Cameron Beach, 62
Written by William C. Vantuono, Editor-in-ChiefSan Francisco Municipal Transportation Authority Board Director Cameron Beach died Friday night, after apparently suffering a heart attack. Beach was 62. He had served for more than four years on the SFMTA Board.
A semi-retired transportation consultant, Beach was instrumental in attaining credibility for the Sacramento Regional Transit District as it established light rail transit for California’s capital city in 1987; Beach rose to chief operating officer for RTD. He was a visible presence in June 2008 when the American Public Transportation Association held its annual Rail Conference in San Francisco, co-hosting tours of San Francisco’s light rail and streetcar operations, including the city’s heritage equipment.
A San Francisco native, Beach was a respected transportation professional. "Director Beach has been a pillar of transit expertise and insight on our board, and it has been a privilege to know and work with him over these years," said Tom Nolan, chairman of the SFMTA board.
Nathaniel Ford, SFMTA executive director and CEO, said Mr. Beach helped spur “significant improvements to the industry. His transit expertise will not only be missed here in San Francisco, but across this nation.”
Rick Laubscher, a close friend and the head of the Market Street Railway, a non-profit preservation group, said, “Cam Beach’s loss to this city is hard to overestimate. He loved Muni more than anyone I ever knew—not for what it was, because he knew its shortcomings all too well—but for what it could be, in terms of serving riders properly and empowering mobility in his native city.”
