Transportation policy a focus for Mullin

“These aren’t the sexiest issues in the world, but the reality is transportation infrastructure

is crucial to mobility on our San Francisco Peninsula,” Mullin said. “There’s quite a bit of innovative stuff that I think sometimes we take for granted … and I want to try to nationalize some of the efforts that we’ve had success with locally.”

One piece of legislation in the eight-bill package is the SAFE Cross Act, which would necessitate a study on introducing AI-enabled sensors at rail crossings.

That follows deployment of AI sensors at Caltrain-run railroad crossings on the San Francisco Peninsula, including the dangerous Broadway station in Burlingame.

“It’s this deployment by Caltrain, and we would like to nationalize that effort, if you will,” Mullin said. “It’s a way to improve pedestrian safety and just general safety at rail crossings.”

Another bill, the FARE Act, also follows Caltrain actions — in this case, a move to electrify its trains from San Francisco to San Jose. The FARE Act would establish an advisory committee to identify current barriers to nationwide rail electrification and promote coordination amongst transportation agencies.

“I am very proud of the work that we’ve done, in particular on the San Francisco Peninsula, with electrifying this Caltrain corridor,” Mullin said. “To the extent that we could make it easier to electrify commuter rail across the country based on a Caltrain model, I think that would be a good thing, regardless of whether or not they are red states or blue states.”

Such an effort would be positive both for local economies and for future sustainability, Mullin said. The inclusion of the legislation in a larger surface transportation reauthorization would also spotlight San Mateo County’s work in the area.

“I want to make sure that San Mateo County and Peninsula priorities can get some attention in that bill,” Mullin said.

Other included legislation, like the Rail and Highway Transmission Planning Act, would study the possibility of high-voltage transmission line installation on existing highways, something that’s already in existence along highway corridors like California’s Highway 101.

While Mullin acknowledged that clean energy efforts have been stymied by the Republican majority in both the House and Senate, he said that an “all of the above” strategy would be key to dealing with increased energy needs that will accompany the development of artificial intelligence.

“We need kind of an all-of-the-above energy strategy to deal with the energy demands that are going to accompany the AI boom, and I want to make sure that clean energy is at the top of that list,” he said.

Other legislation Mullin introduced includes a bill that would fund a pilot program for captioning and translation services to assist deaf and heard-of-hearing transit riders and a bill that would require transit agencies to provide meaningful access to service for non-English speakers.

As conversation around the surface transportation reauthorization continues, Mullin said he will also be focused on ensuring the Bay Area and California as a whole receives the transportation funding it needs to progress.

“We continue to be a donor state and a donor region to the federal government, but we’re going to be making the case that transportation infrastructure is so crucial to the economic vitality of our region,” he said. “We’ll be making that case as well, to make sure that we get our share of federal dollars on infrastructure.”