Chamber Brings Together Region's Business Leaders with

State, Federal Officials in 'Good Government' Series

Two dozen business and government leaders gathered at the offices of the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce on Monday afternoon to meet with Tyler Duvall, one of the nation's key transportation policymakers.

Duvall is the assistant secretary for transportation policy in the Office of the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation. He works on the development of transportation policies, many with a direct impact on the future of highway funding in the San Diego region.

"This was a tremendous opportunity for Chamber members to exchange ideas with a key policymaker from our nation's Capitol," said Chamber President and CEO Ruben Barrales. "His input was well-received and will help us better formulate our transportation positions in the coming months."

Much of the discussion on Monday centered around the department's initiatives to address highway congestion and goods movement.

Duvall pointed out that a 5 percent to 7 percent reduction of rush-hour traffic flow would lead to a 50 percent increase in commuting speed. He suggested vehicle congestion might be relieved through the adoption of 'congestion pricing" fees -- charging motorists more to use roadways during periods of heaviest use -- and the implementation of real-time traffic technology. He also encouraged businesses to adopt "flex scheduling" and allow more telecommuting by employees.

Duvall was nominated by President George W. Bush and confirmed by the Senate last spring. He joined the Department of Transportation in 2002, and has worked on a broad range of policy and legal issues related to surface and maritime transportation.

Duvall met with the 24 local leaders as part of the Chamber's new "Good Government " series, a program that provides face-to-face discussions with federal, state and local government leaders for Chamber members. The first meeting was in January with California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who met with Chamber leaders to discuss his health care proposal.

This week, Congressman Bob Filner, chairman of the Veterans Affairs Committee in the House of Representatives, will speak to the Chamber's Military Affairs Advisory Committee (MAAC). Several more meetings with government officials are in the planning stages for 2007.

Last week, the Chamber hosted a meeting on behalf of the New California Network, a bipartisan organization examining the state budget and pressing for measures that will increase transparency, planning and accountability in state spending. State Sen. Denise Moreno Ducheny spoke to the group, which included leadership from the Chamber, the San Diego County Taxpayers Association, the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corp., Biocom and business throughout the region.