Afsaneh Yavari
SFBayITE Co-Scribe and Technical Programs Co-Chair
The following are a brief discussion of the previous monthly section meetings/activities, and future events:
September 2010 Monthly Meeting:
On September 16, 2010, the San Francisco Bay Area ITE Section (SF Bay ITE) held its monthly meeting at Osha Thai Restaurant in San Francisco. There were 55 people in attendance. The theme of the meeting was “From Vision to Groundbreaking: Transit Projects in the Bay Area”. Nate Chanchareon, the Past President for the section, began the meeting with the swearing-in of the new section Board Members for the upcoming year. The new elected Board Members are: Shruti Malik, President; Kamala Parks, Vice President; Mousa Abbasi, Treasurer; and Jia Hao Wu, Secretary. Following the swearing-in, Mark Spencer, the Chair of the 2010 Local Arrangements Committee, was presented with a shadowbox of memories from the very successful Western District ITE Meeting held at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco last June. Nate was then presented with the Past Presidents Plaque.
The first technical presentation was given by Jim Cunradi, the BRT Project Manager at AC Transit. Mr. Cunradi, whose presentation was titled “Whose Vision is it Anyway: How the Public Influences Transit Projects for Good and Bad”, described the ongoing public influence on plans for the East Bay BRT Project. The proposed BRT line, which is to replace the system’s most heavily-traveled bus line through 15 miles of San Leandro, Oakland, and Berkeley, has seen strong public input from a variety of stakeholders, including merchants in Oakland and Berkeley, motorists, developers, residents, environmental groups, and faith-based organizations. Issues of key concern include the proposed loss of 850 out of 2,700 parking spaces along the corridor, impacts from construction, and increased congestion. The final EIS for the project is to be completed in early 2011.
The second technical presentation was given by Robert Beck of the Transbay Joint Powers Authority. Mr. Beck’s presentation, entitled “Transbay Transit Center: Bringing Bus, Commuter and High Speed Rail Service Together”, focused on the design and construction details of the new center and how it improves upon the former Transbay Terminal. Seventy-five percent of workers in downtown San Francisco take transit to work, so the center is a critical component in the Bay Area transit network. The new facility will have direct ramps to the Bay Bridge, and will consist of 6 levels. The lowest level will have two platforms for High Speed Rail and one platform for Caltrain, which currently terminates in a far less convenient area of San Francisco. The excavation is set to begin in July 2013, with below-ground construction beginning in June 2014. Bus operations are expected to begin in 2017.
ITE Section Membership Coordinator Tiffany Barkley prepared this report.
October 2010 Monthly Meeting:
On October 14, 2010, the San Francisco Bay Area ITE Section (SFBayITE) held a joint meeting with American Planning Association (APA) at the Caltrans District 4 Headquarters in Oakland. The topic of the meeting was “Sustainable Communities Strategies for Transportation and Land Use”. There were 70 people in attendance.
Shruti Malik, the SFBayITE section President, started the meeting. After the self-introductions and announcements the first presentation was made by Ann Cheng, with Transform. Ann, who is the Director of Green TRIP (Traffic Reduction + Innovative Parking) Certification Program, presented the highlights of this program, which rewards residential in-fill projects that help reduce traffic and greenhouse gas emissions. To get certification, developments must be located near transit stations in walkable neighborhoods and apply traffic-reduction strategies such as offering discounted transit passes or car-sharing memberships to residents. The Green TRIP Certification Program eases the project approval process, increases project’s marketability, creates markets and demand for Transportation Demand Management (TDM) programs, and is a model for inspiring changes to local policies. The minimum criteria for a residential development to participate in this program is:
- Primarily multi-family housing, with some mixed use
- Maximum of 20% single family homes
- Density at least 20 units/acre
- Size is at least 50 homes
- Within urban growth boundaries
The second presentation was made by Andrea Osgood, Project Developer, with Eden Housing, Inc., in which she discussed the affordable housing criteria and the proposed South Hayward BART development. This is a residential development which is approved for the Green TRIP Certification and is going through public processes and design review. The funding for this affordable housing project is through Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) and Infill Infrastructure grant programs.
ITE Section Co-Scribe and Technical Programs Co-Chair, Afsaneh Yavari prepared this report.
November 2010 Monthly Meeting:
On November 18, 2010, the San Francisco Bay Area ITE Section (SFBayITE) held a joint monthly meeting with the South Bay Traffic Officials Association (SBTOA) at the Gordon Biersch Brewery and Restaurant in San Jose. The theme of the meeting was Rail Projects in the South Bay. Shruti Malik, the Section President, began the meeting with some announcements. The section now has a LinkedIn Group which can be found by going to www.LinkedIn.com and searching for SF Bay ITE under groups.
The first technical presentation was given by Mr. Ben Tripousis, who is the Transportation Policy Manager for the City of San Jose and the project manager for the High Speed Rail (HSR) project through San Jose. He discussed the evolving plans for 20 miles of HSR line through San Jose, and the impact that this would have on the city’s economy and community. While the Central Valley section of HSR is the first to be shovel-ready, Mr. Tripousis considers the stretch between the Central Valley and San Jose to be Phase 1B, to serve as California’s gateway to the Bay Area. The final project will connect between San Francisco, San Jose, Fresno, Los Angeles, and Anaheim, with a travel time of 2 hours between San Jose and Los Angeles. From the city’s perspective, one goal of the project is to turn San Jose’s Diridon station into a world-class transit hub with a quality design that fits into the fabric of the community. The city is also evaluating alternatives for attractive and non-intrusive designs of the railway itself, and is currently considering an aerial railway to avoid potential conflicts with the new BART tunnel and to deliver an attractive design.
The second technical presentation was given by Mr. Henry Servin with the City of San Jose, who spoke about the BART extension into Silicon Valley. So far, $900 million has been spent on the extension to acquire right-of-way and downtown property. The estimated total cost of the BART extension from Fremont to San Jose is $5.2 billion. The completed line will serve an estimated 99,000 daily riders. The first phase of the project is to extend BART by 6 miles from Fremont to Warm Springs, which is estimated to be complete by 2014. The next phase will extend the line an additional 10 miles to Berryessa by 2018. The final phase will ideally connect Berryessa with downtown San Jose and Santa Clara. One of the technical challenges of the first phase is constructing a subway tunnel to go beneath Lake Elizabeth. From a station design perspective, project managers are hoping to give each of the new stations along the line a unique theme- Environment and Natural Setting for the Berryessa station, Diversity for Alum Rock station, and Creativity for the Diridon station.
ITE Section Membership Coordinator Tiffany Barkley prepared this report.
SF Bay ITE Section Annual Recognitions Awards Meeting:
| SF Bay ITE Section will host the Awards Presentation on Thursday, January 20, 2011, to honor the best projects and professionals in the area. The meeting will be held at Ponzu’s Restaurant’s Orpheum Ballroom in San Francisco. This meeting will include a tribute to late Wolf Homburger, who passed away last year, the lifetime member’s recognition, professional of the year award, and project of the year award followed by a presentation. | |
Annual SF Bay Area ITE Modeling Workshop:
Following the great success of our last three Annual SF Bay Area ITE Modeling Workshops, with participants gathered from around the world, the San Francisco Bay Area ITE is organizing the Fourth Annual San Francisco Bay Area ITE Modeling Workshop. This workshop will be held on March 4th 2011, in San Francisco. The theme of our workshop this year is “Modeling for Sustainable Transportation and Land Use Developments”. Please visit the SFBayITE Section website at http://www.sfbayite.org for more information on all the above events.
