first, want to compliment you and the staff at mta. i think the vast majority of the budget is incredibly positive and the fact that mta is finally making significant investments is in and of itself, if that is the only new thing you are doing in the budget, that would be incredibly positive and i think it's a testament to your leadership and the leadership of senior staff. the agency is really moving in the right direction and in finally implementing the tep and the fact that we are finally going to be seeing some of those improvements in the next year caw i think it is an exciting thing and i'm thrilled about the progress around tax season. if that is a big issue for me and i think there is finally momentum within the agencies to be the taxi system as an essential part of the transportation system and not just something to extract revenue from more what ever the attitude may have been in the past. i have been public and spoken to you all about on not a fan of the sunday meters. i completely understand the policy rationale for it in t

it is an honor to be here on behalf of the mta board this morning. every time i have a chance to speak about being on the mta board, i begin by saying how proud i am of what we do. every single day, we move 700 people throughout the city, and we did it very, very well. all kinds of different modes, we do it on behalf of the people. i am delighted to be joined this afternoon by the vice-chair. thank you very much for being here. we are very fortunate to have the leadership of ed reiskin, who has done an outstanding job for the agency, and we look forward to his continued leadership. i also want to take a moment to acknowledge two of my predecessors as chairman. mr. flynn, assuredly the gold standard in san francisco. thank you for what you have done, and my immediate predecessor, let us with a great deal of compassion and dignity through some extremely difficult times over the past several years. thank you for being with us. was it over the course of the last hundred years, and unique as a perverse workforce, forged by women and men as innovation and

i have had several discussions with the mta. some years ago, and a little bit on you, the voters made sure that we did not mess around with mta's budget. at least take things out and put things in in the way it did in years past. the board has to vote up or down on the whole budget. having said that, we did talk a little bed about, you know, our general resistance to putting meters on sundays. it is $2.5 million revenue source for them. they believe that times have changed where there are a lot of tourists and visitors that come in too many of our sections throughout the city on its sundays to enjoy, of course, all the things that we have. so we believe that revenue they need to have to balance their deficits. we have like a $26 million deficit when we started going through all of these things. i will say that we also talked about this parking increase of the penalties. one of the things that they told me that a good portion, three- quarters of that increase the they are proposing in their budget on the parking tickets as exactl

the mta should may be looked into it. but 99% of the claims, people hit the cab or the cab hit somebody, and they are settled.

we worked with mta to select a new list of projects. we will be working with mta on the new list. the first lists are on your slide here. the next project is a broadway street scape and friedman project phase three. this is one of the final connections of the fall five what upgrade from broadway to grant street to batteries street. this is connecting in the middle -- a metal block of the street. this is replanting, streetscapes upgrades and pedestrians daylighting. this is supported by a prop k sales tax. the next project is a federally funded project. this project is moving forward into construction. it is currently in caltrans for review for construction application. mta anticipates beginning construction in early 2013 and completing the project by december 2013. the bottom of this blood is the 50 mile per hour/project. that is substantially completed with signs installed at approximately 180 schools throughout the city. we have included the schools that did receive those signs. the next two projects are signal projects. the first signal modification contract, this is to do simp

i want to talk to you about what mta is doing. before i went into the ministry, i spent 25 years with the pacific electric and gas company as a manager and i ran my own consulting business for 10 years. when i heard the presentation from mta, so many questions come into my mind. when they talk about implementing parking meters on sunday, what is the rate of return? the cost of implementation, the cost of installing new meters versus, it's money they're going to get back. i do not think the dollar's add up. the other part is that you look at the impact it will have on the communities that are being involved and the ill feeling that will be created. the value will come up to be a loss instead of a positive. a lot of this stuff, you have small businesses that are involved and it is gone to impact them, which is going to affect their revenue. i am asking for the board of supervisors to support us. i want to thank supervisor wiener. it is important because a lot of our churches, the service is run from 9:30 until about 6:30 in the even

now let's go to the mta. colleagues, there are no action before us with the mta. we are not able to amend or change any of the budget line items. however, when the department came before us in may, there was news with regards to labor negotiations which led to a hole in the budget. the mta, i believe, has gone back to the board to discuss where the budget will be changing to make the department's budget whole. today is an update from mr. reiskin at about department's budget. >> good morning. like the city, we set our baseline budget back in the fall and made some basic assumptions about labor cost as well as our other costs. our pulmonary baseline budget that we presented to our board in -- preliminary baseline budget we presented to the board in november showed a shortfall which was made up of assumed labor increases. fast forward to the spring as we develop our budget, with the city, developed our labor negotiations strategy. we agreed with the city to negotiate literally side by side and negotiated at most tables took me. -- jointly. we did so with the same neg

the mta should may be looked into it. but 99% of the claims, people hit the cab or the cab hit somebody, and they are settled. the other things are the privacy issue, requiring security camera data. i do not think there is an objection to a case by case basis, but this looks like a blanket thing. everything they do in the cab could be viewed by someone other than the police, other than related to a crime. lastly, you keep talking about color scheme. the color scheme permit holder is responsible for the gates being charged. it is appropriate that the color scheme be appropriate for that, not the medallion holder. thank you. secretary boomer: [names are called] >> good afternoon. very toronto -- barry toronto. giving us two minutes to comment on something as complicated as 15 -- a lot of them makes sense or are important, but they have not been vetted at town meetings. we did not talk about electronic waybills at the town hall meeting. it became more amenable toward the taxi industry. today, there were a lot of concerns. so

the board of appeals is outside the sf mta looper -- loop, unlike the hearing officer. if you eliminate the board of appeals, the mta is judge, jury, executioner, and cash register. the board of appeals is relatively affordable. if you eliminate them, the only thing left is the courts, which are prohibitively expensive to a cab driver. please do not make it so that a person can only get the justice they can afford. failure to appear makes action final and not subject to further judicial review? just for not showing up? what if you have a vindictive ex-roommate or ex-spouse and do not get the information you have to appear? the year to appear precludes responding from asserting standing for judicial review. do not preclude judicial review just because somebody does not show up. please let it be the same notice as every other item. secretary boomer: [names are called. ] >> i am going to start my comments about process again. put yourself in my shoes. i received all these changes that are going to moment asleep affect the industry this week, and on tuesday, we are voting o

at the mta, the costs are going up every year for workers' comp. we were able to identify some equipment eligible for capital funding. we were able to move that out of the operating budget. and we assume, because our budget had to be transmitted to you by may 1 before the labor negotiations were done, what we assumed in our budget that the board adopted was basically our opening position at the negotiating table, which between labor and benefits was roughly at 3% concession in the first year and the 3.3% concession on the second year. about half of our employees that have open contracts at the moment. the transit workers union, the two larger locals are already eyeing contract, pending -- are already in contract, pending the first year of a three-year contract. about half of the agency was in open contracts. we estimated concessions on the order of about $14.5 million. but as i will mention later, it did not come to fruition based on how negotiations have turned out. what i am most excited about with this project is despite the fiscal climate and d

unfortunately, the mta is not here. we had asked them to come. to try to respond, we will follow up with that question. generally whenever we talk about traffic lights, the cost a lot of money. it costs almost $300,000 for one traffic light, so it is not easy for the state to put one in. particularly with one lane of traffic in both directions. the mta is installing four traffic lights along sunset boulevard. that is a situation where you have three lanes of traffic and directions. so we are prioritizing some of that. especially where self help is, that intersection, we see a lot of seniors passing through on sunset boulevard all the time. so we want to prioritize those big areas where people have to cross the street before some of the smaller areas. on at noriega, we have worked on traffic islands among other things, so we can ask mta to look at it again and see if there are other alternatives. in terms of a traffic light, we know that our resources are limited and the concentration is on sunset boulevard and some of the very large streets that

his service to the mta was steadfast. he had a great personality. he was involved in the vintage street car project from the very beginning. he was involved with the market street railway festival in the 1980's. he was the definition of leadership and will be greatly missed. with member consent, we will adjourn this meeting in his memory. also, this afternoon, the board of supervisors, across the hall -- the board is going to be considering the unanimous recommendation from the rules committee about our newest member, who cannot vote because she is not confirmed yet. she is dying to start voting on things, i know. good luck this afternoon. we look forward to working with you. secretary boomer: could we discuss the order of business today? >> we have a lot of interest in taxi items. i have asked for accommodations. let us get to the rest of the meeting after the taxi items have been hard. is there any unfinished business? -- chairperson nolan: >> this will be very quick. i would like to ask the director if he can direct staff to update us on the stat

commissioner campos: we want to thank the staff of the mta for working very hard on this item. is really great to see that. there is a resolution that has been reached on this issue. is a very important project. commissioner avalos? commissioner avalos: thank you. i want to thank those at plans and programs for their patience. between meetings, they were briefed, and we're moving this forward with greater community input. i want to thank the transportation authority for there work -- their work on the alternative for van ness was rapid transit. i think it is an elegant solution to what appears to be a corrupt -- conundrum. commissioner campos: thank you. i do think this shows the creativity we have in the city and county of san francisco, oftentimes being able to think outside the box of. we have a number of speaker cards. i will call them out. [reading names] and any other member of the public would like to speak on this item, please come forward. >> hello. my name is michelle brant's. i am also concerned that i get the feeling you're not really listening to the people in the

community with those signatures, there is a certain segment of the block that becomes a petition in the mta? that is historically something that they could do. we are revisiting our policies to take initiative on. >> we are taking away a and we have certainly heard from them i do not want you to think they knew have not been heard, and it seems to me that if your neighbors feel the same way, it would be to organize -- this expansive -- expansion does that have to be massive. it could be by one mark. if the neighbors in the area what the program, i suggest you might save money. >> of the only question -- the only caution is we are evaluating whether commercial district should have them. the petition may come to our doorstep, but it may not signify anything. >> i just do not want our friends to walk away thinking that there is no resources -- recourse. at least looking into whether you could have a zone. >> i think staff will be able to meet with the gentleman. >> one more question that is a clarifying question. their language prohibits the use of contract and parking 1,500 feet. does that me

the mta will take the lead on that coordination with the fda. >> ok, great. and i know we have already set delays from another six months from when we originally planned moving forward -- and moving forward, do feel confident we can keep this time mind and we are keeping up with this timeline? >> funding is a critical part of keeping up with the timeline. assuming that continues to come in as needed, then yes, we are keeping up with measures to keep up with this timeline. i think we will know a lot more women have the concept phase completed because then we will know what our environmental review looks like. we are trying to keep a tight schedule. if it turns out there are additional studies that we did not anticipate, the schedule may grow slightly. but we're working hard to keep it tight. >> commissioner? >> i like the idea of the separated by quays along market between fifth and ninth. -- bicycle ways along market street between fifth and ninth. i think it creates a nicer feel for pedestrians and everyone else. andy think bike ideas, those are pretty good

mta.en light rail lines. the historic f line streetcars, of course. 700,000 daily borders of our mta -- daily boarders of our mta. of course, senator, as you so well articulated just moments ago, no mayor can ever escape a comment on a daily basis about somebody's quality of ride in the city. because it is so much part of our daily lives, but it is also a reflection early generations of innovation. because we go back many, many years ago when the system was created, and, you know, you cannot avoid acknowledgment of history. they used mining technology to create the first cable cars in our system, and today, they have become the iconic representation of our muni system, that was innovation 100 years ago. and to understand that the mayor in 1912 drove the very streetcar we are about to ride in in 1912 , to yet again represent innovation. we will have not only our ride, but we will also have on board the newest generation of innovators, these technology companies here today that locating them

we strongly urge for this project's approval, and with the mta and the board of supervisors, thank you for all your work on this. thank you. commissioner campos: thank you. if there is any other member of the public would like to speak, please come forward. >> good morning. i am here to voice my support and hope you guys approve the brt with limited left turns on the van ness ave. this affects the 47 and 49 lines. many people from those neighborhoods rely on those lines every day to get to and from work. often they are delayed because of ridiculous traffic levels on van ness ave. not only that come up with the advent of brt, you will be revitalizing the corridor. if you walk up the corridor, it is lonely out there. it is pretty downtrodden. this really brings new hope and it will breathe new life on to the corridor. and you guys would also be reaffirming transit first, which is part of the city charter. to many times, we have been planning for the automobile, and not so much for transit. this would be a step in the right direction. and that's it. thank you. commissioner campos: thank y

it kind of its mta involved -- gets and g-8 involved. you go to the mta meetings. they are just going to pull it out from here and make things happen. i say that because not everybody can come here and attended these meetings, but we do have a stupid people who understand a lot about transportation, and they need to get the right type of empirical data, not any thing in detail, but to the findings so focus meetings can be had among the constituents of san francisco. every taxpayer should have a pretty good idea of what is happening with our transportation in san francisco. thank you very much. commissioner campos: thank you, sir. next speaker, please. >> i would like to comment more on the way the public comment is perceived by the members of this committee and others and the board of supervisors. one of the things i noticed in just observing how public comment is treated is that there are always two or 3 certain members of the committee or board of supervisors to think that public comment, which is the only way that 99% of the citizens can access there elected --

the board of the mta approved this at their meeting.the goal is to certify the environmental document by the end of this year. if all goes well, there will be construction by 2015. opening service in 2016. i would be happy to take any questions. supervisor avalos: thank you for your presentation. i was actually really excited about these alternatives being proposed. i had been hearing about the conundrum we were in to make this work. the efficient running of the buses, the rapid running of the buses on van ness is one of the keys. which is why we want to do bus driver traffic. i thought that this was a good way of threading a needle. this was one of the alternatives proposed. so, those are my thoughts and comments. colleagues? questions or comments? supervisor olague: i wanted to mention that i also support the median alternative and am glad to hear that you have reached an agreement on that. i know that there was a lot of discussion on the left and right and that option made no sense to me at all, actually. i am happy to see that we ar

it is symptomatic of the flawed operations of mta. the other symptoms are buses that do not arrive on time. even if you installed the most ideal transit effectiveness project, it would all bread down if they did not arrive on time. -- break down if they did not arrive on time. would i would like to see is a public disclosure of the internal operations on an annual basis. there is an internal operational audit that is done every year. i would like to see it public. i think it is very important that it should be stated in lucid terms. this is a very important saying. in respect to the upcoming mta budget, i suggest that the project be halted and reexamined. i do not see any marked improvement in service delivery as a result of this project today. it should be scrutinized. you could save money doing it. thank you. chairman nolan: next speaker, please. >> good afternoon. i guess you all know that this article came out about the conditions of the municipal railway equipment. i have made arrangements to the director about the hostile workin

we used to get these reports from the representatives at the police department in the mta about taxi enforcement and their role at the traffic company. now we are not getting these reports. the director has not asked for them or presented them. we have to know if they are getting their money's worth. that is a valid question. some of that work that the traffic company does, that is a related issue ended is a good question to ask. people have brought up the topic of the taxi industry becoming a cash cow. is it explained better, where will this money come from in the taxi industry? i think it would be important to let the stakeholders know about this, considering that there are several town hall meetings scheduled for next week. so, i want to let you know that you have an obligation to let the taxi industry know about their ability to participate. you saw them bring all of these rules and i think that, related to the budget, if they are going to continue to use the taxi industry as an "cash

that is what we urged at the mta. it has been a long approval process. i remember a 10-year member of this cac who left in 2008. this was on the front burner at that time now we are still spending the one-year construction project. the spur and its members urge your body to move was ahead. thank you for your time. -- move us ahead. thank you for your time. supervisor avalos: thank you. next speaker, please? >> my name is jim frank. i am a member of the san francisco incumbent forward push on this project. this is a great alternative. we were really happy that you came together with this good alternative. deals with all the issues that are the big issues for van ness. as mentioned before, california is one of the slowest. in the middle, the buses will be this -- the fastest. this is really good. it is what we want. the city appreciates us. all of the pedestrian improvements are great. it will make van ness kind of a through corridor. it will help people, rather than diverting them, they can move through and go through on a van that nests, so that there wi

suggest you do the same thing i told the mta staff to do. supervisor avalos: thank you very much. any other member of the public want to talk about these items? seeing none, public comment is closed. if we can make the motion to movies to the next meeting. will take that without objection. item #8. >> the market streets update. this is an information item. >> i'm michael schwartz from the transportation authority. on this project, the authority is the contract manager as well as the lead on a number of grants including proposition k, however the project management lead is dpw. the presentation begins on page 71 of your package. the transportation lead on the project is also here. >> good afternoon chair and commissioners. on the project manager with the department of public works here to give you an update on the market street project. briefly to reiterate the project's goal -- to revitalize market street from octavia boulevard to the embarcadero. the key components of the goals are around place making, mobility and economic development. we have been coordinating multiple other ef

the first meeting is on july 17 from 6:00-8:30 at the mta offices. the second meeting will be on july 21 from 10:00-12:30, also at the mta offices. finally, the study team will do a web and are on july 19 from 12:00-1:00. any more information can be found at better market street. the central freeway activity oaa will come to the committee in june and the board in july for approval. just want to highlight a few of the bike projects in district 8, specifically by improvements to improve the left-hand turn from market street on to valencia funded by the transportation clean air program. that project is moving forward to completion in november of this year. i want to highlight the street transit and pedestrian and repair projects. this is at the border of district 8, but we did want to improve -- included. this is in the conceptual engineering stage. there was delay in getting the project started, mostly due to cost increases. we were able to take some of the second st. funds. we reprogram them to this, but judd. it includes making haight street to weigh

we get taxi tickets and the mta does not give them to bus drivers. >> mr. heinrich -- heinicke, i am asking you to leave the board please. other commissioners, i would like to ask you to consider my thoughts and encourage him to leave. we all talk about wanting a world-class taxi system in this world-class city. there will never be won if we have an abused and demoralized work force. ever since director heinicke has come into this arena, he has state -- he has called for medallions to be taken from permit holders. he has created a poisonous relationship between the regulatory agency and the work force, many of whom are afraid to come into this building. the idea that the sfmta would take $20 million per year, tried to take $20 million per year, from some of the poorest-paid, blue-collar workers in the city, and use it to pay for the salaries and benefits of some of the best-paid, blue-collar workers in the country, is just unthinkable to us. we have no overtime, sick pay, vacation pay, no health care. we have no retirement plans, no paychecks. that this mon