morning. " to been meeting of the transportation authority. my name is david campos. i am the chairman of the transportation authority. >> [roll call] we have a quorum. commissioner campos: thank you. also want to thank the members of sfgtv staff. please call item 2. approval of the minutes of the

april 24, 2012 meeting. >commissioner campos: is there anyone from the public that would like to comment on this item? seeing none, public comment is closed. colleagues, this is an action item. actually, [roll call] -- roll call. >> [roll call] the item passes. commissioner campos: thank you. please call item 3. >> chair's report. this is an information item. commissioner campos: thank you.

as i have indicated in prior meetings, we are working on a number of items, right now focusing on what is happening at the federal government and in specific, in congress, on a number of bills that are pending before the house of representatives in the u.s. senate. one of the things we are trying to figure out is what will come out of the congress, and there is a great deal of uncertainty in terms of the federal funding of public transportation. that only underscores the importance of state and local funding of public transportation. as you know, in terms of what is happening in the region, the metropolitan transportation commission and commission of bay area governments recently approve the preferred land use and transportation investments in error for the regional transportation plan and sustainable community strategy. this was truly an historic

moment which creates a, for the first time, the region's first sustainable community strategy, as required by state law, senate bill 375. the person they're concentrates 70% of the region's four test jobs and population growth over the next three decades into development areas encouraging patterns of growth that make transit use, walking and cycling, more viable options for more people here in the bay area. we are very proud to have been a part of that process. a lot of work went into that effort, not only by san francisco, but also by the rest of the region. i am also proud to note, one of the good things that happened was, there was a commitment that discretionary funding be focused on high priority projects that san francisco has,

including caltrain electrification, van ness station, brt, among others. i want to thank my office and the office of supervisor wiener in what they have done for helping to make that happen. i know that it was important for san francisco to play an active role. i also want to thank the san francisco commissioners of abag that also made sure that our considerations were taken. i also want to thank the mayor's office who also played an important role in making sure that our concerns were taken into account. we also saw the introduction last week of an ordinance to put into place the transportation

system of it -- sustainability program. we are going to make sure that we continue to monitor that the first. -- that effort. with respect to the transportation authority, we are continuing to hear directly on the various types of projects and work being done on a district by district level. i think the presentation from staff and the various agencies working on projects in each one of the 11 districts is something that i have found useful. my hope is, beyond the individual discussions of what is happening at each one of the districts, that this can lead to a larger discussion about how we, as a city, can work together in a more efficient and collaborative way, and how we can maximize the coordination of the various city agencies to make sure that not only are

these projects delivered on time, but in the most caught -- cost-effective way. i look forward to working with all of you. that concludes my report. is there any public comment? please come forward. >> chair, i have been listening to you very closely ever since you assumed the role of the chair. i know that you cannot address someone personally, but in this case, i think i should. talking about transparency and accountability. could i have the overhead please? we see as much as the transportation authority talks about what ever they talk about, san francisco is ranked third worst in the nation.

this does not mean that we do not have the ability to think outside the box and do better, but we have to stop painting a rosy picture. stop painting a rosy picture. to some of you that i trust, i sent you an e-mail regarding some agencies and entities that wanted to erase a five years worth of e-mails linked to the high speed of light rail. there again is about transparency and accountability. i have faith in you, mr. chair, as i have known you for a very long time, and i do keep in touch with you from time to time, and i admire what you do. i watched you at budget sessions, here in the chambers,

at the committee meetings. you bring your experience, having worked for the san francisco unified school district, and other places, and you represent district 9 well. so i am proud of you, and i hope that you cast a shadow, one that is bright enough, where there is documents, there may be light. commissioner campos: thank you. is there anyone from the public that would like to comment on this item? seeing none, public comment is closed. madam clerk, please call item for. >> executive director's report. this is an information item. >> good morning, commissioners, maria lombardo. i will be brief, highlighting primarily some upcoming community of reach. i do want to follow on a few

remarks that the chair just made. we are still in limbo about a federal surface transportation bill. unlike our committee, the conference committee that has been set up is having its proceedings in secret, so there is not much information available. senator boxer is chairman of the committee and said that they have until the first of june to come up with a compromise. we are keeping close tabs on that. when we get information, we will be able to see how it affects san francisco. the governor released some worsening news on the state budget deficits, which has grown significantly, primarily due to lower than anticipated revenues. on the transportation side, the news has not then as bad as it could have been. the loan proposal that could have affected transportation right now is to transfer some of the off-road diesel fuel

revenues. this is permissible, according to the fuel tax swap. it does impact transportation because it means less revenues are available, but we do not know much more than that. there are no details of the things that we care about, such as the state level of assistance. one piece of good news is a recommendation for $700,000 to caltrans to provide better coordination on the blended rail services and high speed rail in northern california. i will follow on the chair remarks in terms of the action that the mtc and abag just recently took on. it is true historically number of fronts and over all we did quite well. but i think seventh of the 12 -- seven of the 12 projects that we saw supported received funds.

there was also more money directed to the one bay area grant where we get more money for transit enhancement, and there were definitely some disappointments, like the proposal to set first priority for the $660 million reserve of new and small start funds, going primarily to the north and east bay. a few of coming out reach things to draw your attention to. on the geary corridor brt study, there is targeted outreach, plant community meetings in the various neighborhoods on june 24, 25, and 26. there is more information at our website. on the bridge replacement project, we have been working closely with commissioner cohen's office. this is a caltrans own the bridge that needs to be replaced due to its age. if we replace it, we do not want

to preclude it pay feature of pocono station. we are working to evaluate, and do our due diligence on the options available for cost and feasibility. we anticipate coming back to the pants and policy committee at the july meeting. caltrans is holding a public information meeting on thursday may 24 on changes they have done to slow boulevard. this has been a road diet, reducing traffic lanes, improving pedestrian and bicycle and safety. that is at the san francisco zoo, if anyone is interested in attending. commissioner campos: thank you. we have a question from commissioner olague. commissioner olague: i'm wondering what the seven projects you were referring to. >> i will give you some of them. the van ness brt project. you the effect of this project.

-- van ness effectiveness project. commissioner campos: we have a question for commissioner mar. commissioner mar: thank you. many of us were at the mtc/abag meeting. the positive things are really great, and i and whether you enologist them, but could i ask you about the impact of the decision to prioritize north bay and east bay for the new small starts funding and how that will impact the van ness brt or geary brt project? >> that i think the dust is still settle in on this, but for the benefit of the public, for those who may not have been watching, there are $660 million

in the regional transportation plan that was set aside for yet to be determined new or small start projects in the region. in the past, it has been important to get the seal of approval from the mtc, to say this is a regional party. it helps our delegation in washington. traditionally, this was a focus on the major rail extension. when the game changer is here, we have this new pot of money called small starts. we have projects like van ness brt and geary moving forward. it is a major disappointment for geary. the van ness has been named as a cart -- party for small start funds. what did not make the cut for us were geary brt, santa clara projects, under development,

expecting to see money before the next rtp period. we are not technically precluded from seeking a small start fund but we would potentially be doing so without the benefit of the mtc's benefit -- silver approval. i still think we need to think about how we will approach this. we have the lack of a federal bill appeared when the bill passes, we need to see the revenue level, eligibility requirements. mtc staff included in their language, even though it gave prairies to the next project to the north bay and east bay, the carefully inserted warning that they have to go through a performance analysis and comply with all the requirements. it may be that some of those other projects to the magic of for funding. it is something that we will continue to work on with all of you to make sure that our products keep on moving forward. commissioner mar: before these major regional meetings, since in the number of us sit on the regional bodies, as we look at

the sustainable community strategy, other projects, i hoped we could stay in touch and coordinate with other allies like san jose and oakland on issues like the regional housing needs assessment to make sure that the so-called wealthier areas are doing their fair share for affordable housing development as well. on the commissioner chiu: -- geary brt, i am happy to see that there are community meetings coming up soon. also, of ththank you for the ine people that these community meetings. commissioner campos: we have a question from vice chair wiener. commissioner wiener: i wanted to follow up on the question about

the $660 million. it was an odd situation, awkward because the mtc representatives from the north bay has been extraordinarily supportive of san francisco projects because they really do think regionally and understand the importance of some of these projects, so it is always awkward and not to be agreed with them. i think we also all understood that the north bay and east they are entitled to their fair share of funding and all of that. the way this ended up being worded, and our colleagues in the north they publicly made clear, this does not segregate that funding only for east bay and north bay. basically, they give priority. if they come forward with good projects and get access to the money, but they come forward with projects that do not rate well with the fda, the other

counties can access that money. even though the wording is not as clear as what we would like to be -- and we tried to clarify it unsuccessfully -- they were clear in publicly stating their intention. i think that should be clear at this point. commissioner campos: colleagues, any other questions or comments? commissioner chu. commissioner chu: thank you. all was also at that meeting. i want to thank supervisor wiener for his leadership on making sure that language was clear even though the amendments did not take. it was clear what the intention was. commissioner campos: thank you, commissioner. let's open up to public comment. is there anyone from the public that would like to comment on this item? seeing none, public comment is closed. madam clerk, please call item 5. >> item 5.

program $400,000 in cycle 3 lifeline transportation program (ltp) state transit assistance funds to the san francisco municipal transportation agency's (sfmta's) free muni for low income youth pilot program and concurring with the sfmta's ltp prop 1b project priorities, including a wait list project in case there are unneeded ltp prop 1b funds. this is an action item. commissioner campos: unless there are any questions -- this was an item that was considered by the plans and programs committee. is there anyone from the public that would like to comment on this item? sorry. we have speaker cards. >> [speaking spanish]

>> midafternoon.

-- good afternoon. i wanted to ask for your support of this funding. a lot of our families are low- income. we do not have other options for transporting ourselves. many of us have multiple children and to have to make multiple trips to pick up our children to and from school, and that makes it very expensive and difficult for us to be able to support our families in this way, so that is why we are asking for your support. commissioner campos: thank you. let me read a cue cards. angelina yu. jane martin. estella linda montoya. >> [speaking in spanish]

>> i just wanted to share an experience that i had riding the bus last week where i saw a student on the bus trying to get to school in the morning. he was told he could get on because he did not have fare. this was difficult for me to watch. she was telling me out said that even i wanted to give him $2 for him to get to go to school. we are asking for your support. commissioner campos: thank you.

next speaker please. >> my name is linda montoya. we have been working on this program for months. i want to ask that we make you the free passes for all youth. we need your support to make this happen, and to fund part of this program. from my experience, i am the mother of a 9-year-old boy. we ride from bayview district to downtown to school every day. i am not the only family that struggles this way when it comes to our transportation. i would also like to thank the board of supervisors for your support. thank you. commissioner campos: thank you very much. >> i and the youth organizer with people with an unemployment rights. i want to thank you for your ongoing support so far on this item. i am representing the youth from

the bayview, mission, and excelsior, who could not be here today. as an organizer, i ride the bus several times a week to talk about their experience on public transportation. for many people, we hear countless stories about muni becoming less affordable and less accessible. for many people, they have to choose between food and basic needs are paying for public recitation, which is not really a choice. it becomes increasingly difficult for families who have multiple children to have to pay for all their fares. the young people i have met said they feel unsafe stepping into environment of fear of being ticketed for not been able to afford their fair. i want to remind us today that muni is their school bus and this is the way they are able to move around, not only to school, but do vital services around the city. today we have a huge opportunity to make a small investment that could impact the lives of thousands of children, youth, and families in the city. we look forward to your leadership to make this pilot

program a reality. commissioner campos: thank you. next speaker please. >> [speaking spanish] >> i am a mother and i just want to say that we would really appreciate your support and we count on your support because a lot of us are low income and it

is difficult for us to make ends meet. if you are able to approve these $400,000 for this program, it would mean a lot to us and a lot of families in the city. commissioner campos: thank you. next speaker please. >> [speaking spanish] >> good afternoon. i am a member of power, a single mother, and i wanted to share with you my experience. i have two kids and it is very

difficult for me to pay for my children to ride muni as well as my own adults fare. i have also seen children being pulled off a bus. it is sad when they are getting ready to go to school, if they do not have 75 cents to ride the bus and try to get an education. >> [speaking spanish] >> i want to thank all of you who have been supportive of our campaign so far and i hope that you will continue to support us. thank you. commissioner campos: thank you very much. next speaker please. >> my name is angelina yu. i have been a part of the coalition for youth. over this past year, i have got a pat -- chance to work with young people from all their goods across san francisco sharing what consistent voice, that affordability of muni is

something they really care about. this campaign has been driven by young people. the justice aspect is that we are seeing young people speak up about their needs to make transit accessible for them and their families. the transportation side of it, aside from the needs of the campaign, we see young people at the table now with sfpuc and sfmta. it will be a two-year pilot and we are hearing many students, many in middle school and high school, how they want a program to work. we have been working to design an education and outreach component. the education component is ready to kick off. surveys have been done with high school students and middle school students to understand the relationship with public transit, their needs, and hal muni can work for this demographic of young people. additionally, about which campaigns are being talked about by young people. they are asking, how can we let more young people know about

this program? this is something that will build that sense of lifelong ridership that the ta cares about for the next generation of writers. >> thank you. next speaker. >> i am the chair of the san francisco youth commission. i have been involved in this topic since i have been on the youth commission. i want to be really clear, the funds for this program are coming -- the $400,000 that you will be voting on today -- comes from a regional fund specifically for low income people. that is what they were created to do. i think it is more than fitting to use this money for free muni for low income youth. i encourage you to use that money for this program. i think you all for your support, in the past, and moving forward. have a good morning. commissioner campos: thank