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tv   [untitled]    August 9, 2011 2:00am-2:30am PDT

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>> total respect to you and your commitment to this issue. i am not convinced that more weeks or months will produce something everybody will be satisfied with. let's ask for a roll call. >> director bridges, aye. director oka, no. director ramos, aye. chairman nolan, aye. six to one. chairman nolan: we will continue after a short break. chairman nolan: consent calendar. members of the board that wish to take any of consent.
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ladies and gentleman. >> mr. chairman, you have requested that we go to the consent calendar. these items are considered routine and thus a member of the public or a member of the board wishes to have an item severed and considered separately. you have a request from the public to sever item 10.2 l. that is the only request that this point. chairman nolan: the consent calendar except for item 10.2 l. all in favor? so ordered. 10.2 l. >> it has to do with removing a bus zone at ocean avenue and establishing a bus zone in a similar location.
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>> good afternoon. please excuse my glasses, i have an eye disease. i can't see, but three of my neighbors wrote something, but i can't hardly see it. they want to put a bus stop in front of my house. that is fine. but some of the bus in front of our house, we don't want it. there are three houses that don't want it. there are five schools in our neighborhood. my front lawn, years ago, i'd put in rocks. when the children do past my house, there are a few rocks that they throw around. if they are going to be sitting there with idle hands in front of my yard. i'm going to have broken windows.
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yes, the bus stop. there were two major accidents that happened there that we need. but not to take up three houses that we pay our taxes they you're going to have these accordion buses stopped in front and we have no parking whatsoever. i have a letter here. one of the owners is out of town and agrees all sows. he has 34 people that have to get to work. his mother takes care of three children. there is no way you can find parking. we drive around the block 100 times before we find parking. and we have a sundries store at the corner, he has been there for yearseverybody is crazy abod he will speak next. when the kids go there, day -- there is no trouble whatsoever.
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not in front of our place. >> anyone else on that one? mr. yee? >> i apologize, yes. >> >> i am here to oppose moving the bus stop. it will affect the business in my place. however, we don't need a four- way stop sign there. i can play the footage that i have here. it requires special software and i don't think you guys have that available.
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i brought my own if you care to see it. in talking about the parking, it is very strict. we really don't want to make the neighbors uncomfortable by having the bus the close to the house. goschairman nolan: mr. yee, didu want to speak to this one? >> good afternoon. this proposal actually is being recommended as a package. both items together should be considered together. what we have found was in the last five or six years from our
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files, we have five separate requests for additional stock science at this location. that is a really strong indication that there is a strong community concern about safety in the area. there were four reported accidents in the last five years at this location. three of them involving pedestrians. it is exacerbated by the fact that there are two schools nearby. and what we found, working with our colleagues, when you have a bus stop on the far side, it is not an issue. having the stock on the far side requires the bus to stop twice. the first time unnecessarily.
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it is justified because of the documented safety concerns. we work very closely with the safety department as well as transit service planning. to move from the far side of to the nearest side. that will eliminate one of the stocks that is unnecessary. that each one of these would entail an additional 20 or 25 seconds of the leg that is unnecessary. it is not a big issue, but if you look at it in total, of these are included, it would be a significant increase to the travel time and the potential liability. by moving in this particular case -- i have the overhead
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there. moving from the far side of the near side, it will be in front of three houses with driveways. and we reclaim some parking spaces on the far side. this neighbor that mentioned this concern about loss of parking, it is not true. it is a net gain of two or three parking spaces. based on these factors, we recommend that they are approved as a package. it is the best compromise taking into consideration the safety as well as the principles of transit first. we recommend approval. chairman nolan: we approved k and m. is there a second? all in favor? so ordered.
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it is strange to speak of something you have already voted on, but if you care to address the board. >> we approved everything on it. chairman nolan: please, come forward. item p? we have approved it, but go ahead. >> item p says no left turn from eastbound 14th at church street. i dunno why that is being deleted or implemented. chairman nolan: do whatever you want, tell us what you want us to hear. >> i don't know why it is being proposed.
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>> i need the diagram, it is very complicated to explain. as you know, we have an ongoing program to improve pedestrian access and safety to reevaluate all of the crosswalks. we have an ongoing program to reevaluate all of the crosswalks that we have previously closed. to restore them wherever possible and enhance pedestrian safety as well as access. this is one of the few remaining ones on market street on the north side that if you go on the north sidewalk of a well on market street, it is actually
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closed. we are recommending that this crosswalk be reopened. but to do that, it entails a lot of complicated changes that goes along with it. when this gets removed, all three crosswalks will move together like a little scramble system. we will channel this movement so that the right turns will go in here and move the center line over heading eastbound said these turns and these movements don't click each other. what he is asking, why do we prohibit this left turn? part of the other proposal is to put a 20 foot red zone here so
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that the service can make this turn. there are several items related to the reopening of the crosswalk. that is just one of the proposals. chairman nolan: very quickly, come forward, please. >> he said the traffic coming westbound on market street and turning right to go westbound on fourteenth street would conflict with people coming east on fourteenth accessing market to turn left or go straight. if it has a green light, wouldn't westbound church and market street, everybody will have a red light and nobody turn right on iran? i don't understand the conflict.
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>> we have heard the explanation. that will be the end of this conversation. next item? let's do 12 or 13, whateve rit is. -- whatever it is. >> you do have one member of the public. august 15, 2011, approving the employment agreement. the only speaker is christopher. >> i don't know enough to oppose or approve the gentleman's appointment, but i like to point out that he has a connection with security issues. i would encourage you to go
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gentle and a continued connections there because we know the homeland's security in the fbi come looking for cabdrivers, and it has created one of the problems. i don't pretend to represent any of the individual drivers for any of the special matters, but there is a juggling act that if continued, could be a problem. i would look for his connections not to be continued. >> we have already seen and felt the results generated by those individuals designated and placed in positions directing and overseeing certain
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departments and positions without any prior experience. while someone from within the already has a prior experiences and his early in the louvre -- in the loop like ms. johnson not placed in a position that they are prepared to pay upwards of $300,000 a year for probably the most important and integral position? chairman nolan: thank you. is there a second? are you speaking on this one? go ahead. >> i have spoken in front of this commission in the past. i think the new director comes a very good credentials based on the past director.
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i think the salary is a little out of line. if you look at the break out across the board, the biggest problem with the city is the salary and pensions. the previous director came from atlanta and was paid $180,000 a year. it is probably in line with most directors across the united states except washington, d.c. and new york city. even though we are now paying the assistant summer around those numbers, is proudly more in line with the city and county can handle in a budget. they will assume directorship and how it is part of the -- directorship is part of the mta. i don't know why gavin newsom picked him several years ago.
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in view of the liabilities that will come along with this man, it is off the charts. $300,000 a year, you're selling medallions to benefit your bottom line. it will pay for part of his pension and other pensions and liabilities. i feel is totally out of line and should be looked at in scrutinized more specifically. i thank you for your time on this matter. chairman nolan: all in favor? so ordered, it's unanimous. >> back to public comment. the opportunity for public comment, members are welcome to
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address the board on matters within the jurisdiction of the board of directors, but not on dave's calendar. robert, the bill, and christopher will be first. >> good afternoon, directors. it is very interesting that you seem to skirt some of the issues that have such an enormous impact both on buses and on taxis. you spend so much money on priority claims and you don't police them. we have this curious situation around union square. you have got, i don't know what you call at. the academy thus, the tourist
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bus, the open air bus. they are all using your lanes. and this means slower service for buses. i watched a study that showed, if you could increase the speed of your buses by 50%, partly by eliminating bus skills, you would transform the entire service. but what you don't seem to realize, these same things affect taxicabs. every year we get this whole thing of lamenting, i can't get a taxi. but the simple example i would give you is, a few years ago, in the morning, a taxicab could
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readily which the four commuters. what i mean by that is four different commuters in the peak time hours in one hour. the cut at pacific heights and taken to the financial district. [chime] now they can pick up three. this is because you don't have priority lanes. chairman nolan: thank you. >> i would like to comment on limousines and the city. nobody is doing anything about it. they've eliminated the out of town taxis, the other day i picked up someone, and a flag to
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me to take the lady. they didn't give the out of town taxi a ticket and told him to go on his way. it has to be dealt with. nobody has ever dealt with in the limousine problem, and i don't know why. it has got to be taken care of. every city in america, new york city has a shortage of taxis at rush hour. it never works when you have a peak time taxis. it is always the wrong idea. that is all i have to say, thank you. >> the afternoon, directors.
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these comments are not a reversal of items 11 and 12. i want to register a complaint with you, in frustration with the way things are transpiring. we were afraid of this happening when you took over. your over estimating your rifle power. some of us have seen the machine and know when you don't have the right. you have been conducting an educational campaign to correct the minds of the public in order to make them continued to believe that more cabs means better service. the coordinating council has been used as a forum to push the idea of 500 more calves. the sun shine violation that i've brought was approved by the task force, proving that they don't follow agenda items. it was violated when he told us
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that better service means more calves. the cab companies are speaking out of both sides of their mouth to you. on one hand, someone says they have no objection to part time permits. the piecemeal treatment of the problem is obviously legal speak for that we plan to throw more cabs you. more cabs are unreasonable under any circumstances, and they are not the answer. chairman nolan: next speaker. >> he will be followed by mark and charles.
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the i represent both services, the advisory committee, and the mayor of's disability consultant. i am here to address concern about traveling on speed level -- the street level. that it can be pretty dangerous because vehicles really don't pay attention to warn them to yield to the passengers. we have a person who is legally blind that almost got hit while trying to board.
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the other meeting i attended, they made a pretty good suggestion that maybe they can investigate, to use flashers. like school buses. whenever they have the flesh as -- flashers on, they're required to stop. maybe sfmta can look into that to the improve the safety of passengers getting on and off the train. i don't know how many accidents or anything have occurred, but it is a big concern for people that are blind and have no sense
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of trying to figure out how to board it. maybe if you look into the -- i think it would help. >> [reading names] >> i want to address the question of tax credit card fees. as you are aware, cab companies have been given permission to pass these on their drivers. and one of the conditions is
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that there be a back seat terminal in the cabin. -- in the cab. i want to read you something, we obtained this through a public records request. it says, as we have discussed previously, there may be a place for bringing taxi advertising directly to the sfmta. it will have to be a cooperative situation where we agreed to bear the administrative burden to increase their revenues in exchange for a share. this is not an attack on the deputy director. i support her. it is a commentary on a way of thinking. they can benefit monetarily if
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there are back seat terminals in taxicabs, and they can benefit through a deal with cab companies, but can only do so if they pass on those fees to the drivers. they're not going to give up any advertising revenues. there was an enormous incentive here for the decision that was made to pass on these costs to drivers and put the back seat terminals in the cabs because the mta stands to benefit financially from it. >> good afternoon, and directors. i have a happy news, a very upbeat story for a change.
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one of the cab drivers recently stopped to assist a crime victim and help the police find the criminal. in recognition of the driver's actions, the police department will present him with an award tomorrow. the driver's good work was supported by the taxi security camera. those cameras face forward and backward. before facing cameras captured the crime in progress and hope to get convictions. look for extensive coverage today, we're very proud of our co-worker and we are pleased and happy that the security camera was unable to help protect