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++ that we are doing. perhaps, it is the most exciting, using the historic st. cars -- street cars, adding service on the embarcadero.

we do have a couple of ball games, one saturday at 1:00 p.m. and another at 5:00 p.m. on sunday. this for help with this. we are testing the people plan earlier -- during this week. including the most notable ltd. and the 37 limited. those will be connecting people from bart up to event areas in the north of the city, the marina green. it will provide connection to the regular service and will continue to provide regular service to our regular riders. there will be increased demand testing does, bart and the ferry and the golden gate writers providing enhanced service. there will also be freed valet

bike parking at the green. and anyone who does need to drive, despite all the great transit service and bike parking, should use the satellite parking lots. there is good information on the america's cup website and presumably on our website. there is also a web page on the 511.org website for the america's cup. we're looking for a bigger event in october and then another next year. the next rail related item, just an update on the central subway. in terms of the full funding grant agreement, it has advanced from the executive branch of the federal government to the legislative branch. that is moving well in terms of

construction. we're just about finishing the second of our utility location contracts. the tunnel contract work that had already started at the south and where the machines are going in and has now started at the south end where the machines are scheduled to be removed in north beach. right now, we're just during the utility location this year. we're working very closely with the north beach community to make sure that any concerns are being addressed as we're working with the union stair -- union square with stockton being fully closed and the tanah location on going there. we should be working on the next contract for the station next week. and we will be free advertising be chinatown station contract -- advertising again the chinatown station contract with the next few weeks.

i think some of the manifestation of the tunnel work has started both on fourth street and north beach, but most significant right now at union square. will be closing the elevated entrance to the board muni station next week as well. that will ultimately be the entrance to the muni station. there is activity all along the alignment, which is good news to see that continuing. the final whaled-related to1i item -- a rail related item the cable car competition will be coming back. it will be september 6th at noon in union square. everybody is, of course, invited. next week, there'll be a preliminary competition at the cable car barn to get the finalists lined up.

we have 12 competitors right now, of whom six will be chosen to challenge leonard oates, who is not just the current champion, but he won in 2007, 2008, and 2009. no doubt, he wants to hold onto his title. in addition to the professionals that will be competing on september 6th, will also be showcasing some amateur ringers competing on behalf of the charity of their choosing. in addition, we will have the 49er gold rush cheerleaders, and a band performing. it is a great tradition here in san francisco. this is the 49th annual. i look forward to seeing you all out there. we are going to be hearing at the september 18th board meeting an update on a lot of bicycling activities. to help set the stage for that

and generate additional thoughts onó/ that, we have asked the san francisco bike correlation to join us here today and give us a bit of an update on some of what they have been working on. and they are not here yet. let me go on to just one final issue i wanted to note, which has gotten a lot of attention recently and has to do with some advertisements that were recently placed on -- i think it is 10 of our buses that run out of the flinn division. the board adopted an advertising policy in 2007, and the contracts that we have with our advertisers, whether for the bus shelters or the vehicles, the contractor is required to adhere to that policy. they are required to screen advertisements for compliance

with the policy. the policy was drafted and approved by this board five years ago, keeping in mind the limitations that we as a public entity have on governing free speech. that is protected by the first amendment. the recent advertisement came in through the process like all other advertisements do. an advertiser -- or an organization approached our contractor. they were reviewed against the policy and found it to be complied with the policy, which i believe it is. and they went ahead and enabled the ads to go up, despite what is clearly a lot of distaste by people in the agency, members of the public, employees, and many groups that were not surprisingly offended by what was in those ads. and we get a lot of consultation internally and we issued a

statement a day or two after this issue was brought to the foure condemning the ads and we have subsequently posted on the buses that the ads were appearing of little bit more public condemnation of those ads, even if they do fall under first amendment protection. there have been many calls for us to remove the ads or take other action. we are working with the human rights commission and will be holding a town hall meeting with many of the folks that we have heard from in the public, who have been concerned about the ad policy and those ads in particular. we have received a lot of support from the human rights commission, the san francisco interfaith council as we try to work through this. we will be scheduling that town hall.p meeting probably sometime

in september. that has been kind of a big issue in the public realm. i thought i would just raise it here. and besides the bicycle coalition of state, which if they are not here, we may need to continue to another time, that is the end of my report. >> she will be here shortly. >> thank you. on the other part about the ad copy -- the ad, i think it is important for this body to take a look at this policy. this certainly, we did not envision anything like this when we adopted this policy in 2007. >> that review is under way. i have asked the city attorney's office to help us in reviewing the policy, looking at any more recent case law or other interpretations ofhn the first amendment that might inform changes we might want to make to the policy. we may come out of that review recommending no change.

we will undertake that process as quickly as possible and i will come back with a recommendation to the board. >> on behalf of the board, we all take this issue very seriously. i believe we received over 4000 e-mail's on this. it was huge. >> not 4000, but there were above 500. maybe 700. there were a significant number. >> ok. >> maybe this should have been under new business or whatever, but the speed of the light rail vehicles on the eureka corp., -- the eureka curve -- >> we cannot hear you. >> is that better? thank you. on the lrv vehicle speed issue on the eureka curve, the last

time we had a report on this it was minor standing that the worker be done may be early or mid summer. and it would be best to have a report back by deborah johnson when she was in your role. when the track work was done, i believe the speed and the curve would increase. my understanding that -- was that would happen over the summer. it seems from my personal daily commute we are still going at the reduced speed. i do not want to demand an answer today, but if we could get a report back on the year recurve and where we are with its vehicle speed and the upgrade, i would appreciate it. >> ok. the advisory council? i do not see mr. mercer -- mr. murphy here. >> no, but you do have members of the public who wish to address you. one person.

herbert weiner. >> is mr. weiner here? >> i do not see him. >> i do not see mr. murphy year. oh, mr. weiner, here he is. >> in respect to that offensive sign that has been posted on the municipal vehicles, i am really wondering how carefully that was reviewed before it was posted. i think that the mta is so desperate for money they will take it from dubious sources. basically, the 11 south van ness compound and its employees have to start thinking outside of the muni bus. it is unfortunate.

basically, maya understanding is that the revenue will go to the -- my understanding is that this revenue will go to the human rights commission. basically, it is blood money. the mta has nothing to gain from this ad. and now you have public protest in a town hall meeting. let's hope this never happens again. the anti-defamation league, the interfaith council, everyone is concerned about this. mr. be a lesson to all of you. you have to get money -- this should be a lesson to all of you. you have to get money legitimately. and you cannot get it by a taxicab drivers or installing parking meters all over the city. there has got to be a better way. maybe a basic -- a better way would be to break up the municipal transit authority as a separate body and have the municipal railroad by itself. [tone] and that way you can generate

money independently >>. >> and the former director of the by coalition will be here shortly. he just got the time wrong. >> that is the director's report, right? ok, go ahead. >> could i get the camera, please? >> sfgtv will control that. >> thank you. i am just commenting on the dinner lane contest. -- ding-a-ling contest for the taxis. i was trying to cop -- a drop off a customer the other day and i believe i was going to get a

ticket in the mail. i actually have a video of the incident as well. i would like to see if we can get this up on the camera as well. $#s>> what's the matter? what is the matter, lady? you are standing right in the middle. i want to drop these people off. just say yes. you want to be dropped off, right? >> this is what i have to deal with on a daily basis. mta meter maids or people. but i do not know about that. it is very disturbing, to say

the least. at the ballpark, one by one ticket in 1991, i got a to get there and it was very disturbing. that was a long time ago and nothing has changed. this is the hostility we get for serving the public of san francisco. if you look at the pictures, you can park illegally. meter maids can park illegally regardless of the time of the meter. fá[tone] thank you. >> the issue of free speech does not impinge on this situation. when government creates a sign, then the information in this kind is commonly understood to be approved by -- in the sign is, men understood to be approved by government. everyone is looking at various obscenities, like the girl who

is massaging her clitoris or the condom on the penis and everybody thinks that is ok for government to do. it is not. i ask you to not make a direct the course in between what you can do and what the people can do, because you do not have the freedom of speech that the people do. do not try to go for the throat with the freedom of speech approach to things that are objectionable in one way or another. >> mr. chairman, we do have members of the public who have asked that item 10.2lmnn, which have to do with the vicinity of bryant street and cesar chavez. >> and 10.1a has been severed,

correct? >> yes. >> is there a motion on the consent calendar for the remaining items? any further discussion? all in favor? all opposed? is there any discussion of 10.2lmnn? >> mr. johnson. >> my name is robert thompson. i am a resident. i am looking for to this project being implemented soon. >> that is generous of you to come down. i will move the item prepared -- the item. >> there is a member of the public that would like to address you on the issue of