24 mile an hour speed limit -- i tell you, it is 30 miles an hour, to go to 35 -- i want to know if there are traffic studies. these are one-one way streets -- these are 1-way street. last, but not least, 10.3, i asked you, you need to continue or table be -- the item. you need an interim executive director. until that person comes in, it is premature to give that much authority without discussing how to deal with this. in view of just begun approving -- i think you have just begun approving this particular authority. you are giving away your rights

over contracts to the executive director. in this case, by giving away the authority on this issue as well, it is premature, until you see the new director of transportation. thank you very much. chairman nolan: do you want to respond to 10.2, those items? [unintelligible] >> good afternoon, mr. chair. members of the board -- [chime] the first one, i think there is a petition from the neighbors, the general area in that vicinity does have parking effective until 9:00 p.m., and

for the reasons that mr. toronto mentioned. there is heavy activity from the clubs and restaurants in that area. with other areas that are similar. -- we have other areas that are similar. >> on c, i guess the question was has there been specific about reach? >> yes, it was a petition. they originally wanted a four- hour limit. we were not able to accommodate them superviosr wiener >> ok. -- we were not able to accommodate them. >> ok. >> 12 folsom, now instead of

running until 5:00 p.m., they are running until midnight. every day. it is not utilized much, so this will allow the left-turn no. 12 bus heading north bound, so it can turn into the bus the zone on the other side of the st.. -- it can turn into the bus zone on the other side of the street. we will work with ms. hiyashi and her staff. on the last item -- the speed limits -- this is the type of policy direction that was given to us by you, the board, to look for every opportunity, especially in the self market

area. -- south market area. we did do a rigorous traffic study. this is a good starting point to improving things in that area. chairman nolan: thank you. how about on those items? is there a motion? basically e and g. >> i move that. >> second. >> the ayes have it. it is unanimous. >> mr. chairman, if you look to this item, it requires a cfo to review before the authority is granted to the executive director to make that decision. it is related to the issues quickly coming down the pike,

making sure we do not lose momentum with those small decisions that need to be made regarding real-estate. chairman nolan: is there a motion on this one? >> i will move that. >> is there second? >> second. >> all those in favor, say aye. >> item 11? >> you do have a few members of the public who wish to comment. >> we have consultation on this fairly recently. and we have received -- >> and we have a citizens advisory committee recommendation. >> [reading names] chairman nolan: good afternoon. >> hi, good afternoon,

directors. in an 18-year resident of parker said -- parkmerced. i have used muni forever. chairman nolan: thank you for that. >> it has become known that sustainable transit is the best development you can have. right now, there is excellent transportation. you can get to any part of the city from 19th and holloway. the plans will enhance transit in that area by providing shuttles to the residents, to local shopping areas. it will also provide retail with in parkmerced, so there are

fewer trips outside of the area, and any opportunities for the improvement of transportation, as well as traffic improvements, as far as rearranging entrances into the area for automobile traffic. of course, the hallmark is the m-line street car, the hordes of people from parkmerced do not have to cross 19th avenue. thank you very much. chairman nolan: next speaker, please. >> hello, i am elizabeth keene. ditto on everything anne-marie said. this really makes 19th and

holloway saber. there are so many older, disabled residents in parkmerced who have been there for years and years and years. it helps everybody. it helps the business is, and it -- it helps the businesses, and it will hopefully will encourage students to bring it less cars into our neighborhood. i think it is a great program. >> my name is jeannie scott. i am faculty at san francisco state university. i agree with everything the other two said, but what i really want to see happen is the m-line get out of the middle of

19th street and come to the side of san francisco state. i use the m, as well as the students. it is narrow and dangerous. there are a lot of backpacks, a lot of jostling, a lot of waiting. thank you. chairman nolan: ok, then we have a recommendation in front of us. is there a second? >> second. chairman nolan: all those in favor, say aye. >> item 12 -- chairman nolan: before we do that, our distinguished former chairman is here. i do not know if you would like to say anything. would you like to address the board? [laughter] >> you did not think he was

going to say no, did you? chairman nolan: i did not think there was a chance of that? thank you for greasing a room this afternoon. >> good afternoon, mr. scherer and the members of the board of directors -- mr. chair and the members of the board of directors. earlier, i shared the news of mr. ford's moving on, and it was painful for me because i sat where you set when we went through the work of replacing the former director at that time, mr. burns. we did a national search, and we believe with all of our hearts that we found the top tier of candidates for our agency. i believe mr. ford did an excellent job under all of these circumstances in which he had to labor, and i wanted you all to

know, and i wanted to stick with you because i understand how difficult these decisions and transitions are. you hear all these people -- this ought not happen, this is unfair. i wanted you to know that you were in my prayers as you make the decisions for the agency, as i am praying for mr. ford as he goes through this time. thank you for being as fair and just as equitable as you can with one another. chairman nolan: we appreciate it. good to see you. i could not agree more with your comments. ok. >> item 12 -- discussion as to whether to conduct a closed session. >> is there a motion? >> ok, the commission will go into closed session.

to discuss the troy and wheeler cases. on the 14 directors, we will not disclose the information discussed. >> we will not disclose. >> i am sorry. just for the record, both cases were not unanimous. uofd wheeler case was not your man -- unanimous. it was a 6 to one vote. chairman nolan: any further discussion? all in favor say aye. >> are you ready for the next item? item 15? >> which one is this? >> item 15 is for the public interest item, also with regard

to appointing an acting executive director. that item has been continued -- chairman nolan: i will come back to that one in a second. >> item 15, approving a separation agreement between nathaniel p. ford executive director and the city in any of san francisco, to end his appointment effective june 30, 2011. directors, you do have members of the public who wish to address you on this matter. james bryant. anthony thomas. chairman nolan: mr. thomas? >> good afternoon, mr. chair,

members of the board. i am here on behalf of mr. mcgee. he did not be here today. i have a petition from 12,000 voters opposing the golden parachute you are voting on today. is equivalent to giving the entire city of san francisco free parking for three days. i just want to make clear that our issue is that with mr. ford, personally. our issue is with the management of the mta. six months ago, the board approved the contract with mr. ford. the mta has no business signing

a contract that rewards poor performance superviosr wiener -- proof -- poor performance. this $80,000 golden bears to -- we argue, plus the 1200 boaters -- voters -- argue that this is one. please agree with us. to the right thing. did the right thing for the city and for muni. chairman nolan: would any other members of the public like to address the board? simenon, public comment is closed. we should have talked about it in there, but in terms of going forward, are we ready to talk about that? >> we might want to ask if it is appropriate.

chairman nolan: 2 we have legal counsel here? -- do we have legal counsel here? >> on the advice of counsel, i refuse to answer that question. actually, we will of more on that topic -- >> mr. chair, i do not know if this is permissible, but as a matter of personal privilege, one of our long time unique employees did want to speak -- one of our long time muni employees did want to speak on the items. i do not know if we can reopen the items for public comments. >> do we want to vote on that?

[laughter] >> well, he was "ed" when i knew him. >> hello. i am james ryan. u.s. seen some of my group earlier today, -- you have seen some of my group earlier today. i asked you all to think about this. whenever someone has a contract, you have to honor it. the only way to not honored this contract would be malfeasance. that has not happened. he has done things like "clipper." did you all see that move?

[laughter] i have become proficient of the clipper machines, and i think that is a great tool for the the subway. he sees me almost every night. ladies and gentlemen, we must support mr. ford. we must send anyone a signal that if he or she were in the same situation, we would support them. we ask the citizens of the city and county of san francisco -- we recognize the many good things he has done and we recognize we have to as a group support mr. ford. let me tell you this. the best ride that we have is our ride from castro to fort hill station. i have spent many of my 35 years going through a real bumpy

ride that he has moved out. i asked you again to support mr. ford in his separation deal, and thank you for your time. >> that includes the business before you today. >> ok, thank you everybody.

>> being a pedestrian in san francisco is not easy for anybody. >> [inaudible] people push tables and chairs outside the sidewalk. >> i have to be careful not to walk the sidewalk. it is very hard. >> sometimes people get half way across the intersection. >> you have to be alert because there is always something coming up that you need to know about. >> i learned to listen to the traffic patterns. sometimes i notice the other

pedestrians, they are crossing, on occasion, i have decided i'm going to cross, too. i get to the middle of the intersection, and i find out that the light has changed. >> we need to be able to work and go from one place to the other and have public transportation. the world needs to be open. >> people on disability has the task of addressing all the disability. when we are talk about the sidewalks, ramps, we have very specific issues. for people blind and low vision, we have the issue of knowing where they are and when the cross. it can be hit or miss.

>> at hulk and grove, that sound the the automatic -- it helps people cross the street safely. >> now we have a successful pedestrian signal. >> i push the button, i get an audible message letting me know that i need to wait. when it is safe to cross, not only am i going to get an audible indicator, this button is going to vibrate. so it tells me it is safe. there is the driller sound and this trigger is vibrating. i am not relying on anything but the actual light change,

the light cycle built into it. >> it brings san francisco from one of the major cities in the u.s. to what is going to be the lead city in the country. >> city working on all sorts of things. we are trying to be new and innovative and go beyond the ada says and make life more successful for people.

>> disability rights movement, the city has the overall legal obligation to manage and maintain the accessibility and right of way. with regards to the curb ramps, bounded by a groove border, 12-inch wide border. for people with low vision to get the same information. the shape of the domes, flush transition between the bolt bottom of the ramp and gutter. >> we have a beveled transition on the change in level, tape on the surfaces, temporary asphalt to fill in level changes, flush transition to temporary wood platform and ramp down into the

street under the scaffoldinging. detectable ramps. they are all detectable. nothing down below or protruding that people are going to get snagged up on. smooth clean that nobody is going get caught up on. >> our no. 1 issue is what we see here, the uplifting and shreufting to concrete due too street tree roots. here is another problem we have with street trees. if i have i was a person blind, this would be an uncomfortable

way to find out. >> we don't want to create hazards. >> sometimes vendors put sidewalk cafes where people push the chairs too far out. >> sometimes it can be impassable. so much foot traffic that there is no room for a wheelchair or walker to go by. >> san francisco is a lively street life, it can be an issue with people with visual disabilities as well. they have these diverting barriers on other side of this tables and chairs area. if people can find thraeur way around it without getting

tangled up, it is still fully accessible. >> we don't want anything special. we want people to basically adhere to the regulations and laws as they are on the books now. people can also, just be cognizant if they have stuff on the street, they thaoed to have 48 inches so we can pass, think outside your own spectrum of yourself that there are other people you need to share the sidewalk with. we will all get along better. >> although san francisco is a hilly place for a whraoel chair user, we seem to be better at most. that doesn't mean we can't continue to improve upon ourselves. >> the public has a clear are

-- of travel. we can't be every to make sure that is the place. we have to rely on the place. call 311. give them your name. that goes into a data base. >> it is difficult, still, um to make the case that the disabled community isn't being represented. in some ways we are not. we have a long way to go. >> the city of san francisco is using the most innovative technology available. these devices allow people to remain out in their communities, doing things like shopping. it is great to be able to walk as a pedestrian in this city and cross streets sa.