on two items that are here on our consent calendar, these are subtle ones that involve a 2008 cable car derailment. is that correct? >> yes. >> my understanding is there is four lawsuits that have been filed related to the cable car incident. two are on our consent calendar. one is in closed session, and one we are not discussing today? >> not sure why we are not discussing the fourth one, but i know there is 3 currently. >> is the fourth one the one that was pulled from a closed session today but will be discussed at some other point, or is it just something for another day? >> i'm not sure where the information came from that there were four, but it is possible that if you look at 10.1, there are two individuals involved in that, it maybe four claimants as

a poster cases. >> well, it came from your memo, but if that is the explanation, that is fine. my question is this -- was our insurance policy involved in this? i know the date was before the effective date? my question is -- did we have insurance on the date that these cable car accident lawsuits were filed? >> i do not believe so. i think we implemented that policy after this incident, along with the west portal incident. >> the policies were in effect fiscal to thousand nine, but it would not have applied to these cases because the excess coverage above $5 million per incident, we could not have access insurance in these cases. >> right, but it would be per incident, right?

>> that is correct. >> with multiple lawsuits. >> we still have not reached that threshold yet. >> that is correct. director heinicke: settlement analysis with potential liability amount. i just wanted to make sure. i know others disagree that we now have an insurance policy in place, so with that, i'm happy to -- i should note also that there is one of these items where we did not receive a disciplinary report, but we received word that it is still being looked into. that is why it is not in our report. >> exactly. >> i'm happy to move the item. director nolan: is a discussion on the consent calendar? all in favor? >> moving on to the regular calendar, first item, at 11, approved various traffic and

parking modifications related to the palace of fine arts and oil drive construction, and i will refrain from reading the specific traffic obstructions. you have several members of the public here to address you on that matter. >> shall we have a report first? let's have a report. good afternoon. >> good afternoon, mr. scher, members of the board. as you know, this project and reconstructing the oil giant is a really huge project, and is being led by caltrans and the

san francisco county transportation authority. we are bringing forward these proposals on behalf of our colleagues at read in part because the palace of fine arts and exploratory and is located within rec and park jurisdiction, and to maintain access during this time, some of the changes have to be impinging on city streets, which is under the sfmta jurisdiction in the immediate vicinity. at the heart of the issue is the letterman army institute of research, which is located at this site. this is the palace of fine arts and exploratory am, with parking on the perimeter. this lot was previously

available for parking and buses, after the drop-off of students and other visitors, but the site is no longer available because of the construction used for staging during the course of the construction. so the -- not a very fancy drawing here, but this was the site i just mentioned. to accommodate the parking elsewhere, two temporary sites were identified. the problem is to get to these sites, after dropping off the visitors and the students, the buses need to look around on city streets, a couple of blocks, to be able to get back on doral drive and the freeway to access these sites and vice versa. what the project team is proposing is to modify two of these intersections to allow certain movement, to allow them to get back on the restricted

access facilities, to get back to the sites without using the city streets. those improvements will be under way shortly. the current proposal before you is the temporary regulations that would allow continued access to the exploratory of while these improvements are put into place. working with the transportation authority as well as caltrans. these are the locations that currently have a weight restriction. the proposal is to allow these movements once they are constructed, temporarily, to allow the special class. they are the ones being chartered.

these are already exempt from the current restrictions. these are the few of them that can also use the street access, these sites from picking up the visitors. we are very mindful that this construction process has a huge scale and has some very unavoidable impact to the neighborhood. we are endeavoring to try to keep the impact that we are suggesting to an absolute minimum. the original proposal was to relax entirely. the restrictions allowing these blocks during the construction of the intersection improvements, but that would exempt other tour buses and buses from using these sites as well, so this particular proposal only proposes to exempt the charter buses at hearing students to the site, so it is

very restrictive, and we think that the maximum of only up to five or 10 of those buses in addition to the regular transit, and to get the process going as fast as we can, we are also putting in a proposed sunset, which is on september 30 of this year, and we are hopeful that the improvements will be in place, and we can rescind the restrictions as soon as the improvements are in place. the proposal would allow mr. ford to lift the temporary ban as soon as the new intersection improvements are in place. director nolan: to members of the board have questions? if not, let's hear from the public. good afternoon. >> good afternoon. thank you for having this hearing. i'm here to support the proposed changes to the intersections, allowing for rough crossing both

richardson and marina. these changes support direct access to the bus parking to be provided on the presidio to support the occupancy at the palace of fine arts exploratory and palace of fine arts theater. we think these changes reduced impact on san francisco neighbors nearby, reduce vehicle miles traveled. it supports the city's transit first policy by bringing visitors by bus. without these changes, the buses are still going to come. they are still going to bring the groups. in order to get to the parking, it becomes a circuitous route through san francisco neighbors all the way up to the bridge plaza through congested areas of the plaza and the lombard rate. i urge you to approve these changes today so the city can

get on with actually making the improvements and the parking lot is going away january 15. we need to get these improvements in place as soon as possible. >> good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. i have some comments to the proposals. yes, thank you, patricia. this is -- basically, we have no problem with the items proposed under a, b, and c, which is the modifications of various left

and right turns throughout the area. attached with item d, figures seven and eight, we feel that should be further clarified prior to being able to make some meaningful comments to it. the drawings do not currently show any real dimensions, so we do not know what is happening there. now, on to the exemptions requested, which is codes 501 and 503, to allow the people- activity buses. we see -- we have no problem with the school buses. none whatsoever. we understand their right to be able to go to the exploratory am at the palace theater and the palace of fine arts. however, we do have an issue with the remaining buses.

the whole documents that presents this has absolutely no statements to the remaining buses, and that fact is emphasized on page 9 of the document, where it says up to 40 buses visit the facility. an estimated 75% of these buses are school buses, which are already exempt. the statement of birds that 30 buses are school buses and 10 are not. but the 10 buses are not being addressed. we do not know what is happening there. we feel -- [bell rings] director nolan: thank you, sir. >> can i continue? director nolan: no. >> your time is up. >> [inaudible] practically had a comment with something to do with what mac said about figures --

[inaudible] two of my families are affected. we have no idea how much of the two islands are being removed. [inaudible] with the trees, and the second is -- [inaudible] shows that some of those bases will be removed. we have no idea -- [inaudible] no drawings were given to us. the first time i ever saw them was when i saw your agenda on the website. we did not know how wide the streets are going to be. putting a two-way street where it has been a 1-way street, so we would like to have some information, and i would like to hold off on approving that part until we have more information. director nolan: thank you. next speaker. good afternoon. >> good afternoon. i'm the chairman of the board of

the exploratory and. i want to thank you and the staff for working with us on these very important proposals. the remover of the parking lot by the doral drive project has been an issue of great concern to the board. we have been following the discussions between our institution and various agencies carefully for the last year. each year, over 70,000 students come to the exploratory of and part of our field trip program. we -- many of these students are from underserved communities where they have little or no science as part of the curriculum. currently, it not only provides car parking. it is where we stage and part buses for our field trip program. what is at stake today is our ability to continue to provide safe access to our field trip program for tens of thousands of san francisco school students. the presidio has agreed to provide new bus parking across richardson, and the proposed reconstruction of these

intersections will allow us to safely and efficiently get buses to and from the exploratory and. there is some concern about the temporary suspension of the tour bus restriction at lyon and chestnut. since the line in richardson through construction cannot be finished prior to the lot removal, which just a couple of weeks from now, this temporary suspension is required, and it is temporary. we expect it to be for no more than nine months or so. if you approve this proposal, i believe we will have the tools to continue to operate throughout the oil dried construction. without them, we become landlocked, without the ability to get us is safely back and forth -- throughout the doral drive -- doyle drive construction. i want to thank our neighbors for their patience. i respectfully request your approval of the entire package of proposals before you today. thank you. director nolan: thank you, sir.

next speaker. >> good afternoon. i've been a member of the board of directors of the exploratory and since 1983, so i guess i've been a neighbor for a long time. i was visiting the museum of science and industry in chicago. i think the exploratory as far and away the best science museum in the world. i lead oversight on matters of budget and reporting. from a financial perspective, this transition must be managed very carefully. maintaining its and its revenues will be critical, including four field trips. removal of the lot and the doyle drive project will impact the museum significantly. although we have already

budgeted a painful reduction in attendance during this construction, anything beyond this number represents real financial hardship. the addition there's the additional cost of implementing the plan. for example, we are hiring a part-time attendance to help coordinate parking and bus staging during construction and beyond. maintaining a robust field trip program is essential to our mission to serve san francisco bay area students. while partly subsidized, any reduction represents real financial impact. to put the numbers to that, our field trips serves some 70,000 students annually and represents several hundred thousand dollars of annual revenue to the museum. as chair of our board finance committee, i must emphasize the exploratorium is under significant financial stress, as a result of the doyle drive project, which we all look forward to having completed. it is essential to our financial

health through this time. we are grateful to your staff for working with us through this difficult set of problems. we ask that you approve the signals before you immediately. director nolan: good afternoon. >> good afternoon, and thank you, commissioners. i'm the executive director of the exploratorium. i've been there for 11 years. the last five years as executive director. over the last two years, we have been in conversations with the mta, rec and park, and the presidio to mitigate as best as possible be incredible collateral damage being caused by the doyle drive project, not just on the exploratorium, but on the entire neighborhood. there has been a difficult process for every single one of us. for the last six months, we've been holding several meetings

within the community with a plan within the definition to try to figure out how we will make the best part of the plan worked to everybody's satisfaction. in this community meetings, we were able to take a suggestion, which removed the time that we needed the restriction by taking care of the throughput. it was an incredible breakthrough with the neighborhood. we also dropped the request to make a good straight angle parking to accommodate another 35 visitors with close proximity. we saw that creating a hardship on our neighborhood. all said, we believe this is a balanced plan that takes everybody's needs into consideration. to clarify the point about the charter buses, it may not be known to everybody, but nowadays, most school districts do not have their own school bus services and more. our school audience comes to us three ways -- a school bus, for those who can afford, by a charter bus, which is for schools, and by car pool.

we wanted to take these legitimate needs and concerns, but to say this change for this amount in our busiest season is essential, and we urgently need your assistance to put this plan in place because in two weeks, we are going to lose a primary lot that our visitors had used for 41 years. we thank you for your attention. >> we have a group presentation coming up? >> in the facility director at the exploratorium. i've been at the apartment for the last 11 years, and part of my duty is addressing parking and transportation issues and coordination, so i have been

involved with the school bus issue for a number of years, and i just wanted to reiterate what dennis just said, which is that a lot of schools these days do not have the yellow school buses that we grew up with. they often have to charter the buses, which parents pay for. having these charter buses come to the exploratorium presents, with the doyle drive project and the parking lot being taken away, a real coordination logistics issue for us, trying to get the school buses there, so we can unload students safely without the changes proposed today, we will not be able to do that, so it is very important that we are able to

get your approval and be able to make the changes as soon as possible so that kids can come. this group here, some of our field trip explains. they are student workers, and they will say a little bit more about it. i just wanted to introduce them. director nolan: thank you. ok. >> our program is basically a program for youth 15 to 19. the program is basically to build up job skills and learn a little science along the way. director nolan: thank you. >> i know when i came on a field trip, we did not have these yellow buses, so i understand that the proposed restrictions do not allow the charter buses, and i would not have been able

to have that experience if these restrictions were in place, and now i work there. >> just like lorenzo, when he came to the exploratorium, like school also did not have buses to take us, and i know that i just really loved the exploratorium the first time i went. it made me want to learn more about science and pursue my own way of thinking. i think everybody should get a chance to go to the exploratorium. director nolan: thank you very much. good afternoon. >> good afternoon, directors. my name is ralph taylor.

i'm a 16-year resident with san francisco and volunteer at the exploratorium. i have enjoyed it many times since moving to san francisco and have recently become taking a friend pose a 10-year-old. one of his favored exhibits, the mechanical square root calculated. it is a gem among several cisco museums as it offers many opportunities to experience in a self-guided, hands-on manner the wonders are around us. visitors are reminded me -- my visits have reminded me many times that we see the world not as it is, but as we are. there is a wonderful book titled open a close something incredibly wonderful happens," which chronicles the life of this -- the father of this institution. there is a quotation -- "in our era of incessant and rapid change, legitimizing play in the appropriately structured education institutions is essential for adults as well as

children." each year, tens of thousands of children are right at the exploratorium via charter buses. if these changes are not approved, it will be difficult or impossible for field trips to make it to the museum. doyle drive construction represents a huge impact to the community and a major challenge to the museum. as a resident, i'm concerned about how this construction will impact the museum, particularly access to young people and children. exploratorium is a beloved san francisco institution that represents the best of our community. we need to work together to make sure this institution can continue to function while this construction project progresses. therefore, i respectfully ask that you vote in favor of the package and traffic signals before you today. director nolan: next speaker

please. >> my name is kevin o'brien. in the executive director of the palace of fine arts theater. i'd like to start by saying that the palace of fine adds peter supports the exploratorium's request for the temporary lifting of us restrictions. we feel it is a reasonable solution. in addition to the loss of parking, the closure of their lot cuts off access to the presidio. it also eliminates a place for large vehicles to turn around. the theater has large trucks delivering production equipment and supplies. currently, these trucks use the lehr lot to turn around and [inaudible] the closure does not allow for a legal exit of palestine. these changes are critical to our operation. we request that you approve

these modifications. director nolan: thank you. next speaker. >> thank you for letting me speak. i live at 3050 alliant, which is right here -- 3050 lyon. [inaudible] i have lived there for 25 years, and we are all in love with the exploratorium. we have always our families and spent many great hours there. for us, neighbors in this area, it is not about trying to stop people from coming to the exploratorium. it is trying to protect the safety of our neighborhood for our children. many years ago, we fought very hard to keep big trailers and

buses off those neighborhood streets for the safety of our children. we had two neighbors, two doors down from me that were both injured when their truck called in and made a u-turn at the corner of lyon and chestnut. they were hit and spent months at the hospital. we wanted to keep this two- wheelers off there. it is one of the first places they can part because it is flat. that is what we are concerned about. how is the city going to keep non-student buses out of that area? we want to work to find some other solutions so that we can keep other trailers -- it is not about keeping the kids and the students away from the exploratory and. it is about working to find other

>> good afternoon. >> patricia voy. jan said a lot. this was a group of meetings with everybody except for the neighbors for two and a half years. we never knew anything until approximately october 1. we made everything for the changes here at this light. it was our suggestions. we made several other alternative suggestions as well . excuse me, i just got out of the hospital. with the turn-arounds for the buses further, instead of going to scott, why not go the commercial routt that was voted in in 1985? you go down lombard, take a right on steiner.