>> in this fabulously beautiful persidio national park and near golden gate and running like a scar is this ugly highway. that was built in 1936 at the same time as the bridge and at that time the presidio was an army and they didn't want

civilians on their turf. and the road was built high. >> we need access and you have a 70 year-old facility that's inadequate for today's transportation needs. and in addition to that, you have the problem that it wasn't for site extenders. >> the rating for the high viaduct is a higher rating than that collapsed. and it was sapped quite a while before used and it was rusty before installed. >> a state highway through a federal national park connecting an independently managed bridge to city streets.

this is a prescription for complication. >> it became clear unless there was one catalyst organization that took it on as a challenge, it wouldn't happen and we did that and for people to advocate. and the project has a structural rating of 2 out of 100. >> you can see the rusting reinforcing in the concrete when you look at the edges now. the deck has steel reinforcing that's corroded and lost 2/3's of its strength. >> this was accelerated in 1989 when the earthquake hit and cal came in and strengthened but

can't bring to standards. to fix this road will cost more than to replace. and for the last 18 years, we have been working on a design to replace the road way, but to do in a way that makes it appropriate to be in a national park and not army post. >> i would say it's one of the most ugly structure, and it's a barrier between the mar sh and presidio. and this is a place and i brought my dogs and grandchildren and had a picnic lunch and it was memorable to use them when we come here. what would it look like when

the design and development is completed. and we are not sure we want an eight lane highway going through this town. and it's a beautiful area in a national seaport area on the planet. >> the road is going to be so different. it's really a park way, and it's a parkway through the national park. and they make the road disapeer to the national park. >> and the road is about 20 feet lower, normally midday, you go through it in two minutes. looking back from the golden gate bridge to presidio, you are more aware of the park land and less of the roads. and the viaduct will parallel the existing one and to the

south and can be built while the existing one remains in operation. and the two bridges there with open space between them and your views constantly change and not aware of the traffic in the opposite direction and notice the views more. and the lanes of course are a foot wider than they are today. and they will be shoulders and if your car is disabled, you can pull off to the edge. and the next area, the tunnel portal will have a view centered on the palace of fine arts and as you come out, you can see alkatrez island and bay. and the next area is about 1,000 feet long. and when you come into one, you can see through the other end.

it's almost like driving through a building than through a tunnel. and noise from the roadway will be sheltered. and the traffic will be out of view. >> when you come out of the last sort tunnel and as you look forward, you see the golden dome of the palace of fine arts and what more perfect way to come to san francisco through that gateway. >> it will be an amazing transformation. now you read it as one section, the road is a major barrier and then a wonderful strip along the water. all of those things are going to mesh together. >> right now the road really cuts off this area from public access. and with the new road, we will be able to open up the opportunity in a new way.

>> this bunker that we see now is out of access for the general public. we are excited to completely rework this side and to open up the magnificent views. and what we want to do is add to this wonderful amenity and restore this coastal bluff area and respect its military history and the doyle drive project is allowing us to do that recorrection. and this area is not splintered off. >> and we can see how dramatic a change it will be when doyle drive is suppressd and you have a cover that connects the

cemetery to this project. it's historic on the statewide and national basis, but you could rush the project or put thought and time to create something of lasting public benefit. >> we really want this, for everyone to feel like it's a win situation. whether you are a neighbor that lives nearby or a commuter or user of the park. that everyone will experience a much better situation than they currently have. >> the human interest to me is how people could work out so many challenging differences to come to a design that we believe will give us a jewel. landmark of a place. >> i am sure it will have refining effect like embark did. and there were people about that and no one would think of

that today. and when you look at growth and transformation of the embark, the same with doyle. it will be a cherished part of the city and a worthy addition to what is there. >> it will be a safe and beautiful entrance to a spectacular beautiful city. it will be the entry to golden gate that san francisco deserves. president vietor: good afternoon, everybody. one second.

ready? i like to call the meeting of the san francisco public utility commission to order. first item please. >> roll call. [roll call] i might note vice president moran is excused. he's out of the state. president vietor: he's in oregon. next item. >> approval of the minutes of march 22. if there are any corrections, additions, or changes to make, we can entertain a motion to approve. president vietor: comments, questions? holland favor? it is passed.

-- all in favor? >> public comment. or we have to speaker cards. -- we have two speaker cards. mr. decosta and mr. miller. >> [inaudible] president vietor: absolutely. >> [inaudible] -- from the union. others that know the history.

others that have experience. and of course, the manager that has been here for a long time. and understands the vigorous aspects of of the city operates. one of the things that i have noticed, and i have spoken before when we have the water system improvement project. we have business enterprise, and before the project has come on board. i am here to request to the commissioners with the manager, to review how best you can have those entities in the community to prepare as the others that have native plants.

and some prime contractor needs to deal with the native plants. clearing the bushes. understanding the endangered species. we can do that type of training months before it happens. it is easy. at the as i did it at the presidio. i have the experts that can put it all in writing if you want to. i am here to suggest, i can't mandate. there are many people out there who think in that manner. the same issue came up, and they

have that vacuum. those are the communities, especially bayview hunters point. but we can have the technical ways to make it easier. president vietor: next speaker, please. >> in the afternoon, commissioners. i wanted to talk to you about the highway widening project to. those are trees that are cut

along the creek. it was formerly owned by the sfpuc. the plans to widen state route 84, this is about $90 million project. it is completely unnecessary and it will make the canyon less safe. it will damage many miles of trout habitat. it will waste the million dollars in public funds, when there is universal opposition -- and there is universal opposition from the public. phase two came out last fall, this agency commented on the significant problems and the damage the project was going to do to try habitats. there are already about 100 native trees. they put in retaining walls,

this is going to be incredibly destructive to trout habitat. this is all happening on former puc land. we are sure that they are going to come to you and ask for more easement and more transfer. this will be about over 2 miles that they will want to put in. almost 500 more trees are going to be cut. this agency has been involved with the fisheries for many years. you have approved quite a bit of restoration. you're looking at restoring just upstream of. we are a little dismayed to see

that this land that was under year stewardship is being transferred for a project of this nature. we understand you may not have understood what was going on in this project or what the damage was going to be. we were pretty confused about how these projects were related until recently. the reason i am coming to you today is that i want to make sure this does not happen for phase 2. let like to ask you to refuse to give it to them. we are going to be in court trying to stop all phases of this project and to ensure that this does not happen. it was put through with no comment or notification of what the implications were. we hope that your staff can work with us to make sure that phase

to doesn't happen. thank you. commissioner torres: nice to meet you. you stated that this agency, and i was not here at the time, that we submitted a formal comments on the eir. >> for phase two. >> whcommissioner torres: this s phase one still? >> they're trying to cut the trees and we are trying to get into court to stop them. commissioner torres: i am concerned about the trees, but i am also concerned about the trout. can they update us where we are?

>> is a confusing history on this one. we have had a lot of conversations the last couple of weeks because the original environmental work was years ago. we lost track of it, that might be the nicest way of phrasing it. >> de division director has been trying to get the history of this. it sat for all the time and only now is it going forward with the project. we are still not quite finished gathering hall that information. we are on record as being quite concerned about the project.

>> was their response been? --commissioner torres: what has their response been? >> they have not been forthcoming with information. catching up to get on top of it, we are pretty on top of it. they spoke several times about trying to get the picture together to get the best program going forward. commissioner torres: how close is this to the other project we are looking at? >> this is downstream. it is backed up from the hills. the valley where the koreas are, it joins with the creek from the livermore valley. this narrow little canyon that connects the area. it is worth the drive some time

just to enjoy the canyon. >> a few weeks ago, we were looking at the area. >> this is closest. >> i would like to know what is going on so i can let her know as well. have you contacted them? they have heard quite a bit, so i want to make sure that they are continuing to work together. that was my knowledge of the history there. thank you. president vietor: i want to express my appreciation for you bringing this to our attention. most of us weren't here at that time and we're trying to put it all together now. it is thanks to you that we can figure out what to do with the next phases.

we appreciate your efforts here. >> there will be a letter that we are responding to, so we will make sure that you have a copy of that. one of the questions on the second page of this, how did this happen? we want to go check our ways of doing business to make sure it does not happen again. president vietor: other public comment? >> i was not planning unspeaking, so i did not turn in a card. on the way to the office, i drove through the canyon because it is such a beautiful area. it is devastating what they are doing there. it is terrible. i did not realize there was a connection to sfpuc. you guys are real model.

there is the adaptive management plan, it is going to be fine for water availability and will be greater for the environment. we battled them in the '90s over the tunnel. they fought us every step of the way. they were not responsive, it is bureaucracy out of control. i was hoping things had changed by the out. what is going on is outrageous. i am glad to see commissioners concerned about it. i know our organization wants to work with the alliance and others to make sure that they are accountable. thank you for listening. president vietor: if it is

appropriate for the spot to take some kind of action, let us know. we need to get all of that history and get them in line, if you will. any other public comment? next item, please. >> communications. commissioners receive copies of everything listed in the summary. are there questions related to the advent calendar or regarding the staff reports that were sent to you? president vietor: anything, commissioners? advance calendar? next item. >> i am not quite clear.

[inaudible] when you talk about water elevation -- >> i don't have the numbers right there. we have been working for quite some time to get the lake back up and maintain it that way.

both the san francisco and the daily city has cut off all of the drainage that goes into the lake. there is nothing that runs into the lake so there is nothing to regularly maintain the lake level. we have been working to try to come up with ways to have water bill in their the most natural way we can as opposed to something that just drops every year substantially. >> the problem of ground water, that has been alleviated? >> -- >> of course use of ground water has been eliminated. we are proposing to utilize the groundwater basin, but we won't be able to do that unless we have other means to keep the lake level stable. that is why is very important to come up with a way to have the water go into the lake that will

keep it up. >> has that been achieved? >> there is a report of the that describes a flood control project that will provide for water into the lake. that looks like a very promising alternative that might be a solution. we are still looking at the details. the project development, our support of the project provided certain questions can be answered relative. >> i was not quite sure about that. president vietor: what happened with the concession did? -- bid? >> there was an rfp on the

streets. it expired, no proponents on that. and redoing the agreement as to who is doing what. how to best go forward with a managing those properties. they are the primary ones that need to be entrusted. president vietor: there has been no resolution yet? >> no, not yet. >> the one to make sure they