if you want to do something for the other groups, you also have to do a lot when you design your intersections. that is where the most accidents happen and where the people feel the most unsafe. we're focusing very much on the intersections, how to design those. >> the towns in the netherlands have the highest rate of bicycle use. also, in denmark. ithey have all the facilities ad priorities for bicycles. it turns out that these towns have a lot higher bicycle use than elsewhere. it pays to have good bicycle facilities.

>> yes, i have another question. this is more on the cost and maintenance. one thing that plagues american cities is the maintenance budget for maintaining public streets and public right of ways. we know very well that you have very high taxes and you have very high parking fees. could you talk about who and how you maintain your infrastructure and the streets? is that just a given, you decide to build something and somebody maintains it, or is there an agreement with another department to maintain it? >> the authorities in amsterdam, the infrastructure and transport department and municipalities, they financed it, they planned it, they build it, construct it,

and they maintain it. i think that is the logical route. and is paid by the community's -- and is paid by the communit ies, and also from the state department. [inaudible] >> in the netherlands, if a road is really bad they will fix it.

>> ok, there is a question in the back. >> our director of public works was in the back. he has a real problem here. maintenance is a huge bill. we do not have the wherewithal to maintain what we have. putting in new facilities increases the cost. then when you bring in different types of facilities -- >> we see a lot of the european- style traffic patterns with intricate paving stones and beautiful designs and then we

get the response, we do not have the maintenance budget, we cannot maintain these. how do you get around that so you could say this is the actual cost? >> it is an integrated part of running the business. it is the responsibility of the mrs. pawlenty -- it is the responsibility of the municipality and it is the responsibility of the taxpayers. if we build a new highway, we know how much it costs, but we also know how much it costs yearly to maintain it. it is one and the same. it is part of the bill. >> doesn't anybody here in san francisco care about the cost? all about the streets, the pavement is quite bad.

i think it seems to be quite a port town. the same in boston. everywhere, the pavement, the maintenance of the roads are a lot worse than anywhere in europe. >> on that note, any other questions? >> hi, i work for the san francisco board of supervisors. a year or two ago, there is talk about changing the traffic laws so that cyclists would treat it red lights like stop signs and treat stop signs like yield signs. it was wondering about any changes in law? >> it has been suggested recently that cyclist conditions should be improved.

one was that cyclists should be able to ride on a red light. that was a discussion. i do not think that we will get that in denmark, because you have to change the legislation opinion that cyclists, they already have the rights they need. they have the same rights as cars, and that is enough. we don't have this for cars. >> we also have european regulation on that. i should do the picture of the 1-way roads. the cost that it brought with it. underneath the existing sign, you had to make another sign on the other part of the road. the also had to indicate you are

a car driver on a one-way road but you may have cyclists on the other side. we said, let's pass the message that it is like that, with or without the extra sign, but we could not because it was prohibited by european regulations. we do have some constraints there. >> in the netherlands, you have a separate bicycle path where you cannot turn right without having to encounter other bikes going straight ahead or going left. in a lot of cases, they have traffic lights and they say underneath, cyclists to the right may pass at the red light. in the netherlands, it is quite common that cyclists who are turning right may do so at a red traffic light. >> ok, we are a little after

1:00. before you leave, i would really like to thank the mpc and the german marshall fund. >> if anybody is interested in the presentation, there are some real interesting slides. we will be posting them on our website. if you want to leave your business card, we will make sure that we keep you on the list to receive e-mail notification about that. he did leave that on the table, or hand them to lizzie, who is right there by the pillar, or hand them to me. we will make sure that you get notification of that. >> thank you all very much. thank you, peter, thank you, neil. thank you all for coming.

♪ [applause]

>> de want to sit down? that is perfectly all right. -- do you want to sit down? let me called this meeting to order. it is the occasion when the mayor of san francisco is to take the oath of office. i believe this is probably the first major who has had all the other living mayor's as the 16 county of san francisco president for this swearing in. [laughter] but i do not take it personally. i did not even notice it. [laughter]

of course, i should identify them quickly. to my left, she will be on later on in the program, but we will start with dianne feinstein, the only woman who was ever held the mayorship of the city of san francisco. united states senator. [applause] start with the man who most recently left this job and went on to become the lieutenant governor of california, gavin newsom. [applause] frank jordan, former mayor frank jordan, former police chief of the city of san francisco. [applause] and my colleague from the legislative years and mayor of sanford says go, are new and tho san francisco.

[applause] now that the stage is set, it is time clearly for prayer. reverend james, please come and give us the invocation. >> the per i offer todrayer i os on behalf of the more than 800 organizations in the city of county of san francisco. many of the agencies have served the people of san francisco for over 100 years. let us pray. got we come to you and prayer for our mayor, and when we. edwin lee. -- god, we come to you in

prayer. as he renews his commitment to serve as our mayor, we ask you renewal his zeal for public service. grant him good health. give him the gift of patients, care for all people, but above all, the gift of wisdom here that surround his occupation with men and women dedicated to public service. fill him with your love so that he is not afraid. for as the scripture says, but perfect love cast out of fear. finally, we pray for ourselves as citizens of the city we love it. drive from us and our elected officials all cynicism and slavish ideology. in your mercy grant us just and honest, rep.

all men. -- and honest government. -- amen. >> please welcome the color guard in the san francisco girls chorus. -- and the san francisco girls chorus. where are they? [laughter] [laughter] [applause] >> i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america. and into the republic, for which it stands, one nation under god

indivisible with liberty and justice for all.

♪ [chorus singing]

[chorus singing] [chorus singing "star spangled banner"] [applause]

forward. halt.

forward march. [applause] >> you may be seated.

i moved a little bit ahead of schedule by introducing all of you. i was supposed to do that at the end of that. and understand if you have been in my position, i would have wanted you to introduce me first. in [laughter] you understand why that happens, mr. mayor. ibm, of course, delighted to have so many of my yearayor le' good friends from throughout san francisco and the bay area and the country. mayor lee had some special things he really wanted done on this occasion, and the girl's chorus was one of them, and the

boys' chorus would be another of the special activities that he would like to see occur. his emphasis is obviously on including everyone in the city, so from early morning to day until the present time and on through another part of the day there will be various cultural organizations and groups all on the performance arts side who were participating on the state of inauguration of our city. at this time, we would like very much for the boys' chorus to appear and do one of the favorite tunes that this mayor likes, other than what m. c. hammer does with "too legit to quit." san francisco boys chorus, "

america the beautiful." ♪ [boys chorus singing "america the beautiful"]

♪ [boys chorus singing "america the beautiful"]

♪ [applause] >> the boys' chorus and san

francisco has traveled all over the world what individual mayor's representing the city. bogirl's chorus has done the same thing. boys' chorus happens to be my favorite because some of the young voices are scholars from the willie brown institute. we sponsor them, because we are looking for the next m. c. hammer. [laughter] mr. mayor, you are indeed blessed. you have attracted a crowd like know whether inside city hall. people from the national level are here. i should probably go on with a program that martha has put together. i should identify some of them with your permission, because when you speak you should know who is here to listen. because wh y