LOS ANGELES — Seleta Reynolds of the San Francisco Department of Transportation was nominated June 20 by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti to be the next general manager of the Los Angeles Department of Transportation.
Reynolds will replace interim head Jon Kirk Mukri, the general manager for recreation and parks who took over as interim LADOT general manager when Jaime de la Vega stepped down in October 2013.
Several department heads have stepped down since Garcetti took office. He campaigned on a promise to have all of the city's department heads re-interview for their jobs.
Los Angeles has spent the past decade building up its rail network and working to shift the focus from car travel to public transportation.
"Seleta is the ideal field marshal in our war against traffic who will bring to bear all the tools at our disposal, from better road design to transit to technology to bicycle and pedestrian improvements," Garcetti said in a prepared statement. "She is also a big believer in our Great Streets Initiative and has committed to applying her passion and expertise to revitalizing key community corridors across our city to improve neighborhood gathering places and generate economic activity."
Garcetti had announced an initiative to rejuvenate Los Angeles' boulevards and named 12 streets across the city that will be the first in the program.
"Los Angeles is a world-class city that deserves excellent transportation choices," said Reynolds. "I'm excited to partner with the agencies and policymakers who deliver great projects on the streets."
Reynolds has more than 16 years of experience planning, funding, and implementing transportation projects throughout the United States. She presently works for the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, where she leads three teams in the Livable Streets sub-division responsible for innovation, policy, and coordination for complete streets projects citywide. Her teams' current projects include the launch of a pilot bike-sharing system and construction of safety projects to help the city meet Vision Zero, a goal to reach zero traffic deaths by 2014.
"Seleta is the right person at the right time," said Janette Sadik-Khan, principal at Bloomberg Associates, and former NYC transportation commissioner, who advised Garcetti on the selection process. "L.A. is poised to expand transportation choices, improve mobility and design safer, more vibrant streets, and Seleta brings the innovative vision and strategies needed to lead LADOT at this critical moment."
Reynolds' nomination is subject to confirmation by the City Council.
