First-Ever Bay Area Metro Awards Presented

OAKLAND, Calif., June 6, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) and the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) joined forces to present the first Bay Area Metro Awards today at a ceremony in Oakland recognizing 13 people, projects, organizations and local governments advancing solutions to ease the Bay Area's housing crisis, improve the transportation system or make the nine-county region more resilient.

Winners include:

UC Berkeley's Y-PLAN Team: For the program that brought young people's ideas into a regional challenge to develop community-based solutions to climate change.

Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART):  For the successful start of rail service connecting Sonoma and Marin counties.

HayWired Earthquake Scenario: To the U.S. Geological Survey and partners for studying a hypothetical 7.0 magnitude quake in the East Bay to help shape public policy for earthquake safety and planning.

Pacific Beach Coalition: For organizing volunteers over the past 21 years to clean up beaches along the San Mateo Coast.

Acquisition of the 23rd Avenue Community Building in Oakland: To the Oakland Community Land Trust and others, permanently preserving it as an affordable, mixed-use building.

Steven Falk: For his years of committed service to the city of Lafayette as city manager.

BART to Antioch: For the 10-mile rail extension from the former Pittsburg terminus along the Highway 4 median to a pair of new stations at Pittsburg Center and Antioch.

San Francisco Bay Restoration Authority: For work on the Clean Water, Pollution Prevention and Habitat Restoration Measure –  Measure AA – which was approved by voters in 2016 to tax themselves to help restore Bay Area wetlands.

Joint Workforce Investment Apprenticeship Program: To a partnership between the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA), its Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 265, and Mission College to support the professional development of VTA employees.

San Leandro Homeless Compact: For the efforts of three partner organizations to end homelessness in the city of San Leandro: the city, the Rental Housing Association of Southern Alameda County, and the non-profit Building Futures with Women and Children.

Carl Guardino, Gabriel Metcalf and Jim Wunderman: For their dedicated and tireless work advocating for Regional Measure 3, the voter-approved 2018 measure which raised bridge tolls to fund transportation improvements and congestion relief projects.

LEGISLATIVE AWARD: Hon. Jim Beall, California State Senator.

GRAND AWARD: Recognizes three public transit operators and a public energy program for their work to save lives, protect communities and aid in rebuilding in response to the October 2017 North Bay fires:

• Santa Rosa CityBus
• Sonoma Clean Power, Advanced Energy Rebuild Program
• Sonoma County Transit
• Vine Transit

Launched jointly by ABAG and MTC in September 2018 with a call for nominations, the new awards program honors positive impacts on the Bay Area's mobility, affordability, resilience and community; and recognizes efforts that make the region a better place to live, work and play.

"We honor this year's winners to say thank you for the work they are doing and we hope that the winners' stories will inspire others to strive for excellence in their daily tasks," said ABAG President and MTC Commissioner David Rabbitt.

Winners received a specially designed Bay Area Metro Award at the recognition ceremony.  A six-member jury that included members of ABAG's and MTC's governing boards, as well as staff and a community representative, met to consider some 80 nominations in early 2019.  The list of winners, with more details, can be found here: https://mtc.ca.gov/whats-happening/news/special-features/2019-bay-area-metro-award-winners

SOURCE Metropolitan Transportation Commission; Association of Bay Area Governments

Related Links

http://www.mtc.ca.gov