The following items are excerpted or summarized from news releases issued by the California Transit Association members. If you are a member of the Association and would like to submit an item to be considered for inclusion in the Member News Library, please email your press releases to Managing Editor Jacob Herson (jake@caltransit.org). Photos and cutline information with your news release submissions, when possible, are encouraged.
LA Metro Honors Juneteenth 
Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA Metro) commemorated Juneteenth, by offering a special TAP card and informing riders of events in the region. Juneteenth was celebrated by many Black communities prior to President Biden making it a federal holiday in 2021. It marks the day in 1865, after the Civil War ended, that enslaved people in Galveston, Texas finally received word of their emancipation.
“Juneteenth is a day of profound weight and power,” said President Biden in his proclamation establishing the federal holiday last year. “A day in which we remember the moral stain and terrible toll of slavery on our country…. A long legacy of systemic racism, inequality, and inhumanity.”
VCTC Selects New Public Transit Director
Claire Grasty started as public transit director for the Ventura County Transportation Commission (VCTC) on June 1. In this role, she oversees all VCTC programs related to public transit operations and planning, including Intercity bus service, Regional Transit Technology and Rideshare, and VCTC’s partnerships with regional bus and passenger rail operators and the Regional Transit Information Center. “I am very humbled by this opportunity,” Grasty said. “I’m excited for the future of public transit in Ventura County and to help improve mobility for our community, especially for those who need it most.”
Grasty succeeds Martin Erickson, who was named executive director of VCTC earlier this year. “Claire has been an integral part of VCTC’s transit team since joining the organization," said Executive Director Erickson. "She has led multiple key initiatives to provide greater access to public transportation and to encourage the use of carpooling, biking and other rideshare options. Claire cares deeply about the transit-riding public, and she is dedicated to improving public transportation in Ventura County and across Southern California.”
Grasty previously served as program manager of regional transit planning. In that role, she helped develop the county’s first Transportation Emergency Preparedness Plan (TEPP) and helped implement Metrolink Saturday Service from Ventura County to downtown Los Angeles and the popular College Ride program, which allows students at any Ventura County college to ride public transit for free.
Santa Clara VTA Receives Two Awards for Pedestrian Overcrossing 
Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) received two awards for the Montague Expressway Pedestrian Overcrossing: the California Transportation Foundation Active Transportation Project of the Year Award and the 2022 Excellent Engineering Award from the American Council of Engineering Companies.
Completed in August 2021, the project provides a safe, convenient, and direct link between the newly opened Milpitas BART Station Campus and the high-density residential developments, businesses, hotel, school, and shopping mall to the north over the recently widened Montague Expressway.
VTA partnered with the City of Milpitas to implement the project, drawing on funding provided by the Federal Highway Administration, the State through SB 1, and the City. The project team overcame many technical challenges related to the steel bridge fabrication, transportation, assembly, and erection during the COVID-19 lockdown period.
San Joaquin RTD Offers Free Rides for Dump the Pump Day
San Joaquin Regional Transit District (RTD) offered free rides throughout the week of June 12-18 in honor of Dump the Pump Day. Encouraging people to ride public transit instead of using their cars, the day is particularly relevant this year, with gas prices especially high. National Dump the Pump Day was honored for the first time in 2006 by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA). The day is celebrated each year on the third Thursday of June, this year June 17.
LA Metro Seeks Artwork for Two Opportunities
Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation (LA Metro) has extended the deadline in its call to join the 2022 Arts and Cultural Organizations Pool. Metro Art seeks to build on its long history of collaborating with community-based organizations in support of innovative, community-responsive arts and cultural programs. By popular demand, the call has been extended through Wednesday, June 29 at 5:00 pm (PDT). Go to metro.net/artsorgpool to apply.
Metro Art is also inviting visual artists and artist teams to apply for an opportunity to design four site-responsive artworks for large-scale temporary banners. These banners will be affixed to sound barrier walls surrounding the Westwood/VA Hospital Station construction site. The deadline is July 20 at 5:00 pm (PDT). For more information on how to apply, check out Metro Art’s Opportunities page.
Plastic Clipper Cards Are in Short Supply
Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) are asking customers to download a Clipper card to their smartphones if they can, rather than purchasing the plastic card. This is due to shortages in the semiconductors inside the plastic cards, which manufacturer Paragon ID US attributes to cyclical downturns exacerbated by COVID and climate change. Clipper is waiving the $3 fee for customers who download a digital card.