OCTA Applauds $2.34 Billion in High-Speed Rail Investment Officials from OCTA praised the announcement this morning that $2.34 billion is headed to California to help build high-speed rail. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds are vital to the delivery of the California High-Speed Rail Authority’s project, which voters overwhelmingly supported with the passage of Prop. 1A – a $9 billion bond measure. “High-speed rail will revolutionize how Californians travel and it will do so in a way that benefits the environment, while delivering critical employment opportunities to put our state’s economy back on track,” said OCTA Chairman Jerry Amante, also the mayor of Tustin. “With this investment, the federal government has made it clear it shares our vision for the future of transportation.” 
California will receive $2.34 billion, the largest amount for any state, in federal economic stimulus funds to develop a high-speed rail line running from Anaheim to San Francisco. The Anaheim to Los Angeles segment is expected to be the first section to break ground in the statewide system. Concept rendering courtesy of the California High-Speed Rail Authority. The Anaheim to Los Angeles segment is poised to be the first link in the statewide system. OCTA contributed $7 million to advance the environmental review process, which is anticipated to be completed early next year. The $2.34 billion awarded to California was more than any other state and will be utilized for every section of the planned system. “California’s success in winning a significant portion of this federal funding, for which there was tremendous competition, is a tribute to our partnerships with our Legislature, with local governments, and to the hard work and leadership of Governor Schwarzenegger and California’s senators and congressional delegation,” said OCTA Director Curt Pringle, also the mayor of Anaheim and CHSRA chairman. The 27-mile Anaheim to Los Angeles segment is expected to break ground in 2012 and will create more than 90,000 construction jobs for the region. Statewide, an additional 450,000 permanent jobs are expected to be created because of high-speed trains. Once complete, passengers will be able to travel between Anaheim and Los Angeles Union Station in 20 minutes – a trip that currently takes more than an hour by car. “The federal government is serving as a catalyst for dramatically improving our nation’s infrastructure,” said OCTA CEO Will Kempton. “Southern California now stands ready to launch the first link in the country’s first truly high-speed rail system.” For a complete list of the stimulus awards for high-speed rail, visit www.dot.gov.
Chairman Amante Releases Strategic Initiatives for 2010 Chairman Jerry Amante discusses his goals for OCTA in 2010. For more Transportation in 2 videos, visit OCTA’s YouTube channel. Chairman Jerry Amante introduced transportation goals for the upcoming year to help OCTA continue to provide innovative and cost-effective solutions. “The biggest challenge for OCTA is to continue to provide excellent service in challenging economic times, the most challenging for us will be what we do for the delivery of service,” Amante said. “We have to try to deliver a sustainable method of transportation for those who are dependent on our buses and trains,” he continued. “We want to continue to be as transparent of an organization as we can. OCTA has a Web site that is robust and gives everyone the information they need while providing the opportunity to be engaged with the board as frequently as possible.”
OCTA Officials Attend Anaheim’s State of the City and High-Speed Rail Workshop The OCTA team joined nearly 1,000 participants at the Anaheim State of the City Tuesday, given by Mayor of Anaheim and OCTA Director Curt Pringle. The presentation highlighted transportation improvements that Anaheim is expecting including ARTIC, high-speed rail and the fixed-guideway proposal. Later that evening, the Anaheim City Council held a workshop to discuss high-speed rail in the city. CEO Attends Freight Collaboration Meeting in Los Angeles CEO Will Kempton participated in the Southern California National Freight Gateway Collaboration meeting in Los Angeles Monday. Transportation executives and representatives from state and federal resource agencies discussed ways to foster cooperation and to facilitate goods movement through Southern California while addressing infrastructure, environmental and quality of life issues. The meeting was an outgrowth of a memorandum of cooperation signed by approximately 20 regional, state and transportation agencies in 2007. Chairman Amante Participates In Four Corners Transportation Summit Chairman Jerry Amante participated in a panel discussion at the Four Corners Economic and Transportation Summit Thursday. The panel discussed the collaboration and status of initiatives being undertaken by Orange, Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Riverside counties. Lucy Dunn, member of the California Transportation Commission, and Deborah Barmack, executive director of the San Bernardino Associated Governments, also participated in the panel. Advisory Committee Discusses On Thursday, Chairman Amante presided over the Central County Corridor Major Investment Study Policy Advisory Committee meeting. PAC members considered and discussed the study’s reduced set of multimodal transportation alternatives. The committee also received a preliminary report on how the alternatives performed when modeled for 2035. The committee members are expected to meet again next month when it will consider additional performance data and results. Kempton Participates in Workshop on Financing California Transportation Systems CEO Will Kempton participated in a workshop in Sacramento Thursday that focused on the current state of transportation finance in California, the factors behind the situation and how to lay the groundwork for strategies moving forward. Legislative state officials attended the event as well as representatives of state agencies. Kempton was one of four presenters. His presentation focused on the local challenges transit agencies are facing, the transportation needs in the Southern California region and various options for financing our transportation systems. 
Andy Oftelie, manager of finance and administration, receives the Administrative Employee of the Year award from Chairman Jerry Amante during a ceremony on Tuesday. OCTA Celebrates Employees of the Year OCTA joined together to congratulate and honor members of the OCTA team who have gone above and beyond the call of duty at the Employee of the Year ceremony Tuesday at the St. Joseph Conference Center. Chairman Jerry Amante joined directors Peter Buffa and Greg Winterbottom at this event recognizing the employees. “This agency has fabulous employees. I will put them up against anybody working anywhere in Orange County,” Chairman Amante said. “The one thing that makes us different from other organizations is the quality of the people who work here and the care that they take for the things they do.”
Transportation officials representing 20 agencies from China visit Orange County to learn about innovative solutions. Chinese Delegation Visits OCTA to Learn About Major Transportation Projects Transportation officials representing 20 of China’s transportation agencies visited Orange County Tuesday to learn best practices to improve its transportation network to help move 110 million residents in the nation’s southernmost area. Stella Lin, OCTA marketing manager, shared with the group an overview of OCTA and Orange County’s transportation network as well as provided translation of presentations by the OCTA team of Government Relations Representative Manny Leon and Strategic Planning Manager Roger Lopez. Metrolink to Receive 117 New Passenger Cars in March 
Metrolink expects to add new passenger cars – equipped with new crash management technology – to service in Orange County later this year. Hyundai Rotem of Korea has shipped the first of 117 new multi-level passenger cars to Metrolink. The first two cars are currently en route to Southern California and should arrive in late February. Final assembly of the cars will be completed at Metrolink’s new Eastern Maintenance facility, and the first cars are expected to be ready for operation later this year. The new rail cars will be used to accommodate commuter rail passengers in the five counties served by Metrolink, including Orange County’s expanded intracounty Metrolink service starting later this year. The new cars are the first of their kind to be equipped with Crash Energy Management technology, including seats, tables and couplers that are designed to better absorb the impact of rail collisions. 
CEO to Visit La Habra and Fountain Valley City Councils CEO Will Kempton will continue to introduce himself to city officials around Orange County next week. Monday , Feb. 1 – La Habra City Council, 6:30 p.m., 201 E. La Habra Blvd. Tuesday, Feb. 2 – Fountain Valley City Council, 7 p.m., 10200 Slater Ave. Contact Andrea West at (714) 560-5611 or awest@octa.net. City of Santa Ana to Hold Two Open Houses on Go Local Proposal Tuesday, Feb. 2 and Wednesday, Feb. 3 – The city of Santa Ana will hold two public open houses on the SARTC project. The proposed Go Local project is currently in the environmental phase of development. The purpose of the meetings is to provide information to the community regarding the proposed project and the environmental process as well as provide an opportunity for community input. The first meeting will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Santa Ana Community Development Office, Room 209, 1000 East Santa Ana Boulevard. The second meeting will be held from 8 to 10 a.m. at the Santa Ana Community Development Office, room 209, 1000 East Santa Ana Boulevard. Contact Laura Scheper at (714) 560-5697 or lscheper@octa.net. OCTA and Orange County Council of Governments Wednesday, Feb. 3 – The planned workshop on sustainable communities strategy development in Orange County has been cancelled by the Southern California Association of Governments. Information will be available once the meeting is rescheduled. Contact Dave Simpson at (714) 560-5570 or dsimpson@octa.net. OCTA to Host Southern California Transit Forum 
Friday, Feb. 5 – OCTA, the office of Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez, Chapman University, Teamsters Local 952, Mobility 21, the Orange County Division of the League of California Cities and other transportation organizations will host the Southern California Transit Forum at Chapman University, 333 N. Glassell St, Orange, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Orange County Business Council will host a closing reception from 5:30 to 7 p.m. The forum is a gathering place for transit agency officials and transit-focused leaders. It offers opportunities to share views on addressing critical transit funding challenges and positioning transit for future success in Southern California. To RSVP contact Peggy Wandelear at (714) 560-5939 or pwandelear@octa.net. Advocacy Trip to Provide Insight on OCTA’s State Legislative Priorities Wednesday, March 3 and March 4 – The annual OCTA advocacy trip to Sacramento will provide an opportunity to advance the organization’s state legislative priorities. The agenda will be comprehensive and include meetings with Orange County’s state representatives, members of the Senate and Assembly leadership and high ranking members of the Administration. Contact Maureen Figueredo at (714) 560-5677 or mfigueredo@octa.net by Feb. 5. 
Jan. 24 – The Orange County Register wrote an article about nighttime construction work continuing next week on the northbound and southbound lanes of the Santa Ana Freeway (I-5) in Buena Park from the Riverside Freeway (SR-91) to Artesia Boulevard. 
OCTA provides education and outreach to the community on transportation issues, including perennial questions about Southern California traffic. Photo courtesy of Paul Haeder. Jan. 25 – In the Orange County Register’s transportation column, OCTA’s Joel Zlotnik answered a question about the “Orange Crush” bottleneck. Jan. 26 – The OC Metro ran an article about Anaheim officials deciding whether to appoint Kleinfelder West Inc. as the environmental services team for the Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center or ARTIC. Jan. 27 – The Orange County Register wrote a story about the city of Irvine spending nearly $19 per rider to keep the Irvine-run iShuttle on the road during the summer and fall months because local leaders have scaled back the bus service to focus solely on commuter traffic. 
Officials announced Tuesday that the state will receive $2.3 billion in federal stimulus funds for the California High-Speed Rail project. Jan. 28 – The Orange County Register ran an article detailing concerns raised by officials in Fullerton and Placentia regarding potential scheduling options for the Orangethorpe corridor grade separations. Jan. 28 – The Orange County Register and Los Angeles Times both published stories about California receiving more than $2 billion in federal economic stimulus funds to develop a high-speed rail line running from Anaheim to San Francisco. Jan. 28 – The Orange County Register included a story about Anaheim Mayor, Curt Pringle announcing that the name for the fixed-guideway system that will connect Disneyland, other resort destinations and the Platinum Triangle to the ARTIC transportation center will be called ARC (Anaheim Rapid Connection) and the overall name for the network of transportation projects will be ACONNEXT.
Approved Travel Requests Jan. 25 – Manny Leon, CALCOG meeting, Sacramento Jan. 28 – Will Kempton, Financing California’s Transportation System: Strategies for Moving from Crisis to Stability meeting, Sacramento
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