Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Open Board of Directors Meeting
San Bernardino Community College District
114 S. Del Rosa Drive San Bernardino, CA 92408
Minutes
Present: Pete Aguilar, Dimitrios Alexiou, Don Averill, Peter Barmack, Carole Beswick, Tom Brickley, Ann Bryan, Ken Coate, Bill Easley, Dick Hart, Mark Kaenel, Lowell King, Ed Lasak, John Mirau, Charlie Ng, John Prentice, Ty Schuiling, Kristine Scott, Larry Sharp, Steve von Rajcs, Phil Waller and AJ Wilson.
Guests: Robbie Broedow, Casey Dailey, Paul Granillo, Larry McCallon and Mayor Pat Morris. Announcements: 1) The Inland Empire Economic Forum held at the Orton Center on Wednesday, March 21, 2012 was well attended. Those that did not attend and would like information should go to http://www.caeconomy.org/. The information from this and other regional forums in the state will be presented to the legislature and the Governor at an Economic Summit to be held on May 11 in San Jose. Using the site can qualify one to attend the State Summit. 2) Reminder that the Business Car event will be held tonight March 27, 2012 from 5p.m. to 7p.m.
M/S/P: Minutes of the March 20, 2012 meeting
Ty Schuiling introduced Hasan Ikharta, Executive Director, Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG).
SCAG has recently completed their Regional Transportation Plan 2012-2035 Sustainable Communities Strategy Towards a Sustainable Future.
SCAG represents the nation’s largest Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) and Council of Governments (COG). It is directed by a Regional Council of 84 local elected officials, covers 6 counties and 191 cities and is home to over 18 million residents in southern California. There are 21,630 miles of highways and arterials, 470 miles of passenger rail and 6 air carrier airports in their MPO.
Federal Law requires that they create (and update every 4 years) a 20 years-plus transportation plan that implements recommended improvements, operation, and maintenance of the transportation system. The proposed Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) must balance expected revenues versus estimated costs (can include new reasonable revenue sources) in addition to meeting air quality requirements (addresses ozone, particulate matter, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide). State Law Requires a strategy that meets California Senate Bill 375 requirements (addresses greenhouse gas emissions).
The RTP has been two years in the making as it consists of extensive coordination with local input, regional and joint policy committees and sub committees, data gathering, planning, workshops and hearings.
The RTP recommends almost $525 billion in investments to improve the SCAG region’s transportation system through 2035.
- $263 billion in capital investments
- $217 billion in system operations, preservation, and maintenance
- $45 billion in debt service to advance construction of projects
The Federal Highway Administration has rated the state highway bridges in the 6 counties. Over 28% were rated deficient structurally and/or functionally. The RTP moves us towards a state of good repair for transit, arterials, and the State Highway System. As a result, preservation needs should diminish over time instead of almost doubling every few years. We cannot afford to fall behind in the future.
The plan emphasizes growth in high-quality transit opportunity areas. New growth along main streets, downtowns and other appropriate locations in addition to shifting development from single-family towards multi-family residential development to reflect recent trends.
They started the RTP development process under the previous President Larry McCallon, who emphasized that the economy had to be a centerpiece. Under this plan new construction jobs are estimated at 174,500 and the network benefits that include commuting, accessibility and transportation will add 354,000 jobs annually. SCAG is happy to show that the net impacts of this plan add significant jobs to the region. The numbers do not include the incremental job creation from improved competitiveness, which they estimate would be even larger than those mentioned.
SCAG’s RTP has exceeded the target for 2020 and 2035 regarding Green House Gas emissions. They have used a mix of transportation options – including road, highway, rail transit, express bus, and bicycle/pedestrian. The RTP also meets federal conformity requirements. The RTP projects that harmful pollutants will be drastically reduced by 2035. For instance NOX pollutants are reduced by over 70 percent by 2035. They state that a big part of that is due to projected technology improvements, but the sustainable communities’ strategy, the focus on transit and the focus on active transportation also contributes to these significant reductions.
This RTP is the first where SCAG is finally projecting less delay in the future compared to today. This is a testament to their integrated strategy of land use, transit, active transportation, and roadway investments. On a per capita basis, congestion delay will be reduced by more than 30 hours per year.
A Q & A period followed.
Meeting adjourned at 8:35 a.m.