with the better street market plan as the supply moves forward the light rail will build awareness for the 0 future improvements on market street 24 installation was conceived and advanced by the arts that is the same organization be responsible for the beautiful light bay lights on the bay bridge which the m t c approved or answered into an mou to make that installation on the bay bridge permanent this project will be opportunity and maintained for private funds in he and the city will not be responsible for the installation or maintenance slaegz colleagues we'll be hearing more first from the public works and then from ben davies from the arts. >> and good afternoon, supervisors i'm the city person

from public works this project was into our office i have - sorry. >> take your time. >> all right. all right. thank you again, this project came to public works back in june and we're reviewed it and we're into the

regular process and this is the light rail market from van ness to embarcadero about two miles illuminating the city which was described and it is the works first sculpture of its kind and the entire route has one hundred 42 lights that is going into the city through the tubdz and this is an example that joined obituary us we got from the sponsor which is the illuminate our of the arts this is the same thing that shows the ride this is typically what the future will look like on both sides of this is a cross section of market street which is not clear but you'll have two

lights running with the traffic this is a temporary project approximately 4 years and will be installed by illuminated art and deemed by them >> the installation will be. >> all done by sponsor. >> but approximately that 4 years. >> we'll hear more about that the reason it's temporary we don't know think go what is happening that the market street it could be permanent in the future. >> thank you led which is one of the things discussions crossing market street will not be allowed they would start at the intersection so large tracks of the train will stop and this

is agreed by the city of the public works of mta the lights will not be crossing the intersection basically right here at the intersection the lights will stop and continue from after the intersection what our office did was once we got the project reviewed we deferred to the planning for others and the sfmta and san francisco arts commission utilities public utilities commission and i think also the fire department they each agency responded and the applicant was everything was they have their discussion with the sponsor and

they were they agreed with the project they continued they responded to our office with their comments saying the project come mrildz to their general plan and sf arts commission recommended the project for approval the public utilities and the pot of gold they've agreed with the sponsor they yield their facility on project for their area systems projects were reviewed and the project was approved gordon's similarly sf fire department also had no objection on the project they made sure that the

spokesperson needs to make sure they're working to put out a fire if anything happens the sponsor will maintain it this is the cross section it shows the fire truck spreading it's lards and sometimes beyond the way of the lights and that was what was discussions between the sponsor and the fire department same thing this is just the care plan that agreed between the sponsor and the city as you can see in climax the sponsor supervisor wiener said the project received a lot of letters and support from the businesses individuals and that is the conclusion we have no objections as well one

thing we actually, the city attorney reviewed it regarding the resolution as we speak and will be communicating with your office. >> great i know there were i believe that mr. malmet would be proposing non-substantive amendments to the resolution you don't know. >> john gibner, deputy city attorney i don't have them i can talk to malmet. >> they're not substantive it's clean up language so if we don't have it today, we can take it up with the full board. >> he said he was working he didn't have time to talk to me. >> and again, if we need to make them at the full board tomorrow that's fine. >> okay. thank you.

>> thank you very much to the department we have benefiting from the illustrated of the arts. >> thank you, everyone thank you you know what makes a city great, of course, like san francisco is the land and the buildings and the way the city is laid out no street more important than market street and we looked at market street everyone knows about market street this is the specific spine of san francisco but what makes the city great is the people and our ability to work together the market light rail is an extraordinary example of a big community coming together many people consider on a possible challenging on this street that is 2.1 miles long in our city with 6 volts of power

we're grateful for people making that that includes the puc and the fire department and i don't think want to miss anyone else the preservation commission and sf planning and others beyond that the people at hoff people that designs high speed rail to make sure we have a starting point in a public space and it will extend ultimately people that are spider by the incredible work of you people and the private community to bring the money in place to surprise the world in a project wouldn't be possible without the community that made the bay lights a reality and today is is

a great day we're getting xiefltd about that project i want to take the moment to highlight the difference the bay lights there's a different artist with a different set of instruction and the artist are making a beautiful eloquent statement and expression of civic automation it celebrates the mass transportation it used the light and energy and movement to create a sense of community up and down the length of market street but the emotional divides that keep it open for half a century i'm feeling grateful to everyone that made this project possible if you have any questions, i'll

be happy to answer them. >> thank you to you and the bay lights and people that are to think about ways to beautify our city and people that make it happen so thank you. >> thank you. >> okay. at this point we will opening it up for public comment is there any public comment on item one. >> good afternoon, supervisors chair weiner and supervisor cohen and supervisor jane kim joe from the local 6 probably here as a san francisco resident to speak in favor of the project we have a good history with the contractors working on the bridge the transfer of the lighting is all there glad to see we're going to be working with management and labor and with the asphalt installation of the lights

they're modern sger active lights our thank you electricians maintain the high voltage and the power lines so i'm confident in the sponsors reaching out to make sure it is done correctly i'm here to speak in that far of the project. >> thank you very much. is there any additional public comment on item number one seeing none, public is closed so colleagues. >> well, i'll make a motion to move forward with a recommendation as a committee report and great to see us moving forward i don't know when ben came into our office but it's beautiful and really looking forward to add my name as a co-sponsor in our district and happy to sponsor the bay

bridge it is incredibly beautiful i know when we were first approach for the bay lights were you present thinking it is a great idea but never going to happen that we'll do the resolution anyway it happened and it's been great to see what the private philanthropic has done this next is incredible i joked that we're going to have to make sure that our our underground lights don't get stuck i'm happy to sponsor this. >> i want to thank in addition to the dpw i've been critical of the fire department in some respect want to thank the fire department to allow us to move

forward and want to note this will be powder by clean, hetch hetchy puc this which is is good thing supervisor kim has made a motion to forward with a positive recommendation we have the amendments my icing so mr. malmet has given us a basic clean up amendments and their non-substantive so we won't take action today but before we forward colleagues have any questions about the amendments if not we'll take that without objection. they're adopted and on the motion to forward item one to the full board with with a positive recommendation i'll we'll take that without objection. madam clerk

madam clerk, any other business before this committee? >> there's no further business. >> then we're adjourned thank you >> good afternoon and welcome to the san francisco board of supervisors' land use and economic development committee. i'm scott wiener the chairman of the committee and to my left is supervisor malia cohen and committee vice-chair jane kim will be joining us shortly. our clerk is andrea ausberry and i want to thank sfgtv for

broadcasting today's meeting. madame clerk, are there any announcements. >> please silence all electronic devices and completed speaker cards and documents to be included in the file to be submitted to the clerk. items will appear on the december 16, 2014 board of supervisors' agenda unless otherwise stated. >> thank you very much. madame clerk, item no. 1. >> a resolution granting permission to occupy a portion of a public right-of-way at 157-24th avenue. >> the department of public works is here for item 1. >> good afternoon chair wiener and supervisor cohen, nickelsen with the department of public works. this is a request to basically construct portion of a garage in the public right-of-way. this is a very unusual portion of the public right-of-way. it's on 24th avenue between lake and west clay streets. there are two other properties, which have a very similar

situation, where there garages enroach. the actual public sidewalk is located about 8' above the roadway. so the sidewalk -- oops -- extends above the proposed garage. it's over the proposed garage. we've received the request. this was ruled in conformity with the general plan with the planning department, public works had a hearing on this back in july. and there were no objections raised. so we recommend -- there will be an annual assessment fee charged, and we recommend approval of this encroachment. >> thank you, mr. elsner. if there are no questions, we'll open item no. 1 up for public comment. i have one public comment card. brent mcdonald, come on up. >> good afternoon, committee. my name is brent mcdonald, the

architect for miss kristina baker. i am here to answer any questions, but i think nick explained everything. >> thank you very much. is there any additional public comment on item no. 1? please come forward, if you have public comment? >> good afternoon. thank you. [speaker not understood] the land use -- of the city plan progress step-by-step -- such a match of this trend because i must say of all people -- it's making it better. [speaker not understood] >> is there any additional public comment on item no. 1? seeing none, public comment is closed. [ gavel ]

>> colleagues, could i have a motion to forward item no. 1 to the full board of supervisors with positive recommendation? >> second. >> without objection, that will be the order. madame clerk, could you please call item no. 2. >> a hearing on the transbay transit center and downtown extension platform compatibility. >> thank you, supervisor kim is the author and i would like to add my name as co-sponsors to the request. >> thank you, chair wiener and i'm glad it's becoming before the land use commission because it impacts transit for the region and certainly for san francisco, but also because on land use committee we have members of the caltrain board and the mtc as well. i think it's quite appropriate that this is going to be heard before this committee. so as many of our transportation players know, as we move forward with high-speed rail

and electrification of caltrain, there has been a lot of discussion on how we can ensure shared compatibility of vehicle and also platform heights. in the near-term procurement to help us supplement and drive capacity and operational reliability and flexibility of a blended high-speed rail. caltrain service at transbay and for the entire caltrain high-speed rail blended service corridor into the foreseeable future. caltrain and the hawai'i .r.s. high-speed rail and regional partners in cooperating and developing both technical and operational solutions. this again is just a hearing. it's an informational hearing with our multiple agencies. certainly i know the city and county of san francisco has a strong interest in policies and imperatives moving forward and this is an opportunity to hear from all agencies on how

discussions have been going thus far. we know that a lot of headway has been made over the last couple of months. i want to appreciate all of our agencies for working so closely together and through the presentations we'll understand both the technical complexities of making this a blended system with compatible vehicle and platform heights. but also figure out what the pathway is to get to space where we're really building a system that is going last us for decades and decades into the future. and so i just wanted to recognize the effort that has already been made on a regional level by both agencies and we look forward to the update that will be happening today. i did want to give an opportunity for my colleagues on land use committee to make opening remarks as well >> thank you, supervisor kim for calling this hearing today. i think it's a very important hearing. and this particular issue about the compatibility of the

vehicles is important in and of itself, but i think it's also part of a broader picture of the critical importance of all of the changes that we're going to be seeing with caltrain with the electrickfication of the system and the blending of high-speed rail. caltrain is ultimately incredibly important regional railline. it's only going to become more and more important. we have seen the ridership increase by something like 50% in the past number of years and that ridership is going to continue to go up. it is important that all three counties and the region as a whole work together with all of the agencies to make sure that caltrain is meeting the needs of the system. we know we have a lot of work to do to get the system electrified and the vehicles replaced and to make sure that the improvements and the

increases in capacity for caltrain, as well as high-speed rail are driving housing production as well. so that we're working together all three counties, to make sure that all three counties are really helping to meet the housing needs of the bay area. we have a dire situation with housing and what better way to really plan for housing than what we are doing a massive upgrade to an important rail line in terms of having more transit-oriented development. we know we have a lot of work to do to make sure that we have the 4th and king railyards developed and address that situation. it's just a lot of work for us to be doing together. when i heard about the possibility of having incompatible vehicles between high-speed rail and caltrain, i was surprised, and i met with caltrain. i know that there are certainly real challenges to that compatibility, but it does seem there is a path forward. so

i'm really glad that we're going to be talking about these issues today. again, thank you supervisor kim for calling the hearing. supervisor cohen. >> for those who don't know i'm a member of the joint powers board that connects san mateo county, as well as our neighbors south and one of the issues that we have been dealing with on this body has to do with the low floor/high floorboards of the potential cars and why compatibility is important. one thing that this body, this land use body has in common that you have three people that sit on the body that are concerned about regional transportation. supervisor kim and supervisor wiener.

i wanted to give one acknowledgment to the mayor's office, trying to find some parity, some common ground on the best way to solve this problem. also wanted to encourage folks who are watching at home and just to be mindful it's my commitment to you that everything that we are doing has transparency and sometimes that is more difficult than not to actually be able to honor and to perform. so this hearing, supervisor kim, is definitely the right step -- step in the right direction and look forward to hearing this item. >> thank you. >> supervisor kim. >> thank you. and so we do have several presenters here today. and i will be listing the order in which they will be presenting. first ryan dykes from transbay joint powers authority and lisa fisher an

urban planner with aecom to talk about lessons learned with high-speed rail and casey francen will present from caltrain and we have dave couch from caltrain as well and then ben from california high-speed rail will be the final presenter. and i just wanted to mention again because i sit under two hats, under my hat as chair of transbay joint powers authority. we certainly have a lot of concerns about compatibility, given that we have a number of rail edges under the terminal station. while there might be flexibility at both the airport, millbrae, and san josé for building additional tracks because there may be more land or an opportunity to build underground, we're certainly limited in san francisco in the number of lines to bring in under the terminal. so there are concerns in the train breaks down or in terms of

redundancy, to ensure that our trains are able to come into the terminal and the issue of using rail edges and that has come up from the san francisco side. that being said, it's a regional transportation system. and i think this will be a good opportunity to have that discussion and explore both the costs and the benefits of the different options that are before us. so mr. dykes. thank you for leading us off today. >> thank you. supervisor wiener and cohen. it's my pleasure to be here. thank you. i'm the principle engineer at tjpa and i have been involved

in this design and project for seven years as a member of tjpa. and for some years before as a consultant. just a quick recap. elements of the project, the downtown extension starts at grade down near colman street and the tracks, two tracks are peeled off parallel to 7th street and reach of the beginning of the tunnel portal beyond 6th street, having go underneath the 6th off-ramp from the freeway. this is now fairly shallow cut-and-cover work to build an underground station at 4th and townsend and then still cut-and-cover until we get to 3rd street, where we are turning left into 2nd street and arrive at rock or soft rock rather than water and mud, which we have had up to this

stage. so it's a mined tunnel. actually the best rock on this sandstone. it stops being a mine tunnel when we run out of rock at the other end, beyond folsom street, halfway to howard street. also at that stage, the 3-track tunnel starts to widen out to 6 track s to get into the station. so it more than doubles in width and no tunnel machine would touch that. the transbay terminal is presently under construction and the train box in the orange section is, in fact, almost finished and we're now coming up out of the ground. there is a green section at the end, which i will talk about later, but that is the extension to, in fact, accommodate double-length high-speed rail trains. that is two sets of 220-meter

trains to make a 400-plus meter train. now the downtown 4th and townsend station, we have done recent maneuvering to improve the land and to build it with a single platform in the middle and bypass track on the south side. this station is only for caltrain trains to stop and start, not for high-speed rail. so it has the ability for high-speed rail to bypass, should there be a station -- caltrain. the station is now under townsend street as opposed to previously it went into the yard sooner. this allows for more development within -- if it happens -- within the yard.