frequently i'm seeing them though we've been waiting in the tunnel and letting cars go through while trains are waiting to get out of the station. i hope there continues to be management focus on really genuinely giving muni priority there. another bottleneck outside the tunnel i think can have impacts on metro service in the tunnel is st. francis circle. both the "k" and the "m" go through that intersection. you have one train and you can get through quickly. if it's unlucky with the timing it has to wait through an entire cycle. have you multiple complicated car movements in that intersection easily waiting several minutes. if you have multiple trains getting there, that thing gets multiplied. if have you outbound ks and ms stack up behind them, maybe they've waited 5 minutes to get

out of west portal and another 10 to 15 minutes in st. francis circle. i hope muni can give focussed attention in terms of giving the "k" and "m" priority and getting through st. francis circle in a more timely manner. >> commissioner: thank you. mr. wiener. >> i noticed my name is spelled the same way scott wiener's and it should be w-e-i-n-e-r. i think the goal of muni should be service delivery should match the density of the city. now, for decade ago this was the case. you had a comprehensive system. now you're stripping services from the neighborhood and

focussing on the most heavily-used line. this is a supply and demand principle instead of services meeting actual need. i appreciate the addition of coaches but i wonder how many have been taken from the neighborhoods. so in essence you have a zero sum solution. what we need to do is beef up the services and have more coaches than ever before and that also consists of restoring eliminated bus stops and runs. for instance, at 26 valencia used to run to st. luke's hospital from downtown and ran to the merced extended neighborhood triangle district. it doesn't do that anymore. you don't have a direct link with downtown. i don't live in that area but i know people who do and they share that concern. so basically, you have to

constantly expand services in order to meet density. that means meeting need. right now the way the muni forward is is like amputating the toes and grafting them to a kneecap to a printer to make him run faster. -- sprinter to make him run faster. that's crazy. the overall delivery system is not good at the present time. i don't see a significant change in improvement. thank you. >> commissioner: thank you very much. any further public comment on item number 12? seeing none, i have a few questions for ms. kirschbaum. are there others that would like to address anything? director eaken. >> i have two questions for today. one, i heard a lot of concerns about the switchbacks on the "t" run and a know we're doing those. i believe as part of trying to

fill service gaps but i think there's equity implications of the switchbacks not making it so i wonder if you can talk about that a little bit, one. and two, you talked about congestion as a key barrier and a loved the slide that shows the different types of busses we have. i think we have five rapid lines of the lines. we've celebrate the success of the rapid lines. i wonder if the long-term solution when you think of getting busses out of traffic is a long-term solution it take the five routes and make more and more especially those of the 72 stuck in traffic to do more dedicated bus only lanes or do you believe the solution is something more system wide to address the bus routes that aren't currently served with a dedicated line to reduce

congestion more holistically. >> we have made a commitment to eliminate switchbacks other than a line blocked or mechanical failure. starting april 6. we chose that date because we'll be done with the construction we currently have busses on the "t" line and we'll be implement new schedule win -- with additional running time we believe say primary driver of our need to switchback throughout the system. we suspect the overall system will become healthier as we add in additional running time.

it's not what i ideally like to do but if our schedules don't reflect the reality, we create reliability problems. so we're always working on two paths. what can we to to improve the train speeds and then making sure we have accurate schedules. so we'll be looking this year in addition to downtown mission, we'll also be looking at the j line and some opportunities to do some of these leaning forward investments in that corridor. in order to have transit priority treatments, i don't think you necessarily need to be a rapid line. i think a lot of the treatments that we do to prioritize busses and trains work for a lot of different types of service. a rapid route really only works

on a corridor that has really frequent service like four or five-minute combined service. the reason is if you're going to split out into two type of service, a local and rapid you need them both to come frequently or nobody's going to wait for the other. we constantly get requests like why can't we have a rapid on the 29 and sunset or a rapid on the 7/haight. part of it is there's not an overall density in service types. i think one area we in general haven't cracked is how do we protect the infrequent routes from traffic. routes where we can't justify take whole lane of traffic for a

15-minute route. there's just not enough frequency of use so what other things can we do in the system to help replicate the free flow speed is what we'd ultimately be looking at. >> commissioner: anything further? director hsu. >> thank you, this is helpful. i think it's great you have the training program because it's important in getting people to switch when jobs change because of technology or mode shifts. i'm curious of the 57 in the new class, how many came from chariot and do we have a sense how many of that bump may keep us with a positive momentum for a while? if we know that. >> i'll invite our acting h.r. director. >> i'm derek kim the current acting h.r. director for sfmta.

approximately 18 came from chariot. we feel that so far the city drive program with the b permit has been extremely helpful. it's been one of the biggest road blocks for people to become transit operators. >> and do we know of the people who come in through the "b" permit program how many do we end up getting? i'm sure some end up choosing different paths after they have the license. >> we just start the program. we did a first small pilot in january and a ramp up when chariot went down starting in february. i don't think we know yet but the idea generally is that to the extend we are supporting the program it would be supporting for folks who would apply from

muni operator jobs. >> commissioner: so we'd expect a high return from the people who participate? >> that's our expectation but the first class just got through in february. it hasn't been there long enough to answer. >> commissioner: mr. torres. >> mr. kim, of the follow-up on the chariot, how many of the drivers that signed up are former taxi cab drivers that lost their medallions or wanted to change to becoming drivers? >> i apologize but that i do not know. i don't know who were former cab drivers. >> commissioner: i think it's important to find out because a lot of the complaint i've been hearing have come from cab drivers that we've done so much bad things to them, which i don't think so, but here's an opportunity to recruit them that

may need a job and i can't think of anybody better than a cab driver who knows the city. just a thought. >> we'll follow-up. >> thank you. secondly, when you say you're going to minneapolis -- >> our busses our manufactured in st. cloud, minnesota. >> commissioner: why is that? >> to meet with new flyer our bus manufacturer and going specifically to celebrate the last hybrid being leaving the plant as well as to work through some ongoing warrant issues. >> commissioner: so when you're there, how many staff people are going? >> i believe we're bringing four staff people. >> commissioner: and their responsibility will be to inspect the busses? >> yes. >> commissioner: so they'll look at issues like seating and things we've had problems with? >> on the busses? >> commissioner: yes. >> they'll be looking to make sure the vehicles are leaving at the high standard we expect.

>> commissioner: so if they do not, do you reject the busses at that point? >> we hold them at the plant until the issues are addressed. >> commissioner: thank you. >> commissioner: thank you, ms. kirschbaum. i have a few questions but i appreciate the detail and appreciate the overall metric of the time in subway because i think it's a tangible thing and happy to see the average has gone down on one side. so we've seen a drop in the a.m. peak but not p.m. an he'd ya -- any idea of the difference? >> i think the p.m. was affected by the west portal bottleneck we've been able to address. i think the a.m. peak problems tend to be related to other issues like non-communicating trains or trains in manual

slowing down the trains behind them as well as the turnaround at embarcadero. so we have not had as much as success in the a.m. peak issues we're having in the p.m. peak issues. >> commissioner: that suggest to me that maybe the issue is west portal both sides is different things. in the a.m. it's acquisition of the train control system and related things where you come in and p.m. it's coming out and you solved the outflow issue but we still have an in-flow issue. is that fair? >> yes. but specifically where we're seeing that materialize is not at the west portal end of the line in the morning. it's at the downtown stations where we're seeing trains backed up one on top of the other. >> commissioner: right. that's how it manifests out but still the acquisition issue has occurred at west portal. so one of the things that's

interesting to me and i'm channelling my inner m mr. peterson is how it plays a role. at an earlier meeting i raised the question of just closing that intersection to traffic during peak period or altogether. it's not a thoroughfare you could force right and left turns there and still have good flow to the business corridor and folks trying to get across have alternatives up the street at dewy and 14th. has there been further consideration to close traffic that cross the train tracks. >> my apology for not addressing it in the presentation. we have pulled together a rapid team of engineers and planners

to look at the type of solutions you're recommending and start testing some things to see how they help at that intersection. we should within the next few weeks have some progress on that item. >> commissioner: that's my neighborhood. i know the folks affected but i think if we can create the ripple effect in the system it could be a compelling case why we would close an intersection. it might potentially lead to greater pedestrian safety near the library, playground and elementary school. next question, the new radio systems come into play. within the new radio systems, will the command center have the ability to communicate to all passengers in the trains? >> yes. >> commissioner: that's a more efficient way of communicating with our customers then to the driver and having the driver say

what's going on. if there's a system wide problem affecting everyone on the system, let's please have system-wide announcement. if you have a question you can ask your driver or station agent but leaving it to each independent driver is not an effecti effective in my view to deal with those sorts of situations. the congestion issue, i was thinking back to my bus rides it's an issue. we're moving to three dedicated bus lines or streets. we have two b.r.t.s coming on through some dirt around with you to start one and hopefully market street will be soon no private vehicles. are there other streets, major

corridors. i'm thinking east west, north, south in my head where we should be seeking to achieve this even if it's not dedicated. what i see is we have a red carpet lane on geary and cars are coming into it. there's congestion, there's other issues. are there other streets we should be considering where we just make them red carpet only and really make the entire street no private vehicles other than perhaps taxi and deliveries. i realize that's a grand thing but we were challenging earlier to be policy makers and if congestion is the problem slowing the busses down, not a lack of bus or coaches just too many cars in the way, we are disincentivizing people to take the bus. in dissatisfaction to the robust plans we have about b.r.t. and

market street we could look at what corridors that aren't that great for car flow in the first place and make them entirely red c carpet. could be during peak hours or all-time service. there's many streets that flow that are narrow but nevertheless flow really well, east and west and north and south. turk street comes to mind for me. i would suggest the highest priority let's consider how we'll address this congestion issue more boldly and reward people for riding the bus and give them the above ground subway on more than the three routes and final in switching to h.r. i'm thrilled about the acquisition of the new drivers.

this is a new group of drivers recruited at a large segment at once. it's not just about hiring them but retake -- retaining them. let's please make sure to follow the hiring program and retention program to make sure and see if these people are encountering specific issues or whatever and make sure we're retaining them as well. okay. we'll have another report next month. >> yes. >> commissioner: we haven't scared you away? invigorated you and challenged you. >> that's what i'm about. >> before we let her go, can i say i love the idea of creating some streets that are red carpet lanes for bus where's maybe we don't have a lot of cars and can make a lot of impact. keep in mind we can keep those

streets that function for bicycles, busses an pedestrians and just deprioritize private car traffic. i'm sure we have a lot of streets like that in the city that can make a huge impact and let's be transit first and bicycle first and pedestrian first and deprioritize some cars on streets in the city. you'll get around just fine, director torres. >> commissioner: a little insight to our board of directors. all items 13 and 14 together, please, ms. boomer. >> clerk: 13 proven contract modification 14 to radio system replacement project designed with harris corporation do add design work and repair fiber optic cable in the twin peaks

tunnel and start a warrant amount to increase the contract amount for a total amount of not to seed $92,641,000. number 14 is approving contract 2018-49 as needed professional services with conduent transport solutions to provide as-needed services to support the computer aid dispatch system and an automated vehicle location system functions of the muni radio system for a contract amount not to exceed $7,000 for a term of five years. >> i'm the technology officer for the sfmta for the project

and i'm excited to be able to present this to you today because we just did our final cut over for the radio system within the rail and it was done a year and a half ago and we're now moving into the more clean up and operationalizing the overall system within the vehicles and the back end. so within that along with conduent the acquisition of new tools to better enable the team to manage the fleet are from co conduent part of the overall radio implementation but a subcontractor to the harris organization. we wanted to make sure we had a stand-alone contact with the conduent team to allow us to increase functionality as needed to allow us to make certain tweaks to the system as needed because harris not the software vendor of the system.

we'll also move from the harris 1240 contract and defining our substantial completion with the turn over and cut over of the rail system substantial completion will move us directly into warranty of that system and you'll see a stand alone contract coming your way to move the warranty to a stand-alone to close off the contract. this is enabling us since we have substantial use of the system to clean up the project contact and moving to closure once other things are done. twin peaks repair was in the west portal tunnel when the contractors cut one of our fiber cables that was serving our backup because we have redundancy in the backup and needed that repaired expeditiously and wanted to

facilitate that payment they'll work that contract item through the other. >> commissioner: directors any questions ob this exciting contract? >> i have a couple questions. we originally thought this could be done by 2015 when we awarded it at 2012 and we're at 90% and there was a two-year lapse. i'm confused on what happened i guess. >> i can try since this predated lisa's time with the agency in assuming the management of the contract. this was a complex project with harris doing some of the work and i've been meeting with the team every woo two-weeks for the -- two weeks for the life of the contract which suggests hasn't the level of management of oversight it's needed as we

hit many problems along the way. with the design build prath project we didn't hand it over. we created a spec and worked with them with harris and conduent to try to get to the final design requirements and ultimately the system that met our performance specs. we've had a lot of challenges along the way. some software. some hardware. we spent time on the cables that attached to the unit in the cab of the l.r.v. the cable they provided we found was not functioning adequately. we moved around and then it wouldn't function. so this is one small example of months and month to go twulg --

between the hardware provider and we've had numerous issues and there's lessons learned in how we'd do a large systems proj like this. every one of the systems projects we've done and we've down quite a few recently have had various challenges and largely in terms of the schedules not being realistic up front and the iterative nature of the design taking too long. it's been in some ways frustrating but the but cut-over happened a year and a half ago. we were able to cut the busses over and that's been up and running and functioning very well. the trains though there's fewer of them than busses has dragged out in the last year and a half. and initially the trains were going to follow immediately after the busses and it's been

hard to get all the configuration done for the trains and new trains and so this is taken longer than we had hoped. the cut-over that happened march 9 has gotten all that functionality in place. we can move the folks out of our old 1950s control system to our new modern control center and have the service management benefits julie talked about. >> i guess how do we get to a place where the contract technically expired and the first contract is a retroactive contract? >> until we had schedule certainty, we didn't think it made sense. i was personal meeting with them every two weeks to know where we were in the process. we weren't able to resolve such

as the cable issues. we weren't able to project a final date or even a reasonable expectation for when system completion would be. rather than come and continue to update the contract, we also had outstanding commercial issues in terms of what was in this outside of the spec it seems to make the most sense to get two substantial completions to resolve the commercial issues and bring a full close-out mod in the end. we were working with eyes wide open and chose to modify the contract. >> and in the contact with the next five years are we confident

in the scope of this we'll able to do the project within $7 million and five years? >> the next is a support contract. now that we have the system in the software part there's maintenance we will need we would have needed anyway and during the process we found there's functionality we could have but don't have. we'll able to do discreet software enhancements. it's a not to exceed amount. we may not use the $7 million. if we find greater use than we anticipated for it, we may want to come back for an extension. it's a different animal. this is just maintaining the software and providing a contract vehicle for

enhancements we may want to make. >> what's the obligation for harris working with the new contractor. they're work is ending and then we hand it over to the new contractor. >> we'll be bringing a contract for the radio portion. they interact but there's two systems. and we'll bring contact for the service of the radio. we'll need ongoing service support from both the organizations and vendors. >> and the final question is you mentioned we had a fiber optic wire cut. how can away void or what can we do to ensure this doesn't happen again? i'm sure the contractor paid for that but i'm sure it set us back in time. >> we're work the construction side to make sure we have the

right containment around. there's extensive work in the twin peaks project and we had instruction from the contractor and we've taken that on since and will make sure it happens. >> do we identify our various wires? i know with the work happening and they asked about the p.u.c. and the water project there's been wires and utility things are we labelling it and making it clear so we know what's there and in the future we can find it? >> we have that now and today as well as the drawings and everything that lay everything out and know exactly what. that's how we knew what the

cable was and what it was for and back up and not primary. >> this is an action item. >> clerk: motion to approve. >> commissioner: is there public comment? >> clerk: no. >> commissioner: public comment is closed. i'll entertain a motion on both contracts at the same time. director torres moved that. >> a second to approve. >> commissioner: all in favor please say aye. anyone opposed? that's as radio clear as it gets. >> clerk: thank you, directors. >> clerk: concludes the business before you today. >> commissioner: let's remember we are adjourning in memory of ms. rothstein and double down or our mission to make fellow citizens safe on the streets of san francisco.

thank you, everybody.

>> thank you all for being here so early in the morning. and, i've got to tell you, we're here early because the fire commission has a meeting at 9:0:00 a.m., so

this is the best time. nothing is more important to me in the city than public safety. and as a former fire commissioner, i've worked closely with the department on issues impacting our city. as a former supervisor, i saw how critical the department is in responding to fires and emergencies in the district. and as mayor, i see every day the important role that the department plays in keeping our city safe. and i know how critical this department is when a disaster strikes. we have some amazing men and women who go out every single day to protect our residents and to do the hard work. they run towards the danger. these men and women deserve a leader who has seen what they've seen, who have fought those same fires. who knows what all of them

are going through on a day-to-day basis. and i am pleased to announce that i have chosen a leader for the department that has done all of that and more. it is my honor to announce that the next fire chief for the city and county of san francisco will be deputy chief janine nicholson. [applause] [applause] >> chief nicholson is a dedicated public servant and a tremendous leader and has put her heart into san francisco and the fire department. she has been a firefighter, a paramedic, a lieutenant, a captain, a battalion chief and deputy chief. she will be the second woman to lead this department after chief

joanne hayes white, and the first lgbt fire chief in our city's history. [applause] >> she has survived being burned in a fire in 2009. she has survived breast cancer. she has been on the frontline fighting fires, and she has saved lives as a paramedic. she has done the complicated work as a deputy chief to manage multiple divisions. this woman is tough. this woman is resilient. this woman is a leader. and i am confident that she will lead the department on day one. before bring up deputy chief nicholson to the podium, i want to take this opportunity to recognize our current fire chief, joanne hayes white for her years of service to the city and county of

san francisco. [applause] >> thank you, chief, for not only your work as chief over the years, but also your support during this really challenging transition. and i also would like to thank all of the members of our fire commission. we actually have a quorum here today. the number of interviews that they had to do is the number of interviews i never would want to do for any position. but they were absolutely amazing. president nicoshi, and commissioners, thank you so much for your commitment and the countless hours you spent to help us make the right choice for our next fire chief. i also want to thank so

many of the men and women in the department, again, for your role, for your patience, and all of the work that you continue to do to make sure that our department is one of the best in the country. and, i see that tom o'connor is here. i didn't know you would be here? did you fly back from l.a. -- or d.c.? you didn't leave? i want to thank tom o'connor for being here, who was the executive director of the local 798 union. i know sean buford is in d.c. and couldn't be with us. i see sherman tilman with the black firefighters -- so many people who played a role in helping to make this selection. and the former fire commissioner, thank you so much for being here. this was a very difficult decision to make, and i also want to thank all of the candidates who applied, as well as so many candidates who put

countless hours into just really doing the work so that we could vet everyone and make the right decision here. thank you to our elected officials who are here, including the only supervisor who showed up this morning, supervisor walton. [applause] >> treasurer jose, and our city attorney, dennis. we have so many incredible leaders in our city. and now as we move forward to address what we know are serious challenges that we face as a city with public safety, i know we're going to be in good hands with our next fire chief. ladies and gentlemen, deputy chief janine nicholson. fla[applause] >> good morning, san francisco. i warned the mayor this morning that i'm a hugger,

and she didn't want a hug. just give me the stiff arm. i'm good with that. i can respect boundaries. so good morning, everyone. first of all, i'd like to thank mayor breed for this incredible, incredible opportunity and honor. thank you so much. thank you chief hayes white for bringing me into your command staff. and thank you to all of my colleagues, all of you. i am excited to work for the breed administration, which is one of bold new ideas. i am honored to be able to continue to serve the citizens of san francisco. i am extremely humbled to lead this department and all of our firefighters, e.m.t.s, paramedics, investigators, inspectors, and civilians. one of the things i love about the fire department

is that it is always a team effort. i appreciate the hard work you do every single day. 24/7, 365. you are my family. i love this city and this department, and i love being of service. i vow to work hard, to continue to carry out the mission and vision of the san francisco fire department, and to keep moving us forward in a positive way. thank you, all. and, mayor breed, again, with humility and determination, i accept. now let's get back to work. [applause] >> short and sweet, just the way we like it in the morning. i also want to take this opportunity to recognize

our police chief, bill scott, who is here, and our sheriff, vicki hennessey. thank you both for joining us this morning. at this time, i would like to give our chief, joanne hayes white, an opportunity to say a few words. >> thank you, mayor breed. good morning, everyone. this will be even shorter and much sweeter. i'm thrilled to be here. i wanted to acknowledge mayor breed for her emphasis always and prioritization of public safety of first responders and the critical role that they play in our city. so thank you for that. and i'm also here to offer my heartiest congratulations to janine nicholson. she has worked diligently in over 25 years with the san francisco fire department. she gets the importance of teamwork, which is what we're all about. within our department and working with other city agencies. and i was really proud last year to promote her

to deputy chief of of administration, where i think on top of her excellent career, she got a taste of what it is like to work and juggle different priorities. and you shined in that role. so i wholeheartedly endorse mayor breed's selection. and i wanted to acknowledge the fire commission and the panel that worked to select our new fire chief. we both guarantee, chief nicholson and i, a very smooth transition. i'm here working and i'll finish strong. i know nothing different. the next five to se six weeks will be a period of transition. chief nicholson and i will be working shoulder to shoulder to make sure this city is protected and safe. and that's what we commit to, and that's what the city deserves. thank you very much. and also to the command staff, everybody stand up that is here, that actually works in the fire department. tom sherman, olivia -- this is part of the team. thank you very much.

deputy chief gonzales over there. and thank you to chief scott and sheriff hennessey and other department heads that are here as well. good morning, and have a great day. >> thank you, chief. and the folks who actually, again, did a lot of the heavy lifting, with the countless numbers of interviews was our fire commission, starting with president king cleveland -- when king cleveland served as president, and steve nicoshio carrying on that legacy. i wanted to ask our president of the san francisco fire commissioner, steve, to say a few words, please. [applause] >> thank you very much, mayor breed. we, on behalf of the fire commission, and cleveland commissioner, and covington commission, and commissioner hartiman,

express our support. congratulations, chief nicholson. at this point, as well, we want to thank and appreciate the 15 years of service that joanne hayes white has served this great city. we are looking forward to working together to accomplish what we need to do. we are the fire department, we save lives, we respond to emergencies. we ensure that the buildings in san francisco are safe, and we make sure that our duties and staff are well-kept. thank you very much, mayor breed, for this. congratulations, and as we say, let's get working. thank you. [applause] >> all right. that concludes our press conference. there will be a swearing in at a later date. you all will be invited. i'm really excited about this, along with so many other incredible things happening in san francisco. thank you all for taking

your morning to be here. and, again, congratulations to our new fire chief. and we will be happy to take questions on the side from the press. that concludes the press conference today. thank you. [applause]

>> we take a lot of pride in what we do. the electric shop covers all of waste water, so out of this location here, we cover everything from oceanside to southeast plant and all the computations including treasure island and yerba buena. we have all the preventative responsibility, maintaining maintenance and also keeping up with work orders from operations. i would say one of the things fortunately for me is the staff is incredibleably motivated. the staff here knows what to

do, how to do the job safely, and it makes my job incredibly easy. >> they know the job, and they know the challenges, and i think it's all about personal pride. they want to do a good job. from our maintenance group to our i.n.c., dedication to the people. when they're going home, and they're crossing the bay bridge, and they get a call that there's a problem with a pump station on treasure island, they return to work. they turnaround in westbound traffic and get back to work and get this pump back in line, and i can't tell you how much that means to me as a boss and the city and county of san francisco. >> as a group, if they didn't do what they do, the streets would be flooded with waste and gray water, and it could become a health hazard.

we take a lot of pride in what we do, and we do the jobs right, and you walk away fulfilled that you've done the the meeting will come to order. welcome to the thursday, march 14th meeting of government audit and oversight committee. i am supervisor gordon mar, chairman. i am joined byup