By Georgia Lambert
Published: April, 2010
Know someone who has brightened your daily commute on public transit? Is there a project that has gone above and beyond in reducing harmful carbon emissions from the air, or has an organization done an extraordinary job in improving a neighborhood or stretch of road? If so, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) would like to hear from you.
MTC seeks your help with nominees for the 2010 biennial Excellence in Motion Transportation Awards Program honoring people, projects and organizations that have made an innovative or significant contribution to the Bay Area’s transportation network. Nominations are being accepted now through April 30. Eligible nominees must have been active or under way during the two-year timeframe from June 2008 to April 2010, and may be honored under certain award categories as determined by a panel of jurors.
Nominees could include grassroots community leaders who have made a difference for transportation, people who have made a significant, lasting contribution to Bay Area transportation on the job or throughout their career, and people or organizations whose efforts have promoted smart growth, public safety or improved mobility for the elderly or people with disabilities. Accomplishments in the fields of community service, volunteerism, advocacy, leadership, climate protection and minority affairs may also be celebrated.
Past winners range from newsmakers such as Caltrans and the team behind the rebuilding of the melted MacArthur Maze, who completed repairs in just 26 days following the catastrophic explosion of a gasoline tanker truck on April 29, 2007, to the Tiny Tickets Program in 2004, in which people donate their transit tickets with small remaining values for use by various community programs.
Few people can forget the strong, firm handshake of Fannie Mae Barnes, who received an award in 2008 for her work as the first and only female cable car grip operator in San Francisco. Safeway was also recognized in 2008 for improving the environment with their fleet of biodiesel trucks that save the equivalent of 7,500 cars off the road annually.
Award winners in 2006 included Gunn High School, Palo Alto, recognized for their GO-FAST program, taking on teen car culture and creating incentives for students to walk, bike, carpool or use public transit. And Ernest Bradford’s passionate work on behalf of senior drivers included spearheading the first regionwide “Summit on Older Drivers,” earning him an award.
To submit your nomination online for the 2010 awards, go to www.mtc.ca.gov/awards or call 510-817-5757 to request a nomination form. Forms may be mailed or dropped off to MTC, 101 Eighth Street, Oakland, CA, 94607-4700, or faxed to 510-817-5848. Nominations must be received by April 30, 2010.
