once is good transportation -- with the transit first city wants -- what the transit first city wants. if you look at every element of our transportation, we cannot give the city high marks. on the project like the transbay, the doyle drive. when we had certain representatives regard the money, and in the future, whether it is from the state or federal, we will not get as much as we thought we would get, and you all know that. but what i am noticing now is having gone to the mtc meetings and other meetings is that san francisco -- this is the city and county of san francisco -- is not going to get due representation. where once we had three, we are going to get two. i want to leave you with this thought -- do not have yourselves to much on the back -- back --pat -- do not pat yourselves to much on the back. we want results. thank you very much. supervisor mirkarimi: thank you. any other public comments? seeing none, public comment is closed. very good. next item. >> item 5, adopted a position on state legislation. this is an action item. supervisor mirkarimi: very good. any comm

i have been trying to hammer home that we expect to be a transit first city, and often, we have fewer options for transit in district 11, four, and 10. to have that understood and it titillated by other members of this body is, to me, really gratifying. supervisor mirkarimi: consider this the new mantra. ok, executive director, please. >> mr. chairman, commissioners, good morning. before i get into the meat of my report, let me take a second to add to the discussion for a second. first of all, to thank the chair and commissioners campos and cohen for making the time to do this kind of a trip to d.c., which was essentially 48 hours and a lot of time spent on airplanes. hardly a tourist trip. a lot of action in a couple of days. to reinforce also the impression that i got in feedback from members of the administration and others that i work with on an essentially regular basis about how involved and how aware of details and of projects, expectations, and so on the members of my board are, and that is a very nice impression to convey to federal organizations that are responsible for fund

we talk about san francisco being a transit first city, and when you live in a part of san francisco were the options are few, you are going to get in your car more often, and we're not serving any one by having fewer options before you are from the downtown core work, so this 348, is this something that the mta wants to continue with, or is this something you're trying to desperately lower to a more acceptable rate of switching back? >> well, i would like to switch back number to be zero, but given the practical matter that we operate on, on the surface, and conditions under which we operate, that is not going to happen. in terms of what the right number should be, again, the more reliable service, and that is what i wanted to highlight the delays. the let's pause for a switch back. i do not have a number in mind to say you know, i would like to never have to switch back, because it is not a goal or objective. it is a tactic we can use to adjust service. as far as the number at 30th and church, in switchbacks is try to make the switchback so that it has the least impact on the numbe

this is a transit first city. the way i get down there is through caltrain, and i hope you do everything in your power to help caltrain continue financially and otherwise. thank you very much. >> good morning, commissioners. i do not ride caltrain because i do not need to, but i do use public transit exclusively. in fact, i got here by public transit. on the way over, i noticed a headline that said something about the clean air act was going to be gutted were reduced or something -- gutted or reduce or something, and that is a concern for everybody, i think. if you reduce the ridership on caltrans, you have to consider the cost to our health, to our infrastructure, to our environment. these are all costs we never consider when we talk about cars and what they do to our infrastructure and our environment and our health. those are all costly, so those costs are going to go up. if we have to use cars in lieu of public transit. so i am urging you to please keep in mind these ideas and to support caltrain. thank you. s

looks like a good list, a few less stops and signals and one has to comment, first, on changing signal lights. this city is a transit-first city but when we have to move cars, we find a need for transit light. when we have to move muni, who needs a transit light, we put stop signs in and that's not good and it has to change and one way to change it is to make the four-ways two-ways and that might help a little bit. what i forgot to say before and it applies to mission and the j, there are streets in san francisco that have double signs for double parking and i don't know if that applies to these two but it should if it's screwing up the muni and that would make it -- give the p.c.o.'s another hammer, a chance to get this thing done. the other ones that are not on the list, prepurchase of fares. that's very good. that's one no one's mentioned yet but coming from outbound, starting in bark darrow, the m and the j take about the same time to get to balboa station. if j's all screwed up and delayed, maybe the m's should work as a j and the same way the j could work as an m. that would take flexibility in m.o.u.'s and di

city needs to look at policies are brown parking. -- around parking. i think it is contradictory and even a contradiction when you look at the transit first policy that has been in the city for many years to continue to encourage one to one parking in that kind of development. there are efforts to preserve neighborhood character. that is something that one should be sympathetic to. i think that is laid out here in a lot of different ways. not just in terms of the physical aspect of the neighborhood, which in many instances, we are always very sensitive. we encourage certain changes in that way. the demographic makeup of certain neighborhoods. there are people who werein the city family for generations. i do not think that people who are working should be necessarily excluded from the intent of this document. i do not see that anywhere. i am glad there is a balanced in who is being encouraged to remain here. it is not just oriented towards what we have seen as far as displacement and other things over the past few years. when we talk about density equity, that is something that we have to be very sensitive as we implement it. that is something that we nee

transit first and the transportation impact. i'm a 35-year veteran of transit first and public transit advocacy, right now advocating for the extension of a central subway into the northeast part of the city to improve our transit system. this project does not really improved transit or even promote our transit first policy. transit first is not simply a means of eliminating automobiles or cannot be effectuated by eliminating automobiles. rather, it must be effective weighted by improving public transit. to deny people the right to have cars is ineffective if you do not have an alternative for them. this neighborhood has among the worst public transit in the city, and san francisco has a pretty sorry public transit system. we have an average speed of 8 miles an hour citywide. the northeast part of the city has an average speed of 5 miles an hour, which is about as fast as you can walk, virtually. we do not have the service that we need. it has been cut continuously. there is no plan for improving it. the prospects look like more cuts. transit is over utilize, and it is slow and crowded. the improvement of public transit then is a priority. this is not a transit first method. we need car s

of course, the transit-first policies have provisions for city car chairs -- car shares, bicycle parking, and motorcycle parking. after notification went out, we were contacted by lia and andy grass, neighbors who live on clyde street. it has a vehicular entry to the use, but the main one has always been rich street. however, apparently the neighbors have had problems with a restaurant user on that alley and feel that if the entry from that allied -- that alley is permanently closed to cars that it will benefit neighbors on that alley. the have asked for that condition of approval. my clients have agreed to that. it is in your package. it is not in your staff report. after staff report came out, it is only then that we had the discussion. our architect indicated that you cannot go with the exact wording of the staff report because the staff report before you actually forbids even pedestrian egress. the fire department building code, according to our architect, does not allow the portion on pedestrian emergency egress on to that allied -- that alley. therefore, the condition we drafted is

city. at some point, we will not rethink the transit first policy but we will look at parking in a more progressive way and maybe there is such a thing. we are usually on the opposite poles. i am wondering how we contend with this. my inclination is always stores transit first and how do we hold to those values. i like the idea of the adapted it reuse of this building. this is a beautiful building and it will be used at actively and not demolished. i agree with what the commissioner was saying in terms of his recommendations and suggestions around the design. again, i would like to see this project or some iteration actually move ahead but i think that we have some questions to resolve. i would not at this point want to see this project go away completely. there is no way of mandating that the owner keeps this use should we deny this project. so, i think we have a lot of things to look at. also, the property, this is as commissioners a guy mentioned is something that's is still be considered and the impact on the renters at that building. i think that there are some things, i would like to see a wa

prevail over approval of a project that is consistent with city zoning, the general plan, and core principles of sustainability and transit first. thank you. >> we are the architects for the project. we have lived and worked in russian hill one block from the property for 15 years. we have always admired the building and thought it had tremendous potential for development into a new more meaningful use as well as an opportunity to improve the neighborhood tavern. the preservation is critical to the architectural aspects of the project. we worked closely with the historical preservation architect to adapt the building to a new use and maintain its character. the proposed modifications will improve the urban fabric by removing four doors at hyde street and the associated cross sidewalk traffic. replacing them with residential live above an increase street parking will reinforce existing use patterns and integrate the neighborhood by filling in what is currently a captive. project includes a modest rooftop addition for two residential units. the project is two fold, to diminish visibility and to clearly distinguish between the old

. >> a city under rebel control about 200km east of benghazi, the national libyan transitional council. i asked if he agreed with president obama's comments. >> firstf all, let me say that we have seen the evidence that supports what president obama has said. the heavy vehicles, the tanks, all the military machines are heading towards benghazi. it was not the international intervention, the international coalition, and we would have definitely had a massacre in benghazi. we are detiermin -- determined, we are able. the people of libya are willing to take gaddafi from power. the dominate here -- dominater here, he doesn't have loyalists around him. he has people that have benefited from his regime. the libyan people are ready to give their lives has we have just heard in your report about the man that wanted his children to live a better life, and this is a very important factor. with our forces approaching tripoli, the fighters are not really fighting, they either run away or they join them. the situation inside his degenerating. if you want to go to a bakery to get some bread in tripoli, you have to raise the tax. how long can people do this in tr

transit ought to look like in san francisco. commissioner mirkarimi: especially to the west side of the city? commissioner wiener: absolutely. mirkarimi first quarter any other comments? commissioner avalos? commissioner avalos: i want to put in a word for the south side of the city. commissioner mirkarimi: any other comments or discussion? seeing none, may we sake this same house, same calls call? so moved. next item, plea. >> number 20, introduction of new items. this is an information item. commissioner mirkarimi: commissioner elsbernd? commissioner elsbernd: thank you, mr. mayor. i would like to ask staff, the plans and programs committee if we could have a hearing on the cal transition two. things we should discuss. one, whether or not san francisco will follow san mat yo -- mateo's lead. and if we do have to make that decision, or even if we don't and the funding situation at cal tran is still so leak that the potential scenario of no weekend service, no late-night service, just the morning and evening commute service actually does come into play, a discussion of how that impacts muni, and potentially what decisions need to be made wi

first acts of housing within the city limits. the amount of housing proposed and its carefully proposed a density is necessary to support a successful transit-oriented development. the plan provides a nice array of housing for a diverse population of current and future residents including young professionals, family with children, seniors, and students. i urge the board to reject this appeal and uphold [chime] >> i am a native san franciscan and a resident of district 10. i am a graduate of high-school and i am very familiar with the neighborhood. this is bringing it closer to residents. socially vibrant neighborhoods, a pedestrian focus, modern homes, and healthy neighborhoods. the aging buildings, outdated designs, people afraid of not looking at the big picture and how it positively attraction growth. he has been a battle cry for identification for community activists. it is important to be careful to express opposition to change the displacement for much-needed projects moving forward. this dramatically improves san francisco and the services for the residents, with the neighbors, and the community as a whole. i asked you to support the

city operations and neighborhood services committee. the first is a hearing to receive an overview of the comptroller's office report on the transit effectiveness progress -- we are looking for that to be on march 28th. the next hearing would be looking at the comptroller's office work with -- they measure how are -- how our departments are performing to their missions. we will be hearing the government barometer report. the last one that was issued was on december of 2010. we will be hearing that on the march 14th hearing. thank you. >> thank you. supervisor mar: thank you. i also want to acknowledge thanks to my colleagues for offering the resolutions on workers' rights at the state level. the labor commission appointments and also these band with the juvenile justice group. the defining of community policing from a community perspective as well. i am introducing today an ordinance in response to many richmond district seniors and many residents living close to 48 avenue and balboa streets. the ordinance waives the permitting fees for a potentially dangerous unacceptable stairway railing at 48 avenue and balboa. the railing there previously w

city, we discourage people from driving to places that you don't drive in. taxicabs are cheaper than what you pay for parking for a night. when we are talking about transit first and holding the other areas to a higher standard, the whole premise is that you make it more difficult and hopefully people will take transit. this seems counter to all of the areas. in general, i don't think that the best use for a piece of land is parking. i could probably make a lot of money but i don't think that that is the best use. i was excited about the use of this building. it is very rare that we see that. i think this is the designation of this building. i thought it was a cool concept to take a building like this and make it housing. there are lots of old buildings that have been turned into housing. we don't have that in a san francisco. on the issue of housing, we will always have a housing problem and i don't think that the seven units will solve any problem. i don't think that we need more luxury housing. to the extent that you can get people to be in more luxurious places, that is always a good thing. no one has commented on the building. i would be interested in wha

transit situations. first bart is still thinking about possibly stopping all service between west oakland and daly city due to the tsunami warning but not until 7:30. we'll give you another update then. 7:30 to 9:00 when it may be closed. also for the muni lines, the trains will be turned around at sunset. a bus shuttle to 46th avenue. the bailey ferry replaced services with bus bridges. 8:30 in san francisco. hearing now the vallejo ferry landing as closed so you need to get on at york and marina, i believe. >> thanks for your yeoman's work

put up throughout the city in terms of providing a safety campaign message of allowing pedestrians to go first. we are hoping to provide a training safety video for our tax and transit operators so they can focus on pedestrian safety as they operate the system. our planning activity, the better streets plan, was a city- wide effort. looking and prioritizing and cremate about tuition criteria framework. it will bay and opportunity to develop an implementation plan for early actions, meeting actions, and set the stage for the longer-term citywide plan. we are also working with the department of public got on our risk reduction plan to determine factors to reduce the risk for pedestrians exposed to motor vehicles the missions and -- emissions, throughput of vehicles. we have been working citywide and working more workable neighborhoods through the priority development area, a smart growth projects we have been working on. in addition to that, the actual streets themselves, have a dozen streets that we are working on now to make them complete. they are going through their various processes. from market street, van ness, geary, and other projects outlined, they will focu

city for affordable housing and the proposed project complies with the planning code with the exception of the requested variants, promotes the projected new policies or the general plan and advances the transit first policy. i will be happy to answer your questions. thank you. commissioner olague: thank you. we have two dr requesters. you each get five minutes. >> i have 168 signed petitions against the currently proposed project, and the affirmation i will be presenting to you today. thank you for hearing this. we are currently opposed to current proposed projects that 1945 hyde street. the largest complaint is because this is a neighborhood commercial district in which only 1000 square feet are being used for commercial space. this project feels more in line with a residential development than a neighborhood commercial development in the fact that less than 10% of the space is being used for commercial space and the rest is being used for essential space. the analogy that came to my mind is that had houses are not considered part of an existing building, and yet, they are allowed to take up 10% of a rough area. here you have a neighborhood commercial development, in which commercial space is les

first, encouraging government efficiency, and investing in the city's assets. now is the time to plan for the future. it is essential that we commit to invest and upgrading the port, airport, bridges, and transit system, and continue to support seismic retrofitting of these assets that power our local and state economies. voters are increasingly looking more like chamber members every year. 70% of voters support a payroll tax exemption for five years for businesses creating new jobs in the mid market area. this is the proposal currently being considered by the board of supervisors. the support for this measure is widespread. it includes progressives. it includes liberals. it includes the business community. it is widespread support. a full 55% support a two-year exemption for businesses creating jobs anywhere in the city, and 78% of voters oppose congestion pricing. this scheme to charge a fee to drive downtown. 78% oppose. we should take that idea off the table. in the months ahead, we look forward to working with the mayor or president david chu and business leaders across the city to develop more fair and equitable business taxation, which will make it possible for all companies here to thr

the next couple of days we'll see a nice transition day getting closer to spring, the first official day of spring is march 21st. 65 in oakland, same for redwood cityin santa rosa. if you are waking up in fairfield, 62 degrees is the forecasted high. here's the seven-day outlook. 60 degrees on saturday for the dublin parade. as you can see, tomorrow will be the best day of the week to make outdoor plans. if the rain kept you inside over the weekend, tomorrow is looking like a beautiful, beautiful day with temperatures in the upper 60s. today is also a good day for that, i think you'll see more sunshine towards the end of today than what we'll see at the start. back to you guys. >> good deal. looks like spring. >>> 5:20 now. plenty more to come on "today in the bay." >> ipads for $200. we'll tell you where to get those coming up. >>> and we are looking okay heading through the city, but we have a big problem for a 580 hot spot. we'll show you things sorting out from that sigalert. [ male announcer ] hey michelle, whatcha doin'? i'm serving delicious athenos hummus to my friends. i've got -- [ male announcer ] that's great. let's see what yiayia thin

it's the first step to have police and soldiers protect the entire country by the end of 2014. karzai named four cities that are slated for transition. >>> a new poll shows about half of californian voters like the job governor brown is doing. the poll comes after he continues negotiating with the legislature. now 48% of voters say they approve of the job governor brown is doing. 21% disapprove. 31% have no opinion. the governor does very well with democrats and particular among bay area visitors. >>> governor brown and legislative leaders say they are starting a new week of budget negotiations with optimism. that's even though they admit they have made little patrol guess on the budget short fall. he recorded a message you tube asking californians to let their lawmakers know that they would like a chance to vote. >>> time now 6:19. it could be a game changer in the fight to build a new home for the 49ers in santa clara. last night the city council held an emergency session. they voted to begin spending $4 million in redevelop money. they want to spend that money before the money disappears. the budget plan calls for steering that s

city in just a few moments. but lost in transition and weeks aftermath on the wrath of egypt like regime change there are signs of disenchantment with the outcome council resolution plus. the first images of the worker struggling to stabilize the situation that's apparent who can see a power plant nurtured reports that read more than exposed to dangerous levels of radiation. and while the media for exhaustion with japan keeps the world from improvising some question why not call disasters in luxembourg countries and their farms but tensions. and also join me there chicago all of it about twenty minutes time to find out her the recent disaster in japan can affect world steel prices. it's five pm in moscow this is r t coming to you live thanks for being with us to our top story for a fifth night explosions and gunfire have shaken tripoli and other they'll be in cities as coalition forces conduct more airstrikes all the allies debated who will take over command of the operation from the u.s. fighting between gadhafi troops and the opposition is intensifying in the west of the country artist. we are has a waitress from tripoli. who will be noticing more and more is that the momentum

transit maine is in construction over the next six years. the proposal allows cities with significant unemployment to use their federal transit grants to help fund operating costs temporarily, up to 25% in the first and 10% in the third year. let's face it, there is no point in buy new buses when you are laying off bus drivers. there is no point expanding the rail line to new communities if the transit agency does not have the funds to operate the new service. our goal first and foremost is to ensure that transit services are not reduced. we can do that while still looking to and planning for the future. while offering this kind of flexibility has been talked about for years, this is the first time in history that an administration has been willing to address the issue head-on. another innovative step in our 2012 budget is the national infrastructure bank. you know from experience the best way to make the most of federal investment is by comparing it with private investment. that is what the national infrastructure bank is all about. it encourages public-private partnerships and helps finance projects of -- projects that are hard to fund and build any other way. we are investing $32 billion in co

first sale is due april 30th. sanjose city officials plan to clarify the whole issue with the attorney general coming up in june. >>> san francisco transit officials want to make it easy for you to get a cab in san francisco. the muni board of directors is expected to form a new taxi program at meeting today. that would bring more cabs to the city during the peak travel times. the muni tax advisory council would have to make an official proposal before that program could be put into place. >>> we want to check in with sal. a lot going. you mentioned b.a.r.t. delays and also a car into a building in san francisco. >> yes. from san francisco to the east bay, 20-minute delays on all trains coming in. those delays may be eventually into san francisco we'll keep checking with b.a.r.t. sutter street is closed because of this construction equipment. it's actually a cherry picker that crashed. it look like it may have damaged the sidewalk on sutter between kearney and grant. so sutter is shut down between kerney and grant except for muni buses that have to go through there because they are on overhead power. the rest of the traffic is not gettin

if people are using public transit for the first time, they may find three buses where there used to be four. in most citiesis still room for additional riders. most of the energy price experts that i have read about have suggested that while we may have a momentary increase, because of the problems in the middle east, it is part of a longer-term trend. china, india, so many countries grow their economies and use more energy. we will always see fluctuation in the price of energy, the days i can remember 30 cents a gallon gas or just the good old days of a year-and-a-half ago, when it was below $3, those days may be gone. from the stand point of public transit, you need to make additional investments in public transit. the census bureau says the that almost half the households in america do not have any access to public transit. they do not have a choice. they pay the high price of gas or do not travel to much of these places. for most americans, public transportation ought to be an option. host: to comment or ask a question, please call the numbers at the bottom of your screen. you can also e-mail us for sa

people if they're using public transit for the first time, they might find three buses where there used to be four or four trains where there used to be five, but in most cities there's still room for some additional ridership. the question is, what's the long-term outlook? most of the energy price experts that i've read about or heard oh c-span or elsewhere have suggested that while we may havd a momentary increase because of the problems in the middle east and things, it's part of a longer-term trend that as chinaf india, so many other countries grow their economies and as our economy recovers, we're going to be using more and for energy. so -- more and more energy. so it's believed that while we'll always see fluctuation in the price of energy, the days that i can remember of 30 cents a gallon gas -- [laughter] or just the good old days of a year and a half ago when it was down below $3, those days may be gone. so from the standpoint of public transit, we're arguing that you need to make additionalf pu investment. we need to make additional you investment in public transit. you know, the census bureau tells us that almost half the households in america don

transit more affordable, more accessible and more sustainable. that is 19 billion towards -- 119 billion over the next six years. the proposal also allows cities to help fund operating costs temporarily, up to 25% in the first year, 15% in the second year and 10% in the third year. targeted and temporary operating assistance. let's face it, there's no point in buying new buseses when you're laying off bus with drivers. there's no point expanding a rail le to new communities if transit agency doesn't have the funds to operate the new service. our goal, first and foremost, is to insure the transit services are not reduced. we can, we can do that while still looking to and planning for the future. and while offering this kind of flexibility has been talked about for years, this the first time in history that an administration has been willing to address the issue head on. another innovative step you'll see in our fiscal year 2012 budget is the national infrastructure bank. you know, from my, from experience the best way to make the most of federal investment is by pairing it with private investment. that's what the national infrastructure bank is all about. it encourages public/private partnerships, it helps f