used for other products. >> [speaking spanish] >> it is going to be a good thing for us to take used motor oil from customers. we have a 75-gallon tank that we used and we have someone take it from here to recycle. >> so far, we have 35 people. we have collected 78 gallons, if not more. these are other locations that you can go. it is absolutely free. you just need to have the location open. you are set to go.

director :lee is present. mr. chairman, you have a quorum. please be advised that the reading of cell phones, pagers, and other electronic devices are prohibited. a person responsible for one going off in the middle of a meeting may be asked to leave the room. please be advised cell phones are set -- that are set on the buy right position create microphone interference. the board refects police -- respectfully requests libby set in the off position. chairperson nolan: is there a motion to approve the minutes? all in favor, say aye. >> on 5, communications, please be advised that the closed

session litigation has been removed from the agenda. item six, introduction of new or unfinished business by board members. >> two things. i wanted to bring up the pedestrian safety issue again and acknowledged the fact that since the last meeting we had a pedestrian fatality in the city in a crosswalk near gehry street. i know that last week there was the first presentation of the 15 mile per hour home zones to a community group. i will be interested to find out how that went. it will be interesting to see how the community group took that suggestion of 15 m.p.h. home zones. one other thing. i was writing my book home this weekend -- i was riding my bike

home this weekend at night and tried the new by klein's in division street, the physically separated lines. it has been six or seven years since i have ridden my bike on division street. those physically separated lines made such a difference. there were some bicycles in that little stretch and it was such a great connector. it closed a little gap in the route there that made it what normally would be a scary situation, and make it pleasant to ride those two blogs and turn onto 11th. that got me thinking about the increase we have seen in cycling of the past five or six years. it is a large increase. i think in the last five years, a 30% increase. chairperson nolan: at least that. there is a memo going out to the board to give you an update. i believe it is on my desk not to be reviewed and signed. it may have been signed already. it outlines the significant progress we have made with the bike plan. we're well ahead of schedule of

what was initially in the bike plan. that will also cover the particular improvement. director brinkman: it made me think if we had seen that much increase in redshift on muni, you would never get on a bus at rush-hour. if we had seen that much increase in car traffic, it would take twice as long to cross the city. it was a reminder we were able to increase the bicycle rider ship that much. to most people, it was probably invisible unless you're trying to cross crosswalks on market street and having to dodge some of the router cyclists. i am interested to see something like that on of unfilled. i think that is an equally important -- i am interested to see something like that on oakenfeld. that is an equally important gap we need to fix. i have heard people say there will not ride bikes with children to drop them off for day care because they are terrified of that three block stretch between scott and the

panhandle. that is the end of that. thank you. i appreciate the separated lines on division. fabulous. it would be great the beginning of the year next year to see some revenue measures come back to us, to take a look at them and have a fresh look. >> on the pedestrian plan, we talked about that last time. i believe will get a full report in the early new year. >> exactly. >> where we stand and what is planned. >> exactly. vice chairperson lee: two weeks ago, i had the opportunity to go visit some of the railyards that we have. i went to kirkland, peterero, wood station. i met some of the drivers to talk about some of the issues and their concerns. i think the department for setting of the meeting. -- i think the department for

setting up the meeting. the drivers and there were paraprofessional and voiced some legitimate concerns. -- the drivers there or paraprofessional -- the drivers there were very professional and voiced some legitimate concerns. there were some major issues raised. >> they were upset about the fact that we [unintelligible] >> when we did it, we did not look to the overall logistics of the parking in the facility. in some cases, we say they should pay if they are coming in, or they should take public transit. but some of these drivers start at 4:00 in the morning, and there is not public transit. >> i would consent with that. chairperson nolan: anyone else have any new business? director heinicke: it is new and unfinished business. i see mr. haley is here.

in my experience, the lrv service has been better in the last two weeks. i appreciated the explanation we have received. the public appreciated it. we have better understanding. we do not have another meeting in this calendar year. perhaps in one of the january meetings, it could be very brief. if you and roberta care to deem it a memo, ok. but i would like some public follow-ups on how john's fixes for those three issues have gone and how that affected service. at least in my personal view, i am -- we are not saying the same issues to work in october and november. i appreciate that. secondly, i will raise peak time taxes again. i realize we're not going to be meeting, but some put we can have a follow-up with deputy director hiashi to see where we

are on that. recent evenings in the rain have reminded me that our citizens and tourists who want to spend money are looking for taxicabs on friday and saturday night. finally, on the rain, i had the pleasure of writing in a cable car for my kids for most of sunday afternoon in the rain. we do not say it often enough. the cable car operators and coach operators -- the cable car operators were amazing, dealing with a crowded, what situation, making sure they got fares, and being courteous to our tourists and pointing out directions. maybe not knowing who i am, they were super nice to my children. in those difficult conditions, i was impressed with their attention to the customers and to safety. an operator named fisher and several other people i met the other day -- thank you. you guys are representing the city well.

>> thank you for bringing up the tax issue. i have been getting a number of calls from the public saying that we need more taxes on the street. the cannot get calves when they want them. i am not talking about red tabs. -- they cannot get taxes when they want them. i am not talking about red cabs. people are not getting the cabs they call in a timely matter. -- a timely manner. it is becoming a concern. i would like to look at how many more taxes we need to take care of this service issue. and how we can mitigate the

concern -- address the concerns of the taxi drivers. we have too many cabs on the street already. you're going to take more money out of my pocket. i have been hearing that since i was on the taxi commission. i think that is not going to stop. but i think i would like to take a look at where we need more cabs or how we address this issue. >> i will get back to the board first of the year with some analysis on that. we do have a plan for peak taxes. that memo is coming out to you also, which will lay out a plan to deal with that issue, taking into account some assessment of the utilization out there so we can do with the differing opinions in terms of the number of taxis here in the city. chairperson nolan: a couple of things i would like to mention under this section. we all received a quarterly

report on capital projects. it was great to see all the green lights. everything is going according to the plan. the funding -- i think that is really good news. the auditors from the transportation department are looking at us in terms of example project. i think these reports are very helpful. they are easy to read and understand. the work behind them is outstanding. so many things are going on schedule. there are three or four items on the agenda today, and overarching comment that has to do with the report we will see from the chinese for affirmative action about the failure of good faith in terms of hiring policies. we have before us today four items that are contracts we are talking about. one is very large with the creek project. this effort is going through the

city in terms of more and more hiring from within the city. i think it is something -- i would be interested to see, even water requirements we have, if we can accommodate the spirit and intent of this thing. there may be complications i am not aware of. i hope we increasingly address depth in these contracts. i think it is about $28 million. just fyi. >> item 7, executive directors report. executive director ford: good afternoon. i will begin a report of recognizing our staff for the outstanding service and contributions they have made to the agency. our first awards will be going to the transit services division. this award will go to sue fong. could you please step up to the podium? she is a conductor at our cable car operation and has been with our agency for over 32 years.

he has an outstanding attendance record, reporting to duty on time for the past 26 years. he also has an exemplary safety record with no accidents in the last 15 years. he is an army veteran who has spent time working at the veterans hospital before joining the mta. when he is not at work, he enjoys riding motorcycles and traveling around the globe. >> mr. haley. good afternoon. >> thank you for the certificate. i really appreciate it. i will be retiring next year and this will be on my wall. [laughter] [applause] >> congratulations. >> i was glad you were here to here director heinike's words on

the cable car stuff and i hope you'll take the back to them. executive director ford: our next award will go to jose mendoza. he is a transit operator on our grain division and has been with the agency for over 21 years. he provides outstanding customer service to our passengers, as evidenced in the numerous commendations he has received. he provides safe rides, operating for over 20 years without an accident. he is recognized as a role model and the green division, and often provides advice to new light rail operators. he enjoys reading and taking long walks. to present the award to jose is our director of transit services. >> congratulations, mr. mendoza, on behalf of the board and all of the people for the grid or to have been doing. >> i would like to thank you for this award. and i would like to thank my family and friends, co-workers

who are present to share this award with me. i have my wife, my mom. [laughter] my sister-in-law. [laughter] i have my superintendent and the president. also, mr. ramos was also an operator who retired in february. he is here and i would like to thank him for the advice he gave me when i first started. above all, i would like to thank the ones who are basically responsible for this award, who were the instructors -- the

safety instructors in the division, who taught me the skills, the defensive driving techniques. keep your eyes moving. make sure they see you. all the trainers who implemented the skills to me, especially mr. jon kaufman, who passed away. he was my trainer in the role who implemented the skills for me. lastly, i would like to thank, on this special occasion that is coming up on december 25, the one who was born at this time, and who many years ago was given a name in the original -- it was

the name shalom, prince of peace, the one who is born on december 25. i would like to thank him for his grace and goodness to meet. he has given me grace to this point. thank you for the award, all of you. [applause] executive director ford: in our capital programs and construction division, our next awardee will be drew howard. can you step up to the podium? [applause] drew is the office manager of our capital controls project relations at the capital programs and construction division. he has been with the agency for 19 years. his responsibilities have

included the project management segment heading the civil and over had engineering groups. he was the driving force behind the successful third street light rail jobs program, which has evolved into the city build a program. -- city build program. he is also responsible for the insurance program and is focusing to have the greatest opportunity for local and small businesses in terms of doing work with this agency. he has been the manager of our softball team as part of the workers' children fund annual softball tournament for the last 10 years. he has been with the project from its early environmental phase to open the t-line and mme facilities. he worked to address the major impact this construction has had on the neighborhoods. he has two daughters and one son. he enjoys softball, camping, fishing, and bowling.

he is a very busy man. the award will be presented by carter, director of our capital improvement programs. >> andrew j. howard the first, drwew, is one of our premier project managers. his dedication to the agencies suggest -- agency's success is highly commendable. he exhibits a style that is very disarming. it brings consensus among peers and stickle average. -- and stakeholders. he is very efficient. i give him a task that takes four hours for the normal human being this morning, and it took him 10 minutes. i am honored to be able to present the award to drew howard. [applause]

chairperson nolan: mr. howard, congratulations and thanks on behalf of the agency and people of san francisco. >> as a san francisco native who has been writing muni -- riding muni since i was knee high to a grasshopper, it is a privilege to be able to give my services over the last 19 years to muni, to be part of it. i also need to think my wife, clare, who is born with me and i have been at innumerable community meetings like it at night. maybe daddy will come to dinner tonight. it has been a privilege. thank you very much. [applause] executive director ford: the final item i need to brief you on is the california cable car project. we have been doing a lot of

discussion around cable cars in the last few minutes. that will be continuing for the next few months. on december 17 -- on september 17, which began a project to renovate the cable car system as well as make street improvements between van ness and drum street. we did mass mailings to all of the residents and merchants along the route, along with the press release and web postings with regard to the upcoming construction. there are two phases to this work. it began on september 17. that included a site survey, installation of new ada curb ramps, sidewalk replacement at certain locations, and several hundred feet of electrical conduit on mason between california and sacramento streets. this work has been stopped in

honor of the holiday season. there is a moratorium on construction projects as it relates to the holidays. beginning november 25, we instituted a moratorium. we will continue during this timeframe to install a conduit on mason between sacramento and washington. phase two will begin on january 3 of next year through the summer of next year. to facilitate this work, the california cable car line will be shut down to do work within the cable car trackway. this service will be replaced by bus shuttles to provide service to our writers. this work will include the replacement of all of the aging electrical and mechanical components underneath the cable car trackway, for example puli brackets, support beams, and the pets that service the cable. -- and the pits that service the cable.

there will be street repaving along the 17 blocks of california street between van ness and drum street. on january 3, major shut down for the next six months of the california cable car line. however, it will be in good repair once it comes back next summer. director heinicke: one question or made the comment. obviously, notices to citizens who live here is handled by everything you have covered. but a great number of the people wanting to ride the cable car at the embarcadero are not here every week. rather than suggesting how to do it, i would encourage you to consider how we're going to get nervous to our visitors, perhaps working with -- how we're going to get notice to our visitors, perhaps working with the hotels that are at the starting point for many of these routes. executive director ford: we are working with the visitors

bureau, and that is a great idea. that concludes my a report and i am available for any additional questions. >> item 8, citizens advisory council. mr. murphy is not here today. this is an opportunity for members of the public to address the board on matters that are within the board's jurisdiction and are not on today's calendar. there will be a two minute time limit set. there are several minutes -- several members of the public starting with james rathbone, barry toronto, and howard strastnor. >> i am charles rathbone with the cab company. we are preparing the semiannual dispatch reports. the results should be before your next month. in the meantime, i want to share with you the opinion of luxor tabs management that we could handle an additional 50,000 trucks per month -- trips per

month if we had more camps. we have a high customer demand for dispatch service but are constrained by the number of calves in our fleet. in response to the concerns raised by directors oka and heinicke, looks or is prepared to boost our service. we can provide significant door- to-door service if we can get more cabs in our fleet. >> you are preparing a written report. if you could address the issues of additional cabs both paul time -- both full-time and peak time, we're always interested in what looks for has to say. i would urge you to tailor your findings -- we are always interested in what luxor has to say. i would urge you to tell your findings -- tailor your findings to that issue.

>> happy holidays, board members. >> you, too. >> i am here today again to update you a little bit on both cabdriver security and passenger service. these two things are linked often. at the last mta meeting, i will put this under the larger -- i came here to let you know i am circulating a petition that could be the basis of a regulation. cliff hayachi is aware of this. other people are now aware of this. it sets a phase in time, much like the hybrids were phased in over a number of years.

this could be done by 2014. we have cabdriver security problems right now. in any event, this is coming. i do not think i am going to present it formally today. but what we wanted was integrated dispatch among all the companies, centralized dispatch, in addition to whatever looks for has, in addition to whatever green has, in addition to whatever yellow has. centralized dispatch for customer service to satisfy mr heinicke, so the customer gets the nearest have regardless of company, integrated with safety. when you go in january, mr. finch was stabbed on state street. -- a year ago in january, mr. finch was stabbed on state street. bulletin's go out late. -- buletins go out late.

i spoke to the assistant director about it. she is aware of it. what happens? nothing. you guys will have to address this. may i take one more minute? chairperson nolan: not really. we all have seen the petition. >> there is one further development. chairperson nolan: what is the further development? >> there has been a law that will come into effect in january, and the law would prohibit, apparently, in chris hayashi's opinion, the retention of certain data recorded in the cast -- in the cabs, visual and audio of passengers. we need to make sure it does what it says it is going to do and that you folks plugged in on

it. you may need to go to sacramento to straighten that lot out. chairperson nolan: thank you. that does answer my question. >> very toronto followed by howard strassner. >> good afternoon. today is an important day in american history. it is pearl harbor day and the sixth day of hanukkah. i thought i would show up early enough because i showed up last meeting and you were already in closed session 45 minutes after you started. it was probably be sure to meeting you have had in a long time. [laughter] the thing is that i am concerned about the fact that we only get two minutes with only a few speakers. we used to have only three minutes when a handful of speaker show up. you have an important responsibility and shut the door on us by only giving us two minutes when a lot of us take out time from our day t