a marketing and public accountability tool for the owners and operators to show that they are responding to the public’s desire for more “green” roads. Many groups have set out to develop rating systems that measure and quantify the sustainability of roadway projects, ranging from highway reconstruction to local roadway pavement rehabilitation, similarly to LEED, which has become the preferred rating system for vertical infrastructure/buildings. Additionally, the collaboration among agencies in developing these systems will increase the inclusion of sustainable elements in projects all over the country, and reward designers and operators that understand how to incorporate these elements and give exposure to those that do not.

Among the rating systems that have been developed are Greenroads and the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) Sustainable Highways Self-Evaluation Tool. The Greenroads rating system set the standard for open-source information sharing in sustainability rating program development. Since its development, it has enabled the creation of other project rating programs and new project selection requirements in jurisdictions across the country. Greenroads was developed by the University of Washington and CH2M Hill, and aimed to rate sustainable roadway design and construction at the project level. The developers recently established the Greenroads Foundation, which is currently testing rating projects. Another system developed by CH2M Hill as prime contractor to the FHWA, is the FHWA Sustainable Highways Self-Evaluation Tool. This evaluation tool is unique because unlike the other rating systems, it takes into account the full life-cycle of highways, including system planning, project development and operations and maintenance of an entire network. FHWA released the Project Pilot version of the FHWA Sustainable Highways Self-Evaluation Tool on Earth Day, April 22, 2011, at http://www.sustainablehighways.org.

CH2M Hill is an industry-leading program management, construction management and design firm, as ranked by Engineering News-Recordand named a leader in sustainable engineering by Verdantix. Visit us on our website, on Twitter and on Facebook.

TRANSPORTATION EVENTS IN THE COMMUNITY

April 27-28
World Research Group: Green Energy Tech Conference
more info | register

Thursday, April 28
Congressman Joe Baca’s Transportation Summit
more info

Thursday, April 28
WTS Inland Empire: Professional Development: Work-Life Balance
more info | register

Friday, April 29
WTS San Diego: California State Budget and Its Implications for Statewide and Regional Transportation Project Funding
more info | register

May 2-4
Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce: Access Washington, D.C.
more info | register

May 4-6
2011 Alternative Clean Transportation Expo
more info | register

May 5-6
SCAG: Regional Conference & General Assembly
more info | register

Friday, May 6
World Trade Week Kickoff Breakfast: Promoting Global Competitiveness
more info | register

May 10-11
Orange County Business Council: Sacramento Advocacy Trip
more info | register

May 11-13
Association for Commuter Transportation: Southern California Regional Conference
more info | register

Friday, May 13
Leonard Transportation Center Forum: The Direction of Technology in Transportation: Where is Technology Taking You?
more info | register

May 17-18
California Transit Association
45th Annual Spring Legislative Conference: California Hanging in the Balance
more info | register

Wednesday, May 18
American Council of Engineering Companies: Design-Build Panel: Past, Present and Future in California
more info | register

May 18-20
WTS International Annual Conference: Building Bridges
more info | register

Friday, June 24
Los Angeles Chapter of the American Institute of Architects: Architecture of Transportation Design Symposium
more info | register

Thursday, July 28
Orange County Business Council: Invitational Golf Tournament
more info | register

Tueday, Sept. 6
Mobility 21: Annual Transportation Summit
information coming soon

Oct. 12-14
METRANS National Urban Freight Conference
more info | register