At its first meeting of the year, the San Francisco County Transportation Authority Board elected District 7 Commissioner Myrna Melgar as its Chair and District 3 Commissioner Danny Sauter as its Vice-Chair for 2025. Chair Melgar is the first female Commissioner to serve as Chair. Chair Melgar served as the Transportation Authority’s Vice-Chair for two years and succeeds District 8 Commissioner Rafael Mandelman who served as Chair for four years. The new leadership team will guide the agency’s transportation policy, funding, planning, and project delivery efforts in the coming year. The Transportation Authority plans, funds, and delivers local and regional projects to improve travel choices for residents, commuters, and visitors throughout San Francisco.
“I am honored to be elected Chair of the San Francisco County Transportation Authority and look forward to working with my colleagues to address pressing transportation issues such as ensuring the long-term sustainability of our public transit systems, improving safety, and achieving our climate goals,” said Chair Melgar. “Through collaboration with our partners and engagement with the community, I am hopeful we can make progress on each of these fronts in the coming year.”
Following the elections, the Transportation Authority adopted the agency’s 2024 Annual Report which described several agency highlights and accomplishments over the past year, including:
- Adoption of a dozen Prop L transportation sales tax five-year programs, identifying the projects to be funded over the next five years and allocation of $122 million in sales tax and other funds for transportation projects across the city;
- A $3.4 billion commitment from the U.S. Federal Transit Administration for the Transbay Joint Powers Authority’s Portal project;
- A $20 million grant from the Environmental Protection Agency’s Community Change grant program for an exciting program of clean transit improvements on Treasure Island;
- A $2 million federal Reconnecting Communities grant to help repair past harm by examining ways to re-imagine the design of the Geary Boulevard/Fillmore Street underpass;
- Delivery by Caltrain of its Electrification project, a long-time signature investment in the Transportation Authority’s sales tax program;
- Completion of the District 1 Multimodal Study and I-280 Northbound Geneva Avenue Off-Ramp Study;
- Completion of the “Loop” Autonomous Vehicle Shuttle Pilot and Evaluation on Treasure Island and passage of seminal AV legislation (AB 1777) governing emergency operating protocols for AV passenger services; and
- Groundbreaking for the Yerba Buena Island Hillcrest Road improvement project as well as Interchange Project of the Year honors for the Yerba Buena Island Southgate Road project.
The Transportation Authority was also proud to receive a Certificate of Achievement from the Government Finance Officers Association for the seventh consecutive year, and maintained our AAA sales tax revenue bond rating from Fitch for a fourth year in a row, in keeping with the agency’s commitment to excellence in reporting and stewardship of public funds.
In the coming year, the Transportation Authority will continue working collaboratively with city and regional partners to address transit operating shortfalls, advance Vision Zero, and support San Francisco’s economic recovery. The agency will also continue to provide policy support and input on AV policies and legislation, and expand contracting opportunities for historically underutilized businesses in our infrastructure investment and delivery programs.
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We celebrated the start of construction on the Hillcrest Road Improvement Project.
The Yerba Buena/I-80 Southgate Interchange project was awarded Interchange Project of the Year.
The Transportation Authority approved the I-280 Northbound Geneva Avenue Off-Ramp Study final report.
We celebrated the start of electrified Caltrain service, a signature project in our sales tax program.
The Transportation Authority Board approved the District 1 Multimodal Study final report.
We celebrated the launch of the Bayview Shuttle, which we supported with planning funds.
We provided $12,525,000 in Prop L half-cent sales tax funding to support installation of next generation fare gates.
We celebrated the completion of the L Taraval Improvement Project, which we helped support with $19 million from the sales tax program and Prop AA funds.
We joined the our partners at the Salesforce Transit Center to thank the Federal Transit Administration for its $3.38 billion funding commitment to the Portal project. This federal commitment, along with the project’s entry to the Engineering phase of the Capital Improvement Grant program, demonstrates the FTA’s endorsement of The Portal.