2018 Mobility 21 Summit Registration Now Open!

Early bird registration is now open for the Mobility 21 Summit — California’s largest one-day transportation conference and expo on Friday, Oct. 19 at the JW Marriott at L.A. Live. “California: Transportation Center of Excellence,” the theme of this year’s Summit, promises to bring together more than 1,200 transportation stakeholders, industry leaders and elected officials.

Registration includes access to top industry decision-makers and elected leaders, three general sessions, a choice of eight breakout sessions and a dynamic expo hall with more than 100 exhibitors. General registration also includes a breakfast buffet, hot lunch, complimentary Metrolink roundtrip service and a closing reception with conference attendees. Click here to book your hotel room!

Are you still thinking about sponsoring the Summit? It’s not too late! Help support Southern California’s transportation future while getting the best access, visibility and value for your marketing dollar. Click here to learn more or contact Kristin Slocum to sign up today.

Mobility 21 to Host Regional Workshop on SB 1

Join Mobility 21 for an educational and informative workshop featuring Senate Bill 1 (SB 1)-funded transportation projects. Learn and ask questions about the progress, upcoming projects and the transparency of implementation in Southern California. Speakers and panelists include top Sacramento officials and the region’s leading transportation agency and private sector leaders.

Friday, May 18
8:30 AM – 11:00 AM
Los Angeles Union Station

Registration
$35 Private Sector
$10 Public Sector
Elected officials and elected staff complimentary

Sponsorship
$500 Event Sponsor: Includes logo on event marketing and one complimentary registration
$250 SBE & Nonprofit Sponsor: Includes logo on event marketing and one complimentary registration


Mobility 21 Advisory Board Member Spotlight:
Lisa Maurath
Los Angeles Area Manager & Vice President, WSP USA

Lisa Maurath serves as the area manager of the Los Angeles office of WSP USA, where she is responsible for the firm’s transportation and infrastructure activities in the region.

Her responsibilities include oversight of WSP projects for Southern California agencies including LA Metro, LAWA, SCAG, Metrolink, and the City and County of Los Angeles.

“All of these projects will greatly improve the mobility and resiliency of the region, and many of them involve implementation of new or highly sophisticated technology and delivery methods” Maurath said.

“Through both my local project work and external engagement I value my client and industry relationships, many of which go way back. Also throughout my career, I’ve been committed to STEM [science, technology, engineering, math] initiatives,” she said. “I enjoy encouraging and supporting students to pursue an education in both the engineering and transportation fields.”

WSP USA is committed to serving as a valued partner to the small business community in the region, helping to expand and develop the available workforce by partnering with small businesses to provide the resources that they need.

Maurath has over 30 years of experience in project and program management, business development and operations, project controls, construction management, engineering and procurement in the infrastructure business.

Born and raised in the Boston area, Maurath graduated from Worcester Polytechnic Institute with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering, and holds a certificate in business management from the UCLA Anderson Graduate School of Management.

In addition to serving on the advisory board of Mobility 21, she is also on the Dean’s Advisory Board for Cal State Los Angeles College of Engineering, Computer Science, and Technology.

Maurath is a member of the board of directors for the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, and is serving as the 2017-2018 past-president for the Los Angeles chapter of the American Consulting Engineers Council. She served six years as a board director on the national Women’s Transportation Seminar Foundation.

“WSP USA has been part of the transportation scene in Los Angeles for 40 years, and I consider it an honor to carry on from the leadership that preceded me,” Maurath said.

Mobility 21 Advisory Board Member Spotlight:
Andres Trauttmansdorff-Weinsberg
Director of Business Development for the West and P3,
The Lane Construction Corporation

Andres has 19 years of experience in infrastructure projects in the Transportation and Public-Private Partnership (P3) sector in the European, South American and North American markets. He is currently leading The Lane Construction Corporation Business Development and P3 teaming for large infrastructure projects in the West Region of North America. He has been directly involved in the bid preparation of more than 30 P3 infrastructure projects.

Prior to joining Lane (a wholly owned subsidiary of Salini Impregilo Group), Andres led the Samsung C&T, E&C Americas, Inc., P3 team and teaming efforts for P3 projects in North and South America. He served as Managing Director for KPMG’s Global Infrastructure Advisory Practice in Colombia, South America where he participated and supported the Colombian government in developing new P3 legislation and restructuring a new Infrastructure National Agency. He supported KPMG in developing the Global Infrastructure advisory strategy for the Latin Americas region. Andres also served as Director of KPMG’s Global Infrastructure Advisory group for the U.S. P3 market, where he worked in P3 procurement and financial advisory roles for various transportation agencies.

And Prior to KPMG he led Cintra’s (Concessionaire Company of Ferrovial Group) North American Financial Analysis team, where he was responsible for their equity investment procurement, financial modeling, preparation of optimal financing structures and bid strategy preparation.

Andres’ accomplishments include the development of several in-house financial models used by former employees in multiple sector bids including airports, toll roads, ports, rail (LRT and high-speed) and telecom infrastructure.

He holds a Masters Degree in Business Administration from IE Business School, Madrid, Spain. He also earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Management and Finance from Los Andes University, Bogota, Colombia.

Summit Platinum Sponsor Spotlight:
Automobile Club of Southern California

Don’t Drive ‘Intexticated’

The Automobile Club of Southern California has launched a new initiative targeting drivers who would never consider drinking a beer or glass of wine behind the wheel, yet regularly engage with smartphones that dangerously take their eyes, hands and minds off the road.

“Don’t Drive Intoxicated. Don’t Drive Intexticated,” is the theme of the Auto Club’s sobering new message. The goal is to make distracted driving as socially unacceptable as drinking and driving, because the consequences of both can be the same – deaths and injuries.

The campaign messaging is being conveyed in paid TV and radio public service announcements as well as in-print in Westways magazine and online at AAA.com/DontDriveDistracted.

Public attitudes about drinking and driving have shifted over the decades, drastically cutting fatalities from DUI crashes. The same shift, to stigmatize distracted driving, needs to happen, because distracted driving kills nine people and injures 1,000 more everyday on average in the U.S.

We hope you’ll join the Auto Club in supporting an attitude change about driving “intexticated,” along with stiffer penalties and enforcement, to combat this serious issue.

For more than a century, the Auto Club has advocated for mobility and traffic safety improvements. The organization charted some of the state’s first roads, installed the first wide-scale system of road signs, and created maps of rapidly growing Southern California. Today, the Auto Club is the largest AAA club in the U.S., providing automotive, insurance, and travel services to more than seven million members in the region.

Summit Platinum Sponsor Spotlight:
SoCalGas

Fuel Diversity is the Best Way to Reach the State’s Climate Goals
Some say the single solution to meet California’s bold climate goals is to electrify everything—transportation, cooking, heating—and shift everything to 100 percent solar, wind and hydro electricity. At SoCalGas we believe fuel diversity is the best way to reach the state’s climate goals while also meeting our customers’ needs for affordability and reliability.

Using 100 percent renewable electricity in California could cost $3 trillion in solar panels and batteries alone, according to one recent study. Focusing on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, we see a solution that’s much less costly: Capture existing sources of GHG emissions and use them for fuel. It’s called renewable natural gas, and it reduces GHGs by keeping methane from escaping to atmosphere, and by reducing fossil fuels.

Heavy duty vehicles that run on natural gas cut smog-forming emissions by more than 90% compared to the cleanest diesel trucks on the road today. And when these ultra-low pollution natural gas trucks are fueled by renewable natural gas, GHG emissions are reduced by 80%.

At SoCalGas we see a future where we’ve addressed greenhouse gas goals—just like the full electrification movement wants to do—but at an affordable price, by delivering renewable natural gas sourced from organic waste. This renewable gas future uses existing infrastructure to keep costs to a fraction of the electricity-only scenario and meet consumer preferences. With this solution, we can continue to keep the energy grid resilient, fully address greenhouse gas goals, and do it affordably.

To celebrate Earth Day, artists painted the landscape of the Transportation Corridor Agencies’ (TCA) largest conservation site near the 241 Toll Road. Click here to watch the video.

Summit Platinum Sponsor Spotlight:
Transportation Corridor Agencies

A Perfect Day for Plein Air Painting

On Friday, April 20, 24 Plein Air artists were provided exclusive access to the Transportation Corridor Agencies’ (TCA) largest conservation site – Upper Chiquita Canyon Conservation Area – to paint natural habitat that is closed to public and recreational use.

The artists from the Southern California Plein Air Painters Association (SOCALPAPA) and their easels fanned out across the conservation area to paint the broad landscape of rolling hills, grasslands and coastal sage scrub.

Originally planned for residential development and a golf course; TCA, in partnership with environmental organizations and resource agencies, placed the nearly 1,200 acres of land into permanent open space in 1996. Closed to public and recreational use, this is the first time TCA has opened the property to local artists.

“This rare opportunity has been a year in the making to provide SOCALPAPA access to such a pristine outdoor setting that is rarely open to the public,” said Caryn Maldonado, President of SOCALPAPA. “We are passionate about plein air art and each artist created up to two paintings to show the years of effort and hard work that went into bringing the non-public land back to its pristine natural habitat.”

The conservation area plays a critical role in supporting and providing habitat for the federally listed California gnatcatcher and coastal cactus wren. The site also provides valuable connectivity for wildlife movement between O’Neill Regional Park and Chiquita Ridge to the south.

“TCA is a leading agency in environmental stewardship, restoration and preservation,” said Ed Sachs, Chairman of the Foothill/Eastern Transportation Corridor Agency and Mission Viejo Mayor. “Investing more than $100 million in environmental initiatives, TCA has set aside 17 locations of open spaces throughout Orange County and the tolls collected from drivers help provide funding for long-term environmental initiatives.”

For more than 25 years, TCA has been committed to balancing construction and operation of Orange County’s Toll Roads, (State Routes 73, 133, 241 and 261), with the preservation of more than 2,100 acres of open space and wildlife habitat in Orange County. For more information about TCA’s environmental initiatives, visit thetollroads.com/environment.

To view photos from the event, visit www.flickr.com/TheTollRoads.

Introducing Metro’s Vision 2028 Plan

This month, Metro staff released a draft of the Metro Vision 2028 Plan as part of a report to the agency’s Board of Directors.

This is Metro’s big picture plan to improve mobility in Los Angeles County and explains what the public can expect from the agency over the next 10 years. The plan is the result of more than 17 months of research, discussion and outreach by Metro’s Office of Extraordinary Innovation.
Traffic is one of the critical issues facing L.A. County. Mobility is directly related to our region’s future and its economic and social promise. Better mobility means safe and convenient access to the basic needs in your life, such as more job opportunities, housing, education and health services. The plan seeks to provide great mobility to everyone, whether they drive, take transit, walk or bike.

The plan builds on some key initiatives already underway now at Metro — and includes strategic actions that go well beyond the status quo. Vision 2028 sets Metro’s strategic direction and serves as the foundation for all other Metro plans, programs and services. For example, the in-progress Long Range Transportation Plan and the NextGen Bus Study will take a deeper and more detailed focus on how we will accomplish goals in Vision 2028.

Vision 2028 will be formally released to the public on April 27 followed by a four-week public comment period. The Metro Board of Directors will consider adopting the plan at their meeting on June 28.

Here are some of the highlights that will likely be most interesting to Source readers:

  • The plan shifts Metro’s focus from just the system Metro operates to the mobility ecosystem as a whole. We are not just a transit agency – we are a mobility agency.
  • The plan emphasizes spending less time traveling. For example, the plan calls for:
    • Improving average speeds on the bus network by 30 percent;
    • Updating the way we manage our aging transit assets to keep them in a state of good repair, thus reducing trip disruptions on our buses and trains;
    • Implementing a larger network of ExpressLanes by 2028, thus providing solo drivers a choice to pay a toll in order to save time while also improving the performance of our bus rapid transit services that run along such corridors;
    • Piloting pricing strategies to manage demand in the most traffic-clogged parts of LA County.
  • Metro will focus on improving the customer experience and making our system easier and more convenient to use. Putting the customer at the heart of the journey is critical to improving mobility.

The above are just a few highlights. The plan also tackles housing, safety and security, fares, agency finances and creating more jobs across the region. Ultimately, we hope you’ll join us as we build a better transportation future for L.A. County.

The Orange County Transportation Authority on March 26 selected the OC Streetcar vehicles. This artist rendering shows the concept for the vehicles, though the exact design and branding of the streetcars will be determined later this year. The eight vehicles will make up Orange County’s first modern electric streetcar system, to run through Santa Ana and Garden Grove. Photo courtesy of the Orange County Transportation Authority.

OC Streetcar Plans Roll Forward
With Selection of Vehicles

Plans for Orange County’s first modern streetcar rolled forward when the Orange County Transportation Authority board of directors on March 26 approved the purchase of the streetcars that will carry passengers on the route through Santa Ana and Garden Grove.

The contract with Siemens Industries, in the amount of up to $51.5 million, will provide eight streetcar vehicles and spare parts and tools. The OC Streetcar route will have six vehicles in operation and two spare cars that can be rotated into the system as needed.

“This is an important and exciting milestone for the OC Streetcar project as we have decided upon the vehicles that will provide Orange County residents another public transit option,” said OCTA Chairwoman Lisa Bartlett, also the Fifth District Supervisor. “We’re looking forward to making the vision for a modern electric streetcar here in Orange County a reality.”

The contract for the streetcars comes with the option to purchase up to 10 additional streetcars at a later date, if necessary. As part of the deal, Siemens will provide systems support and training to operators and maintenance technicians once the vehicles are delivered.

The OC Streetcar project is estimated to cost $299 million, with funding coming from Measure M, Orange County’s half-cent sales tax for transportation improvements, and a mix of state and federal funding.

OCTA has been working closely throughout planning and design with the Federal Transit Administration, which is considering a full funding grant agreement to pay for about half of the project’s cost. Of that, $50 million was included in the President’s 2017 budget.

Because OCTA met all federal guidelines during the development of the project, FTA officials gave OCTA written pre-award authority to move forward with the purchase of vehicles. On March 23, Congress funded about $2.6 billion toward Capital Improvement Grants funding, which is a promising signal for the OC Streetcar project to receive the full funding grant agreement.

The OC Streetcar will operate from the busy Santa Ana Regional Transportation Center, along Santa Ana Boulevard and Fourth Street and along the Pacific Electric right-of-way to Harbor Boulevard in Garden Grove.

The route will serve Santa Ana’s thriving downtown and dense employment areas that include county and local government offices and courthouses in the Civic Center. The OC Streetcar route will also connect with many of OCTA’s busiest bus routes and Metrolink commuter rail. It is expected to carry more than 7,300 passengers per day within its first year of operation.

The model of streetcar that Siemens will provide, called the S70 model, has proven successful in other cities nationwide. At least 342 streetcars of that model are in operation in eight U.S. cities.

The vehicles are 88 feet long and have 70 seats, carrying up to 180 passengers at a time. The streetcars will have doors on each side, operator cabs in the front and back, and level boarding – meaning no steps are required to enter or exit the streetcar.

This summer, the OCTA board will review branding of the OC Streetcar, which is expected to be similar to the blue, orange and white branding of the OC Bus system.

Construction on the OC Streetcar is set to begin later this year with testing and operations beginning in late 2020.

For information on the project, visit www.OCstreetcar.com.

 

Coachella and Stagecoach attendees could have a new way to travel to the desert next year, if RCTC’s application for a special events train is approved for funding through gas tax revenues.

RCTC Applies for Special Events Train from LA to Indio for Coachella Valley Festivals

Coachella Festival travelers experienced heavy traffic on Interstate 10 before and after the concerts both weekends, and this pattern may continue for the Stagecoach Festival during the coming weekend. Starting next year, a special train could be available for Coachella and Stagecoach attendees.

The Riverside County Transportation Commission and the Los Angeles-San Diego-San Luis Obispo Rail Corridor Agency are seeking grant funding to provide special Amtrak service to these weekend festivals, starting in April 2019 for five years.

Funding is available through the state gas tax (SB 1) Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program, based on a competitive application process. RCTC and LOSSAN submitted the grant application in January to operate rail service from Los Angeles to Indio, an approximate 3.5-hour trip. The grant funds would be used to make track improvements and to build a temporary platform to allow passengers to enter and exit the train in Indio, which does not have a passenger rail station. Bus shuttles would carry passengers from the rail station to the festival grounds and local hotels.

The train would provide a convenient, safe, reliable and low-emission travel alternative for traveling to and from the Coachella Valley. If approved, the train could serve as an alternative to traveling on Interstate 10, reduce pollutants, and minimize travel delays for festival attendees.

The agencies should learn by April 30 if its funding application is selected.

CEO and Port Director Kristin Decas helps to put up siding on a residence.

The Port of Hueneme Gives Back
In Partnership with Habitat for Humanity

The Port of Hueneme not only makes cargo move, they also take pride in giving back to the community. On Friday, April 13, 2018, the Port’s staff partnered with Habitat for Humanity in building six new homes in the La Colonia community of Oxnard. These new homes are a part of Habitat’s effort to further their vision of “a world where everyone has a decent place to live.”

Habitat partners with low income families across Ventura County to assist them in getting into an affordable home. By doing so, they aim to help these families achieve the structure and security that comes from having a safe and stable place to live. “It is the Port’s honor to be able to partner with such a compassionate organization to effect positive change in our community,” said Oxnard Harbor District Board President Mary Anne Rooney. “It is our top priority to serve the local constituents of our District, and I am grateful we were able to do so in this unique way.” To date, the Ventura County Habitat for Humanity chapter has completed 70 homes throughout the county.

Port staff rolled up their sleeves to swing hammers, lay roofing, install siding, cut materials and clean the job site at Friday’s outing. CEO & Port Director Kristin Decas said, “it’s a great day when we can connect with our community. Building these houses will impact the lives of these families for generations to come, and I commend the Port team for their part in this positive story.” The recipient families build sweat equity throughout the building of their homes by providing their own physical labor on the building site, donating time to work on other Habitat homes, and working in the Habitat for Humanity ReStores. ReStores are non-profit home improvement stores and donation centers that sell to the public. Proceeds are used to build more homes around the entire world. One way to support Habitat for Humanity’s efforts is to visit their local ReStore located at 1850 Eastman Ave. Oxnard, CA.

Don’t Miss FuturePorts’ Annual Conference:
Strong Ports = Strong California

Thursday, June 28
More info | Register

Join FuturePorts at its annual conference for supply chain, logistics, warehousing and port development professionals in Southern California. This annual conference brings together over 300 attendees to examine leading-edge topics facing Southern California’s ports and the industries, economy and communities they support. This year’s focus is on keeping our ports competitive in a changing marketplace, making sure Southern California is receiving adequate “Cap & Trade” funding, attracting state and federal investment to the Southern California goods movement network, and reviewing the impact that the CAAP and other sustainability measures are having our industry’s ability to support commerce, provide reliable throughput, and maximize efficiency while becoming greener and cleaner.