The latest news from the San Mateo County Transportation Authority

TA E-News

Moving San Mateo County Forward

Fall 2022/Winter 2023

Welcome to the New TA E-Newsletter Serving San Mateo County

"Funding and delivering balanced and equitable transportation options for San Mateo County"

TA Welcomes New Executive Director April Chan

The San Mateo County Transportation Authority (TA) is proud to name April Chan as the Executive Director. Chan is the first female Executive Director of the TA. Chan is a 20-plus-year veteran of the authority and has served as Acting Deputy General Manager/CEO. She is succeeding Acting Executive Director Carter Mau, who previously informed the Board of his intent to retire.

In her new role, Chan also serves as General Manager/CEO of the San Mateo County Transit District, which is the mobility manager for San Mateo County and operates SamTrans fixed-route buses and Redi-Wheels and Redi-Coast paratransit.

Chan has been an employee of the District since April 2000 in positions of increasing responsibility, rising through the ranks from Senior Planner, Capital Programming and Grants to Chief Officer, Planning, Grants and Transportation Authority and Acting Deputy General Manager/CEO. READ MORE

US 101 Express Lanes Prepare for Early 2023 Operations

The northern segment of the U.S. 101 Express Lanes project (Whipple Ave to Interstate 380) in San Mateo County is reaching the end of construction. Vehicles with three or more passengers (HOV 3+) are currently able to use the lanes while the toll system is being tested. We anticipate the lanes will be fully operational early in 2023 as express lanes, creating a 22-mile-long corridor between the Santa Clara County line and San Francisco International Airport. With the new Express Lanes, carpoolers, transit riders, and those who choose to pay the express lane toll will see faster travel times when traveling the corridor.

The TA, Caltrans and City/County Association of San Mateo County (C/CAG) are working to educate the public regarding the new Express Lanes before they fully open early next year. Drivers will start seeing on-road signage with information on the lanes as well as a broad marketing campaign encouraging drivers to get their FasTrak and information on how to access the benefits of the Express Lanes. READ MORE

TA Explores Options for US 101 Managed Lanes North of I-380

The TA and project partners are exploring project alternatives for a 7-mile Managed Lane between the current end of the new Express Lanes and the San Francisco County line. Completing this additional segment (in the northbound and southbound directions for a total of 14 miles) would create continuous managed lanes the entire length of US 101 in San Mateo County and will help complete another piece of the Bay Area Managed Lane Network.

As part of the Environmental Review process currently underway, the project is studying three options: a no build option, conversion of an existing travel lane into a managed lane and adding a new managed lane of travel. The environmental review process, which is being led by Caltrans, is expected to culminate in a in a draft environmental document that is expected to be circulated to the public in late 2023, with approval of the final document anticipated six months later. The community will be given ample opportunity to participate in this process once the various studies are available for review. The TA, Caltrans and C/CAG are planning a broad communications effort to help foster public engagement.

TA Makes First Awards in new First/Last Mile Solutions Grant Program

The TA launched a new funding category this year known as the Alternative Congestion Relief and Transportation Demand Management (ACR/TDM) Program to help local agencies solve the first/last mile challenge to transit, employment centers, and other significant destinations. This funding is made possible from both Measures A and W. Multimodal access is a priority for the TA and this program will help cities across the county reach their congestion reduction goals.

The TA Board adopted the ACR/TDM Plan in January 2022 and TA staff then began work on the first Call for Projects (CFP) - the process for applying for funding from the TA. The first cycle of the CFP was officially released at the beginning of April 2022 with applications due at the end of May 2022. Approximately $6 million in Measure A and Measure W funds were made available including $4.7 million in competitive funding while the remaining $1.3 million was directly allocated to Commute.org to support its operations including the new Countywide TDM Monitoring Program. READ MORE

Website Updates—Sharing Funding Knowledge

In addition to promoting Measure A and Measure W Calls for Projects opportunities through our website, local jurisdictions can now access a new web page on the TA site that shares other active and upcoming county, regional, state, and federal funding opportunities. This resource is intended to be a one-stop shop for local agencies to see what competitive grant programs are currently available. Additionally, the TA is sharing each opportunity it posts with local agency staff to ensure all San Mateo County jurisdictions have the opportunity to apply for all available funding. The web page can be accessed here.

Mahmoud Abunie, Editor

650-730-6201

[email protected]

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