East County residents are asked to participate and give their input

BART officials will hold the first ever telephone town hall meeting and webcast on Thursday, May 7, 2015 from 6:30 pm-7:30 pm to offer the public the opportunity to ask questions about BART’s budget which is currently being developed for adoption before July 2015.

BART’s proposed Fiscal Year 2016 Budget prioritizes efforts to increase passenger capacity, improve on-time performance and station cleanliness, and to address concerns raised by customers in the latest customer satisfaction survey.

BART officials will take questions from participants who call in live.  There is also an online webcast feature that allows you to submit a question in writing during the event and watch along live from a computer. You can also simply listen in if you would rather not ask a question. 

The telephone town hall will include a few quick polls to gauge the public’s priorities and an overview of the planned January 1, 2016, 3.4% inflation based fare increase to help fund new train cars, a new train control system, and a new maintenance facility.

“BART will still hold its official public meeting on the budget at the May 28th Board of Directors meeting at 5pm, but this is an opportunity for our riders to easily reach out to us with questions about the budget,” said BART Spokeswoman Alicia Trost.  “Earlier this year we held a Twitter Townhall and it proved to be a great medium to quickly provide answers to some of our most frequently asked questions.  A telephone townhall is another way to provide easy and convenient access to BART staff.”

BART has a combined operating and capital budget of almost $1.6 billion. The operating budget pays for things like running the trains, buying electricity and making routine repairs. The capital budget goes towards things like buying new rail cars, replacing escalators and earthquake safety retrofits.

Here’s what you need to know to participate:

• Sign up in advance to get an invitation to join (we will ask for your name, phone number and zip code).

• We will call the phone number you provide on May 7th at 6:30pm. Just answer our call to be automatically connected to the live Telephone Town Hall Meeting.

• A Spanish Simulcast is also available by dialing 888-400-9342 at 6:30pm on May 7th.

• If you would rather call into the townhall yourself without signing up in advance you can call 855-269-4484 at 6:30pm on May 7th.

• Finally, you can join our webcast to watch the event at 6:30pm on May 7th.

• Want more details about what is proposed in the budget before the event? Check out this article.

Who: Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) and Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC)

What: A series of public open houses for Bay Area residents to learn about an update to the region’s long-range transportation and housing roadmap known as Plan Bay Area 2040. Participants will view displays and offer comments on long-term goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from cars and light-duty trucks, house the region’s projected population, improve public health, maintain the region’s transportation infrastructure and preserve open space, among others. Displays will also feature the schedule and key milestones for the plan update, offer information on how new housing and employment is forecast, and offer information on transportation improvements in the works at the county and regional level.

When & Where:

Contra Costa County: Wednesday, April 29, 2015, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., Walnut Creek Marriott, 2355 North Main Street, Walnut Creek

Alameda County: Wednesday, April 29, 2015, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., Alameda County Fairgrounds, Palm Pavilion, 4501 Pleasanton Avenue, Pleasanton (Wheels will run extended bus service on Route 53 between West Dublin/Pleasanton BART and the Fairgrounds.)

Check the plan website at www.planbayarea.org for updates.

Can’t Attend an Open House?

Join the online discussion at planbayarea.org or share your thoughts on Facebook or Twitter. Note that if you need an interpreter or other assistance in order to participate, we require three days’ notice in order to provide reasonable accommodation. For more information, call (510) 817-5757 or (510) 817-5769 for TDD/TTY.

Will urge Congress to pass long-term funding bill

With the national Highway Trust Fund nearly exhausted and the current federal transportation program set to expire May 31, Bay Area transportation leaders will “Stand Up for Transportation” in San Francisco on Thursday, April 9, which the American Public Transportation Association has designated National Infrastructure Day. More than a dozen transportation agency executives will call on Congress to pass a comprehensive transportation bill with predictable, long-term funding for highways, public transit and the rest of America’s transportation networks.

Who: Dave Cortese, MTC Chair and Santa Clara County Supervisor

Maria Ayerdi-Kaplan, Executive Director, Transbay Joint Powers Authority

Arthur L. Dao, Executive Director, Alameda County Transportation Commission

Nuria Fernandez, General Manager and CEO, Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority

Jim Hartnett, General Manager, Caltrain/SamTrans

Randell Iwasaki, Executive Director, Contra Costa Transportation Authority

Nick Josefowitz, Member, BART Board of Directors

Jeff Morales, CEO, California High-Speed Rail Authority

Denis Mulligan, General Manager, Golden Gate Bridge, Highway & Transportation District

Chris Peeples, President, AC Transit Board of Directors

Ed Reiskin, Director of Transportation, San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency

Bijan Sartipi, Director, Caltrans District 4

Michael Tree, Executive Director, Livermore Amador Valley Transit Authority

What: Agency leaders will provide brief but detailed explanations of Bay Area transportation investments imperiled if Congress fails to pass a long-term surface transportation bill.

Watch this short video to learn more about this call to action: http://youtu.be/iiLrULOfy6U

When: Thursday, April 9, 2015, 1 p.m.

Where: Temporary Transbay Terminal, 200 Main Street between Howard & Folsom Streets, San Francisco

The public is urged to contact their Member of Congress and U.S. Senator to ask them to pass the bill. In Antioch, they include Congressmen Jerry McNerney and Mark DeSaulnier and Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer.

To reduce traffic fatalities, accidents and congestion. Could mean jobs for Antioch residents.

The Johnny Cab, as seen in the Arnold Schwarzenegger movie “Total Recall,” could be a thing of the near future, with automated vehicles showing up at your door, picking you up, taking you to where you want to go, and then returning you to your home, when you’re done. But, without the annoying Johnny animatron at the wheel.

Today, Honda announced, at a county transportation summit in Concord, that it has commenced testing of its automated and connected vehicle technology at the Concord Naval Weapons Station (CNWS).  Under the terms of an agreement reached with the Contra Costa Transportation Authority (CCTA) in conjunction with the City of Concord, Honda will use the newly branded “GoMentum Station” test-bed site at the CNWS to advance its technologies.  Honda also plans to participate in a consortium committed to making Contra Costa County home to a premier testing facility for automated drive technologies.

GoMentum Station, a 5,000-acre facility, is the largest secure test-bed of its kind, located at the CNWS.  The CNWS was officially closed in 2007 and is currently in the process of being transferred to the City of Concord.

“The Concord Naval Weapons Station is an ideal proving ground to augment Honda’s research and development efforts because it is a controlled environment that can be continuously modified to represent a wide array of settings that an automated vehicle must navigate, especially for urban operation,” said Paul Cummings, Group Lead for Systems Integration, Automated Vehicle Research, Honda Research Institute USA. “This program will bring a new level of robustness to Honda’s industry-leading efforts in the area of automated and connected vehicle technology.”

GoMentum Station contains 20-miles of paved, city-like roadway grids, buildings and other urban infrastructure, providing a realistic environment that will help accelerate the development of automated and connected vehicle technologies.  The public will not have access to the test-bed site, and the automated vehicle testing will be restricted to GoMentum Station.

“The City of Concord is very pleased to see Honda bring its advanced automated vehicle research to Contra Costa,” stated Concord Mayor Tim Grayson.  “We’re very hopeful this partnership will continue to support economic growth and spur excitement for hi-tech jobs in our community.”

Honda will leverage modified versions of Acura’s flagship RLX sedan for development and testing at GoMentum Station.  New prototype sensors and cameras added to the vehicle will work hand-in hand with the extensive array of forward, reverse and corner sensors that enable a suite of AcuraWatch™ safety and driver assistive technologies on the production RLX.

“The Contra Costa Transportation Authority is committed to supporting innovative research that will influence transportation and enhance safety for all road users,” said Executive Director Randy Iwasaki.  “We are very excited to add Honda as a partner as we prepare for the launch of GoMentum Station.  Their impressive study of automated and connected vehicle technology will help us accelerate the next generation of transportation infrastructure that will make the future of driving safer around the world.”

Honda Advanced Technology Leadership

Honda is steadily building its automated and connected car technology portfolio, while bringing industry-leading capabilities to current generation vehicles.  In September 2014, the company demonstrated several of its latest innovations, including a vehicle capable of automated freeway merging, exiting and lane changing, as well as a unique vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) “virtual tow” capability for assisting a driver in distress, at the ITS World Congress in Detroit. 

Consistent with its pursuit of a collision-free society, Honda is also broadly deploying advanced driver-assist and early-stage automated driving technologies in current vehicles that help improve drivers’ situational awareness, such as Lane Departure Warning, Forward Collision Warning, Adaptive Cruise Control with Low-Speed Follow, Collision Mitigation Braking System™ and Road Departure Mitigation.  Honda is also leading the industry in the deployment of rearview cameras, to be offered as standard equipment on all model year 2015 Honda and Acura vehicles.

Complementing this new effort in Northern California, Honda is also a founding partner in the University of Michigan’s Mobility Transformation Center (MTC), a major public-private R&D initiative that aims to lay the foundation for a commercially viable system of connected and automated vehicles, including the implementation of a working system in Ann Arbor by 2021.

“We saw the great opportunity in Concord,” said Matt Sloutscher of Honda’s Communications and Corporate Affairs. “We’re going to start testing next week. We have the test vehicle. We have the engineers. It’s turnkey with all the infrastructure in place.”

About GoMentum Station

GoMentum Station in Concord, California is where the Contra Costa Transportation Authority leads and facilitates a collaborative partnership among multiple automobile manufacturers; original equipment manufacturers and Tier 1 suppliers; communications suppliers; technology companies; researchers and academia; public agencies and other partners. At GoMentum Station, technology, innovation and commercialization will converge to define the next generation of transportation network infrastructure. More information about GoMentum Station is available at gomentumstation.net.

“Part of the intent of the GoMentum Station is workforce development and job training,” said Dr. Robert Bertini of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, a panelist at today’s summit and a partner in the effort.

Those jobs could be filled by Antioch and other East County residents, who now commute beyond Concord for work.

About Honda Research Institute USA

Honda Research Institute USA (HRI-US) conducts research in the areas of computer and materials science, and develops strategic partnerships with public and private institutions to foster innovation.  HRI-US was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in Silicon Valley.  Learn more at honda-ri.com/HRI_Us/.

About the Contra Costa Transportation Authority

The Contra Costa Transportation Authority (CCTA) is a public agency formed by Contra Costa voters in 1988 to manage the county’s transportation sales tax program and oversee countywide transportation planning efforts.  CCTA is responsible for planning, funding and delivering critical transportation infrastructure projects and programs that connect our communities, foster a strong economy, increase sustainability, and safely and efficiently get people where they need to go.  CCTA also serves as the county’s designated Congestion Management Agency, responsible for putting programs in place to keep traffic levels manageable.  As a transportation leader, CCTA is working to create a stronger economic future for Contra Costa County by building partnerships that make transportation safer, more reliable and increasingly efficient.  Rather than exclusively trying to “build our way” out of congestion, CCTA’s vision centers around the use of emerging technologies and public-private partnerships to meet transportation demands and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Contra Costa County. More information about CCTA can be found online at ccta.net.

About City of Concord

Concord, California is located 29 miles east of San Francisco, adjacent to beautiful Mt. Diablo.  The city covers 31.13 square miles.  With a 2010 census count of 122,067 residents, it is the largest city in Contra Costa County.  For more information about the City of Concord, or the redevelopment of the Concord Naval Weapons Station, please contact Leslye Asera at 925.671.3272 or Leslye.Asera@cityofconcord.org.

FULL FREEWAY CLOSURES:

State Route 4 (SR4):

There are no full freeway closures of SR4 planned for this week.

State Route 160 (SR160):

There are no full freeway closures of SR160 planned for this week.

HIGHWAY LANE CLOSURES:

State Route 4 (SR4):

There will be highway lane closures in the westbound direction of SR4 between Contra Loma Boulevard and Loveridge Road Monday through Thursday from 9:00 am to 11:00 pm.

There will be highway lane closures in the westbound direction of SR4 between Lone Tree Way/A Street and Somersville Road on Monday through Thursday evenings from 9:00 pm to 4:00 am.

There will be highway lane closures in the eastbound direction of SR4 between Lone Tree Way/ A Street and Somersville Road on Monday through Thursday evenings from 11:00 pm to 6:00 am.

There will be highway lane closures in the westbound direction of SR4 between Balfour Road and Lone Tree Way on Tuesday through Friday from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm.

State Route 160 (SR160):

There are no highway lane closures of SR160 planned for this week.

RAMP CLOSURES:

State Route 4 (SR4):

There are no ramp closures of SR4 planned for this week.

State Route 160 (SR160):

There are no ramp closures of SR160 planned for this week.

LOCAL STREET CLOSURES:

Contra Loma Boulevard/ L Street will be closed in all directions between the SR4 on and off ramps on Monday through Thursday evenings from 10:00 pm to 5:00 am (see attached detour map: Hwy 4 Lane Closures 3-7 thru 13).

Join us and BART Board President Tom Blalock on March 3rd from Noon to 1 pm for a town hall style discussion about the future of BART- on Twitter!

We’ll be facilitating a discussion centering on our plans to build a better BART system.  From maintenance musings to capacity concerns, we’ll be providing a space to have a relevant and timely discussion about how we can move forward as a community in transit.  Joining the Board President will be BART’s top Operations, Maintenance / Engineering, and Station Modernization staff.

We will be answering as many questions as possible in the time allowed, and will make every effort to respond to all queries—even after the moderated discussion is over.

Read more about how to use Twitter at www.twitter.com, and join if you haven’t already.

Congressman Jerry McNerney (D, CA-09) announced this past week, that the federal Department of Transportation has awarded the Contra Costa Transportation Authority (CCTA) a $200,000 grant that will allow the agency to begin planning an Integrated Corridor Management (ICM) plan for the SR-4 region.

“CCTA is one of the first recipients of this grant in the country and sets quality of performance standards for other areas in the country. I’m proud to have helped bring home this money for our community,” said Rep. McNerney. 

“The agency will be able to use the grant funding to work with state and city transportation agencies to help ease congestion along the SR-4 corridor and keep drivers and mass transit users up-to-date on any delays or problems.”

“Highway 4 ICM represents the integration of technology with highway infrastructure to smooth traffic,” said CCTA Chair Julie Pierce. “The Integrated Corridor Management program is the next evolution of improvements along this busy corridor, and will preserve the mobility benefits gained by the Highway 4 widening and eBART project for decades to come.”

The ICM program promotes the integrated management and operations of the combined transportation system in a defined corridor; that is, all of the participating highway, arterial, rail, transit, traveler information, incident response, and operations teams from local, city, county, and state agencies will operate as one entity in mitigating real-time recurring and nonrecurring congestion. 

ICM will promote joint responses to traffic incidents and other transportation issues, which are quicker and more coordinated than individual agency responses. Travelers can use real-time information to avoid delays by choosing alternate routes, changing their departure time, or choosing a different mode of transportation for that day- all based on up-to-the-minute information that is available via apps, traffic reports and highway information signs.

CCTA receives federal grant to plan new Technologies for a multi-modal transportation corridor on Highway 4

The Contra Costa Transportation Authority (CCTA), and U.S. Reps. Mike Thompson (CA-5) and Jerry McNerney (CA-9) today announced that a $200,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation was received to begin planning for an Integrated Corridor Management (ICM) program on Highway 4. The ICM program will build upon the work that’s already been done to improve the Highway 4 corridor and demonstrates CCTA’s commitment to finding innovative solutions to smooth traffic and help Contra Costa residents get where they need to go safely and efficiently. 

The Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21) authorized the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to encourage Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) deployment on the national highway system through demonstrations and grant programs. The purpose of this program is to promote the integrated management and operations of the transportation system. CCTA has been awarded the grant to support planning for a multimodal transportation corridor along Highway 4.

“These funds will allow us to implement new technology to help lessen congestion on the I-80 corridor to the entire 31-mile length of Highway 4,” said Congressman Mike Thompson. “Commutes will be made safer and easier, and our region will be even more attractive to residents and new businesses. I am proud to have worked with the Contra Costa Transportation Authority to secure this important grant.”

“The Contra Costa Transportation Authority, along with other agencies, have already invested over a billion dollars of mostly local and state funds to improve the heavily used SR-4 corridor. I am glad to support agency’s hard work and innovation by working with them to bring home this grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation. This grant funding will be used to reduce congestion and keep travelers informed of any delays.”

CCTA and its partner agencies have invested $1.3 billion to expand capacity on Highway 4, improve local connections to the highway, and to extend BART from Pittsburg/Bay Point to Hillcrest Avenue. This investment will dramatically improve the performance of the highway and parallel and connecting arterials, and adds a new transit option (eBART), HOV and HOT opportunities, along with facilitating increased local transit options. The improvements on the Highway 4 corridor are expected to be completed by early 2016; eBART is expected to begin revenue service in 2017.

The Integrated Corridor Management program is the next evolution of improvements along this busy corridor, and will preserve the mobility benefits gained by the Highway 4 widening and eBART project for decades to come.

“This ICM project redefines mobility in the 21st century,” said CCTA Board Chair Julie Pierce. “The Contra Costa Transportation Authority is committed to just this kind of innovation, as seen recently with the launch of our GoMentum Station Connected Vehicle/Autonomous Vehicle (CV/AV) program. In the span of 20 years, we’re working to take Highway 4 from the worst commute in Contra Costa to the best commute through our strategic investments and management of this corridor.”

CCTA, in collaboration with Caltrans District 4 (Oakland), Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), local cities, and transit agencies in Contra Costa County, has developed a Corridor System Management Plan (CSMP) to implement the Integrated Corridor Mobility solution along the Highway 4 corridor. The program will integrate several innovative key operational strategies for the freeway, ramps, local arterials, and transit to mitigate congestion and better manage traffic flow throughout the corridor. CCTA and its partners will utilize the lessons learned from implementations in San Diego and Dallas as well as the I-80 ICM programs being implemented in Alameda and Contra Costa counties.

About The Contra Costa Transportation Authority

The Contra Costa Transportation Authority (CCTA) is a public agency formed by Contra Costa voters in 1988 to manage the county’s transportation sales tax program and oversee countywide transportation planning efforts.  CCTA is responsible for planning, funding and delivering critical transportation infrastructure projects and programs that connect our communities, foster a strong economy, increase sustainability, and safely and efficiently get people where they need to go. CCTA also serves as the county’s designated Congestion Management Agency, responsible for putting programs in place to keep traffic levels manageable. More information about CCTA can be found online at www.ccta.net.