DIRECTORS

Donna Carpenter Chairman Bruce Biggar Chief Financial Officer Peter Smith Secretary Gary Blackburn Leigh Ann Cook David Couch Steve Esselman Ted James Karen King Barbara Lomas Jess Ortiz Patricia Poire Cathy Prout Howard Silver John Spaulding Will Winn

KERN TRANSPORTATION FOUNDATION

Newsletter
Issue 5 August 2013

Westside Parkway now open to traffic

TECHNICAL ADVISORS
Jim Hunter John Shuler Ted Wright

The Westside Parkway extending from Truxtun Avenue to Allen Road officially opened to traffic on August 2, 2013 at 12:20PM. The five miles of new freeway and all on - and off-ramps are fully operational. The Westside Parkway is a multi-lane transportation facility that will ultimately extend west from Truxtun Avenue near State Route 99 to Stockdale Highway near

Inside this issue:

We can keeping 2 adding lanes to 99 or we can look to the future Green tech rolls 3 in Tehachapi Court overturns 3 part of LA ports trucking plan VRZ: The custom track bike you can (almost) 3D print
3

Heath Road. The Parkway is designed to accommodate current and planned development in Bakersfield, and will help reduce congestion on key east-west arterials, such as Rosedale Highway, Stockdale Highway, and Truxtun Avenue. Interchanges are located at Truxtun Avenue, Mohawk Street, Coffee Road, Calloway Drive, and Allen Road.

The Stockdale/Heath Tie-in will construct the new freeway between Allen Road and Stockdale Highway near Heath Road. This phase of construction will also build a full interchange at Allen Road, a bridge at Renfro Road, and soundwalls along the right-ofway adjacent to residential neighborhoods. Construction will begin on these phases when funding becomes available.

Renfro Road long-term closure

The contractor for the Westside Parkway plans to close a section of Renfro Road, between Stockdale Highway and Johnson Road, on Wednesday, August 7, 2013. The closure will be in the vicinity of the Westside Parkway alignment, and will affect all through traffic, including automobile, bicycle and pedestrian. Access to neighborhoods south of the project alignment will be maintained via Stockdale Highway and Renfro Road. Access to neighborhoods north of the project alignment will be maintained via Allen Road and Brimhall Road. Motorists can detour around the closure via Allen Road and Brimhall Road (see attached map). The closure will allow the contractor to relocate utilities along Renfro Road and construct a new bridge over the Westside Parkway. This section of Renfro Road is expected to be closed until late summer 2014. The full closure is necessary due to existing conditions at Renfro Road, which will not accommodate a bypass road or allow part of the road to remain open during bridge construction.

Solar-powered 4 plane lands near Washington

KTF Newsletter

Page 2

We can keeping adding lanes to 99 or we can look to the future

John Spaulding

Bakersfield College Transit Center now open! GETbus.org

The Kern Transportation Foundation promotes a modern, balanced transportation system that enhances the quality of life and advances the economic vitality of the residents of Kern County.

Jeff Taylor claims that highspeed rail will impact Bakersfield more than other Central Valley city, and he cites a laundry list of supposedly ill effects of the project. I have to ask myself: Does he really see the highspeed rail project as the negative, destructive force he seems to think it is? In his July 8 Community Voices article, HSR will have bigger impact on Bakersfield than on other cities, Taylor paints a picture of a community literally torn in two by high-speed rail, with property values plummeting and short- and longterm economic damage all but certain. While I agree that it is no small thing to build a major infrastructure project through the middle of our community, I have to disagree with him that bringing high-speed rail to Bakersfield will only result in a negative outcome for our city. The city of Bakersfield is a thriving, growing city, with access to the Los Angeles Basin, and it serves as the gateway to the Central Valley. Also, Bakersfield is one of the largest cities in the United States that is not directly linked to an interstate highway. While we continue to work with the state on developing State Route 99 to better serve the needs of our region by expanding the freeway and improving safety in the region, we have to ask ourselves just how wide should 99 get? Should it be 10 lanes across? What about 20? Continuous highway construction on 99, long commutes to work and traffic jams are not the only issues facing our community. Look to the future: Our transportation

systems are not sufficient to withstand future growth. Over the past 10 years, the Central Valley has been the fastest growing region in the state, with its population increasing by 17 percent compared to 10 percent statewide. By 2040, close to 10 million people will live in the Central Valley, three million more than live here today. Every county in the Valley is expected to experience population growth. The cities of Fresno and Bakersfield today have populations of 500,000 and 350,000 respectively, and have become major financial, business and academic centers. Taylor makes arguments against the Authoritys proposed alignments, starting with his view that the alignments in Bakersfield are located close to each other and are therefore the same; he states that the train will be diesel-powered through Bakersfield; and he asserts that the project will result in the lowering of property values and the destruction of homes and business; and that those owners will not be fairly compensated. Notwithstanding the engineering needs that guide the location of highspeed rail, and the erroneous statement that the train will be diesel-powered, the Authority is committed to working with property owners along the alignment to ensure that they are fairly compensated and that they serve as good stewards of the community. Taylor sees a potential project funding shortfall and predicts portions of the project will be left dangling in mid-air because of the Authoritys failure to face fiscal realities. Some of

our federal partners, including those purporting to represent our best interests in Congress, have refused to facilitate additional high-speed rail funds. Lets be clear: Developing the first segment from Madera to Bakersfield will cost $6 billion, consisting of $3.3 billion in federal funding and $2.6 billion in Proposition 1A bond proceeds, which the Authority already has allocated. The remaining portions of the Initial Operating Section will be funded using state bonds, federal support, local funds, cap-and-trade funds and private investment. This is a funding model and phased approach that is similar to construction for high-speed rail systems throughout the world and its the way that Californias freeway and highway infrastructure system was built. Instead of endlessly tinkering with our existing roads and adding additional cars to State Route 99, contributing further to some of the worst air quality in the nation, we need to look toward the future, and that includes new and cutting edge transportation solutions. High-speed rail will integrate with our existing regional providers, including Amtrak, and bring thousands of longterm jobs to our region.
John Spaulding of Bakersfield is the executive secretary of the Building Trades Council. Community Voices is an expanded commentary of 650 to 700 words.

Acela is Amtrak's high -speed rail service along the Northeast Corridor

Issue 5

Page 3

Green tech rolls in Tehachapi

BY JOHN COX The Bakersfield Californian

Century-old railroad technology is mixing with green -style innovation at an energy storage project now being tested in the heart of Kern Countys wind power region. Santa Barbara-based Advanced Rail Energy Storage recently began running a specially designed locomotive up and down quarter-scale railroad tracks a few miles outside Tehachapi.

The idea is to use gravity instead of rechargeable batteries. Trains powered by wind turbines and photovoltaic solar plants would pull heavy loads up a hill. When an electric utility gives the signal that it needs power, the train would be released to roll back down the hill, generating a steady supply of juice much the way a hybrid electric car recharges its batteries. ARES hopes the tests support its claim that steel wheels on steel tracks are more efficient

than other storage projects, including pressured air storage, rechargeable batteries and the most common method: pumping water uphill and letting it flow through a hydroelectric generator. Key measures of ARES success will be how quickly its design responds to demand and how much energy is lost in the process. If successful, the system could make renewable energy more reliable and less prone to spikes in output.

By Felix Adamo The Bakersfield Californian

The ARES shuttle is designed to use gravity to produce electricity.

Court overturns part of LA ports trucking plan

BY ROBERT JABLON The Associated Press

LOS ANGELES The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday partially overturned a Port of Los Angeles anti-smog program that replaced thousands of aging trucks with cleanerburning models and forced trucking companies to sign agreements to meet other regulations. The court struck down two sections of the complicated 2008 ordinance that required short-haul trucking firms using

the nations largest port complex to develop off-street parking plans and to post placards in rigs with a phone number that people could call to report concerns about safety or pollution. In its unanimous decision , the Supreme Court said federal law pre-empted any regulation having the force and effect of law related to a price, route, or service of any motor carrier ... with respect to the transportation of property. The port, which handled more than 8 million shipping

containers last year, has been working for years to reduce air pollution. The Clean Truck Program required hundreds of truckers to sign concession agreements that they would comply with those rules if they wanted to use the port. The court said the port met the force of law standard by making it a misdemeanor, punishable by fine or imprisonment, for a terminal operator to grant access to an unregistered truck.

TRANSPORTATION The act of transporting, or the state of being transported; carriage from one place to another; removal; conveyance.

VRZ: The custom track bike you can (almost) 3D print

EarthTechling.com Staff Transportation / Bikes

Most people don't realize that before buying a bike, you should make sure it fits your body. It probably didn't matter when you were three feet tall, and just dying to get those training wheels off, but now that you're an adult, a bike that's a little too small, big, short, or long for you can cause some real issues. Even the slightest angle change can affect the performance of professional riders, which is why designer Ralf Holleis is developing the VRZ. Using a combination of carbon fiber track bike frame, and 3D

printed titanium lugs, Holleis has created a super-light, fixedgear bike that can be customized for an individual rider in a very small period of time. Normally obtaining a bike that's custom built for your body takes a) a lot of money or b) a lot of welding know-how. With Holleis' new hybrid method, however, the time and cost are reduced. "You could change the geometry to what ever fits you best, then the lugs gets generated by a software," explains Holleis on his website. "The generated 3D files are produced with laser-cuseing process. Afterwards the printed parts need to be fin-

ished and bonded to the tubes." Ok, so it still takes a fair bit of know-how. But considering how quickly 3D printing technology is disseminating through our culture, one can only expect that it will become easier and cheaper over time. And the benefits for bikers will be huge. Not only is the VRZ safer and healthier because it's created just for a specific person's body, it's also lighter than almost every bike we've ever seen. At a trim 4.9 kg (10 pounds 11 ounces) it's the perfect vehicle for whipping around the track in style.

KTF Newsletter

Page 4

Solar-powered plane lands near Washington

WASHINGTON (AP) A solar-powered plane nearing the close of a cross-continental journey landed at Dulles International Airport outside the nation's capital early Sunday, only one short leg to New York remaining on a voyage that opened in May. Solar Impulse's website said the aircraft with its massive wings and thousands of photovoltaic cells "gracefully touched down" at 12:15 a.m. EDT after 14 hours and four minutes of flight from Cincinnati, Ohio, to Dulles in Washington's Virginia suburbs. Pilot Bertrand Piccard was at the controls for the last time on the multi-leg "Across America" journey that began May 3 in San Francisco. His fellow Swiss pilot, Andre Borschberg, is expected to fly the last leg from Washington to New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport in early July, the web site added. It's the first bid by a solar plane capable of being airborne day and night without fuel to fly across the U.S, at speeds reaching about 40 mph. The plane opened by flying from San Francisco via Arizona, Texas, Missouri and Ohio onward to Dulles with stops of several days in cities along the way. Organizers said in a blog post early Sunday that Piccard soared across the Appalachian mountains on a 435-mile (700kilometer) course from first East Coast stop before the final planned leg to New York. Organizers said the flight into the nation's capital was an emotional one for Piccard as it was his last on the crosscountry flight before Borschberg has the controls on the final trek to New York. At each stop along the way, the plane has stayed several days, wowing visitors. Organizers said a public viewing of the aircraft would be held Sunday afternoon at Dulles. As the plane's creators, Piccard and Borschberg, have said their trip taking turns flying the aircraft solo was the first attempt by a solar airplane capable of flying day and night without fuel to fly across America. They also called it another aviation milestone in hopes that the journey would whet greater interest in clean technologies and renewable energy. The Swiss pilots said in a statement that they expected to participate in an energy roundtable and news conference Monday with U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz about the technology. They have said the project's ultimate goal is to fly a sun-powered aircraft around the world with a second-generation plane now in development. Borschberg also said in a statement Sunday that the pilots are eyeing 2015 for a worldwide attempt, adding their 'Across America' voyage had taught them much as they prepare.

Kern Transportation Foundation

www.ktfonline.org P.O. Box 417 Bakersfield, CA 93302-0417

Were on the Web! ktfonline.org

Cincinnati to the Washington area, averaging 31 mph (50 kph). It was the second phase of a leg that began in St. Louis. The plane, considered the world's most advanced sunpowered aircraft, is powered by about 12,000 photovoltaic cells that cover its enormous wings and charge its batteries during the day. The single-seat Solar Impulse flies around 40 mph and can't go through clouds; weighing about as much as a car, the aircraft also took longer than a car to complete the journey from Ohio to the East Coast. Despite its vulnerabilities to bad weather, Piccard said in a statement that the conclusion of all but the final leg showed that sunpowered cross-continent travel "proves the reliability and potential of clean technologies." Organizers said fog at Cincinnati Municipal Lunken Airport was a concern that required the ground crew's attention before takeoff just after 10 a.m. Saturday. The crew gave the plane a gentle wipe-down with cloths because of condensation that had formed on the wings. "The solar airplane was in great shape despite the quasi-shower it experienced" before takeoff from Cincinnati, the web site added. Washington was the

Kern Transportation Foundation Mission Statement

The mission of the Kern Transportation Foundation is to provide a forum for advancing the requirements of a modern, balanced transportation system that meets the economic and social needs of the public in Kern County. The Kern Transportation Foundation will work to the following: - Identify and create public awareness of current and future transportation needs in Kern County.

KTF

- Investigate solutions to providing a balanced transportation systems. - Build the private/public partnership required to develop a modern, balanced transportation system.