KernCOG_Fall_2013.pdf

7/27/2019 KernCOG_Fall_2013.pdf

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FALL/WINTER 2013

Inside…2

$3 million awarded for transitimprovements.

2013 Rideshare Week draws 700pledges.

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Students learn "What MattersMost" for air quality.

Nominations open for Kern

Council of Governments' RegionalAwards of Merit.

$3.2 million for Shafter terminal

The City of Shafter will begin workon phase two of the City of Shafter

Rail Terminal, using $3.28 million infederal-aid transportation dollars inDecember 2014.

Kern COG originally awarded the

project in April 2012 as part of a largerpackage throughout Kern County,

intended to improve air quality andreduce traffic congestion. In September2013, Shafter officials received fundingauthority approval by the Federal High-way Administration to start the project.

The project will provide a connectionbetween two already-installed BNSFmainline switches and establish a fa-cility with more than 9,000 linear feetof track parallel to the BNSF. Whencompleted in the first quarter of 2014,the facility will be capable of handlingall levels of service: intermodal, boxcartankers, hoppers and gondolas.

This rail connection from the BNSFmainline to the PLP (Paramount

The City of Delano has received $1.84 million through aSeptember grant award from the federal Economic Develop-

ment Administration (EDA) to help build a new Union Pacificrail spur that will serve an industrial park, including the RailEx

Delano platform.

According to the EDA, the $1,846,062 public works grant willprovide Delano “with greater access to the transportation net-work that moves goods and services, which will increase commer-cial activity and employment opportunities as well as supportingeconomic diversification.” This grant represents 53 percent of the$3.48 million project that Delano officials estimate will create302 jobs and leverage $35 million in private investment.

Delano's RailEx receives $1.8 million grant

Please See Rail Terminal, page 4

Please See RailEx, page 4



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More than 700 Kern Countyresidents pledged to share

a ride, ride a bus, walk or bicycleto work or school at least one dayduring the statewide RideshareWeek, Oct. 7-11.

Kern COG’s ridesharing program,CommuteKern, experienced a 20percent membership increase forits carpool-matching database.The free, web-based database isavailable at www.commutekern.com and will assist in matching us-

ers with someone who is driving towork or school at the same time.

To help promote ridesharing, Com-muteKern sponsored daily fun activi-

ties, such as Carpool Monday, TransitTuesday and Bicycle Wednesday.

Commuters who pledged to rideshare during that week were

eligible to win a bicycle donatedby Snider’s Cyclery in Bakersfield.Other great prizes included: aniPad, iPod Shuffle, movie passes,bus passes and a gift basket donat-ed by Kern County Raceway Parkwith four tickets for the “NAPAAuto Parts 150,” raceway appareland other goodies. CommuteKern thanks its valu-able sponsors for Rideshare Week:

Snider's Cyclery,Valley Clean Air Now,San Joaquin Valley Air District,GET Bus, Kern Regional Transit,KERO/AZTECA TV andKUZZ/JACK-FM.

You have places to go and we’dlike to help you get there! Visit

commutekern.org for free ridematching and informationregarding other transit opportu-nities. Don’t forget to mark yourcalendars for Rideshare Week2014, Oct. 6-10. ■

$3 million awarded for transit improvements

2013 Rideshare Week draws 700 pledges

Kern COG’s Board in Septemberapproved nearly $3 million in

projects from a state-run program

designed to improvepublic transportation.

The Public Transportation Modern-ization, Improvement, and ServiceEnhancement Account(PTMISEA), paid for throughProposition 1B bond funds, may beused for transit rehabilitation, safetyor modernization improvements,capital service improvements orexpansions, new capital projects,

bus rapid-transit improvements or

rolling stock (buses and rail cars)procurement, rehabilitationor replacement.

Approximately $6 million remainsin the Kern region’s account andwill be made available over the nextthree years. All projects funded bythe PTMISEA program must becompleted by June 30, 2017. KernCOG and its member agencies havedelivered nearly $25 million in tran-sit projects to date using thebond program. ■

Projects awarded include:

• $600,000 to build curb cut-outsand sidewalk installation for

Golden Empire Transit District’sbus stops throughout metro Ba-kersfield and County locations;

• $1.2 million for two over-the-road coaches to support GET’sexpress service from Bakersfieldto the Tejon Ranch IndustrialComplex;

• $400,000 for Arvin and Taft tobuild park-and-ride facilities; and

• $87,000 to the City of Delano fortransit maintenance equipment.



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Located at the southern end of theSan Joaquin Valley’s topographic

“bowl,” Kern County residents havelong suffered from some of the worstair pollution in the nation. Now,middle-school students will have anopportunity to learn why the air isdirty and what matters most aboutcleaning it up.

Kern Council of Governments hasdeveloped a sixth-grade sciencecurriculum to help students under-stand air pollution as well as possiblecauses and cures. “What Matters

Most” is offered to sixth-grade sci-ence teachers throughout the countyto illustrate the different sources ofparticulate-matter air pollution, howit affects human and environmen-tal health and how Kern County’stopography plays into this commonproblem.

Released in time for the annualcountywide science fair, each “WhatMatters Most” kit includes papersquares, string, petroleum jelly,markers, packing tape, a hole punch,magnifying glasses, safety compassesand the experiment directions.Students place the string through apaper square and add the petroleumjelly to one side of thepaper. They identifydifferent places eitheraround campus oraround their yardswhere they can tie

the paper square tocollect particulatematter. The squaresare observed every dayand returned to theclassroom on day four.The students then usetheir magnifying

glasses to count and measure theamount of particulate matter thatwas collected.

Sixth-graders learn about the differ-ent sources of particulate matter airpollution. Now that they see and feewhat is in our air that causes so much

Students learn "What Matters Most" for air quality

Kern Council of Governments, a regional transporta-tion planning agency, is now accepting nominations

for its 23rd annual Regional Awards of Merit Program.The Regional Awards program honors individuals, or-ganizations and programs dedicated to improving KernCounty’s quality of life through innovative, cooperative,regional efforts. The deadline for submissions is Friday,

Dec. 6, 2013. The application form may be found onlineat kerncog.org. Nominators should attach the official entry form (or acopy) to a typewritten submission of not more than twopages, describing why the individual or organizationdeserves a Regional Award of Merit. Applications may besubmitted by email, fax, or mail to Kern Council of Gov-ernments’ office or to [email protected].

The submission must be accompanied by at least 10photo-quality electronic images or video footage at leasttwo minutes long that presents a comprehensive mosaicof the nominee’s accomplishments. All images should betaken with a minimum of a 4 mega pixel camera with atleast 300 pixels per inch resolution.

At least one image must be of the individual nominee orprogram itself. This image may consist of a sign or logo, ifthat is the only available resource to visually distinguishthe nominee from other programs or projects. All materi-als become the property of Kern Council of Governmentsand will not be returned. ■ For more information, contact Robert Phipps at661-861-2191 or at [email protected].

Nominations open for Kern Council ofGovernments’ Regional Awards of Merit

Please See What Matters Most, page 4



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Logistics Park) will provide KernCounty numerous benefits intransportation productivity, envi-

ronmental benefits andeconomic opportunities. Thefacility is already operational andhas handled thousands of cars.A new City of Shafter municipalfiber optic network is also bringingstate-of-the-art communicationsto the terminal and park. Theterminal is visible from the gradecross near 7th Standard Road andSanta Fe Way as are the more than

2 million square feet of industrialexpansion currently under con-struction.

In addition to connecting themainline switches, in phase twomore than 6,400 feet of track willbe added to the lead and run-around tracks, plus a containerfreight station (CFS) will be added

to enhance additional freight. Acontainer management facility(CY) will also be added to reduce

the number of empty containersshipped to and from ports, reduc-ing costs for shippers and truckersand reducing reliance on trucks.

The project is the latest in a seriesof investments, since 1998, usinglocal, state and federal transporta-tion dollars. It included; widening7th Standard Road to a grade-sep-arated highway at both State

Route 99 and on the west end,over the BNSF railroad.

The PLP and Shafter Rail Termi-nal are considered to be a signif-icant economic engine by KernCounty officials. The facility has,and will continue to contributeto regional, state and nationaleconomic interests by:

• providing approximately8,000 to 10,000 new jobs inthe region;

• adding 9 million to 10 millionsq. ft. of new industrial

capacity;• improving the local tax base

with an estimated $500 mil-lion in new assessedvaluation;

• increasing ancillary businessesto serve anchor tenants;

• reducing oxides of nitrogen(precursors to air pollutants),

by nearly 1,700 tons at fulloperation;• creating a major new trans-

portation hub; and• creating a new standard for

industrial development in theUnited States. ■

Rail terminal (Continued from page 1)

EDA grants are awarded through a competitive processbased upon the application’s merit, the applicant’s eligi-bility and funding availability.

RailEx specializes in delivering farm-fresh produce any-where in the nation by rail within five days. The RailExfacility contains 225,000 sq. ft. of refrigerated space withnine separate, computer-controlled temperature zonesinside 19 enclosed, refrigerated rail docks. The fullyintegrated RF-enabled warehouse management systemalso includes 43 refrigerated truck doors and five miles ofprivate rail track, enough for a three-train capacity.■

difficulty to breathe, they discuss things they can do tohelp cut down on the particulate matter. They learnhow to make a difference by walking and bicycling toschool on good days versus always asking their parentsto drive them. They also understand the importance oflimiting “burn” days to help control particulate matteron the worst air quality days in the winter months.

Participating teachers and students alike said they ap-preciated learning about what things they can do to helpmake a difference. “What Matters Most” will be distrib-uted to sixth-grade classes again in spring 2014. ■

RailEx (Continued from page 1) What Matters Most (Continued from page 3)

Documents

KernCOG_Fall_2013.pdf