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Mountain View has had a shortage of transportation planners over the past year, resulting in a backlog of street improvement and transportation projects. That could change soon though as the city recently hired its first “chief transportation officer” to oversee a newly formed transportation division.
Jessica Manzi, who has over 25 years of transportation planning and engineering experience, will start the position Oct. 26, according to a city press release. Most recently, Manzi worked for the San Mateo County Transportation Authority, serving as the director of project delivery.
“I am pleased to welcome Jessica to this strategic transportation role for Mountain View,” City Manager Kimbra McCarthy said in the press release. “She has deep technical expertise combined with broad experience in transportation planning, traffic engineering and policy development.”
As chief transportation officer, Manzi will lead multiple projects in the city’s transportation division, which falls within the public works department and includes the transportation planning and traffic engineering teams, according to the city’s organizational chart.
Some of the functions of the transportation division include shuttle operations, traffic safety, signal operations, roadway design and grant funding strategies, including for the Rengstorff grade separation project, according to the press release. As chief transportation officer, Manzi will also help guide the implementation of major policy initiatives.
That includes Mountain View’s recently adopted active transportation plan, which seeks to improve bicycle and pedestrian safety in the city, its Vision Zero policy, which aims to eliminate all traffic fatalities by 2030, and a transportation ordinance to reduce drive-alone trips.
Other functions of the transportation division include initiatives related to “complete green streets,” safe routes to school and a community shuttle service plan, the press release said. Over the next decade, Mountain View also plans to implement various street improvement projects, some of which are underway, including on California Street, Middlefield Road, Miramonte Avenue and Rengstorff Avenue.
“I applaud the city’s commitment to safe, sustainable mobility for the residents and visitors who move through Mountain View’s streets,” Manzi said in the press release. “I welcome the opportunity to lead the new transportation division and to partner with the community in shaping a transportation future for everyone, regardless of how they choose to travel.”
For the past three years, Manzi worked for the San Mateo County Transportation Authority, developing policy and funding strategies for grade separation projects. She also explored extensions of the U.S. Highway 101 express lanes, the press release said. Manzi was previously a transportation manager for Redwood City and worked for the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency in a variety of roles.
Manzi is a licensed civil engineer and holds a dual master’s degree from the University of California, Berkeley in city and regional planning and in transportation engineering. She holds a bachelor’s degree in civil and environmental engineering from Cornell University.
This is a great idea. We need this ALONGSIDE new housing. The YIMBYs have no plans for how to move all these new people around.
The rest of Miramonte needs to be finished in it’s full repair, along with El Monte/Springer Roads in Mtn. View. My tires and suspension are suffering. We also need the boarded up buildings along ECR to be removed for housing. Can someone take on that job?