water levels there. i was quite impressed with the mix and the dynamism that took place there. really want to thank all of you, want to thank all the other departments for their participation and for really all coming together. it was an extremely informative report. so, thank you for all of your efforts. >> thank you. and if you have any specific comments or edits to the guidelines, we welcome them as well. >> commissioner woo ho gave us periodic governing [speaker not understood]. >> um-hm. >> okay. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> okay. >> item 12 b, san francisco municipal transportation agency informational presentation on the embarcadaro enhancement project to improve bicycle access on the embarcadaro, from fisherman's wharf to at&t ballpark.

>> good evening, president katz and members of the commission, member of the public. dianne oshima with planning and development group. i'm providing a little bit of introductory overview for the presentation on the embarcadaro enhancement project that would be provided by patrick guerrero and [speaker not understood] at the sfmta to sponsor a city generated study to look at the embarcadaro corridor from the sort of the south end of fisherman's wharf where jefferson and powell meet all the way down to king and third where we get to [speaker not understood] bridge to look to

see what are options available for possible conceptual design to improve bike access in a safe way to address the preservation conflicts we have been encountering with the popularity of pedestrians and san franciscans, visitors attracted to the san francisco waterfront on the embarcadaro. i think for many in the public, they come to the promenade and see that as this grand boulevard sidewalk along the water side of the properties, and they consider the sidewalk and they are surprised and conflicted by the fact that it is a shared facility with bike access and other wheeled vehicles that share access to that promenade. the reason being is that historically the embarcadaro was a shared enhancement, a

shared transportation facility for truck, horses, trains, vehicles and people because it was a working waterfront and that there was a recognition of the need for access of all of those different amortized to the piers for all of the business that was coming and going. and the port has never changed the formal status of the embarcadaro promenade so that even though it reads as a sidewalk, it really still has those functions. while we do have class 2 bike lanes on the east and the west sides of the embarcadaro, i think the popularity of bicycling and the success of the city's transit first policy and our efforts to advance alternate transportation modes is such that those bike lanes are really over subscribed or do not provide the level of service and space to make it a safe experience for using bikes along the street.

and, so, the increase in the number of people walking, the number of people riding on the promenade itself has created a safety, a public safety issue that really has brought together a concern for improving and addressing that problem while at the same time trying to take a fresh look at how it can further improve the success of the embarcadaro by improving bike access and providing more opportunities for alternate transportation modes. so, patrick and darby will be giving you more of the background on that pr a city-wide perspective. it has grown, i think, through the america's cup events to find both what conflict are and to such a level we were able to actually get some ntc grant fund alongside with ntc funding and a contribution from the

port to fund this study, which is a half million dollars study ~. the embarcadaro enhancement project is also one item that has come out of also the water front transportation assessments that we have presented to the commission previously to look at a package of integrated multi-modal improvements that can improve transportation conditions overall along the waterfront. so, there's been a close coordination with peter alberts' group as well. as a kickoff, many mentioned in the executive director's report there is going to be a public open house to invite the public to the port to explain the full breadth of what this study is intended to achieve, to answer questions and to get some initial feedback about what people -- what their experiences are and what suggestion they might have so

that the mta's team can start working with that to look at design options. and then mtas has produced what we call a white paper, even though this version is a blue paper, that explains the scope of the issues and the scope of the study. there was a draft version that was attached to your staff reports which has been finalized in pretty graphic form that i wanted to provide to you today. so, with that, let me introduce darby watson and patrick guerrero and we'll take you through the project. >> thank you so much for having us here this afternoon. i know you're probably fading fast so i'll try to make this as engaging as possible. luckily for me this is a very engaging project. my name is darby watson and it is my job to make it easier for people to move around the city of san francisco. i work for the sfmta and myoofficial title is section leader with livable streets ~

subsection and we specialize in pedestrian, bicycle and traffic calming, though we talk a very complete streets approach to all of our projects. and i'm here today to share with you a new project for the embarcadaro. the embarcadaro enhancement project is a planning effort to improve safety and comfort for all of the travelers along the embarcadaro from, as dianne said, the bridge on third street in the south and to powell on the north end, and this project will develop a design concept and a cost estimate for a protected bikeway. the project includes a stakeholder participation and public process to generate ideas, review and comment on the alternative concepts, balance the costs with the trade-offs, and with the objective of a consensus driven project that is physically and financially feasible. this project, as dianne mentioned, is funded through a one bay area grant through the metropolitan transportation division and it is $500,000.

we are joined in this project by our colleagues at the department of public works, s.f. planning, and of course the port. let's step back for just a minute and think about the embarcadaro. you probably all know it intimately. this street has become one of the most iconic streets in san francisco. it attracts visitors and local alike to world class attractions in an unrivaled physical setting. you know it intimately. think about it for a moment and think what you love about the embarcadaro. my guess is it relates to an experience you had there. i think we're so close to it we forget this is the backdrop for some of life's most important moments. it carries enormous weight in the psyche of the city of san francisco, and i can't emphasize that enough as we move forward with this project and propose to make changes to it. along with being one of the most iconic streets in san francisco, the embarcadaro is really a heavy duty mover of people and goods.

it carries transit, motor vehicleses, bicycles, pedi cabs, walkers, skooters, roller bladers all with a view of the bay. so many people want to use the embarcadaro that its volumes rival some of the greatest streets in the world. maybe this won't surprise you, about it really surprised us when we start today do our information gathering and data collection that some of the pedestrian volumes at fisherman's wharf rival that of broadway in manhattan. so, in addition to moving all these people and goods, the embarcadaro must play a functional role for businesses and their facilities including utilities, waste collection, cleaning and maintenance. there always seems to be work that's being done. businesses also need gao $delivery on all hours, all days. a constant flow of materials on the embarcadaro. the entire length of the embarcadaro also has different needs at different locations. mobility access, delivery, range is huge everything from the cruise ships to the explore

or yum, ferry building, fire station, pier 3, they all have different needs that we need to address through this project ~. the needs of the embarcadaro are sometimes in conflict. it's so popular that it can become uncomfortable and unsafe for some user, not just the cyclist who is moving into the driving lane. i know as a driver i bomb very uncomfortable when cyclists are weaving in and out. it is so popular the experience can be diminished and uncomfortable. so, some of the project goals, really the top one is to make the embarcadaro safe and comfortable for all of the roadway users including people who walk, cycle, drive, deliver freight and ride transit. we want to support the economic development and a com indicate the anticipated possibility of employment group, increase and improve access for the water group for workers residents and visitors, manage curb side parking and loading to improve

efficiency of embarcadaro, maintain and enhance high quality urban design and integrate the transportation improvements as part of the waterfront transportation assessment. so, diving back into the project, you may be asking what is a bikeway. generally it's a dedicated bicycle facility, that mean it's generally for bicycles only. it's physically separated from pedestrians and motor vehicles and it typically has a bit more space than bike lanes. movements are coordinated and separated at intersections to reduce conflicts. it can be one way or two way. it can be down at street level. it can be at sidewalk level or some intermediate level in between. the type of separation can mean anything from curb to parking to planters. and some of the project benefits, what this project does is it gives people predictability. where is that cyclist going to be? where are the pedestrians going to be? where are the cars and the loading, reduces collision and the risk of collisions for

drivers, bicyclists and pedestrians. we have researched improvement in infrastructure for cyclists and there's research that shows that there is improved compliance that we all know is a problem. it increases access and transportation choices for everyone on the water front. and most studies show an economic increase of sales with bicycling infrastructure. it improves comfort and attracts users of all ability. so, we have a pretty narrowly scoped project and i wanted to walk through some of the assumptions that we're making. we're assuming that this is going to be within the right-of-way of the embarcadaro. it would be a separated and protected facility that's desired. this would not be a minor improvement. the muni tracks and wires will remain where they are and be fixed. we want to balance the mobility and access the needs for all users. so, we want to make the embarcadaro work moyer efficiently and effectively for everyone who is out there right now. now that i've described the

vision, benefits and assumptions of the project, i'd like to introduce patrick gollier and he'll take you through the schedule and outreach plan. >> thank you, darby. thank you for allowing us to speak about this great project. my name is patrick and i work at the sfmta and the project manager with dianne on this project. ~ gollieh i want to just speak very briefly about the schedule for the project as well as our proposed outreach and engagement process that's been developed. this slide provides a very broad overview of the schedule for the project. we are estimating it will take shy of two years from the project kickoff which was last fall to selection of preferred design options next summer, into next fall. darby mentioned data collection. last winter the project team initiated our data collection efforts in order to be able to provide an accurate understanding of the existing conditions on the embarcadaro.

we are now working on filling some of the gaps of our data as well as ensuring that our data is consistent with that of the waterfront transportation assessment. we are about to launch our initial state outreach process, our phase where we'll start discussionses with stakeholders about the public with the public about the project. the purpose of this phase is to introduce stakeholders to the project, start to have discussions about issues and opportunities about their experiences on the embarcadaro and start to work together towards coming towards a direction on initial design treatments. next we will embark on developing design alternatives. and in this phase our engineering team will work closely with the public towards some technically feasible solutions that will also meet the goals of the project. and finally, we'll work together towards achieving a final recommended design with further input from the public

and the stakeholders. i also want to emphasize here that the end product of this project is a conceptual, a 30% design. so, this would be subject -- because it's such a high-level design, it would be subject to further review during the subsequent detail design phase. this product would also be subject to environmental review, which also is not a part of the scope of this project but would also be a subsequent phase. we've developed a range of ways for people to get engaged in this project and share their thoughts and ideas from public open houses to workshops where people can actually come in and rollup their sleeves and really start to dig into the details of the project. we've developed a general -- a process, a right size approach so everyone has the opportunity to get involved as much as they want, in ways in which they are comfortable.

more specifically, the first public open house has been announced here, july 24th, next door at pier 1. that will be followed this fall by a series of three workshops where we really will now start to roll up our sleeves and start to get into the details. the workshops will be divided by geographic sections. so, embarcadaro north, central and south so we can really start to have more targeted discussions about some of the unique situations and issues and opportunities that are unique to particular sections of the embarcadaro. we'll follow that up with two additional open houses and if needed an additional set of workshops. so that we can come to a consensus on what a final design might look like ~. interspersed with all of this, the project team had planned to, as needed and as requested, have one or more discussion with different individuals,

groups, agencies, business owners, et cetera, so that we can work through and really get a sense of what people are concerned about and how they want to move forward on this project. we've got a project website up and running already and as a final comment, i just wanted to recognize the great project team from across the city family that have been working together closely the past several months and look forward to working over the next year in delivering a great product. thank you very much. >> thank you. is there public comment? hello, commissioner. my name is janice lee. i am a committee organizer with the san francisco bicycle coalition. i've come before you in the past to laud and support the joint efforts of bcdc and the

port with public assets which we're excite today see move forward. but more than ever, we're really looking forward to the embarcadaro enhancement project for obvious reasons and the great work that's been did not already by dianne patrick darby and the rest of the [speaker not understood]. as already mentioned, embarcadaro is more popular than ever. so, it makes more sense now more than ever as well to really look at how people get around, whether they're just advise i hadthing the waterfront or it's their daily commute path. they ride the ferrieses or their work is here. having clearly designated spaces and reducing conflicts is beneficial for everyone and it's been shown time and time again that protected bike ways can make that happen. there was recently a study that showed great statistics and even looked at streets in san francisco. protected bikeways improve bike behavior, [speaker not understood], and significantly make a street more safe and comfortable for everyone, not just people on bikes. as this project moves along, we will look forward to a few key elements to make this the

highest quality bikeway possible. first, we really hope it will be continuous and connected for the entire length or the scope that's been designed, ensuring there are no gaps in the network. next, it should be as consistent as possible, recognizing there are many different characters along every block on the embarcadaro. lastly, it really should out of all streets in the city be a premiere example of what we call 80 80 bike ways. bike ways are really open and welcoming for all people of ages examine abilities. and it really should represent what a beautiful bike lane can look like ~ and. we are excited to engage in the many stakeholder meeting and to engage them in this process and hear their input as well as involve our own membership in this process. we look forward to working together and thank sfmta and the port for taking their time to this project and presenting to you today. thank you. >> thank you. next speaker. good evening, commissioners.

my name is paolo schwartz. i'm also with the san francisco bicycle coalition. i'm the business and community program manager. first of all, i'd like to express our interest and excitement in the announcement of the embarcadaro enhancement project and the great plan that's been laid out for moving the project forward. many thanks to you, to your terrific staff, mta, for your leadership on this project. we're particularly excited that the port is taking such an active role as an enterprise agency in improving the waterfront for all users and all modes of transportation. this project has the ability to improve all aspects of [speaker not understood] by helping to bring more visitors safely and comfortably to support waterfront retailers and also to improve maritime access and industry. it is a really important use down here on the waterfront. so, our waterfront as you already know is a great success

and this project will continue the trend of making it an even better place to live, work and visit. i know from my work i've seen a lot of businesses interested in attracting more visitor by bike than employees. i've been conducting commute to work classes with waterfront business, [speaker not understood], the aquarium [speaker not understood]. we've also seen waterfront attractions like the exploratorium, at&t park and s.f. giants help bring in bike valet to accommodate the growing demand for bike parking in their events and the swells they see when they have special events along the waterfront. with rider ship only growing throughout the city year over year, we expect this to only increase and we're thrilled to see the support of the port to support this effort. we look forward to working with you all, sfmta, port staff of course, the business community and neighbors l to move this project forward. thank you. >> thank you.

any other public speaker, public comment? seeing none, public comment is closed. commissioner adams? >> i really appreciate this presentation because i've been running on the waterfront every morning and it's kind of nice that you see that you could run, there's runners, there's walkerseses, there's bicycles, people with roller blades and we have to coexist together. and also this waterfront and the way tourism ~ especially with our new cruise terminal and more people coming to san francisco, i think this is forward thinking, i think this is good, and i see a lot of bicycle stands everywhere now. i've taken a lot more interest in bicycles because recently i don't have a car. and recently i guess i've become more thinking about it more because i was going to rent a car and i was driving it and this motorcycle went right

down the middle of me and i realize how you have to be more aware of people on bicycles, motorcycles and stuff like that. so, i'm thinking about it morenow. and i also realize that -- how much better it will be for our waterfront. and it's really good healthy exercise, walking, bicycling, things like that, so, if people can walk on our waterfront, take bicycles especially we'll get a lot of cars off the road. that's what we want to do, cut down on the pollution. so, i'm really in support of this and maybe thinking about getting a bicycle myself. but i think i might need a helmet or something. i might wreck or something. [laughter] >> thank you so much for a wonderful report. this is really great because the embarcadaro is a little hard to navigate these days with the pedestrians, the bicycles, the pedi cab, the roller bladers, everybody using the same street. so, i think this is great and

will be much needed and looking forward to the outcome of it. just wanted to know once the preferred plan is decided, who is going to pay for the implementation? >> i think one of the -- the points of this study is to be able to have the discussions because the implementation requirements are probably going to be pretty significant, and i don't think that, you know, certainly not the port is going to be able to carry this on our own. part of our core interest of partnering with, not just the city, but also the region so that if we have a proposal that come up with a strong consensus, then the presumption is that we would be well positioned for transportation grant and other funding. so, that's kind of the trajectory of it.

there is a long road ahead of us. there is still the environmental review and other regulatory points that are even beyond the scope of this study, as patrick described. so, our main focus is can we look at the embarcadaro in one conversation and arrive at something we think makes sense. >> thank you. >> commissioner murphy? >> yeah, i think for everybody concerned it's safer if you have a bike lane. i'm all for them. i don't ride a bicycle, i don't own a bicycle, and i'm not buying a bicycle. but i find that driving through the city it's a lot easier and a lot more comfortable if you have a bike lane. as far as the embarcadaro, it's very congested. a lot of people down there trying to get from a to b.

you have bicycles coming along on the sidewalk and it's dangerous. so, i'd be, you know, i'd be definitely supported and i thank you for the presentation. >> commissioner woo ho. i certainly support tying to make the embarcadaro less conjest and had having bikeways. ~ one of the questions, number one, we've obviously already implemented some bike paths. so, with this enhanced embarcadaro enhanced plan, where would he we say we are, what percent of what we're trying to do is done and how much more has to be done ~? because i'm not sure i understand exactly what more will be done based on what we already have. i'm not saying what we have is sufficient, but i just don't get a sense of how much more needs to be done because we've already started to have bike lanes in places. is it 50%, are we 25% where we want to be? what -- i'm just throwing those

numbers out. i just don't get a sense from what i heard and i certainly would like to have a better idea of how much more has to be done. and then the second thing that i wanted to bring up, and i see some of the signs that you've put in the staff report. one of the things that irks me is, well, one, i think the signs about bikers must yield to pedestrians. i think we need more signs like that on the embarcadaro. secondly, throughout the city, but i would start with the embarcadaro because that's the only one i can influence here on this commission. we need to say bikers need to obey traffic rules. there are no signs in this city that indicate bikers need to observe traffic rules. we would cut down on all the accidents and issues if bikers would observe traffic rules. and i think we need to remind them, if not through a campaign which i would love to see, but if we're not going to do that we at least have to have signs. let's start on the embarcadaro

and say, please observe the traffic rules so that we wouldn't sw some of these accidents that in most cases it's because they weren't observing traffic rules. >> i'm going to try and answer part of the question, but i think that i would invite patrick and darby to add on. in terms of the existing bike lanes that are on the embarcadaro, those bike lanes were put in there as part of the original waterfront transportation projection. and i think the green paint that went down after the america's cup which has been formed by the transportation planning, has helped. but in general, given the lanes of traffic and the speed, the widths of those bike lanes are not really perceived by many recreational cyclists in particular as being a safe place to ride, which i think contributes to the fact that we've got this mixed flow along the promenade. so, at the transportation planning level, i think the general observation from the

city staff is that those bike lanes are not sufficient to handle the kind of demand that we are now observing along the embarcadaro. and that we -- because the embarcadaro promenade is not designated as a sidewalk, we are sort of constrained on the usual traffic rule enforcement rules that apply to other city sidewalkses because we haven't designated as a sidewalk, and we have been reluctant to designate the promenade as a sidewalk when we don't feel we have a safe place for bicyclists to go to. so, that was sort of the backdrop that sort of backed us into taking advantage of this opportunity to do this study in the hopes that we would be able to come up with a broader space. now, in the staff report we do go into some framework of the approach. the bikeway itself could take

different forms. it could be -- i think the idea would be if there was a way of doing a two-way bikeway on one side of the street, but within the limitations of the embarcadaro right-of-way, i don't know frankly personally how possible that's going to be. but you could look at wider bikeway on the northbound and the southbound side of the street where they're still split, whether they're at the curb edge or even adjacent to the metro median in the middle. that's a technical possibility as well. and, so, that's all within the scope of what the mta team is going to be looking at is physically what's the width of the embarcadaro, how much of it is subscribed for what purpose, and are there opportunities to rearrange that space so that you could free up more generous space for bicyclists. i do