Three MTC standing committee meetings are scheduled for Friday, July 13 starting at 10:00 a.m. at the Bay Area Metro Center. Here are links to the full agendas and meeting packets:

• Planning Committee
• Operations Committee
• Legislation Committee

Read on for the highlights; tune in live to the meetings on Friday from our Live Webcasts page; and bookmark the main Meetings page to keep up with all MTC meetings. Read More

Five meetings are scheduled for Wednesday, July 11, starting at 9:30 a.m. at the Bay Area Metro Center. Here are links to the full agendas and meeting packets:

• Bay Area Toll Authority Oversight Committee
• MTC Administration Committee
• MTC Programming and Allocations Committee
• MTC Policy Advisory Council Equity & Access Subcommittee
• Policy Advisory Council

Read on for highlights from the agendas and info on how to tune in live. Read More

Do you daydream of new ways to cross over or under the San Francisco Bay? Close your eyes and see a fleet of flying cars, carrying commuters to work each day? This could be your time to shine. MTC and ABAG are looking for your biggest, brightest, billion dollar (or more!) ideas for redefining the way we travel in and around the Bay Area.

This month, the agencies are jointly issuing an open Request for Transformative Projects – transportation project ideas that have the potential to revolutionize how we move around the region. Transformative Projects should provide new and creative solutions for transportation in the area and should be large in scale – costing $1 billion or more. Public agencies, individuals, private sector companies and nongovernmental organizations are all encouraged to participate. Proposals are due on September 6, 2018 and can be submitted by completing the online form.

The Request for Transformative Projects is part of the Horizon initiative to explore the challenges and opportunities likely to face the Bay Area between now and 2050. Finalists will be selected in October 2018. Keep reading to find out more! Read More

The Bay Link – the joint blog of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) and the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) – recently celebrated the six-month anniversary of its "soft launch" in December 2017.

Over that time, we've served as a single public information resource for both agencies, providing news, views and analysis on a wide range of regionally relevant topics, including housing, land use, transportation, the economy, the environment, climate change and resilience, among many others.

Below is a curated round-up of the "Best of the Bay Link" that you may have missed over the last few months. Don't forget to subscribe to receive a weekly digest of the latest posts, and feel free to drop us a line at blog@bayareametro.gov for any comments or questions.

Housing and the Economy

• The Bay Area’s Fastest Growing Cities and Towns (link)
• New Data from U.S. Census Shows (Mostly) Broad and Steady Employment Growth, Highlights Changing Nature of Bay Area Economy (link)

The latest special issue of ESTUARY News magazine is now available and takes a deep dive into the Resilient by Design Bay Area Challenge, which in May 2017 selected nine high-powered teams from across the globe to come up with innovative design ideas that address sea level rise and resilience to climate change around the region.

Last month, after a year-long process, Resilient by Design shared the final design concepts developed by local residents, community organizations, public officials and local, national, and international experts. These concepts were “meant to inspire, catalyze action, and push us along the path to a more resilient future.”

The June 2018 Issue of ESTUARY News explores each of the individual Bay Area Challenge design concepts in more detail and puts the whole Challenge in wider context, including where we might go from here. Keep reading to find out more! Read More

Starting next week, Bay Area native and long distance runner Eileen Francisco will begin an epic, month-long journey to run 500 miles around San Francisco Bay. She hopes to raise money for Animal Run, a 501 3(c) nonprofit organization and racing fundraiser for local animal welfare organizations. 

Eileen is going to run approximately 30 miles every other day starting next Friday, June 29, to complete the circuit, with most of the miles being run along the San Francisco Bay Trail. As shown in the above video from Eileen, she wants to raise $10,000 in seed money to support Animal Run – planned 5k, 10k and half-marathon races to be held later this year where runner registration fees will be donated to various Bay Area animal welfare organizations.

Keep reading to find out more information about the run, as well as the Bay Trail. Read More

We recently reviewed some of the Highlights from the Spring 2018 ABAG General Assembly, providing an overview of the program's focus on topics such as wildfires, floods and sea level rise, earthquakes, and energy.

The video above gives a sneak peak inside the event itself, featuring some of the the speakers and public officials who came together to discuss "Building a Resilient Region" and how cities and regions can effectively respond to the unique challenges of the 21st Century. Read More

The red-hot Golden State Warriors celebrated their third NBA Championship in four years with another mammoth crowd in downtown Oakland on Tuesday, June 12, 2018. People came from all across the San Francisco Bay Area to celebrate, with many arriving on BART. In this video, Mark Jones talks to riders about the numerous advantages of taking public transportation to participate in the festivities. Read More

Update: Video recordings of these meetings (excluding MTC Policy Advisory Council Equity and Access Subcommittee) are now available.

• BATA Oversight Committee: Video Recording
• MTC Programming and Allocations Committee: Video Recording
• MTC Administration Committee: Video Recording
• MTC Policy Advisory Council: Video Recording

The Bay Area Toll Oversight Committee, two of MTC’s standing committees and the MTC Policy Advisory Council will meet starting at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, June 13, at the Bay Area Metro Center. Highlights include review of BATA's FY 2018-19 Toll Bridge Operating and Capital Budgets, funding updates for regional and state transportation programs, review of MTC's FY 2018-19 Agency Budget, discussion of MTC’s Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Program, and updates on several other MTC projects and programs. Read on for links to everything, and tune in live to the meetings on Wednesday from our Live Webcasts page. Read More

Nearly 150 attendees from local governments throughout the nine county San Francisco Bay Area attended the ABAG Spring 2018 General Assembly and Business Meeting on May 31, 2018.

The General Assembly brings together ABAG’s member towns, cities and counties once a year to review and approve the Associations’s budget and work program for the coming fiscal year, as well as to discuss urgent policy issues facing the region.

The overarching theme of this year’s program was resilience. Major topics covered included recovery lessons from the North Bay Wildfires, adaptation strategies for floods and sea level rise, earthquake preparedness, and energy programs.

The 2018 General Assembly agenda is available online and key materials, handouts and presentations are available on ABAG’s website. Keep reading to find out more! Read More