Mobility 21 to Co-host Welcome Reception
Honoring New Metro CEO Phillip Washington 

Join Mobility 21, together with co-hosts Central City Association of Los Angeles, Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, Metro and Valley Industry and Commerce Association, in welcoming new Metro CEO Phillip Washington at a reception next week!

Thursday, June 4
5-7 p.m.
L.A. Union Station – Ticketing Concourse (new location!)


Register Early for the Summit and Save $100

Early Bird registration is now open for the Mobility 21 Summit on Friday, Aug. 28 at the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim! Join more than 1,000 transportation stakeholders, industry leaders and elected officials at California’s largest one-day transportation event. Hurry, Early Bird registration ends July 10!

Conference Highlights Include:

  • Access to top industry decision-makers and elected leaders
  • Eight thought-provoking breakout sessions
  • More than 1,000 attendees and over 100 exhibitors
  • A hospitality suite with complimentary seated massages, charging station and snacks to energize you throughout the day
  • Complimentary Metrolink and Anaheim Resort Transportation roundtrip service or self-parking
  • Twilight ticket to Disneyland redeemable after 4 p.m.
  • Special discounted rate for students and military personnel (does not include twilight Disneyland ticket)

Registration Rates
Early Bird Registration: $275
Registration after July 10: $375
Student/Military Personnel Registration: $150 (does not include twilight Disneyland ticket)

Reduced Hotel Rate Reservations
Discount hotel rates are available to conference attendees! Click here to reserve your room now. Space is limited and the discount is only available until it’s sold out or Wednesday, July 29.

There’s Still Time to Sponsor the Summit
Sponsor the largest one-day transportation event in California. The Summit is the only place where you can mix and mingle with every transportation CEO in Southern California, policy makers and nationally-known transportation experts. Click here to view the sponsorship packages.

Hear More About Mobility 21 From
Our Board Member Dr. Ray Wolfe

Executive Director, San Bernardino Associated Governments


Mobility 21 Advisory Board Member Spotlight:
Mark Baza
Executive Director
Imperial County Transportation Commission

In June 2010, Mark Baza was appointed as the Executive Director of the Imperial County Transportation Commission (ICTC). ICTC is the Regional Transportation Planning and Transit Agency for Imperial County. ICTC recently celebrated its 5th Anniversary as it was established as a County Transportation Commission in 2009 under Senate Bill 607 (Ducheny) and became a new agency effective January 1, 2010. Under the direction of the Commission, Baza has led the development of the new agency’s organizational structure, staffing and work programs. ICTC is one of six County Transportation Commissions within the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) region. SCAG is the federally mandated Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for the six counties and as is recognized as the largest MPO in the United States.

As the regional transportation planning agency for Imperial, ICTC is responsible to plan and develop the regional and state highway network in partnership with the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), California Transportation Commission, Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and SCAG. Together, key regional highway improvements have been completed and are underway.

To improve trade corridor improvements at the land ports of entry (LPOEs) with Mexicali, Mexico, Mark has led an effort to establish the Imperial-Mexicali Binational Alliance. Mexico is California’s top trading partner and in 2012 there was an estimated $12.5 Billion in trade through the Calexico East/Mexicali II LPOE. Across all Imperial-Mexicali LPOEs approximately 40,000 people from Mexicali, Mexico legally cross northbound into the U.S. daily and are vital to Imperial County and California’s economy. In 2012, the binational workgroup began meeting monthly to plan and implement cross-border transportation infrastructure investments; environment and air quality improvements; and, marketing of economic development opportunities and investments. In 2013, the Alliance was institutionalized through a bilateral Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed by local, state and federal entities of Mexico and the U.S. The Alliance now meets bi-monthly, rotating locations in Mexicali and Imperial with over 40 stakeholder agencies providing updates on projects in the core areas of border infrastructure, environment and economic development.

As the regional transit agency, ICTC plans and operates the Imperial Valley Transit which includes fixed route public transit services, paratransit services, and dial-a-ride services throughout the county. Since 2012, ICTC has purchased and now owns its fleet of transit vehicles. Other accomplishments include: increasing express route services; expanded hours of service on Saturdays; all new limited schedule of service on Sundays; planning and design of intra-city bus services in the cities of Brawley, Imperial and Calexico; completion of transit centers (transfer terminals) at Imperial Valley College, the cities of Brawley and El Centro; and, conceptual plans were completed for a large new Intermodal Transit Center (ITC) in the City of Calexico. The Calexico ITC proposes to serve public and private transit shuttle operators, Greyhound bus operations, farm labor buses and taxi service.

Additionally, ICTC administers the County’s “Measure D” half-cent sales tax program. As one of twenty “Self Help Counties” in California, ICTC distributes the lion’s share of the Measure D funds to each of the seven cities and County of Imperial to complete local road pavement rehabilitation projects; improve pedestrian and bicycle access; improve access as required by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA); and local road operational improvements. The Measure D program also provides local contributions to state highway and transit projects.

Mark has 26 years of experience in the transportation planning and engineering industry. Prior to his position at ICTC, Mark began his career with the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) District 11 for over 20 years. At Caltrans, Mark had lead responsibilities for regional and goods movement planning in San Diego and Imperial counties. Later served as Project Manager for a portfolio of planning and capital projects to improve goods movement in Southern California and, ground access to all of California’s land ports of entry with Mexico and the Port of San Diego’s seaport terminals. At Caltrans, Mark had worked in the Division’s of Planning, Program/Project Management, and last position as Project Manager for the State Route 11 and Otay Mesa East Port of Entry project, a new state highway, California Highway Patrol (CHP) truck inspection facility and federal land port of entry; and, other Trade Corridor Improvement Fund (TCIF) projects for Caltrans District 11.

Baza earned a Bachelor’s degree in Urban Planning and Studies from the University of California, San Diego and completed a post-graduate Certificate Program in Transportation Planning for Air Quality at the University of California, Riverside.


Mobility 21 Advisory Board Member Spotlight:
Lisa Maurath
Los Angeles Operations Manager
Parsons Brinckerhoff

Lisa Maurath is a vice president and operations manager in Parsons Brinckerhoff’s Los Angeles office. An engineer with extensive project management experience on complex and diverse transportation projects, she has also been a regional operations manager who spearheaded several successful initiatives related to project performance, project management training, and quality assurance.

Lisa’s hands-on involvement in all phases of project delivery has given her a comprehensive understanding of what it takes to deliver programs using various methodologies. Her skill in understanding client and project challenges has enabled her to identify and deliver the right team with the right tools and resources to bring projects to successful completion.

Lisa first joined Parsons Brinckerhoff as a draftsperson in its Boston office while attending college in Massachusetts. Her Los Angeles assignment with Parsons Brinckerhoff is the third during her tenure with the company, which also includes eight years in the Minneapolis and Chicago offices. Lisa is excited to be working in the transportation industry in Los Angeles today, during one of the most prolific eras for delivering innovative and significant enhancements to the transportation system.

Her Los Angeles experience includes assignments on many of these projects, such as:

  • Regional Connector Transit Corridor
  • Metro I-10 and I-110 ExpressLanes
  • Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center
  • Expo Line Phase 1
  • Metro Gold Line Eastside Extension
  • Ontario International Airport Expansion
  • Metro Red Line

Throughout her career, Lisa has been committed to encouraging and supporting students to pursue an education in both the engineering and transportation fields. She has frequently spoken to high school and college students at career events. For six years she served as a director on the national WTS Foundation, whose mission is to advance women in transportation through scholarships, educational opportunities, and research. For the past five years Lisa has chaired the scholarship committee of the Los Angeles chapter of the American Council of Engineering Companies, and has been instrumental in awarding up to $30,000 annually to engineering students. Currently Lisa is serving on a task force of the dean’s advisory board of Cal State Los Angeles College of Engineering, Computer Science, and Technology intended to increase the enrollment of women and minorities.

Lisa has a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Massachusetts, and is a licensed professional engineer in California and Illinois. She also has a certificate in business management from the UCLA Anderson School of Management.

Lisa and her husband Chris are residents of Altadena where they enjoy hiking with their two dogs in the San Gabriel foothills.


Summit Platinum Sponsor Spotlight:
AECOM

Building a Competitive California
One of the world’s leading professional and technical services firms, AECOM has been helping plan, design, build, finance, and operate Southern California’s infrastructure for over 80 years. The acquisition of URS in 2014 allows AECOM to offer our clients an even broader range of the technical skills and resources needed to improve Southern California’s transportation systems. AECOM is proud to again sponsor the Mobility 21 Summit, and we look forward to continuing to partner with Mobility 21 to help ensure a Competitive California.

Project Highlight
By directly connecting the Metro Gold, Blue, and Expo light rail transit (LRT) lines, the Regional Connector Transit Project will dramatically improve access to local and regional destinations across Los Angeles County. The Regional Connector will complete a 50-mile north-south LRT line from Azusa to Long Beach and a 25-mile east-west line from East Los Angeles to Santa Monica. AECOM in joint venture provided advanced conceptual engineering and preliminary engineering, and is currently providing engineering support during construction of the 1.9-mile underground alignment through downtown Los Angeles. Last year, the project received a $670 million Full Funding Grant Agreement from the Federal Transit Administration.


Pacific Infrastructure Partners expertise spans highway, bridge, and transit facilities throughout North America. Pictured above (clockwise): SR 821 Homestead Extension of Floridas Turnpike (HEFT) Widening Design-Build | Miami-Dade County, FL, USA; SR 520 Transit & HOV Design-Build | King County, WA, USA; Calgary West LRT Design-Build | Calgary, AB, Canada; and Alameda Corridor Design-Build Program Management | Los Angeles County, CA, USA.

Summit Platinum Sponsor Spotlight:
Pacific Infrastructure Partners

Recognizing California’s growing demand for transportation infrastructure, Pacific Infrastructure Partners combines the expertise and resources of top transportation consulting firms, Gannett Fleming, H.W. Lochner, MMM Group Limited, and Moffatt & Nichol. Our purpose is to collaborate with local agencies, municipalities, contractors, and concession teams to develop smart solutions for the State’s transportation future.

Pacific Infrastructure Partners offers a robust suite of benefits, including:

  • Broad expertise, flexibility, and responsiveness through a transportation focused workforce of more than 4,000.
  • Three decades of North American alternative delivery expertise totaling more than $50B in transportation investment.
  • An understanding of the local infrastructure environment.
  • Established California offices.
  • Full project lifecycle and facility ownership experience (design, build, finance, operation, and maintenance).
  • In-house specialty services, including geotechnical, ITS, and traffic analysis, that result in integrated and efficient designs.

SCAG to Host Retirement Celebration
Honoring Sharon Neely

Join the Southern California Association of Governments at a “roast” in honor of Sharon Neely’s four decades of public service.

Monday, June 29
5-7 p.m.
Sheraton Los Angeles Downtown Hotel
Click here to RSVP


OCTA, city officials and community leaders gather to mark milestones toward getting the OC Streetcar project in Santa Ana and Garden Grove operational as soon as 2019.

Future is on Track for OC Streetcar Project

Transportation, city and community leaders gathered at the Santa Ana Regional Transportation Center earlier this month to mark a number of milestones toward the construction of Orange County’s first modern streetcar.

The OC Streetcar project, planned to travel through the cities of Santa Ana and Garden Grove, has advanced significantly in recent weeks. Plans for the streetcar project have been approved by city councils in both cities and received environmental clearances from the Federal Transit Administration.

The OC Streetcar, expected to be partly funded by Measure M – the county’s half-cent sales tax for transportation improvements – was recently accepted into the project development phase of the New Starts federal grant program, making it a candidate for future funding.

The Orange County Transportation Authority has taken over as the lead agency to design, build and operate the OC Streetcar.

READ MORE


SANBAG On The Radio

In an effort to expand the outreach efforts of the agency, the San Bernardino Associated Governments has introduced a new radio show called SANBAGnews-Radio. This weekly program that airs on AM590 on Saturdays from 2:30pm to 3:00pm offers the agency an opportunity to share detailed information about projects, partners, and significant regional events through interviews with key staff, local elected officials, and key members of the community.

Here is a description of the program from the AM590 website:

The San Bernardino Associated Governments, also known as SANBAG, is the council of governments and transportation planning agency for San Bernardino County. SANBAG focuses on many of the quality of life areas that benefit the region.

As a council of governments, the Board comes together to look at how the county can grow and thrive collectively, rather than just city by city. As the county’s transportation commission and authority, SANBAG develops transportation solutions for the unique challenges throughout San Bernardino County.

Tune in and hear straight from the source about projects and activities in the region, with exclusive guest interviews with staff, as well as civic and business leaders aiding in keeping San Bernardino County connected.

SANBAG is expanding their social media presence as well. After growing their Twitter following to more than 1,500 followers over the past year, they are now offering agency information via a blog (SANBAGnewsroom), Facebook, and Instagram. Like Twitter, the agency handle is SANBAGnews. Check out their new pages and follow all the news from San Bernardino.


Crews installing one of six steel railroad truss structures as part of the I-215 Bi-County HOV Gap Closure Project.

SANBAG, Caltrans and RCTC
Close the HOV Gap on I-215

SANBAG, Caltrans, and the Riverside County Transportation Commission are nearing the much-anticipated completion of the Interstate 215 Bi-County HOV Gap Closure project. This approximately $170 million transportation improvement that spans between two counties connects the recently completed High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV – also known as carpool) lane from the north to the soon-to-be-completed HOV lane on SR 91 in Riverside. Ultimately, commuters will be able to enjoy the benefit of a carpool lane from SR 210 in San Bernardino all the way to I-710 in Los Angeles County.

One of the key features of the project was the construction and installation of three new bridges for the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad over I-215. Each iron truss bridge stands nearly 30 feet high, 23 feet wide, and weighs approximately 1.1 million pounds. The same equipment that was used to move the Space Shuttle was used to move each of these magnificent structures in to place over the course of multiple weekends. The strategy to construct the trusses off-site and transport them in to place ultimately saved commuters hours, days, and even weeks of possible delay compared to constructing them in place.

On May 27th, elected officials from both counties will be joined by project personnel and members of the nearby communities to celebrate the completion of another significant addition to the area’s transportation infrastructure. A photo opportunity will be available near concrete wall pieces similar to those lining the corridor.


SANDAG Releases Draft of $204B Regional Plan

Every four years, Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPO) throughout California face the monumental task of updating their regional transportation plans (RTP) in compliance with a host of state and federal policy mandates.

In 2011, the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) was the first MPO in California to adopt an RTP with a Sustainable Communities Strategy in accordance with California Senate Bill 375 to reduce per capita greenhouse gas emissions. Now four years later, SANDAG continues to pioneer best practices in regional planning with the latest iteration of its RTP, called San Diego Forward: The Regional Plan.

A draft version of San Diego Forward and its Environmental Impact Report were recently released for public comment and review through July 15, with adoption expected this fall.

One of the innovations of San Diego Forward is that it incorporates public health as a factor in the prioritization of transportation improvements, so for the first time projects that support walking and biking receive extra weight in the ranking formula. Refinements also have been made to transportation and growth models to more accurately capture activities and calculate carbon reductions.

Developed over the past two and half years with extensive public input and outreach, the draft Regional Plan calls for $204 billion in strategic infrastructure investments between now and 2050, with the objective of expanding travel choices, stimulating the economy, protecting the environment, and creating healthy communities. When the plan is fully realized, the region’s transportation network will have added 100 miles of new Trolley lines, 275 miles of new bikeways, 160 miles of new carpool/Express Lanes and significantly increased its Rapid services.

In addition to improving mobility, the planned transportation investments will strengthen the economy of the greater San Diego region, including the Tijuana international border. For every dollar spent on transportation infrastructure, there will be a nearly two-dollar return. The Plan is expected to generate an average of 53,000 additional jobs every year from increased efficiencies and from construction/operations, as well as a $13.5 billion annual increase in the region’s gross regional product.

San Diego Forward builds upon the updated general plans of all of the region’s 18 cities and the County of San Diego, which are collectively moving toward more compact development along major transportation corridors in existing urbanized areas. (The Plan also reflects coordination with the tribal governments, the military, and partner agencies south of the border.) As a result, it is projected that 55 percent of the land in the county, or 1.5 million acres, will ultimately be preserved as open space.

By promoting smart growth and by investing heavily in transit choices, San Diego Forward also is key to the region’s ability to meet greenhouse gas emission (GHG) reduction targets set by the state’s Air Resources Board. With the implementation of the Plan, the San Diego region is expected to exceed the state’s per capita GHG emissions reduction targets for passenger vehicles for 2020 and 2035. Whereas the state targets currently call for reducing GHG emissions by 7 percent over the 2005 baseline by 2020 and 13 percent by 2035, SANDAG expects to achieve a reduction of 18 percent by 2020 and 24 percent by 2035. The state has not set targets for 2050, but SANDAG forecasts a reduction of 30 percent.

To learn more about San Diego Forward, visit SDForward.com.


FuturePorts Annual Conference:
Strong Ports= Strong California

Thursday, June 25
Renaissance Long Beach Hotel
More info | Register

Special Discount Code for Mobility 21 Members!
Use this code to receive Member Rate: M212015

Join FuturePorts for an interesting discussion of important topics facing
Southern California’s goods movement industry, including terminal modernization, economics and job creation and local, state and federal funding and policy issues.


Transportation Events in the Community

Tuesday, June 2
WTS-LA: Rail Panel featuring CA High Speed Rail, Metro and Metrolink
More info | Register

June 10 & 16
WTS-SD: The Language of Leadership Webinar
More info | Register (6/10) | Register (6/16)

Thursday, June 18
SANBAG: General Assembly
More info | Register

June 21-24
APTA: Rail Conference
More info | Register

Thursday, June 25
FuturePorts: Strong Ports=Strong California Conference
More info | Register

Thursday, June 25
WTS-SD: Annual Student Scholarship Bowling Fundraiser
More info | Register

Thursday, June 25
AAa/e: Annual Scholarship Fundraiser
More info | Register

Monday, June 29
Sharon Neely’s
Retirement Celebration
More info | Register

Thursday, July 30
OCBC: Executive Invitational Golf Tournament
More info | Register

Friday, Aug. 28
Mobility 21: 2015 Summit at Disneyland Hotel
More info | Register

Thursday, Oct. 1
AAa/e Annual Awards Banquet
More info | Register

Oct. 4-7
APTA: Annual Meeting
More info | Register

Nov. 15-17
Self-Help Counties Coalition: Focus on the Future Conference
More info

Nov. 18-20
California Transit Association: Fall Conference and Expo
More info