Introducing the TA’s New Executive Director and Executive Officer

The San Mateo County Transportation Authority (TA) is proud to name April Chan as the Executive Director. Chan is the first female Executive Director of the TA and a 20-plus-year veteran of the Authority. She is succeeding Acting Executive Director Carter Mau, who is retiring after decades of work as a public servant helping to advance mobility options for people throughout the region.

In her new role, Chan also serves as General Manager/CEO of the San Mateo County Transit District. She has been an employee of the District since April 2000 in positions of increasing responsibility, rising through the ranks from Senior Planner, Capital Programming and Grants to Chief Officer, Planning, Grants and Transportation Authority and Acting Deputy General Manager/CEO.

The San Mateo 101 Express Lanes Project is a multi-agency project designed to reduce traffic congestion and encourage carpooling and transit use that broke ground in 2019. The Project creates 22 miles of express lanes in both directions from the San Mateo County/Santa Clara County line to I-380 in South San Francisco. The San Mateo 101 express lanes seamlessly connect to the express lanes in Santa Clara County, a part of the growing Bay Area express lane network.

Phase I of the project, spanning from the Santa Clara County line to Whipple Avenue in Redwood City, opened in February. Phase II of the project will expand southbound and northbound express lanes from Whipple Avenue in Redwood City to I-380 in South San Francisco. The lane is currently open to HOV 3+ vehicles to test the equipment; the lanes will be fully operational in early 2023.

The project was funded through a partnership between the San Mateo County Transportation Authority, Caltrans, and the City/County Association of Governments of San Mateo County, in addition to multiple private sector partnerships and federal and state contributions.

TA’s Board of Directors approved a $167M budget for the 2023 Fiscal Year that includes Measure A and Measure W resources. The budget supports local transportation projects and maintenance across more than 20 cities and unincorporated areas in San Mateo County.
 
From this budget, $76M in Measure A expenditures will help fund projects and programs for congestion relief, Dumbarton bridge improvements, pedestrian and bicycle safety initiatives, local shuttles, streets and highways, grade separations and San Mateo County ferry service.
 
Similarly, $43M of Measure W revenue was included for local projects, including countywide highway congestion improvements, local safety, pothole and congestion relief improvements, bicycle/pedestrian improvements and regional transit connections.

The remaining funds being invested in local transit and major arterial and local roadway improvements in key congested areas throughout the county.

The TA was awarded the 2022 Transportation Planning Award of Merit by the Northern California Chapter of the American Planning Association for the Alternative Congestion Relief and Transportation Demand Management (ACR-TDM) Plan, which is helping to guide investment decisions for TA funding. This award was given in recognition of the plan’s goal of encouraging quality in planning and increasing the public’s awareness of the planning profession.

The TA Board of Directors approved funding for the 2022 Pedestrian and Bicycle Program that will improve bicycling, walking accessibility and safety in San Mateo County. The competitive awards total nearly $22 million in combined funding from voter approved Measures A and W for 25 projects. The 2022 Pedestrian and Bicycle Program award was the largest in San Mateo County history.

The goals for the CFP are to help reduce traffic congestion by safely connecting communities and neighborhoods, improve existing facilities to make them safer and more accessible for cyclists and pedestrians, and fill gaps and cross barriers in the existing bicycle/pedestrian network. Some of the projects slated to move forward are Redwood Avenue Pedestrian Improvements in Redwood City, Esplanade & Palmetto Bicycle & Pedestrian Improvement Project in Pacifica, and the El Camino Real Master Plan in South San Francisco.