Skip to main content

tv   [untitled]    March 7, 2015 7:00pm-7:31pm PST

7:00 pm
that you put wherever you all live in your neighborhood to put critique a tolling tow away zone and remove parking in the small merchant easier to be more difficult if i want to go to bowwow mow to pick up dog food 28 pound bags and tow away for cars going north it mines in a sense i wish they'd put a tow away zone in our neighborhood it frustrate me that the laws are not enforced it is not popping up but at san francisco and polk i've taken pictures this last year two bicyclists hit one another had to take them away in an ambulance they don't stop at
7:01 pm
the stop sign you create a freeway with toys of more pedestrians 0 going to get hurt i don't want anyone to get hurt it is very frustrating to be what you goose are trying to do. >> thank you that will conclude the open session. >> ladies and gentlemen ladies and gentlemen, we're back in section ladies and gentlemen, we're back in session i've asked director ramos to start. >> i'll keep my questions brief i want to thank and acknowledge many montoya i know he's been working on this for a long time
7:02 pm
half a done a great job ever putting possibility a compromise for the city and polk street i just feel like the reason why i seconded the vice chair amendment from my perspective there was direction in airing out this direction of a longer bike lane that sound like up to voov i having think from my prospective from what the folks are saying in the interest of protecting the merchant when i talked to the merchant the last few sartsz one of the primary prim concerns the concern about
7:03 pm
the loading and unloading the commercial issue was a key issue i'm not sure if it is feasible to create a protective liking bicycle lane some of the loading could be done we could change the legislation of that and see what the impacts would be i'm not saying this is a solution but like to have been able to longtime it and vet it out i fully understand the concerns for accommodating those merchants along the corridor polk street feels like old san francisco i remember i want to keep i feel like, however, changes are coming we've get 34
7:04 pm
cranes in the sky i was riding a mass of 12 of us riding down matt and 10 years we didn't have the infrastructure if you - we would have accommodated everyone and the pathway we'll need we need to be creativity and make sure we vetted out every opportunity to accommodate more people with less spice speaker the other thing there's a lot of feeling this infrastructure would be for the 20 somethings and their fancy bikes that are returning stop signs and as much i was was trying to communicate
7:05 pm
that is quite the opposite i get frustrate on market street the cluster to go around a truck and i and this had to tell those guys he's turning right he's trying to make a turn you guys are trying to prevent him from turning when we build infrastructure where we sunshine have people that are not aggressive and absolutely you you know they feel like they're entitled to the street the whole altitude of the bicycling will change i've seen people of all ages riding up the hill with children until getting their groceries the other thing i want to vet out how would a cycle track that explicit allow for
7:06 pm
cars to stop and unload handle people with disabilities and chores as a bicyclist if we are to get our own lanes so to speak to at least see for loading and unloaded on market street with the taxis we go around and get back to the infrastructure so i would liquor to have staff come back as we go with vice chairs amendment to look at those things how do we effectively include the commercial loading as he potentially happening with the cycle tracks and changing the legislation to accommodate it and if it didn't workout we go back to what was done today i ask for more comprehensive
7:07 pm
strategy parking program like reside shire pause and more flexible rates to create the 80 percent flexibility all the time it is beyond me the parking structure is closed on sunday's that is got to have impacts on the parking availability i want to explore that when in comes back particularly to the section of pine street i'll stop that director ramos a couple of clarifications the first thing with the loading and unloading at the section that right now if we approve this the section on mcallister park that is the raised cycle track how will loading and unloading happen on the east side of the street in that track section.
7:08 pm
>> sure so if i understand the question correctly our wanting to know how commercial and loading and 84 away traffic we've done taken a comprehensive look at the needs of the street watching loading and talking to merchant we've figured out that need and we're meeting it by adding loading on the other side of the street and whether there are passengers zones we're working with the tenant and business owners to look at those to make sure those are usedable and people with disabilities will be allowed to be in bike ways that need will continue to be met. >> it's inviting my
7:09 pm
understanding that active loading and unloading in commercial vehicles happens in the bike lane on polk street at a certain point correct or not correct or urban legends. >> sfmta liveable streets that's american people ambiguous area i don't want to get into the specifics it is something we want to discourage it is legal for vehicles to park and there are changes coming because of the law around that so we have to get both that research. >> we've discussed this during our board retreat i won't repeat everybody but for the public
7:10 pm
possible is a bike corridor we know that it is a bike corridor. >> polk street a high injury corridor correct and the high injury corridor designation i think that is the public health does this treatment that is proposed if opine to my own given we've duped vision zero as a agency given we're adapted vision zero as he city when the bike floating lanes does it make it a vision zero for bisexuals we've talked about the vision zero for pedestrians does that make it portion of the street for bicyclists vision zero. >> i'm not sure i know that the
7:11 pm
reign there are not one-size-fits-all there are two different designs is because again, the majority of the crashes are south of pine there are crashes many of them are at intersections and pedestrian related and all the benefits of the bulb out and the signal changes all the things for pedestrian we're doing throughout the corridor i want to isolate that issue without you know lose sight of that. >> i'm circling 0 concerned about leaving that section with a share because i heard from a smart transportation engineer that the shires have not doing anything for bicycle but don't actually not been shown to produce bicycle safety are we're going to leave f that sect with
7:12 pm
shires with no bicycle safety that's an unfair question but i don't think i have any more questions i appreciate all the work this is years in the marking and i know you've golden gone through love reiterate shundz i want to say to my fellow board members about my motion if you'll remember this is what i've asked for twice i ask asked for it in 2013 and 2014 i ask we have this option flonlt of us to your point we can vet it out what are the challenges of extending this bike lane through the high injury cord from the northbound to the east side of the street there been a lot of talk about more traffic in the city we brought them or this up during
7:13 pm
our strategy meeting it our buses will be sitting in gridlock and pedestrians stuck and kinds of the weaving other than to share the situation to get around the cars there was a great number from the last citizen kennels restaurant workers k9 for 146 percent of the bike computers we don't include director ram their probability out at two and three in the morning those bike riders service a safe route we know there are more drunk drivers and traffic is going forecast i want to remind everyone we adapted
7:14 pm
vision zero if this is going to be the first project we approve the first major project post vision zero he don't want united states to the hypocritical and saying that parking out weighs the needs for safety on the corridor i don't think it does we can work around parking with that s f park we can accommodate the parking and make the parking work the parking garage should be open on sunday i rim any fellow board members this is the opportunity to say we're considering vision zero not just putting it to the side that this motion, if you will, agree to have staff bring that back and what's the impact on businesses i know that neither supervisor nobody wants to delay that
7:15 pm
project so i'll hope you'll join me in bring this motion forward so we can get those are questions answered from staff we truly considered this project in thorough. >> director rubke. >> it's a hard one to follow so i'll say i support the staff recommendation it a green good compromise i think with the 3 questions that vice chair asked i'm interested in the answers if her amendment carries it is important to see the cost schedule as everyone i think agrees we want to get those improvements in as quickly as possible and everyone's all in favor of the pedestrian improvements and so i want to see that
7:16 pm
quickly as possible and obviously in the staff report and our exceptions we are going to monitor the impact of small businesses that is really important along polk street we're asking for a big change which we should be asking for we're asking the small merchant who economic lives don't think on this to make sacrifice i hope they make the sacrifice and i want to see 6 months or a year from now they bring the bike lanes so the businesses thrive let's put that in with our blessing basically or your begging us hopefully therefore i stand on this issue i've only been on a bicycle once we'll talk about that later but the prelims of the best practices for accommodating people are disabilities and paratransit
7:17 pm
access is exciting and glad to see that roll out in the city thank you for your a great proposal on a tough issue so thanks for the public and follow directors for they're great leadership. >> director borden. >> thank you, everyone from the public that's waited there was a process and process that was gone through that didn't make everyone happy but many of you from the community the neighborhood groups that have been here i've been on the planning commission for 6 years i've worked with what makes a city vibrant and vital and the course the priority principle number one in the city and county of san francisco is that existing neighborhood and retail be preserved and enhances for future opportunity for ownership
7:18 pm
and employment that's critical in the general plan 69 city and county of san francisco that is what makes a city and neighborhoods i'm not saying other things are not important safety is paramount but what makes san francisco san francisco our neighborhood in is 987 we had a plan we named the neighborhood commercial district and polk street was one of the key mc ds in the statistic which had a guidelines guideline around what sort of things we approve approve and not approve a corridor in reducing the cars and approval of the automobiles serving businesses there's been a lot of things said about reduced parking in residential building and added car shared where their noted required made a tremendous leap in trying to get people out
7:19 pm
of their cars so the key thing we have to compromise our streets are under those circumstances not going to grow and not produce additional street we can't accommodate more cars but we at the same time have to keep our businesses thriving and the reason you walk or bike with us things in our immediate neighborhood and while there are many people like myself that don't own a car and drive this year people that drive maybe not driving everyday once in awhile most people say they're a walker or driver depending on the need the reign that door sharing matters people having a need every once in a while they use a car we're not proposing to that use a car where we're preferring
7:20 pm
one thing over another we're talked about bicyclist improvements we suffer from this feeling that people are being judged a sense of self-righteousness there are some that should things we have to get away from people make choices from a variety of reasons and not judge one another i went home from the holiday and my brother-in-law said something about pollution that we still cause an event in the world we have to get beyond that to work together because along we're judging each year vision zero will only be effective if we all as humans above better i live at the corner of market and octavia i get a live out sharing and bike lanes and it
7:21 pm
made a tremendous difference having both we'll admit the outcome of this plan will be more safety it is the best and highest i can't answer that question i think that on market street is is a lot safer from bike lanes and people pay attention to where they cut off we need to change our above vision zero will only be effective if we stop running 0 stop signs and we looked for our fellow human beings the variety of human changes that will judge whether or not vision zero is a success what i love to see completely protected bicycle lanes i absolutely would but the cost of the corridors their did not on those who drive maybe we'll be
7:22 pm
lucky in the future no cars on polk street and won't have to build a bicycle track kind of like like the bike lanes and the possibility of bike lanes in the city change hang is a threat but has to be credential 0 we'll looking immediate interventions if he with look at the economics we have a lot of pedestrians and economic stuff to look at those things and do on analysis after the prelims of the first level of implementation what the books are maybe after the first level of the installations we have mission bay maybe everyone will say yes support that and maybe merchant feel differently senate
7:23 pm
small businesses have put together the data points to look at it they've submitted including the lethal of mcallister park and looking at the vacancies and store types and incomes and transportation and transportation behavior but we do have this i think it's important to look at it that's a balance we're vibrant and vital and places to go to make sure we protect that i don't think it's an either or this is for now it will only make things safety and better do we have a ways to go yes. >> thank you. >> director heinecke. >> we should probably take a break i have an awful lot to say i wanted to make sure you were
7:24 pm
awake i'll say i support this plan as is and the plan going forward and lap to move it forward probably some individual smile aspects of the plan i don't agree that but what i very much agree with and value is the process that led to this platoon and while i'm not pleased it is quarter to 7 because of the two controversial omens back to back on the agenda there's craft that is worth noting all of the speakers and of 0 polk street plan and the views disagreements among the board not one complaint about a lack of outreach or involvement this is a situation where probably everyone is going to be somewhat unhappy and a lot of people more inhappy this is where we thank the staff i will thank the gentlemen in the front
7:25 pm
i think that is important to thank our fellow citizens that took their time to get involved and educated us over and over over the months and days leading up this this i suspect my decision is disappointing but this process is what it is that's what i love most it is a meaningful change through compromise across interests and that's the way it is supposed to be done this is the future of san francisco i, of course have my own vision of market street and i suspect the similar processes is from this i want to be clear he very much respect director brinkman's passion of the bicycle coalition about the future changes here today
7:26 pm
i don't support that here today but not opposed to revisiting i understand your proposal is a quest for information than an amendment i want to know the cost so on and so forth but not opposed to exploring that in the future i want to make sure that director brinkman permanently understands the respect i have for her. >> bay buying this is not just about the bicycle track but if the loading and unloading isn't working we have to remain on and engaged so we'll fix those but at this time you know really out of respect for the process and the process that haepd happened and the compromise to make a sort of generational change i support this project as a packet
7:27 pm
and happening happy to move that wherever. >> why not do the staff recommendation first and the staff. >> a motion to. >> i'll second. >> i guess i want to thank everyone i worked on polk street for 17 years possible and ellis where the young girl was killed this is a big step forward and also a little bit more to director brinkman's motion afterward and might - on the staff recommendation all in favor, say i. >> i. >> opposed? that's done arrest director brinkman you want to talk about the tenth of your motion you're asking the staff to come back. >> yes. come back and let's us know the categorical direction
7:28 pm
from union this is not a barrier to moving ahead at some point i want staff to come back and let's us know of the changes to extend that raised cycle track protected bike lanes it was pointed out if i put in a bicycle track it is concrete and if a bike lane that's paint we can chief our goal without the expense of the bike track i ask it to go to the length of the high injury only to voov not union we don't have 80 touch the parking and just to let us know what would it cost in the difference of what we're looking at now and the impact on businesses if we solve the
7:29 pm
loading and unloading can we solve for the upper pox with paint or bicycle tracks and what's the implement of the bicycle protection. >> is your motion tied to the motion we just approved i support a stand alone to cock it is worthwhile but tying it to this one. >> and i think it would be - aware of the project aware of the project timeline but my understanding is and staff will answer that the puc portion is 19 months so the final safety improvements will be implemented maybe early i don't know asking for this to come back to us with the option is that going to delay the project no one wanted to delay the project.
7:30 pm
>> ed reiskin do you want to comment on this. >> i think right now the design is expected to be complete by the end of this calendar year i think sometime in the fall with the intent to go out to bid towards the end of the year next year the current direction is 16 r 15 months not only the puc portion but what's underground and the curve ramps those are the big impacts so we could come back with cost and schedule impact i don't know, there 0 would be necessarily a significant cost of schedule books we arrived where we arrived at the recommendation not really based on cost and schedule but based on you've heard a number