Grace Crunican

Last updated
Grace Crunican
Grace Crunican BART bio picture.png
Crunican circa 2015
General Manager of the Bay Area Rapid Transit system
In office
August 31, 2011 –July 6, 2019

Grace Crunican (born 1955) is a mass transportation specialist who most recently served as general manager of the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) District. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] She had previously worked for the Oregon Department of Transportation, the Federal Transit Administration (under the Clinton administration), and the Seattle Department of Transportation, and also at the mass transit lobbying organization called the Surface Transportation Policy Project. [1] [3]

Contents

Early life and education

Crunican was born in Beaverton, Oregon, to Marcus Saunders Crunican and Cora Lee Cunningham [6] [7] in 1955. [8] She has a B.A. from Gonzaga University and an MBA from Willamette University. [9]

Career

Early career

Crunican began her career in policy in the 1970s in Washington, D.C. [4]

Her first transportation-related appointment was in 1979 to the Presidential Management Intern Program (now Presidential Management Fellows Program) for the U.S. Department of Transportation. She then served as a Professional Staffer for the Senate Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee. [9] Among other things, she managed TriMet's request for a vintage trolley and downtown street additions in the Portland metropolitan area, Oregon. [10]

Crunican then went on to become Deputy Director and Capitol Project Manager at the Portland Bureau of Transportation, [2] [10] where she is credited with increasing dedicated transportation funding from 23% to 55%. [2] [11]

Surface Transportation Policy Project

After working at the Portland Bureau of Transportation, Crunican became the director of the Surface Transportation Policy Project, a nonprofit coalition dedicated to implementing the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991. [1] [3] [9] [12]

Federal Transit Administration (under President Bill Clinton) (1993–1996)

Crunican served as Deputy Administrator at the Federal Transit Administration (united the United States Department of Transportation) from 1993 to 1996, under the presidency of Bill Clinton. [1] While in that role, Crunican negotiated 13 New Start Rail projects worth $3 billion. [2] [11] [13] She also testified twice to the Railroad Safety Committee while in the role. [14]

Oregon Department of Transportation (May 1996 – February 2001)

Crunican at a MAX light rail line opening in Oregon in 1998 Grace Crunican at Westside MAX opening - Hillsboro, Oregon 1998.jpg
Crunican at a MAX light rail line opening in Oregon in 1998

Crunican began serving as director of the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) in May 1996 [15] [16] [17] under Governor John Kitzhaber, and was the first female to serve in that role. [18]

In 1999, as ODOT Director, Crunican ordered the formation of "Project Time Team" to cut turnaround time for highway construction projects to 18 months between acceptance of project by city/county and release of advertising for contractor bids. [18]

Crunican announced her resignation abruptly in January 2001. Her salary at the time of resignation was $118,000. Crunican's resignation came on the heels of two other state agency director resignations, but a spokesman for Governor John Kitzhaber said that the spate of resignations was coincidental and not part of a purge. [16] [17] Crunican's work was praised by Republican state representative Bruce Starr, of Aloha, who expressed surprise at her resignation, as well as by Gary George, the Senate Transportation Committee chairman who had previously been critical of ODOT. [16] [17] Her resignation was effective February 28, 2001. [15]

Seattle Department of Transportation (2002–2009)

Crunican began serving as the director of the Seattle Department of Transportation in 2002, becoming the second person to serve in that role. The Seattle Department of Transportation had been created in 1997 with the name Seattle Transportation Department, and Crunican replaced outgoing director Daryl Grigsby. [19] While there, Crunican implemented Bridging the Gap (a transportation maintenance levy) [1] [8] [9] and the Transit Master Plan (Seattle Connections, Bike Master Plan, Freight Mobility Strategic Plan, and Pedestrian Master Plan), the latter with the goal of helping Seattle achieve the U.S. Kyoto Protocol goals. [1] [9]

In 2008, due to a series of heavy snowstorms, Seattle's transportation was paralyzed for a few days, and Crunican's inadequate response to the snowstorm was criticized. [4] [8] [20] Among other things, her decision to use sand instead of salt to clear out the accumulated snow (to limit environmental damage to the Bay) was implicated as a reason for the snow not being cleared out quickly enough. [4] Crunican was also criticized for going on vacation while the snow had not cleared out, and for failing to take responsibility and lacking a customer service mindset. [21]

Despite considerable dissatisfaction at Crunican, Mayor Greg Nickels refused to fire her, citing her overall positive track record including her work on Bridging the Gap, [21] a sentiment echoed by other Crunican supporters, [20] and one he would continue to voice over the years. [7] However, shortly after the mayor's job was turned over to Mike McGinn, Crunican announced on December 28, 2009 that she was resigning and would start her own consulting company. [4] [8] [21] [22]

Hiatus (2010 and half of 2011)

At the time of Crunican's resignation from SDOT, it was reported that Crunican was a finalist for a county administrator job in Clackamas County, Oregon. [21] [23] However, she did not get the job. [24]

Bay Area Rapid Transit (August 31, 2011 – July 6, 2019)

Crunican was general manager for the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) District. [1] BART is a rail-based mass transit system serving the San Francisco Bay Area.

On April 13, 2011, BART announced that general manager Dorothy Dugger was quitting with extra compensation of $958,000 (severance of $600,000 and extra compensation of $350,000 for a smooth transition), and BART was beginning the search for a replacement. Dugger's last day at work would be April 22, 2011. [25] [26] [27]

In early August, the San Francisco Chronicle reported that BART had almost finalized on Grace Crunican as the general manager. [3] Board member Lynette Sweet said that during the interview, Crunican impressed the board by identifying things that the board was doing wrong. Of the board directors, only one, James Fang, voted against her, saying he was unsure whether she knew enough about BART. [4]

Crunican was formally appointed as general manager on August 31, 2011. [2] [5] Her initial salary was $300,000. [4] Crunican got a $20,000 raise in annual salary six months later. [24]

Crunican's first major challenge was labor union strikes as well as deaths that occurred on the tracks due to a train run by a substitute worker during the strikes. [4] [28] [29] [30] Crunican pushed back against union demands noting that the money comes from fares and taxpayers, whose interests also need to be protected, but she received criticism for excessive executive compensation. [7] [24] [28] [31]

Crunican oversaw replacement of the BART train seats to vinyl ones that were more hygienic and easy to clean, [4] and the award of a contract to Bombardier Transportation in 2012 for the delivery of new train cars. [4] [32] During her tenure, BART opened the Oakland International Airport station and Warm Springs/South Fremont station.

One of the factors in deciding to hire Crunican was her skill at securing external grants and other funding, later validated by her subsequent success at getting Metropolitan Transportation Commission funding for the BART train car upgrade, [4] and the passage of Measure RR, giving BART $3.5 billion in infrastructure funds. [33] [34] [35]

On April 11, 2019, Crunican announced her retirement from BART effective July 6, 2019. [36]

Personal life

Crunican is single and has had two adopted children, from Russia respectively. She lives in Alameda, California. [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bay Area Rapid Transit</span> Rapid transit system serving the San Francisco Bay Area

Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) is a rapid transit system serving the San Francisco Bay Area in California. BART serves 50 stations along six routes and 131 miles of track, including a 9-mile (14 km) spur line running to Antioch, which uses diesel multiple unit vehicles, and a 3-mile (4.8 km) automated guideway transit line serving Oakland International Airport. With an average of 160,300 weekday passengers as of the second quarter of 2023 and 41,286,400 annual passengers in 2022, BART is the seventh-busiest heavy rail rapid transit system in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Transbay Tube</span> Underwater rail tunnel under San Francisco Bay

The Transbay Tube is an underwater rail tunnel that carries Bay Area Rapid Transit's four transbay lines under San Francisco Bay between the cities of San Francisco and Oakland in California. The tube is 3.6 miles (5.8 km) long, and attaches to twin bored tunnels. The section of rail between the nearest stations totals 6 miles (10 km) in length. The tube has a maximum depth of 135 feet (41 m) below sea level.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Powell Street station</span> Rapid transit station in San Francisco, California, US

Powell Street station is a combined BART and Muni Metro rapid transit station in the Market Street subway in downtown San Francisco. Located under Market Street between 4th Street and 5th Street, it serves the Financial District neighborhood and surrounding areas. The three-level station has a large fare mezzanine level, with separate platform levels for Muni Metro and BART below. The fare mezzanine also connects to the Union Square/Market Street station. The Powell-Mason and Powell-Hyde cable car lines turn around at Powell and Market adjacent to the station and Hallidie Plaza.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency</span> Government transportation agency in San Francisco, California

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency is an agency created by consolidation of the San Francisco Municipal Railway (Muni), the Department of Parking and Traffic (DPT), and the Taxicab Commission. The agency oversees public transport, taxis, bicycle infrastructure, pedestrian infrastructure, and paratransit for the City and County of San Francisco.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Balboa Park station</span> Transit station in San Francisco, California, US

Balboa Park station is a Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) station and Muni Metro complex in the Mission Terrace neighborhood of San Francisco, California, located near the eponymous Balboa Park. It is an intermodal hub served by four BART routes, three Muni Metro lines, and a number of Muni bus routes. The station complex also includes two rail yards, Cameron Beach Yard and Green Light Rail Center, where Muni maintains Muni Metro trains and heritage streetcars. BART uses a below-grade island platform on the west side of the complex; Muni Metro routes use several smaller side platforms located on surface-level rail loops around the yards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pleasant Hill/Contra Costa Centre station</span> Rapid transit station in San Francisco Bay Area

Pleasant Hill/Contra Costa Centre station is a Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) station serving the Contra Costa Centre Transit Village in Contra Costa Centre, California, just north of Walnut Creek and just east of Pleasant Hill.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fremont station (BART)</span> Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) station in San Francisco Bay Area

Fremont station is a Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) station in the central district of Fremont, California. The station is served by the Orange Line and Green Line. It was the southern terminus of both lines from September 11, 1972, until March 25, 2017, when Warm Springs/South Fremont station opened.

Richard A. White is an American public transportation official who served as the CEO and General Manager of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority during 1996–2006. Prior to joining WMATA as CEO, he served as the general manager at Bay Area Rapid Transit in the San Francisco area. White also spent six years with the federal Urban Mass Transit Administration, which is now the Federal Transit Administration. White is from Massachusetts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Government of San Francisco</span> Overview of the government of San Francisco

The government of the City and County of San Francisco utilizes the "strong mayor" form of mayoral/council government, composed of the Mayor, Board of Supervisors, several elected officers, and numerous other entities. It is the only consolidated city-county in California, and one of only thirteen charter counties of California. The fiscal year 2019–20 city and county budget was approximately $12.3 billion.

Throughout the history of Bay Area Rapid Transit, there have been plans to extend service to other areas.

Bay Area Rapid Transit, widely known by the acronym BART, is the main rail transportation system for the San Francisco Bay Area. It was envisioned as early as 1946 but the construction of the original system began in the 1960s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carole Ward Allen</span> American politician and artist

Carole Ward Allen is an American politician, professor, and political consultant. She is a member of the Democratic Party, and serves as the chief executive officer of CWA Partners, LLC. As a mass transportation executive in the State of California, Ward Allen served three four-year terms as an elected member of the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District Board of Directors representing the 4th district from 1998 until 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Berryessa/North San José station</span> BART station in San Jose, California, United States

Berryessa/North San José station is an intermodal transit center located in the Berryessa district of San Jose, California. The station is served by Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) and Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) buses. The transit center opened for bus service on December 28, 2019, and subsequently for BART service on June 13, 2020.

eBART Diesel LRT system going from Antioch to Pittsburg/Bay Point

eBART is a hybrid rail branch line of the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system in eastern Contra Costa County, California, United States. The line extends the Yellow Line beyond Pittsburg/Bay Point station to Antioch station.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bay Area Rapid Transit District</span>

The San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District, or BART, is a special-purpose district body that governs the Bay Area Rapid Transit system in the California counties of Alameda, Contra Costa and San Francisco. The system itself also serves northern San Mateo County and Santa Clara County; however, these counties have bought into the system and have neither a voting stake nor any representatives in the district proper. The District currently operates 50 stations, 817 rail cars, 131 miles of track

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Warm Springs/South Fremont station</span> Rapid transit station in San Francisco Bay Area

Warm Springs/South Fremont station is a Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) station located in the Warm Springs district of Fremont, California. The station is served by the Orange Line and Green Line. It was the southern terminus of both lines from its opening on March 25, 2017 until June 13, 2020, when Milpitas and Berryessa/North San José stations opened as part of the Silicon Valley BART extension.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oakland Airport Connector</span> Bay Area Rapid Transit automated guideway transit system

The Oakland Airport Connector is an automated guideway transit (AGT) system operated by Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) between BART's Coliseum station and Oakland International Airport station. The line is colored on BART maps as the Beige Line. The system is integrated into BART's fare system. The line opened for revenue service on November 22, 2014, replacing the AirBART shuttle bus service that had operated since July 1, 1977. Currently operating between two terminal stations, the system includes provisions for an intermediate third station that may be built at a later date.

Bill "Billy" Richard Stokes was a mass transportation specialist and advocate most famous for being the General Manager of the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) District during the initial construction and start of service of BART.

Dorothy W. Dugger is a mass transportation specialist who worked for the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) district from 1992 to 2011, spending the last four years as BART's first female general manager.

Thomas E. "Tom" Margro is a mass transportation specialist best known for being the longest-serving General Manager for the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit district. He also served as CEO of the Transportation Corridor Agencies from 2007 to 2012.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "General Manager". Bay Area Rapid Transit . Retrieved July 22, 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Grace Crunican is selected as BART's new General Manager". Bay Area Rapid Transit. August 31, 2011. Retrieved July 22, 2017.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Matier & Ross (August 3, 2011). "Grace Crunican in line for post of BART manager". San Francisco Chronicle . Retrieved July 22, 2017.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Burnson, Robert (October 2, 2014). "BART's No-Nonsense GM Grace Crunican. She handles strikes, deaths on the tracks, and nine bosses to run the aging train system as best she can. Has BART entered a new era?". Alameda Magazine. Retrieved July 22, 2017.
  5. 1 2 "Grace Crunican officially named new BART general manager". San Francisco Examiner . August 31, 2011. Retrieved July 22, 2017.
  6. ↑ "Marcus Sanders Crunican [obituary]". The Oregonian . June 26, 2013. Retrieved July 22, 2017.
  7. 1 2 3 Marinucci, Carla (July 3, 2013). "BART GM weighing needs of riders, workers". San Francisco Chronicle . Retrieved July 22, 2017.
  8. 1 2 3 4 "Seattle transportation director Crunican resigns". The Seattle Times . December 28, 2009. Retrieved July 22, 2017.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 "Grace Crunican". SPUR. Retrieved July 22, 2017.
  10. 1 2 "Making History: 45 Years of TriMet and Transit in the Portland Region" (PDF). TriMet . Retrieved July 22, 2017.
  11. 1 2 "Board Profile: Grace Crunican". Mineta National Transit Research Consortium. February 2017. Retrieved July 22, 2017.
  12. ↑ "STPP Board of Directors: Remembering David Burwell". Surface Transportation Policy Partnership. Retrieved July 22, 2017.
  13. ↑ "BART names Crunican new GM". Progressive Railroading. September 1, 2011.
  14. ↑ "Grace Crunican". C-SPAN . Retrieved July 22, 2017.
  15. 1 2 "Secretary of State Audit Report Oregon Department of Transportation". Oregon Secretary of State. October 12, 2001. Retrieved July 22, 2017.
  16. 1 2 3 "ODOT director Crunican resigns". Albany Democrat-Herald . January 18, 2001. Retrieved July 22, 2017.
  17. 1 2 3 "ODOT director issues surprise resignation announcement". Daily Journal of Commerce . Portland, Oregon. January 19, 2001. Retrieved July 22, 2017.
  18. 1 2 "Oregon on the Move: A history of Oregon's transportation systems" (PDF). Oregon Department of Transportation . Retrieved July 22, 2017.
  19. ↑ "Director, Department of Transportation, Seattle Municipal Archives" . Retrieved July 22, 2017.
  20. 1 2 Barnett, Erica (December 3, 2009). "The Case for Grace". Seattle Metropolitan . Retrieved July 22, 2017.
  21. 1 2 3 4 "Seattle transportation chief's departure was expected". The Seattle Times . December 29, 2009. Retrieved July 22, 2017.
  22. ↑ "Updates: SDOT announces director Grace Crunican is resigning". West Seattle Blog. December 28, 2009. Retrieved July 22, 2017.
  23. ↑ Brewster, David (December 3, 2009). "Is Grace Crunican heading back to Oregon?". Crosscut.com . Retrieved July 22, 2017.
  24. 1 2 3 "Are BART Executives Overpaid?". Beyond Chron. July 10, 2013. Retrieved July 22, 2017.
  25. ↑ "BART general manager resigns; search for new GM begins Thursday". Bay Area Rapid Transit. April 13, 2011. Retrieved July 22, 2017.
  26. ↑ Brooks, Jon (April 13, 2011). "BART General Manager Dorothy Dugger Resigns; Severance is $958,000". KQED . Retrieved July 22, 2017.
  27. ↑ Cabanatuan, Michael (April 13, 2011). "BART's Dugger quits with $1 million severance". San Francisco Chronicle . Retrieved July 22, 2017.
  28. 1 2 Gammon, Robert (November 20, 2013). "BART's General Manager Should Resign. The unraveling of the transit agency's contract deal with its unions is yet another example of why Grace Crunican is not qualified for her job". East Bay Express. Retrieved July 22, 2017.
  29. ↑ Hurd, Rick; Debolt, David (October 20, 2013). "National Transportation Safety Board takes over BART tragedy investigation". The Mercury News . San Jose, California. Retrieved June 20, 2017.
  30. ↑ Dolan, Maura (October 21, 2013). "Trainee was operating BART train that struck workers, NTSB says". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved June 20, 2017.
  31. ↑ pipsorcle (July 4, 2013). "BART General Manager Grace Crunican's Broken Promises - UPDATE: BART Service Restored For Now". DailyKos . Retrieved July 22, 2017.
  32. ↑ "Delivery Plan: BART New Train Cars". Bay Area Rapid Transit . Retrieved July 9, 2017.
  33. ↑ "Measure RR: BART Bond". SPUR Voter Guide. Retrieved June 21, 2017.
  34. ↑ "Voters Approve Measure RR, $3.5 Billion BART Bond". KPIX-TV. November 9, 2016. Retrieved June 21, 2017.
  35. ↑ Kersten, David; Lack, Wendy (October 13, 2016). "Measure RR: $3.5 billion BART infrastructure bond". San Francisco Chronicle . Retrieved June 21, 2017.
  36. ↑ "BART General Manager Grace Crunican surprises board with plans to retire in July". San Francisco Chronicle. 12 April 2019. Retrieved November 17, 2019.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.