On Board With… CalSTA Secretary Toks Omishakin
Toks Omishakin was appointed Secretary of the California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA) by Governor Newsom in February 2022. He previously served as Director of the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) since 2019. Secretary Omishakin came to CalSTA and Caltrans following eight years with the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT), where he served as Deputy Commissioner for Environment and Planning. Prior to that role, he served as Director of Healthy Living Initiatives in the Nashville Mayor’s Office.
In December 2019, Omishakin became Chair of the Council on Active Transportation for the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO). This came after serving two years as committee vice chair and serving as inaugural chair of AASHTO’s Multimodal Task Force. He serves on the Boards of America Walks, Veloz, Mineta Transportation Institute, and ITS World Congress and has advised the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis through its Transportation Council Board.
A native of Knoxville, Tennessee, Omishakin has a Ph.D. in Engineering Management from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He and his wife have two children.
Transit California:
You have held multiple roles throughout your career focused on furthering investments in clean transportation options and protecting our most vulnerable road users. How did you first come to this work, and why do you believe it is important?
Secretary Omishakin:
Our work in this area is important because it is done on behalf of people, and CalSTA’s focus on people’s wellness supersedes all other considerations. If we are breathing unhealthy air or if safety on our roadways is compromised, rightful, equitable wellness cannot be reached. Our actions must be aggressive and far-reaching, and working with our internal and external partners is where this responsibility begins. Our obligation, first and foremost, is to the people of California.
And as to how I came to this work: I landed in the transportation industry through a series of events, decisions, and some good circumstances. After I pursued my Master’s in Urban and Regional Planning, I became an entry-level planner at the City of Nashville, working on mobility issues by planning transit routes and pedestrian and bicycling facilities. Through the success of this burgeoning work and relationship building, I was later hired as the Mayor of Nashville’s advisor for multimodal issues. I eventually went on to work at the Tennessee Department of Transportation for eight years before coming to California.
Transit California:
You were appointed CalSTA Secretary in February 2022. Last year, CalSTA adopted the Climate Action Plan for Transportation Infrastructure (CAPTI), which seeks to further direct the state’s discretionary transportation investments toward combatting and adapting to climate change while supporting the state’s public health, mobility, safety, and equity objectives. As Secretary, what is your role in CAPTI implementation? Are there particular priorities you bring to implementation?
Secretary Omishakin:
One of my roles as Secretary is to guide and oversee our efforts related to climate-action-focused investments, policies, and practices. I continue to hold our departments accountable to CAPTI’s directives toward combating and the adaptation needed on climate change. As part of CalSTA’s fabric, CAPTI monitors and evaluates progress of the transportation sector’s efforts to align with state climate, health, and equity goals. With roughly half of all greenhouse gas emissions in the state coming from the transportation sector, we need more investments in zero-emission transit, freight, and rail, as well as projects that expand safe access to walking and biking. These are the kinds of strategies that will help reduce our dependence on driving by delivering safe, accessible transportation options.
Implementing the various actions in CAPTI will shape to a very large degree how program funding will eventually be allocated. One early example of this is the Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program (TIRCP), which funds transformative capital improvements for intercity, commuter, and urban rail systems and bus and ferry transit systems to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions, vehicle miles traveled, and congestion. TIRCP incorporated changes in its updated guidelines for the 2022 Award Cycle to align with CAPTI actions. Those awards are scheduled to be announced this month.
CalSTA plans to put out an annual report on CAPTI implementation, with the first one set to come later this year.
Transit California:
How do you envision the implementation of CAPTI proceeding in terms of delivering on the state’s equity goals?
Secretary Omishakin:
Equity and climate action go hand-in-hand, as a healthy environment is inherently an equity issue. Just as important as climate action, we prioritize equity and safety implementation in every aspect of our work, and we imbedded these principles throughout CAPTI.
A great example of that is the Equity Index Tool being developed by Caltrans. This is an analytical tool that will help evaluate and prioritize projects and assess the degree to which a proposed investment has equity benefits. We’re also establishing advisory committees focused on transportation equity and environmental justice that stem from transportation planning and programming.
We must fully integrate justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI) when it comes to transportation planning, decision-making, and project delivery, always putting people first.
Transit California:
As Caltrans Director, you led, with the support of Governor Newsom, a massive shift from the agency’s traditional role of highway building and maintenance into sustainable transportation, with the Division of Rail and Mass Transportation taking a more active role in the delivery of rail projects. Why did you see this as essential and how were you able to accomplish it?
Secretary Omishakin:
To state it simply, we started with establishing outcomes for people as our priority and went forward from there. This entails continued scrutiny of what projects are most beneficial to people and then, accordingly, shifting our focus to projects and policy that equitably embed sustainability, livability, and accessibility. Past highway expansions serve as an educational tool, but no longer as a stock blueprint. The resulting damage from these expansions had devastating impacts on entire generations of families, and these past harms are our “why.” Taking people into consideration for every project is key; highway widening still can be an option if necessary, but it is not our default option.
We are being intentional with this people-focused direction. To advance this important message internally, transparency and robust communication are key. Our work here is not done, as a culture shift rarely happens seamlessly, and it does not happen overnight. We will continue to educate and communicate the important “why” behind this culture shift. I also think it’s important to note that we will continue to prioritize “Fix-it-first” projects and are meeting the State of Good Repair targets under SB 1. Our work to repair and maintain highway infrastructure continues for the overall mobility and safety of the traveling public.
Transit California:
In late 2021, under your leadership, Caltrans announced that all new projects it funds or oversees must include “complete streets” features that provide safety and accessibility for people walking, biking, using assistive mobility devices, and riding transit. How do you envision this policy coming to fruition over the coming years?
Secretary Omishakin:
The Caltrans Complete Streets Director’s Policy is a significant turning point for transportation in our state. Unique to this policy, every transportation project funded or overseen by Caltrans must include comfortable, convenient, and connected complete streets facilities for people walking, biking, and taking transit or passenger rail. If an exception is made to this policy, it must be reviewed, documented, and approved by Caltrans executive leadership.
Government plays a necessary role in the development of creating spaces that enable, encourage, and foster healthy choices. Setting complete streets as a top organizational priority sends the message that investing in walking, biking, transit, and passenger rail will help foster socially and economically vibrant, thriving, and resilient communities.
As with all our work, it’s our teams and collaboration that bring our goals and plans to fruition. The implementation of this policy rests on more than 10 programs and entities within Caltrans.
Transit California:
You served in the Tennessee DOT from 2011 to 2019, and as Deputy Commissioner and Chief of Environmental Planning for more than four years. What were you able to accomplish there, and what lessons from this experience have you brought to California?
Secretary Omishakin:
I was blessed to have the opportunity to serve in a key leadership role at TDOT for eight years. There are several quantitative things that I am proud of on our accomplishment list, including an effort I led to establish a new competitive funding initiative called the Multimodal Access Grant program that set aside $45 million to support local communities’ efforts to improve multimodal access on state routes in their communities. The very popular grant program went on to fund several transit and active transportation-related improvements across the state.
Also, after many years of contentious debate, the Tennessee state legislature passed a revenue increasing bill for transportation called the Improve Act (similar to the SB 1 efforts in California). I worked with several internal and external stakeholders to ensure the increased revenue included a 30 percent annual increase in funding for transit. That funding increase came in the form of competitive grant funding that is today supporting many capital and transit operating projects in the state.
We also created a new office called the Office of Community Transportation within the Long-Range Planning Department that focused on improving engagement with local stakeholders and coordinating land use decisions that had major transportation implications. At the time, it was a very innovative step for a state department of transportation to take and today remains one of the few such offices at the state government level across the country.
However, I am likely most proud of the qualitative accomplishments we had in our tenure—the many things that are harder to measure. The culture changed within and external to TDOT over that eight-year period. We listened more to community needs despite no new mandate to do so. We became more inclusive in our planning processes and in project development. We engaged more. I believe those cultural changes can have just as much of a lasting impact as any funding or policy-related efforts.
Transit California:
From 2008 to 2011, you served as Director of Healthy Living Initiatives and Multimodal Transportation Coordinator for the Mayor of Nashville. How did this role connect transportation and health outcomes?
Secretary Omishakin:
Serving on Nashville Mayor Karl Dean’s team was the first opportunity for me to truly see how leadership and service can make a difference in improving people’s lives. That front row seat in the executive office gave me the bug to keep pushing through in public service. With chronic diseases, obesity rates, and climate change negatively impacting the city through multiple natural disasters, Mayor Dean set out a goal to make Nashville the healthiest and greenest city in the Southeast. We put in place transportation, land use, and food access policies and funding to support the creation of a healthier Nashville. The efforts of the administration culminated with a documentary called “Weight of the Nation” produced by HBO Films in 2010. That boots-on-the-ground experience remains one of the top inspirations for me in public service today.
Transit California:
For the city of Nashville, you served as the first Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator in the state of Tennessee’s history. What was this experience like?
Secretary Omishakin:
At the start of the 21st Century, most state and city departments of transportation still had not formally hired a bicycle and pedestrian coordinator or manager despite the requirement from the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) from 1991. Getting an opportunity to be the first person to serve in that role in Tennessee meant a lot to me and my professional career, but it also meant I was often swimming upstream on policies that needed to be shifted to support more walking, biking, and transit-friendly places for people in a city that had been for many years car-centric in its approach. We put in place the first ever Strategic Plan for Sidewalks and Bikeways and the Major and Collector Street Plan that launched the city into becoming one of the top places with a great quality of life in America.
Transit California:
Are there any final thoughts you want to share with our readers?
Secretary Omishakin:
We are at a critical moment in our transportation future. There is policy and funding alignment at the local, state, and federal levels on climate, equity, and safety unlike ever before in our state’s history. We as a state are leading a massive transformation in transportation policy by putting people first. Transportation will continue to be key in making California the most livable state in the nation, and with people as the foremost priority, we can get there.