>> once i got the hang of it a little bit, you know, like the first time, i never left the court. i just fell in love with it and any opportunity i had to get out there, you know, they didn't have to ask twice. you can always find me on the court. [♪♪♪] >> we have been able to participate in 12 athletics wheelchairs. they provide what is an expensive tool to facilitate basketball specifically. behind me are the amazing golden state road warriors, which are one of the most competitive

adaptive basketball teams in the state led by its captain, chuck hill, who was a national paralympic and, and is now an assistant coach on the national big team. >> it is great to have this opportunity here in san francisco. we are the main hub of the bay area, which, you know, we should definitely have resources here. now that that is happening, you know, i i'm looking forward to that growing and spreading and helping spread the word that needs -- that these people are here for everyone. i think it is important for people with disabilities, as well as able-bodied, to be able to see and to try different sports, and to appreciate trying different things. >> people can come and check out this chairs and use them. but then also friday evening, from 6:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m., it will be wheelchair basketball we will make sure it is available, and that way people can no that people will be

coming to play at the same time. >> we offer a wide variety of adaptive and inclusion programming, but this is the first time we have had our own equipment. [♪♪♪] watching. >> you're watching coping with covid-19 with chris manners. today's special guest is julie

kirschbaum. >> hi. i'm chris manners. you're watching coping with covid-19. today, i'm speaking with the executive director of the sfmta. thank you and welcome to the show. >> thank you for having me. >> can we begin by talking about the services that have been suspended and there have been changes to the services that are still running? >> absolutely. we've had to make really significant changes to our services in response to covid-19. initially going down to as few as 17 routes. these are routes that people use to get to work or the hospital, grocery stores, really to make the most essential trips that are needed throughout this process. we've been fortunate over the last, say, five or six weeks,

that our staffing levels have gotten better, and as we've increased our cleaning capacity, that we've been able to add some community services back. we've added a shuttle on pacific avenue, which is helping seniors get to grocery stores in chinatown. we've added a community inline bus in ingleside, and we've been adding more service to our core network. our corridors like mission street, potrero near s.f. general, and really needing increasingly more and more service in order to prevent spacing and -- keep spacing and prevent crowding on the bus. >> thank you. what measures have you been taking to prevent passengers on the bus? >> your safety has been our top

priority and is guiding everything that we do. the most critical thing that we're doing is the mask requirement, where we're requiring people, if you're going to ride muni, to do it safely, protecting yourself and others from germs. we've also implemented back door boarding, so except for our customers with disabilities that will need the support of the front door, the ramp, or the leader, we're asking customers to enter from the back to give extra spacing to our operators. we've provided operators with all of the protective equipment that they need to do the job safely, including gloves and masks, and we're really fortunately that our bus -- fortunate that our buses are equipped with a plexi glass door that creates an operating space for our operators. and some of services like the

cable car historic trolleys we don't have that same protection, we suspended early on in this process. we want our operators to have the physical separation that they need to stay safe on the road. >> absolutely. so how have you been managing physical distancing on public transportation? what happens if a bus gets full? >> great question. we have reduced the number of people that we consider a bus to be crowded, so heading into this, we might have had 70 or 80 people on the bus. now, it's closer to 20. we also are monitoring our passenger loads. both our operators are monitoring them as well as we're monitoring them remotely from our transportation management center. if the bus does get too crowded, the operators have a drop-off only sign, and they

stop picking passengers up until enough exit the vehicle. it might be a little bit inconvenient if you're waiting for a bus and it doesn't stop to pick you up, but there's another one coming behind it so we can make sure that you have social distancing throughout this process. >> what other ways have you been letting passengers and residents know about these changes and new policies? >> we've been using all methods to keep customers informed about all of these changes. we've put up almost 2,000 signs and posters at our bus stops in multiple languages, letting people know when routes have been eliminated, when hours have changed, when service has changed. we've also been putting it up through social media and neighborhood groups, and also

really relying on the media and press to notify customers about changing. we want the public to know what to expect in this really unique and unusual time to make things as convenient as possible. >> quite right, yes. other than the operators themselves, i know you have a very large support staff. have you made changes at your muni facilities, as well. >> sfmta has 29 facilities, and enhancing safety at those facilities has really been a team effort. we have an amazing custodial crew that's been doing deep cleanings. we were able to take staff that had been cleaning the subway stations and dedicate them to our facilities. we have also seen staff at every level jump in and help

with daily cleanings in places like common areas, desks, tools. everyone is pitching in to wipe stuff down, which makes a big difference. we are proud of the fact that we haven't had any clusters of staff who have had the virus or really any examples of staff catching it from each other, and we feel it's because of the steps that we're taking to keep people safe at work. we're also taking ideas from everywhere in the organization. that includes safety briefings, rather than doing them in a small room, doing them outside, in a parking lot. in order to get to job sites, staff had previously taken three or four people in a city truck. now, we're taking them in a bus

so they can actually space out during the trip to the site. >> oh, that's great stuff. when we look at the transportation system as a whole, what additional steps have been taken to encourage people to consider alternative forms of transit. >> we have been looking at it as a system in part because the bus system is doing less than it has in the past because we have fewer routes and because we have fewer people riding. one example is our e.t.c. program, which is a taxi-based program that seniors and people with disabilities can sign up for and use a taxi for essential trips at a highly discounted rate. we're also looking at a transit system that people can get out walking or biking.

>> how are we planning on next steps as restrictions ease and we move into phase two and eventually phases three and four? >> i think probably our biggest thing that we're getting ready for right now is the start of school in august, and make sure that we're ready, not only to accommodate all of the general activities, like going to restaurants and recreation, but also getting kids to school safely. we're also looking at what are other cities doing around the world that we can learn from, and that's where we are forming our work, as well. we are really fortunate that we had an opportunity to skype with taipei, a city that's had a lot of success addressing the virus. the mayor actually joined the skype call, and one of the things that they shared with us, their biggest success has

come with 100% compliance masks on mass transit. in other cases, monitoring for temperatures and really making sure that people were riding, that they were riding healthy, so we're trying to model and apply those best practices to our system and learn as much as we can through this process. >> well, that's fantastic information. i really appreciate you coming on the show, miss kirschbaum. thank you for the time you've given us today. >> thank you. >> thanks again. well, that's it for this episode. we'll be back with more covid-19 relates information shortly. you've been watching coping with covid-19. i'm chris manners. thanks for watching.

>> my background is in engineering. i am a civil engineer by training. my career has really been around government service. when the opportunity came up to serve the city of san francisco, that was just an opportunity i really needed to explore. [♪♪♪] [♪♪♪] i think it was in junior high and really started to do well in math but i faced some really interesting challenges. many young ladies were not in math and i was the only one in some of these classes. it was tough, it was difficult to succeed when a teacher didn't

have confidence in you, but i was determined and i realized that engineering really is what i was interested in. as i moved into college and took engineering, preengineering classes, once again i hit some of those same stereotypes that women are not in this field. that just challenged me more. because i was enjoying it, i was determined to be successful. now i took that drive that i have and a couple it with public service. often we are the unsung heroes of technology in the city whether it is delivering network services internally, or for our broadband services to low income housing. >> free wi-fi for all of the residents here so that folks have access to do job searches, housing searches, or anything else that anyone else could do in our great city. >> we are putting the plant in

the ground to make all of the city services available to our residents. it is difficult work, but it is also very exciting and rewarding our team is exceptional. they are very talented engineers and analysts who work to deliver the data and the services and the technology every day. >> i love working with linda because she is fun. you can tell her anything under the sun and she will listen and give you solutions or advice. she is very generous and thoughtful and remembers all the special days that you are celebrating. >> i have seen recent employee safety and cyber security. it is always a top priority. i am always feeling proud working with her. >> what is interesting about my work and my family is my experience is not unique, but it

is different. i am a single parent. so having a career that is demanding and also having a child to raise has been a challenge. i think for parents that are working and trying to balance a career that takes a lot of time, we may have some interruptions. if there is an emergency or that sort of thing then you have to be able to still take care of your family and then also do your service to your job. that is probably my take away and a lot of lessons learned. a lot of parents have the concern of how to do the balance i like to think i did a good job for me, watching my son go through school and now enter the job market, and he is in the medical field and starting his career, he was always an intern. one of the things that we try to do here and one of my takeaways from raising him is how important internships are. and here in the department of technology, we pride ourselves

on our interns. we have 20 to 25 each year. they do a terrific job contributing to our outside plant five or work or our network engineering or our finance team. this last time they took to programming our reception robot, pepper, and they added videos to it and all of these sort of things. it was fun to see their creativity and their innovation come out. >> amazing. >> intriguing. >> the way i unwind is with my photography and taking pictures around the city. when i drive around california, i enjoy taking a lot of landscapes. the weather here changes very often, so you get a beautiful sunset or you get a big bunch of

clouds. especially along the waterfront. it is spectacular. i just took some photos of big server and had a wonderful time, not only with the water photos, but also the rocks and the bushes and the landscapes. they are phenomenal. [♪♪♪] my advice to young ladies and women who would like to move into stem fields is to really look at why you are there. if you are -- if you are a problem solver, if you like to analyse information, if you like to discover new things, if you like to come up with alternatives and invent new practice, it is such a fabulous opportunity. whether it is computer science or engineering or biology or medicine, oh, my goodness, there are so many opportunities. if you have that kind of mindset i have enjoyed working in san francisco so much because of the diversity.

the diversity of the people, of this city, of the values, of the talent that is here in the city. it is stimulating and motivating and inspiring and i cannot imagine working anywhere else but in san >> welcome to the san francisco planning commission remote hearing for thursday, march 25, 2021. on february 25, 2020, mayor declared a local state of emergency related to covid-19 and april 3, 2020, the planning commission received authorization from the mayor's office to reconvene remotely due to the end of the shelter-in-place. our 47th remote hearing. remote hearings require everyone's attention and your patience. if you are not speaking, please mute your microphone. to enable public participation, broadcasting and streaming this hearing live and we will receive public comment for each