Transportation director‑designate emphasizes safety, signaling projects and transit funding sustainability

Roger Morton, director‑designate for the Department of Transportation Services, told the Committee on Planning, Infrastructure and Transportation on Feb. 11 that his priorities include traffic safety, completing planned capital projects and confronting long‑term transit funding challenges.

Morton said DTS is not responsible for pothole repair or driver licensing but emphasized the agency's role in traffic engineering, signal maintenance, parking policy and coordination with transit operators. "The department is strongly in favor of pedestrian safety," he said, adding the department has amassed federal funding and planned projects including traffic‑signal upgrades and pedestrian‑safety work.

Morton told the committee DTS will present options to the council on modest, regular fare adjustments for bus and Skyline services and possible measures to address behavior on transit systems to keep them clean and safe. He said the city currently holds roughly $300 million in Federal Transit Administration awards and about $65 million in federal highway funding that DTS expects to program for island projects.

Members raised topics including quick‑build bicycle lanes and better public notification for street‑use changes after a recent reallocation of curb space and lanes. Morton acknowledged the department could have communicated the temporary changes more clearly and said DTS plans a program of up to 50 quick‑build projects to test designs and collect data.

This was a discussion hearing on the nomination; no committee confirmation vote occurred at this meeting.