Published Monday, April 2, 2001, in the San Jose Mercury News
New roads director favors making trains bigger part of system
CALTRANS' HEAD SAYS KEY TO UNLOCKING TRAFFIC IS TRANSIT
BY [58]GARY RICHARDS
Mercury News
Here's something many motorists may not know about Jeff Morales, the
man in charge of California's 15,000 miles of roads and freeways.
He's a train man.
When a new commuter train pulled into Silicon Valley last month from
Stockton, on board was the new Caltrans director.
No one had thought about inviting Morales, who asked to be included on
the inaugural trip. And Morales wasn't there to talk about potholes,
new interchanges or wider freeways.
``I must admit,'' said Stacey Mortensen, rail program manager for the
Altamont Commuter Express, ``it is surprising to listen to the
director of Caltrans talk about smart growth and transit-oriented
development.''
Transit lingo is just part of the new buzz throughout Caltrans these
days. When Morales discusses traffic, he refers to quality-of-life,
land-use and transportation choices. When the 41-year-old son of a
physician commutes to headquarters from his Sacramento home, he bikes,
takes light rail or drives a Toyota hybrid.
Cars take a back seat
The car hasn't been forgotten, but neither is it at the front of the
line.
The change began a few months before Morales arrived in June, when
Gov. Gray Davis approved a $6.8 billion traffic plan that earmarked
nearly $5 billion for transit and carpool lanes.
``The fact that two-thirds went into non-traditional highway projects
was a remarkable shift for the state,'' said Morales in a recent
interview. ``It represents a more balanced view of transportation, and
my background fits in perfect with the way the governor wants to go.''
It does. Morales served as a top assistant in the Department of
Transportation during Bill Clinton's presidency, helping craft
legislation giving local areas more say in how to spend federal aid --
often enabling highway dollars to be spent on transit.
Before coming to California, he held a top post at the Chicago Transit
Authority for two years, overseeing that city's elevated trains,
subways and buses. He's tight with Al Gore, and had Gore taken the
White House, some think Morales would have been named to the Cabinet
as head of the DOT.
What happens next is the issue. Morales leads an agency that four
decades ago built the nation's top freeway system, but it is now
criticized for lengthy construction delays and bumpy, litter-strewn
roads.
Some critics think his transit background will hurt in a state where
nearly eight of 10 urban commuters still get to work by car.
James Fisfis, spokesman for Assembly Republican leader Dave Cox,
described Morales as ``sharp and personable'' but says he's concerned
about his priorities.
``The condition of California's roads and highways are among the worst
in the nation,'' Fisfis said. ``So far, Mr. Morales and Gov. Davis
have favored shifting even more money away from roads and into
transit. This is more of the same failed policy that created gridlock
on our roads over the last 25 years.''
Caltrans a giant
The agency Morales heads is a monster -- more than 20,000 employees
and an annual state budget of more than $8 billion. Caltrans awarded
more contracts last June than 34 states awarded all of last year.
``He's bright, articulate and knows the issues,'' said Dianne McKenna,
former Santa Clara County supervisor and the newest member of the
California Transportation Commission. ``But this agency is just so
huge. I don't know how anyone would ever get control of it.''
Caltrans is the kicking boy for angry commuters, planners and
legislators. But Morales has shown he can take charge and move the
large organization. Weeks after he took over, top lieutenants
announced that installing electronic tolling booths on Bay Area
bridges would not be ready for another two years or so. The program
was already two years behind schedule.
In his first public display of control, Morales said the system called
FasTrak would be installed -- now.
``The fact that you can use your Visa card to buy dinner in New Delhi,
yet we could not check through people paying tolls on seven bridges
within a 40-mile radius, was just crazy. Waiting another year and a
half was unacceptable,'' Morales said.
Now the system is working on all local bridges and will be available
in all lanes by year's end. Early traffic studies, Morales said,
indicate delays on the Dumbarton and San Mateo bridges are easing.
Transit tide is changing
But all fixes won't be this easy. Caltrans has been ignored for more
than two decades, from Jerry Brown to George Deukmejian to Pete
Wilson. Engineers were laid off, pay frozen, maintenance deferred and
road projects canceled. Transit was not even on the horizon.
``He is the first Caltrans director who actually has an interest in
transit,'' McKenna said. ``He is not going to ignore roads, but he
knows transit while others ignored it. It was more of a thorn in their
side.''
Thorns will get in Morales' path. It is now projected that
retrofitting the Bay Bridge could cost more than $2.5 billion, nearly
double the original forecast and perhaps requiring higher tolls. In
addition, local engineers often have dozens of projects to oversee, a
workload that invites slowdowns. And a $118 billion funding shortfall
is projected during the next decade for roads and rails.
But the days of road-building are almost over, a point Morales repeats
again and again.
``Our success used to be measured in construction terms,'' he said.
``How many miles did we get done this year? How many bridges did we
get built? How many cubic yards of concrete did we bore? That was it.
That was our job. That was how we were measured.''
Not any more, he says.
``The absolute top priority is to get projects done faster. We have no
choice.''
_________________________________________________________________
Contact Gary Richards at [59]mrroadshow@sjmercury.com or (408)
920-5335.
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