undergoing with the lack of operators that we have absorbed into -- part-time operators that became full-time operators. i know there has been a discussion, word on the street about covert service cuts. i would love to be able to have a deeper discussion about that at some blank.

with regards to part-time drivers turning into full time drivers. the long-term approach. the reason why i am bringing this up is because i have seen service runs being missed out there on a regular basis. i understand that once in a while, things happen and we have to pull a run from one route and put it on in other. at some point, i would like to have a deeper discussion about that and what we are doing and what the long-term effects of having no more part-time operators and what we are doing to accommodate that. i understand we might be stretched. if we need to go through a service cuts process, we should do that. when people are depending on something to get to work and it is not there consistently, i do not know that we're being

entirely honest about our operation. i had the good fortune of traveling to denmark last week. i got to observe a lot of the bicycling infrastructure and culture in their with some sfmta staff. it was phenomenal, the things that we saw there. i would love to get an update or a report or something from staff that may have been there. at least have a follow-up meeting in terms of what we can do about changing the bike culture here in san francisco. develop the kind of support they have in and denmark for bicycling and the structure. -- infrastructure.

those kinds of things cost money, up but there is support for it in the public in terms of prioritizing. bicycling over there is not seen as an environmental statement. it is not seen as exercise of quetta. it is just seen the way we might see a subcompact car, and mode of transportation. maybe we can further some discussions. >> and some of the alumni. director ramos: anyone that has been. >> i think it is an excellent idea. we can ask the director to schedule some sort of presentation in the near future. i am asking members of the board to concur in adjourning the meeting this morning in memory of chris heinicke.

thank you. ok. >> item 7, directors report. >> we are going to present a plaque to a very special person. he has just arrived. he will have to set the timer for his remarks, of course. 15 seconds is enough. you serve with great distinction for a number of years in all kinds of way. you did a great job. he was part of the paratransit council, the citizens advisory council. bruce always spoke the truth. he was a passionate advocate on behalf of all citizens of san

francisco, particularly those with disabilities. i would like to invite anyone who would care to say anything to do so. anybody? >> thank you so much for all of your years of service on the mta board. thank you so much for everything i learned from you. it was an honor to serve with you. we are going to miss your words of wisdom, your perspective. i know you will go on to do more great things. director ramos: i wanted to thank bruce, really got a warm welcome from you. i enjoyed the conversations that we had. i felt like we all hung on to every word that you said like it was -- it really was valuable.

i had the good fortune of working with people in the east bay as well and oakland that also know bruce over there. thank you for all of your service to this city and to the region. i look forward to staying in touch with you as we proceed in doing our best for transit. >> service on the taxi commission. >> you are right. director lee: it has been a real pleasure serving on the board with you. i know that when you spoke, he spoke from the heart. it has been a real pleasure. i had the pleasure of going to the nafta conference with you. i know we shared a lot of conversations. i know that everything you said came right from the heart. thank you very much. >> it has been an honor to serve with you. thank you for being next to me

ensuring our knowledge and information. you are passionate about transportation and hope that passion continues. that you will exuded to the public and continue to fight for the people. thank you. >> i know i did not have the pleasure of serving with you, bruce. but i had the pleasure of meeting you. i appreciate your graciousness and your thoughtfulness in terms of introducing me to everything that you did. thank you. director heinicke: i had the pleasure of serving with you on this board and also on the taxi commission. i could go on at length and say a lot of things, but if you were still up here next to me, that would be the point for you would kick me and tell me to shut up.

i will focus on one thing which has impressed me over the years. some have spoken about your passionists -- your passion and your willingness to speak out. the thing has impressed me is your energy. never tired of going up against long or short odds. knew the importance of showing up and losing your opinion. -- and a voice in your opinion. he attended all of the meetings, you attended the subcommittee meetings. he attended all the events. everybody knew you and a respected your energy. that made you a very able advocate. i think some people in this game get respected for good speeches or good ideas. at the end of the day, the hardest thing to do is to go day after day with the energy and a

lack of bias and the passion. you did that every day. >> [inaudible] he is san francisco's only dodgers fan. he had a san francisco at giants poster. it was the result of a lost that. -- lost bet. it was your goddaughter, wasn't it? >> she told me she would never sit next to me at a baseball game. >> on behalf of the entire

board, bruce, and the entire agency, i would like to present this to you. thank you for your outstanding service. [applause] >> thank you so much. where can i start? let me start -- it has been a pleasure serving with the you and knowing you for all of the years. you when i met when you were -- >> i remember. >> we go way back. believe me, we may not have always agreed, but we have always agreed to disagree. it has been a pleasure to work

with you. i have a lifelong friend. each of you are my friends. i treasure the opportunities i was given. i got to talk about a lot of things. i have never done anything half- hearted. everything has been with every ounce of energy i have had. believe me, it has been a pleasure serving with you. i learned a long time ago, do not do anything that you do not believe then. -- believe in.

i come from a family of advocates and rabble-rousers'. [laughter] one thing i will say, it has been a pleasure working with you and your staff. i look forward to many more opportunities to meet with you in the future. i am not going away, folks. i am around. all of you have my contact information. call me anytime. director brinkman, it has been a pleasure serving with you. believe me, i am not finished yet. i am here for the long haul. he gave me the opportunity to

serve the city the way i have. without him, i do not think i would have been up there with you. i know that i owe many people my gratitude and my appreciation. over the years, because i worked without stopping, members of my family said, i do not want to make an appointment to see you. i promised this year i would sit back and enjoy life. up until now, i have been doing that. the main thing is, i want to

welcome director rubke to the board of directors. i am willing to meet with you anywhere and whatever time you want. i promise you, i will give my heart and soul to the city of san francisco. i think that is all i have to say. [applause] chairman nolan: we have one person who would like to say a word to the board about you. >> i have known bruce for a long time. i am going to call you sir bruce.

he has done a great service to all the constituents of san francisco. it was a pleasure -- i said, i would like to say a few words. he said, i hope they are positive. a nice person that not only represented the physically challenged, but human beings. we wish you all of the best. >> [inaudible] [applause] >> i want to echo a lot of the sentiments.

before i officially came on board, bruce, you were very generous with your time and offering guidance and suggestions and insights and support to me as i transition ed in. i really valued all of that. it helped me in my transition and the generosity of your time and the expertise that you brought as i started out and that you brought to the board, not just at these meetings, but every day. it is something, i think, at san francisco was very lucky. one of the things you said to me when we first met was no matter what role i have taken in different commissions or advisory boards, i will always be an advocate. i think you had even said, whenever the time came to leave the mta board, you would not be going away. i am heartened to hear that that

is still your results. i look forward to continuing to work with you in your future. a couple of things. we do have the first meaning of the month, we do some employee recognition. one of the people that we were going to recognize was unable to make it today. another person we were going to recognize chose not to be here for his own concerns, did not want to be recognized in person. i will recognize him in absentia. this is a bus operator who works at one of our bus divisions. coming up on the sixth anniversary, and although very new to the sfmta, it demonstrated great potential as an operator and functions as if he has been here, he functions like a veteran. one example is that he faced a

very dangerous situation when a passenger discharged a gun from standing inside the vehicle aimed at someone inside the vehicle. when the assailant ran from the coach, the operator moved the coach out of danger. he notified central control for assistance. he then subsequently helped the police in their investigation, which did lead to apprehension and a rest. a very unnerving situation for even the more time on folks. he acted like a true perot and day true that iran. -- a true -- he acted like a true that iran. there is one other acknowledgment i will -- he acted like a chiu veteran. -- true veteran.

we are ramping up construction of the tunneling project. we have begun to excavate the launch box. it will be underneath the freeway on fourth street. it will be a large box or we will drop the tunnel machines down. at the same time, building the walls for two of the subway stations, relocating some additional utilities and ensuring that we stabilize all of the area around where we will be digging. we are on track to begin tunneling in early 2013. we have been doing a lot of outreach to let folks know of this next round of construction work. very exciting to see the dirt start to fly. related to that work, in about a month, wednesday, july 11, the southbound bayshore service will

be routed to accommodate the construction in union square and going south. we had already rerouted the 30 and the 45. the rest of the buses will be rerouted. we are doing all the outreach for that. we got our bids for the chinatown station this past week. we got four bids. this is our biggest and most complex of the station contracts. the engineer's estimate was $235 million. we had bids ranging from some of the above that to quite a bit above that. we are still processing and reviewing the bids, but should be able to announce the results of that sand. -- of that soon. the other end of the tunnel is in north beach.

as a result of their announcing some of the preliminary work, a little bit of utility relocation, and work on building the retrieval shack. there has been a lot of concern expressed by folks in north beach. we have been working with supervisor chiu's office to make sure we are addressing any of those concerns. they are concerned about impacts on columbus avenue that might affect the commercial activity. we did get $48.4 million right of state prop 1b funds. this was part of the funding plan. we are pleased to get this next tranche of finding. -- funding. that keeps our cash flow healthy so we can keep this work at boeing. -- this work going.

we are working daily with the fta to make sure that is moving. we believe we are still on track for early september. another small piece of our funding puzzle is the $61 million high-speed rail connectivity funds. the california transportation commission will be acting on that next week or the week after. i am pleased to note that the staff is recommending full funding by the commission for our share as well as the rest of the region's share. that is a big part of making the northern part of the high-speed rail work. a lot of things moving with central funding. good progress continues. our other big construction is church. we have successfully completed the big shut down, but we do have a number of weekend

shutdown starting with the weekend after july 4. one more in july. one or two in august. this will be mostly working from the intersection south towards market streak. -- market street. we should -- we will also be working in the valley as well. there will still be -- we will be managing the bus substitutions and traffic rerouting. we're pleased to be at the end of that. if anyone has not gone through that intersection, it is really night and day. no matter how you are traveling. the u.s. open, which was just in town, was largely managed from a transportation perspective by