biggest is we have been getting lucky for a long time; right? we have been spending less than 1% of the transportation budget on bicycling but we're already at 4% of trips. that is like a dex in terms of what we spent and the benefits we're getting. as was said it's clear we don't need to debate the merits of this. if we want to improve the transportation system bicycling helps. if we want healthier san franciscos bicycling helps and if we want to reduce emissions and greenhouse gas emissions biking helps. there is a whole host of things it helps. the thing i wanted to draw more attention to is the equity piece. we often talk about

funding and we talk about these projects but the opportunity is funding the network and like all networks the more et cetera canned it is the better it does for everything it tries to do -- i have 30 seconds to say -- that given that if we really get serious about funding the full build out, not one of the partial plans, but the full build out, the improvements will be much more dramatic and than the half percent we're seeing now. we will get a much larger increase in all of the goods that bicycling provides us so i really hope that you start looking at the recommendations which was to come up with actual funding options. thank you. >> thank you. i'm going to call a few more names.

>> i am jenna lee and with the fran bicycle coalition as a community organizer. many of our 10,000 plus members couldn't make it in today and we had letters send emails and i know you were copied on them as well. i want you to know there are many people in the city that would like to see the board pursue the full system build out and take this and we know the issues were around climate change and safety and making sure that bicycle suggest safe for all ages. a lot of these are family. >> >> members and would like to bike with and in these areas, downtown, wherever it is. i

have two stories i want to share. i was talking to someone -- their child attends a school that isn't a safe routes to school and in sunny side and organizing a bike train but wasn't able to find a safe route because of the lack of structure in that part of the city. the other story and this happened and jenna williams and came with the husband and daughter -- i will read directly from the article and great to see the first time bike riders. "my husband rode the bike to work. i was shocked. when he came home up the hill our neighbors cheered him on and looks to

take her daughter to western edition and these are the stories that really need the bike infrastructure and i urge the board to pursue the build out by the bicycle strategy and the only way [inaudible]. thank you. >> thank you. next speaker. go good afternoon supervisors. i am douglas nicholson and a 12 year resident of san francisco and a homeowner. i would like to thank you for the support and the maximum support of bicycle infrastructure in san francisco. bicycling is my primary means of transportation for the past five years and ridden to work through south beach and soma everyday and i chose not to own a car, partly because i am able to get around the city on a bicycle so efficiently. the bicycle sfruk changes that have been made over the years have made me feel

safer. the separated bike lanes means i don't need to share the lane with a car or they don't see me. i have fewer close calls and fewer times that i feel like something a little dangerous is going on. and i found that with these improvements of infrastructure it's easier for me to make the case to my non biking friends that biking is safe and try it some time. looking to the future my give and i are looking to start a family and i have to ask myself and when i read articles in the newspaper about the bicyclists being killed and will i be comfortable biking as a dad and i have someone depending on me? will i be comfortable taking my kids on a bike? will i continue to use a bike as my primary mode of transportation? these investments in transportation will allow me to say yes and

avoid adding one more car to the city streets. thank you. >> thank you. next speaker. >> good afternoon. i am sue vaughn. thank you very much for holding this hearing on this matter. i am here to testify on the importance of funding bicycle improvements. a few weeks ago i walked by the elderly chinese american gentleman after the collision with the muni bus on the streets that came together. it was sad for me. i can't imagine what it was like for the family and friends of this gentleman. i am a member of the mtc -- and we need to get bicycle safety on the agenda and we get get it on the agenda. we passed two resolutions and recommendations to the board of directors. one is that the most dangerous intersections for bicyclists

and we didn't specify which ones they were and needed to be mitd gaited immediately and the collisions constitute a public health crisis, and the second one was that we recommended that the board of directors investigate changes that would need to be made in state and federal law in order to make san francisco intersections like copenhagen and amsterdam compatible with the americans disabilities act. however, i encourage members of the board of supervisors to do this also and investigate changes that need to be made. two simple things could reduce our carbon footprint making roads and intersections safe for bicyclists and to creating safe secure bike -- indoor parking places that are staffed. imagine how much people we could get on the bikes if we could do these things? thank you very

much. >> thank you ms. vaughn. next speaker. >> hi supervisors. madeline [inaudible] for polk. i live in district 2 priveg heights and worked in management and harvard school and wrote a comprehensive review on the interventions that affect public hea. i would like to think that i am representing the children that were here earlier when i say what we're talking about is not trivial. the amount of money is trivial, but the cost to our health and our future is extraordinary. not only i'm a san francisco -- developed alternate means of transit and active transport are we're going to be behind economically but if we move to another line item which is health in the budget we're dealing with major numbers and i know that at least 80% of those

deceases are preventible and a major part of that is active transport. >> >> it's my demographic actually that is weighing most heavily economically. my peers are profound unhealthy and addicted to their cars and that is something we cannot afford. it's the amount in the budget is trivial compared to all the other things we pay for. it's trivial and we should increase it -- not only increase it but with the understanding that it's toward a future health. it's economic health and it's literally our physical health. thank you. >> thank you. >> good morning supervisors. i jeff potter. my wife and i live in russian hill and biking for 30 years. we will wondering if we will ever see the end of

this implementation plan. from where we live the only real north south routes that are feasible are polk street -- >> keep going sir. >> and columbus and both are a menace especially at this time of the year when we're getting dark. i go out a couple of times a day on the bike and my wife is out all day three or four places volunteering. i am the same and at this time of the year i am really fear for her safety in dark hours. some thing really needs to be done about columbus. it's impossible to gr on a couple blocks because the muni and the tour buses and wide enough so there is no room for bikers at all. i would like to point out biking that

mushrooming out there. it's impossible to find bike racks. right now in front of this building the racks are filled up and downtown in market it's the same situation and can't install bike racks fast enough for us. i would like to point out that leah cracks a whip at the job she runs and i can assure you if money is provided to the biking coalition it will be implemented correctly and without problems and safely. thank you. >> thank you. next speaker. >> good afternoon supervisors and thank you those for this report and mta who is here and thank you to everyone who came. i will keep this quick. all of these people were killed this year without bicycle infrastructure and this year as the deadiest year in san

francisco for riding a bicycle. 630 people have been injured while riding a bike in san francisco and increases the trips taken over a five year period. it's alarming statistic which we have been unable to find in any other city. and the copenhagen index for bicycle friendliness and infrastructure and ranked san francisco 17th out of 20 and this year and we add 2.2 miles in the network we were removed from the list. theis a result of gross under investment in the infrastructure and according to the most recent mta fact sheet we have 1088 miles of roads but much less of bike lanes. an increase in the trips per bike has a

number of great side effects even for those that don't read bicycle. it will alleviate over crowding on muni, reduce congestion on streets and noise and pollution in the neighborhoods and known to cause respiratory problems for children and increase the activity for the children and many are considered over weight and obese. as you know we grossly under invested in this for years but with your governance and leadership this will be the last year of under investment. please fund the bicycle strategy so they can execute the plan in a data driven manner. thank you. >> thank you. next speaker. >> hi everybody. my name is matt bresena and i am excited by the number of people here to support this and that mta has put the effort and research

into this project. i'm an employer in san francisco. i think that's who i represent today. i have 40 employees in soma and 15 in the financial district and a third of the people i recruited from out of state to come join my companies and one of the things that brings them here is opportunity as well as the lifestyle the city offers and we currently have 50% of the employees in my company riding bikes to work. that's an important part why they choose this city compared to new york or astin or other places. these are the people making the future. we want them in this city. i want to have these people around and if we support bicycle infrastructure they will continue to come here and thank you and please continue your efforts. >> thank you. next speaker. >> hi. thanks for having me today. i am michael wong and a five year

resident in the year and russian hill and potrero hill and i have experienced a lot of the bike lanes in the city, some not safe like broadway before the tunnel and cutting over to pacific which is a very hard climb but i have been pleased to say that certain parts of the city i have seen massive improvements like market street or eighth street and separate bike way. i am excited if there is adequate money for bicycle infrastructure this could spread to the rest of the city and i will be a happier biker. thank you. >> thank you. next speaker. >> hello i am amy chin. thank you supervisors for bringing this topic up today. i live in the marina and software engineer in the plaza. as we said we know all of the merits of implementing this bicycle strategy. i wanted to stress the importance of more advocacy

and outreach. on any given day 15 out much the 200 people ride the bike to work and one of two women and when i talk about biking their concern is safety. it's not my makeup is going to get ruined or my hair is going to get messed up. it's whether i'm going to be safe on a bike and i have the conversation with my female friends. the line is similar "my line could be convenient if i could get to point a or b on a bicycle instead of muni" so think the interest is there and the demand, the latent demand for cycling infrastructure is there and we need to make sure it's more comfortable for people biking on san francisco streets. thank you very much. >> thank you. next speaker. >> hi there. i am steven lynch and both a bike commuter and

regular muni rider so thank you for the hearing and all of the work you have been doing on this topic. it's very important work and i just wanted to echo actually some of the comments of some of the speakers who have talked so far. every time i talk to someone about the fact that i do bike to work almost everyday the main concern that they bring up is safety. their only concern is whether it's safe to ride their bikes in the city and there is a perception i think that it's not safe in san francisco if you're a biker. now there are a lot of reasons for that and lots of back and forth why the roads aren't safe for bikers, but i think we can agree there are incredible strides in the last two years and market street is a great example of the infrastructure the city has built, and i just wanted to emphasize that investments made in bicycle

safety will have residual benefits for the other things and increased ridership, muni and decreasing the load during these times and increased bicycle safety and [inaudible] for the city and reduce some of the latent demand the previous speaker was mentioning. thank you very much. >> thank you. next speaker. >> i am beth burn. i want to thank everybody for taking the time to look into this very important issue. i also wanted to speak on the topic of safety. as a bike commuter from bernal heights everyday and i hear from the cyclists and on monday i saw someone hit on cesar chavez and valencia street. this week it was a hit and run. last week there was a hit and run. it's

increasing and the visibility of lack of safety is what is increasing and i work for a sunday streets and i hear all the time from participants they love coming to the event and it creates a safe environment and can ride their bike route fear of bit hit by a car and having safe streets like that everyday is very important like you heard from previous speakers the number of cyclists have increased and that is with a lack of infrastructure. if we can provide the safe infrastructure for people interested in being a cyclist i think the number will grow and definitely make an impact on the number of people that drive cars and muni and the efficiency of muni and i just thank you for prioritizing this. i think it's really, really important to recognize that the statistics that we're hearing about are not just statistics but they're people and they're people just trying to get to work everyday and they want to get there in a

safe way. thank you. >> thank you. next speaker. >> i am paul skillbeck and a 15 year resident of san francisco and live near van ness in the main thoroughfare for cycleelists of san francisco. i ride by bike everyday. no way i suggest that a child ride a bike in on polk street and what is being done and as others have outlined san francisco streets are not safe for cyclists and you have a target 20% by the year 2020. i wouldn't bet on that. no way. things have to change. right now value

proposition for cyclists? why should they ride in san francisco? the roads are dangerous and motorists are aggressive. i get back to his point and he's saying there is more to do with infrastructure. san francisco residents need to be told by the city why they should take up cycling. they need to be encouraged. there's an organization called the noarj california high school cycling league about 60 to 70 cycling teams in northern california. guess how many are in san francisco? anybody? zero. for a city that is aiming to have 10-20 road share of bicycle in the future that is not a encouraging statistic but i thank you for your work and for introducing this today. >> thank you and i think mr. hill from the cac suggested that infrastructure is

important but education and advocacy is a critical part of it as well. next speaker and if there is anyone else that would like to speak, anyone that has been called or anyone else come forward now. we're going to close public comment in a moment. >>i am jazz [inaudible] and a a lot year resident of san francisco and i would like to echo the statements of the last speaker. i feel so much is going to be window dressing. i know i have spoken to you in the past. if you want the improvements you need to get absolutely radical on this. the whole stop sign thing is a disaster with cycling. you are encouraging cyclists to break the law every time or in a position of breaking the law. if you know about cycling the energy you need to use when you get going. it makes the journey stilted. it takes longer. if you want

to have a smooth flow of cyclistses than reorder the junctions or at least provide corridors and what we have at portland and seattle and minneapolis we have the space in terms of wide avenues and boulevards and also we have the other advantage is that relatively small area. 7 miles by 7 miles so you could create these avenues, absolutely safe corridors, one way, one way, and i don't know how -- you're going to have to put up -- get with the merchants associations. i know that's difficult but that's how radical you're going to have to get. you have to literal get with sacramento and change laws traffic laws. these are our own city laws. i commend your efforts but i hope you get a lot more serious on this. thank you. >> thank you. is there anyone

else that would like to speak? then public comment is closed and i would like to thank supervisor avalos who took the load on a ballot measure for next year and the recommendations and the budget analyst report is helpful for the mayor's task force and the other measure moving forward. i wanted to thank the mta for being here. several staff -- i know janet was here earlier but thanks to the staff and i wanted to thank the bicycle coalition for being here and mr. hill from the community advisory committee and others as well. really quickly i wanted to say a number of critical points were brought up. i think leah said "if we build it they will come" and i think the three-5% mode share has

been increased over the years but much more needs to be done in reaching the ambitious goals as others have pointed out it's really important that we aggressively take an approach to improving the infrastructure but also education and advocacy as well. i wanted to say that mr. jawa from the conservation of league of voters mentioned bicycling for bicycleelists but for others and the equity issue and others brought that up and sustainable environment is critical and alternative transportation including biking is critical and this is about a healthier san francisco as others brought up as well, so full build out benefits many for many, many reasons and health and safety and for others the environment. i wanted to say that the budget analyst made some suggestions of having the mta, and i think it was said there are already efforts to

come back to not only the mta's board but the board of supervisors with a progress reports. i think there is a recommendation from the 2011 controller's report on a number of those items and i am guessing those are already being analyzed and lookinga at reports and the budget analyst reported to us from the recommendation and six month report backs to the budget committee on progress, and my hope even from the five years ago from the bicycle plan from 2008 i think it was even goal number eight aggressively increasing funding for bicycling is something that the city has not lived up to, so my hope out of this discussion and even for the mta to have better tracking and some of the other suggestions that we get a better bang for our existing buck and

that we are looking at strategically improving our spending so that we can truly be a bike friendly city so with they just wanted to move that we continue this hearing to the call of the chair and that we continue to work with the mta to look at the additional scenarios that were presented in this report and how we might meet different funding goals as well but that's my motion that we continue this to the call of the chair. did you want to make any remarks supervisor avalos? >> thank you supervisor mar and i just want to thank you for bringing it this hearing forward and the budget analyst for their work and the staff at the mta and the bicycle coalition and their efforts and make sure it's safe and we're building greater infrastructure for cycling and overall we're putting more funding available for that as

well. i had a conversation with with leah sham last name in preparation of tonight and one thing she mentioned besides increasing funding amounts for investments and infrastructure is paying great deal attention to project delivery to make sure we have the track being mechanisms, the plan and the design and implementation that will make the projects move quickly and get on the ground where they can really make a difference and people experience's of biking in san francisco so i support continuing this conversation and i welcome greater efforts with the mta and ways i can help the mta with their planning and efforts and implementing a greater infrastructure for cycling in the city. >> thank you. so the motion to continue the call of the chair. can we do that without objection? thank you. and let me ask madam clerk do we have any other business before us

today? >> that concludes the business for today. >> thank you everyone for .bein >> thank you everyone for .bein here. meeting adjourned [train whistle blowing] global warming. [whistle blows] some say irreversible consequences are 30 years away. 30 years? that won't affect me. [brakes screech]

>> the city of san francisco sfgtv meeting of the san francisco transportation authority occurring december 10, 2013, will begin shortly. >> good morning and welcome to the san francisco county transportation authority, finance committee, i'm scott weiner the vice chair of the committee and i will be chairing today's meeting to my left is commissioner david chiu and to my right is commissioner mark farrell. our clerk today is erika cheng and i want to thank sfgtv for broadcasting today's hearing. >> are there any announcements? >> no announcements would you read, or call item two. >> item two, approve