People and projects involved with the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge swept up four trophies at the “Excellence in Motion” transportation awards ceremony in Oakland on October 22.
Mary King steered the Bay Bridge East Span design process through choppy waters, in the end building consensus on an iconic design. Photo by Noah Berger
By Georgia Lambert
Published: November, 2014
“Our 2014 award winners, chosen from a field of nearly 100 nominees, have made extraordinary improvements that benefit the Bay Area,” said Amy Rein Worth, MTC chair and city of Orinda councilmember. “They were chosen by a six-member jury representing business, community interests, the Commission and MTC staff.”
The 2014 Grand Award went to Mary King in recognition of her leadership as chair of the Bay Bridge Design Task Force, which oversaw the public involvement process for and selection of the unique self-anchored suspension element (SAS) for the new East Span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. The new bridge has increased the reliability of the region’s transportation network immensely and the SAS is the span’s marquee element.
A triptych of visual projects showcasing the Bay and the Bay Bridge shared an Award of Merit – the Bay Lights, illuminating the Bay Bridge West Span; the Oakland Museum of California’s “Above and Below: Stories From Our Changing Bay” exhibit; and Joseph A. Blum’s action-packed photographs of East Span construction workers.
Other Award of Merit honorees included Good Karma Bikes, a San Jose nonprofit providing free bike repair services and training to underprivileged community members; Gary Richards, aka “Mr. Roadshow,” longtime author of a Q-and-A transportation column in several Bay Area daily newspapers; and SolTrans, created in 2010 by combining two transit agencies into one to better serve Solano County. Also among the winners is a trio of tunnels – the Caldecott Fourth Bore and the Devil’s Slide Tunnel Project, which features twin bores as well as a trail with stunning vistas.
The Bay Area’s own U.S. Congressman George Miller, champion for regional transportation improvements over his 40-year congressional career, is the recipient of the 2014 John F. Foran Legislative Award, begun in 1986 and named for the author of the 1970 bill that created MTC. This year’s award is especially poignant, given that former state Senator Foran, an early champion of regionalism, recently passed away.
Since 1975, Congressman Miller has been a leading advocate of federal support for diverse, multimodal transportation systems in the Bay Area. As he retires from Congress this year, the Foran Award honors his legacy of leadership that has made getting around the San Francisco Bay Area more environmentally friendly and convenient for years to come.
Special Award winners include Naomi Armenta, paratransit coordinator for the Alameda County Transportation Commission, who uses her experience as a wheelchair user and transit rider to improve Bay Area public transit. The Doris W. Kahn Accessible Transportation Award, named after a former MTC commissioner, recognizes individuals or organizations that have helped make the Bay Area transportation network better for seniors or persons with disabilities.
The Greta Ericson Distinguished Service Award, named after the founder of MTC’s awards program to recognize long-term public service, was presented posthumously to Cory LaVigne, who started out as a bus driver in Illinois and climbed the transit ladder all the way up to a director role at AC Transit before his untimely passing in 2012 at age 42.
Charles Davis, known as the singing bus driver, brightens passengers’ days as he tunefully identifies Muni stops. He was recognized with the David Tannehill Special Employee Award, named for a dedicated and talented MTC planner who passed away in 2001; the award is given to an employee who goes the extra mile to keep the region moving.
Rounding out the Special Award categories is the Miriam Gholikely Public Service Award, named for a longtime MTC advisor and community activist. It was awarded to Bruce Beyaert and the Trails for Richmond Action Committee, which spearheaded the longest single segment of the San Francisco Bay Trail.
The Excellence in Motion Awards Program began in 1977. MTC is the regional transportation planning, financing and coordinating agency for the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area. Read more and watch the winners come alive on video at mtc.ca.gov/awards.
