help of our consultants. a pretty round by national and international experts. we of five published papers in peer review journals this year that describes or utilize the work we have done. i want to emphasize we are continuing to develop this model to take advantage of the latest data and computing power and to more robustly answer questions of the minds of planners and decision makers and the public. a recent example is the development of the bike route choice model. the status coupled with advanced choice -- as a result, we are the first agency in the country that can't robustly forecast how much cycling can increase a biking network. we look forward to the 20% by

2020 bicycle goal. other developments include upgrading the pedestrian component and adding the ability to evaluate how crowding on trends that affect people's travel decisions. the latter is important for capturing the effectiveness for what we're currently doing the work for. there will be future work we have incorporating for policies and the transit sector. the authority has been one of the first to develop a technology for traffic assignment and will skip over the details but we were recently awarded several months ago i grant from the federal highway at ministration to conduct that work. hopefully i have given you an idea of the type of modeling and analysis we do it the authority and i will discuss the procurement process. we currently have to on call bottling service contracts set to expire at the end of the year. we're seeking a recommendation

to award the contract with an option to extend for an additional year for on call modeling services. the authority held a conference on february 7 to provide opportunities for small businesses of firms to form partnerships and incurred participations -- encourage participation -- and a bay area at chambers of congress and said -- chambers of commerce and small business. we received to statements of qualifications and held interviews with both teams on march 9. the panel about with the teams on criteria and were identified and it demonstrated technical expertise. we recommend the award the contract to the top ranked firm. both teams were qualified but

they had an exceptionally innovative travel analysis approaches and our project manager -- and a project manager that demonstrated a grasp of the authorities needed. they also work with an oakland- based, african-american and company. the motion of spoor was in an adopted and we're seeking a recommendation to award a two- year consulting contract option to extend for an additional year in an amount not to exceed $400,000. i'm happy to entertain any questions and i have the project manager here. >supervisor mar: thank you for the work. i know you don't often come to us but i am fascinated by cycle track. it looks like if we download the app, we are like the guinea

pigs and helps the city better planned bicycle route. >> that's correct. two years ago, we first deployed a cycle track. after six months of data collection -- supervisor mar: a bunch of other cities are falling? >> we have cleared up on several open source sites and other cities have tailored to their needs. eugene, ore. and others who are interested on east coast as well. supervisor mar: what are the benefits for someone to get the app? as a give you suggestions of where to ride? >> it was the important trade off, gathering data as opposed to providing information. we wanted to make it fun enough

for people to actually use, but if we told people where to ride, we would not understand why they are choosing different route. it provides information of your average speed of the hills that you climb. it is not designed to be a route finder. that would defeat purpose of trying to figure out where cyclists want to ride on their own. supervisor chiu: could you talk about what they are doing in conjunction with what sfmta is doing? >> we work with them on many, if not all our projects. we just completed the trouble analysis modeling for the effectiveness progress --

project and we go to the meetings on a monthly basis to update them on the progress. we have been involved in the past with the sustainability fee program and we interact with them on a daily, if not hourly basis. supervisor chiu: are they doing similar modeling? >> there is a slight separation and the work where their consultants perform. at the authority, we have an official travel demand model for san francisco. we are modeling demand for our people are traveling in people's behavior. sometimes, that is not enough that we want to know how specific pedestrians are interacting with transit and cyclists. like market street, they're doing more detailed analysis where you take a simulated video of people walking around on market street and how they're

going to interact on the transit stops. it is not as detailed and is conducted on the very specific approach. that is where the planning department comes in and we use consultants are sells for specific projects to conduct that type of modeling. supervisor chiu: do you work with the planning department to model feature expectations? >> absolutely. every thing that has a transportation component uses that by rule. supervisor chiu: perhaps we could have a subsequent conversation on many projects are moving forward. there has been a lot of questions from the ingestion and transit and the proposed of washington project is a 400 car parking garage and i would love of the talk after this meeting any data you may have on those

two projects. >> certainly. supervisor chu: this is a question more broadly to provide permission offline not specifically for this item. we have a number of new staff members and i think we have been consistently saying that. the same time of a ton of contracts adding to the work, which is like a fuller understanding of what the responsibility of the staff members are. recently managing contracts are doing some of the work in house? i would like to see a better understanding of that. supervisor wiener: any other questions, colleagues? is there any public comment? seeing none, public comment is closed. is there a motion to move this forward with recommendations? can we do that without objection? so ordered. thank you. next item.

>> the introduction of new items. supervisor wiener: are there any new items? is there any public comment? seeing none, public comment is closed. next item? >> next item is adjournment. supervisor wiener: we are adjourned. >> just a few steps away from union square is a quiet corner stone of san francisco's our community to the meridian

gallery has a 20-year history of supporting visual arts. experimental music concert, and also readings. >> give us this day our daily bread at least three times a day. and lead us not into temptation to often on weekdays. [laughter] >> meridians' stands apart from the commercial galleries around union square, and it is because of their core mission, to increase social, philosophical, and spiritual change my isolated individuals and communities. >> it gives a statement, the idea that a significant art of any kind, in any discipline, creates change. >> it is philosophy that attracted david linger to mount a show at meridian. >> you want to feel like your work this summer that it can do some good. i felt like at meridian, it

could do some good. we did not even talk about price until the day before the show. of course, meridian needs to support itself and support the community. but that was not the first consideration, so that made me very happy. >> his work is printed porcelain. he transfers images onto and spoils the surface a fragile shes of clay. each one, only one-tenth of an inch thick. >> it took about two years to get it down. i would say i lose 30% of the pieces that i made. something happens to them. they cracked, the break during the process. it is very complex. they fall apart. but it is worth it to me. there are photographs i took 1 hours 99 the former soviet union. these are blown up to a gigantic images. they lose resolution. i do not mind that, because my images are about the images, but they're also about the idea, which is why there is text all

over the entire surface. >> marie in moved into the mansion on powell street just five years ago. its galleries are housed in one of the very rare single family residences around union square. for the 100th anniversary of the mansion, meridian hosted a series of special events, including a world premiere reading by lawrence ferlinghetti. >> the birth of an american corporate fascism, the next to last free states radio, the next-to-last independent newspaper raising hell, the next-to-last independent bookstore with a mind of its own, the next to last leftie looking for obama nirvana. [laughter] the first day of the wall street occupation set forth upon this continent a new revolutionary

nation. [applause] >> in addition to its own programming as -- of artist talks, meridian has been a downtown host for san francisco states well-known port trees center. recent luminaries have included david meltzer, steve dixon, and jack hirsch man. >> you can black as out of the press, blog and arrest us, tear gas, mace, and shoot us, as we know very well, you will, but this time we're not turning back. we know you are finished. desperate, near the end. hysterical in your flabbergastlyness. amen. >> after the readings, the crowd headed to a reception upstairs by wandering through

the other gallery rooms in the historic home. the third floor is not usually reserved for just parties, however. it is the stage for live performances. ♪ under the guidance of musical curators, these three, meridian has maintained a strong commitment to new music, compositions that are innovative, experimental, and sometimes challenging. sound art is an artistic and event that usually receives short shrift from most galleries because san francisco is musicians have responded by showing strong support for the programming. ♪

looking into meridian's future, she says she wants to keep doing the same thing that she has been doing since 1989. to enlighten and disturbed. >> i really believe that all the arts have a serious function and that it helps us find out who we are in a much wider sense than we were before we experienced that work of art. ♪ tape 55

>> welcome, this is carl. >> great to meet you. >> great to me you, and i want to thank you for your interest and this is the city's animal shelter. and come in and a lot of people come here to adopt a animal or if they have lost their animal or looking for other animals. and we deal with other animals like birds and rabbits and you name it. this is more to see in this facility and more to see in the community. and i suggest you go with an animal control person and see what they co, whether rescuing animals in distress or hit by a car or dealing with aggressive

animals or wildlife or a variety of things. you can only get that flavor with them and doing it first hand. >> i have been with animal control for about six years, i spent a year in the kennel and then the office came up and i started doing it and it really fit. it's really the job for me. and animals i have to handle and i know what i am doing, i rarely get scared. [whistle]. we do a lot of investigations and most are not as bad as people report but everyone once in a while they are. and i had one and people had moved out and the dog was in the inside and it makes me teary and when the dog is in the

backyard, and i can pull an animal out of a horrible environment and feel good. >> where does this animal go after this? >> they go for the shots and then the kennel. >> and if they just found this, and once we enter everything in the computer and they can track to find out if the dog went back home. we hold them for five days. >> this is a stray dog and it came in today and we immobilize it and then put it in a room with food and water. >> and then evaluate for medical behavior and see if anyone is interested in adopting then. >> we want to be sure that

their behavior is good for the average adopter and not aggression problem, toward people or animals. >> and if they growl and don't bite the hand, she passes that. and good girl, in case she has something in her mouth, we get it out. and one more test, called the startle test and it startled hear but she came to me. and passed the handling test. >> for the mental exam i feel for lumps and bumps. and the ears and see if they are infected and look at the eyes and be sure they are clear and don't have cataracts and

look at their teeth and heart. this is the first job that i feel i make a dvrngs. -- difference. and we may do 40 to 80 animals a day for treatments. and do blood work and skin scrapings and cultures to diagnose different diseases. and x-rays, i can take an animal that would be euthanized at a different shelter and fix it and get it ready for a home. >> we have a partnership and we let a professional groomer run a private business from our facility and in turn grooms our shelter animals. what is the big deal of that? when someone comes to adopt an animal, if it looks good,

chances are it will be adopted more. >> and we groom and clean the ears and the works. >> typically a shelter wouldn't have grooming? >> not at all. and these dogs are treated with the utmot -- utmost care that others can't provide. this is a shampoo to bring out the luster. and i feel satisfied in helping the shelter pets be adopted and to be a part of such a wonderful staff, from the top all the way down. if she passes our evaluation, she will stay until she's adopted. if you are interested in adoption and don't want to put them to sleep, that means at a last resort, we will give you a

call before putting to sleep. you are not bound to the dog, and we would give you a call, and it's an actual adoption and cost $107 and it will be your dog. >> the volunteers to meet are the unsung heroes in this field that take the animals to hope and nurse them to get strong enough to come down and rehome. without volunteers, i would have to be honest to say this wouldn't be much more than a pound. we thank god that we have the number of committed people coming down and helping us out, it makes all the difference in the world. >> when you want to come in and volunteer, you go through a general orientation, about two hours.

there is a lot of flexibility. and the various programs available, are baseline dog walking. you can work with the cats. you can work with tony's kitty rescue, with the small animals and guinea pigs and birds and chickens. >> you always have an appreciative audience. >> do you feel that what you have learned here helped you with your own dogs? >> the training they don't have? yes. and it's things that you learn, we usually outlive our dogs and every time you get a new one, you have skills to teach them. >> one of the programs is training program and it's staffed by a member of the community and one of the

programs she has is dog socialization. >> we started this program for canine socialization. and all the dogs available for adoption get to play for two hours. and it's a time for them to get incredible exercise and play with other dogs and we have remedial socialization. and it's incredible the dogs and they get exercise and run and tumble and when most adopters come to look in the afternoon, they are quiet and settled. >> and i want come and someone sees a dog and loves it, it's quick. and after three weekends, i saw him and he connected and i connected and came back. >> what is your experience of

working with the animals? >> unbelievable. from the guy that is came to the house and everyone here, they are friendly and knowledge believe and -- knowledgeable and they care about the animals. >> and it's a great place to visit and look at the animals and maybe fall in love and take one home. and look at our grooming program and volunteer program and many say, hey, this