to bike in the city, i, as part of the 1% who will do it all the time, has stresses and feel myself tense up when bracing myself against fast cars. there's difficult negotiations at the argo station but i want to support this proposal as it stands because i think we need lower speeds that will cause in general with the improvements on the street. and i don't want to be forced into lanes of high speed traffic, ever. i speed up myself just to get through the intersection and i breathe easier when i get to the panhandle and when i get to a bike lane and the sense of relief on market street separated by pathways is palpable. there are a lot of ideas thrown around but i think we're looking at a proposal whose time has come to be supported and approved so that we can continue

to create an environment of safety and prioritizing safe cycling in areas that people can be welcomed into that mode of transportation. so i thank you in advance for your approval this. >> chairman nolan: thank you. >> j.j. strolly, michael smithwick, katherine orlan. >> my name is j.j., president of the north of panhandle neighborhood association. and we sent out a survey last spring to our members, and with 350 spondants we had over 65% felt positive about proposed improvements. so therefore the board of the north panhandle neighborhood association does endorse this proposal. personally i live less than a block from fell street and have two children under the age of eight and am very happy to see these improvements be implemented and they could not be implemented fast enough.

thank you. >> chairman nolan: thank you, sir. >> michael smithwick, katherine orlan, howard shafner. >> good afternoon. hi. thank you for this opportunity. my name is michael, i've lived on scott between oak and fell for 23 years. it's ground zero for this activity. i sit on my front steps and have observed it all and know this area very well. my firpt point is i'm encouraged us -- hopefully we're segregating bicyclists from cars we don't think we've solved the problem of speeding on oak and fell. it's ex-extreme. cars come down 40 to 45 miles an hour and because the timing sequence is so long you will see them go through and see the speeders come and it's every light cycle. don't pretend this is solving the problem. pedestrian safety, i'm trying to

show on this diagram. and i see that there have been ball bouts proposed but most are making it easier for people to cross scott and divisadero. what we need help is crossing oak and fell. those are the dangerous streets. here you can see the proposed two bal bouts. these are the two most dangerous intersections. the bikes are speeding around scott street, many are on the sidewalk still and very near-misses and some people hitd. the same will happen over here on this corner of oak street. bikes will be coming down, any will be speeding around the corner and there will be conflicts. my suggestion is add bal bouts on the east side of scott street so that becomes a way where pedestrians can go without having bike conflict and allow people to walk north around south. my second point is to put bal lardz along the edge of sidewalk on fell and oak to keep cars

from driving on the sidewalks parallel and parking in the middle of the sidewalks. they did it all the time in turning lanes and absence of curb side parking on scott street and will do it again unless enforced. one car parked for a limited period of time can block 30 pedestrians trying to get by and have to step out into traffic to get by. thank you. >> katherine orlan, howard shafner, robert. >> good afternoon. i'm a mission resident who often bikes through the project area both for recreation and for work and i'm in support of this proposal. i bike all over this city but fell and oak are by far the scariest places to ride, due to the speed of the cars and number of lanes of traffic. i've also worked as tour guide for bike tours. they're a small business and a

bicycle tour company in san francisco located in hayes valley. i've led tourists every day on fell street on bikes. when they introduced that planned route to tourists they get excited about the possibility of seeing golden gate park, but they're not excited to climb hills. in fact, many of my older or out of shape tourists, they can't climb hayes. i'd love to lead tourists to san francisco all over our city without having to warn them about the dangers of cars, but i kind of saw the legal obligation to let them know about the dangers they might encounter. i give tourists a special warning about how biking along fell street will feel. i tell them cars go fast. i tell them to just breathe and keep their eyes sharp and we'll be in golden gate park soon. but tourists, after one block on fell street say to me every day, things like wow, everything felt

so easy until now. or wow, those cars are really close. or the cars are kind of speedy here, huh. i'd love to improve tourist experience on fell. i'd love for their entire tour to fell safe and relaxed. i'd love for them to leave san francisco with the impression that our streets are safe for cyclists. you have the power to do that. thank you. >> howard shafner, robert che cheznia, robert -- >> good afternoon. thank you. howard should havener. i've lived in the neighborhood for 24 years -- good afternoon. howard, i've lived in the

neighborhood for 24 years. first of all -- and i live on fell. i am much more scared of being hit by a bicyclist than a car. i cross masonic all the time, and fell, and divisadero. the emperor has no clothes. the exemption from environmental review document claims the loss of parking spaces is not environmental impact in any way the impact of cars circling, looking for parking space would be minor. they claim the secondary impact are simply offset by reduction in vehicle trips due to others who are aware of constrained parking conditions in a given area. they also claim the fewer parking spaces will induce many drivers to shift to other modes of travel but this is no factual basis stated near these conclusory assertions. no statistics, no studies, no analysis of the conditions in this neighborhood, just the, quote, experience of

san francisco transportation planners, end quote. i sunshine requested from mta and planning department all documents regarding these assertions and received nothing but a copy of ceqa and a 10-year-old general policy from san francisco. there are no facts to back up the assertion that parking loss would have little or no environmental impact, no facts are given. second of all, this project would discriminate against people with mobility disabilities. i've made this point time and time again. eliminating parking on south side of oak for three blocks would -- disabled people in accessible vehicles would be able to park on oak for those three blocks, converting parallel parking into perpendicular or angled parking would eliminate spaces that are used by disabled people, also those who walk slowly and with difficulty would be harmed by parking lots as well and the project would make it more difficult for disabled people to be picked up and dropped off.

thank you. >> chairman nolan: next speaker please. >> robert cheznia, richard zilman. >> good afternoon, commissioners. i'm amazed. you don't consider pedestrians at all. one of the biggest problems in san francisco is bike riding and skateboarding on the sidewalk. you don't ticket anybody. i have a suggestion. you're going to have to put up barriers on these main bicycle walks. you don't realize, you have no outreach program. thousands and thousands of visitors every week rent bicycles. they don't know. you don't go on the sidewalk. you've never bothered to go to all these rental agencies and said these are the rules in san francisco. you bike in the bike lanes, or in the street. never on the sidewalk.

you should be fining people for doing this. the only other thing that you need to think about is generally about enforcement because you, as the mta, run buses. and we drive taxis. and you don't enforce the diamond lanes either. as you increase the bicycle lanes, you cut down on the road. the buses can't move, and neither can we. you promised, when you took over from the taxi commission, that you were going to enforce the diamond lanes. but it's too much trouble for you. >> thank you. next speaker. >> richard fillman, elliott maggie, elizabeth -- >> good afternoon. my name is richard zelman and i own the property at the southwest corner of scott and

fell. although our neighborhood will be substantially impacted by the loss of parking across the street the proposed bal bout at corner of scott and fell -- to many large multi-families from the corner of scott street going toward divisadero that are occupied by family and have no garages and thus the corner is used for neighborhood loading and unloading. the corner on scott street, quite frankly we are often obliged to park in front of the hydrant on the corner. we need to load and unload and there is no other reasonable option. to remove that space with a bal bout would be truly a disaster. i'm not just here asking you to remove the bal bout from our corner. i'm pleading with you, begging you to not to remove it. please, hear my plea. thank you. >> chairman nolan: thank you.

next speaker. >> elease maggie, elizabeth stamp, peter wet. >> good afternoon. >> good afternoon. my name is elease, and i live on divisadero in the project area at oak street, which is within the project area and i've been there for about three years. i am a biker and a pedestrian, and today i would like to speak about the safety of oak, specifically. when you're leaving the panhandle to ride east on oak, there is no other option. if you want to try to get up to page, you're dealing with a pretty significant hill and i'm in pretty good shape and i still can't pull it off. so you're forced to turn into traffic, where you are shoved between parked cars and traffic. and because of the incline of oak, you're going at a significant enough speed that it's kind of hard to control that sometimes. and i am a buyinger who obeys traffic laws. i think a lot of bikers do.

so oak is really somewhere, where we just need a bike lane. i love the proposal too for the timed lights. i think that giving bikers a head start is really important. also, as a pedestrian, i think the speed of cars is the main issue here. and anything that can be done to slow that down. i also see on divisadero itself the real gap in the culture between oak and haight and between fell and above. because of that kind of speed trap, it's unpleasant for people to be walking down as well. and i can't imagine that's great for the businesses there. so thank you for your time. >> chairman nolan: thank you. next speaker please. >> elizabeth stamp, peter wit, young yun o'donnell. >> i'mm

park, and get around without having to fear from speeding cars on fell and oak. so we support this project and p &c @&c"p% next speaker please. >> peter wit, followed+z=/n by g yun o'donnell and el yas -- >> good afternoon, mr. president. i am treading dangerous waters here because -- but i have a bicycle, okay. you know, there's thousands of bicyclists that run around san francisco here but there's and we're not talking just tourists, park cars too. they also drive down oak street and they also drive down[9?hç f.

but i'm concerned about impeding the flow of traffic for a special group of people. you know, i think -- i agree t6efñ oak street is a dangerous section there for bicyclists.

>> elliott zimmeria. >> my name is yung and i have concerns about thisvgz proposal. i have two young kids, one is seven months old and one is two years. so i need my car. i've dried taking them on muni.

it's very difficult with the stroller, diaper bag, two kids running around. so i do need my car. walking around the neighborhood to local concerns. the concerns that i have are fell and oak are big thoroughfares around the area. and there are thousands of cars, not just san franciscans but people from marin or south bay. doing that will cause more gridlock than there already is. i live a block and a half from broderick and lived there seven years and there's already a lot of gridlock. adding in another bicycle lane, taking away parking, having me and other parents looking for parking, driving around, will an independent traffic study needs to be done to realize how much traffic there is in 2012 on that area of fell, oak, all of --z>ktñ mayben past scott and past baker.

but just figuring out what the traffic routes are, where these commuters are going, where these people are going, and come up with a more like maybe more accurate and more -- and correct information. one of the things that disaird me was when mr. ma toyia said twice as many cyclists ride oak than page. i've lived there seven:kx;]>q'+y 95% of cyclists i see a handful of cyclists on oak and it's probably because of the traffic. i think it needs to be studied. but 95% drive on page. and i've lived there and seen it every day. because of the bike lane there. and maybe añ bike!lç lane on oas the best answer but it needs to be -- the whole thing needs to begyñq6 figured out together. >> chairman nolan: thank you so,biir much. >> elyas zimmeria, betty matthews.

upper haight, i'm in favor of this project. i think it's a much needed improvement. i think that most of what io'r wanted to say has already been said but i have a few points to make. to the people who complain about cyclists on the:ñ:uc> sidewalk,i think that nobody really wants to ride on the sidewalk. i think they do it because they think it's their only safe choice. and this project is going to address that. to the story owners who think that losing parking is going to hurt their business, look in north beach and the mission, to businesses that have had park lets1y>q put beside them. it seems that making an area more friendly tov(i

i've seen studies that have shown that in san francisco and new york. time.e i don't have biking on fell and oak is scary. i think that after all of these pla'ning it, it's -- it's time to see it actually happen. thank you. >> chairman nolan: thank hlwéí next speaker please. >> bettym9ñ matthew, christopher full kerson and dave snyder. >> good evening. antioch baptist church at 1235 fell street. and we have had a bicycle accident. we have a driveway. we park in the]l- and bicycle came in front of a car, that was going into the

driveway, and it was the fault of the bicycvjq and we are open on sunday, wednesday, thursday, friday, and saturday. a couple of weeks, to me,íú1&v l freeway. you come into san francisco. you leave san francisco. andyo that -- our -- station on fell street and divisadero is very3fñ hazardous. and i was involved in a car accident about two weeks ago. someone4b.d)jz the far right lane tried to come to -- i was in the far left and they were in that gas station. fault. but the bicyclists come from fillmore on haight street and they make a left on scott street. there.

bicyclists, if you want to make a left-hand turn, you have to wait 'til the bicyclists make that left-hand turn. they will not]"y stop and heede motorist. yk % wait for another light to make a left. so -- and i just think it's dangerous, and i feel like they should use fulton, page, and some other street for bicyclists. thank you. >> chairman nolan: thank >> christopher fullkerson followed by dave snyder andñ-ñ:n tim mclaugh lon. >> good afternoon. been a cab driver in the city in san francisco for several decades. been chalked in. the political problem you're dealing with was created by j. p.6ññ morgan and thomas edisond that crowd when they granted a

a monopoly for the use of concrete which we wouldn't granñ today because it was in public domain and they sold -- to the3& elevated sidewalks with rails that you see in sacramento and so forth. where the children would play and where the bicycles would be ridden. bicyclists in the street is a sense and i don't think wer now. also there are important details of law that are being violated÷v generally by the bicycle community. is a blockade. blockade is an actsd of war and therefore not protected by the institution. it's not a peaceable

demonstrationation. costing lives. we have one of the highest )jjip &c @&c"p% painting the pavement is not an act ofx it's not an act of engineering. and any time you allow people riefs. the corridor you are talking what for us in san francisco is in effect a highway. of themselves on bicycles out on the highway. if you must allow this crazy plan use hayes and page. >> chairman nolan: thank you. next w;çz speaker. >> dave snyder, tim mclof lon, peter)ue:ñ louderburn >> good afternoon, mr. snyder.

>>f%=e good afternoon. some strange karma. of the automatic retractable safety belt. safety belt. i used to play onhr)l i rode ad bicycle and at that our bicycle and we could light up a garage a quarter ofú#,qj bk away. you also had six taillights. these were2&)r affixed to the bicycles. they weren't attached to a cap, ora!cp@ conveniently worn on thr of a bike. they were on standard required night. what a concept:.n+ i might mention that the next door neighbor worked w:gñ ralph

naird"k&ñnéñ=nv[]wsg÷ñ,l8b[ --d necessity of the citizens of san francisco, both motorists it might also relate to the time of day and night and#b÷hp the tc flow. generally what i think is we traffic engineering in this city, some good÷d(xç high tech traffic engineering to perhaps have overhead lane controls like they do on the bay bridge and elsewhere. used to have].&v on ridge stred chicago. perhaps somekb?y high tech$nsjc engineering in9n san francisco, something which i think is

thank you. >> chairman nolan: thank you. next speaker please. >>g] l tim mclof lon followed y peter louderborn,? touter. >> good afternoon. time mclof lon, i co-own a bike tourço÷#z and rental company ins valley. we're a new company and we send tours and on our rentals through so i want to mention that i am fully for this plan. be imperfections no matter what when you're dealing f many different variables but this seems to be the best plan to move forward with. i donóçúink it's going to get any better. two stakeholders are new cyclistsz2ehu$at live in san francisco, we get a lot of business from them, and tourists ofbv0há course. tourists and new cyclists don't tus routes around

san francisco that the more grizzled andt67dw veteran cyclis know. they just don't know to make left or right turns to9z,y get o fulton or wherever thp they're going to right east down theix.3 panhandle bike path and wonder what to do and see other cyclists get on oak andwooi fow them. there was a beautiful bike path oak that was protected fromppdpñ traffic, that would make the city of san francisco a much visit. bicycle tourism is only going to increase whether we like it or next decades. "b1dkpare itself for the future. thank you. >> chairman nolan: thank you. next speaker. louderborn, ste sauw7-