SamTrans - the buses and paratransit vehicles that run the length of El Camino Real between Palo Alto and Daly City, traverse the Santa Cruz mountains, and service San Francisco's financial district - is preparing to raise fares and reduce service on some bus lines and eliminate other lines in order to close a $28.4 million budget gap.

SamTrans serves more than 15 million riders annually through its 339 regular buses and its Redi-Wheels and RediCoast (Paratransit) vehicles. Its fixed-route bus system currently consists of 54 routes.

The financial crisis forced SamTrans Deputy CEO Chuck Harvey to present several options to close the gap at a San Mateo County Transit District Board of Directors meeting August 12 and arrive at a preliminary operating budget of $136.5 million for the 2010 fiscal year.

Harvey presented options for achieving 7.5 percent, 10 percent, and 15 percent savings. "To get to 15 percent savings, it's wholesale amputation," he said.

To achieve 15 percent savings Harvey proposed: reducing service on up to 22 lines and eliminating 17 lines; increasing adult, youth, and discounted fares by 25 cents or more; and eliminating the 15 percent discount on the SamTrans pass with the purchase of a Muni sticker.

"It is indeed a cruel twist of fate that brings us here today," said Board of Directors Chairwoman Zoe Kersteen-Tucker. "More than ever, we need to reduce our dependence on cars, yet we are facing a significant crushing deficit, and we cannot look to the state to help us out at least for the next four years."

Citizens argued for the retention of affordable fares and the routes they depend on. Laura Loringer, a disabled bus rider, testified on behalf of herself and other disabled riders, urging SamTrans not to raise fares for the disabled. "Some of us are on fixed incomes," she said.

"What is Schwarzenegger doing to us?" asked William Farrell, another disabled rider. "We need these buses. For the love of God, make the right choices."

The current cost of a discounted monthly pass is $22. The proposed cost is $32.

The transit agency's budget problem has also been compounded by the loss of $39.2 million from the State Transit Assistance fund, which was gutted by Governor Schwarzenegger and the Legislature.

Other members of the public testified on behalf of public school students and community college students who depend on the buses to get their schools or out of concern for the environment.

"The express bus service is one of the most effective methods for improving air quality," testified Amir Fanai, a San Mateo County resident. For four years, Fanai has been taking the NX express bus from Redwood Shores to his job with the Bay Area Air Quality Management District in San Francisco, but the NX is now on the chopping block. "By eliminating the NX, many fellow passengers would have to drive," he said.

Fanai has also written to President Barack Obama asking that stimulus money be released for the operational costs of transit agencies.

According to Randy Rentschler, spokesperson for the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, the Bay Area has received a total of about $500 million in transportation stimulus dollars, $340 million of which has gone to transit. According to SamTrans Public Information Officer Christine Dunn, SamTrans received $7.8 million. Three million of that has been set aside for new buses, $4 million for maintenance, and $788,000 for paratransit buses - and none of those monies have been directly put into operations.

Michael Dolder, interim city manager for Half Moon Bay, questioned whether or not the agency had complied with the California Environmental Quality Act and the MTC Regional Transportation Plan 2035. Dolder was particularly concerned about proposals to eliminate the 17 line which runs between Montara State Beach and Santa Cruz, and is one of only two lines to serve the coast side of San Mateo County south of Pacifica.

"After a thorough review," he wrote in a letter to the Board of Directors, "staff has concluded that the document does not provide sufficient factual and scientific data to support the decision to adopt a negative declaration for this project."

However, BART Board Director and Livably City Executive Director Tom Radulovich said CEQA "is a strange document" and "not a very good planning tool if you're trying to plan for sustainability."

CEQA, he noted, is weak in terms of the evaluation of carbon dioxide emissions, and performance for transit riders, and it permits exemptions for transit agencies that declare fiscal emergencies such as the San Mateo County Transit District and the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (Muni).

The public can submit comments to the SamTrans Board of Directors until September 2 at changes@samtrans.com.

Photo: Susan Vaughan

In early April, Caltrans contractors replaced the sidewalk curb ramps along Park Presidio, but left without ensuring a smooth transition between the clean, new curb ramps and the road pavement.  Instead, they filled in the spaces between the curb ramps and the roads with bumpy, uneven black asphalt – or they left unfilled gaps. While a minor difference in grade may not appear to be a problem for most pedestrians, it is a major burden for visually and mobility impaired users trying to access bus stops along Park Presidio and its cross streets. At the least it's an unacceptably sloppy job, though the new curb ramps could be in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

“Accessible routes of travel are required from the new curb ramp through the crosswalk, even if the item is
still under construction," said John Paul Scott of the Mayor’s Office on Disability. "The asphalt should be suitably patched even if the milling and resurfacing of the street is to be done later.”

Park Presidio is a part of California State Route 1, but this particular project is a joint project between Caltrans and the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency. Estimated to cost $18.4 million, its purpose is to upgrade signalization and curb ramps in order to improve traffic flow and enhance pedestrian safety from Lake Street past San Francisco State University.  It is scheduled for completion by the summer of 2010.

Adding insult to potential injury, Ghilotti Brothers, Inc., the sub-contractor hired by W. Bradley Electric, Inc. to complete that portion of the job, was supposed to only do alternate diagonal corners at each intersection.

“It didn’t happen that way,” said W. Bradley Electric Project Manager Brian Finley.  “There was scolding going on with the contractors.”

At the intersection of Fulton and Park Presidio, for example, Ghilotti Brothers did both the northeast and the northwest corners at the same time. This created the potential for collisions involving pedestrians and vehicles who were trying to cross the boulevard, as there is no crosswalk at the southern end of the intersection.

Finley said that the crumbly black asphalt – known as ‘cold patch’ or ‘cut back’ – is supposed to be temporary. When countdown signals and fresh cement are installed south of Golden Gate Park, the contractors will return to intersections north of the park to lay down ‘hot patch’ – or smoother, more permanent concrete transitions from the curb ramps to the roadways.

When the ‘hot patch’ will be installed is still not clear.

The San Francisco Department of Public Works inspected the intersections between Lake and Golden Gate Park, according to DPW spokesperson Christine Falvey.  "Our street and sidewalk inspectors are contacting Caltrans to restore the curb areas (even temporarily) to provide better access until they can come back and complete the work."

“Caltrans and the MTA are both talking about the possibility of additional corrective asphalt” at the intersections, added Finley, but if representatives of Caltrans and the MTA do not give him instructions soon, he said he'll  "be obligated to proceed.”  Once he receives word from Caltrans, contractors will be able to go back in and complete the curb ramp project.

According to Ghilotti Brothers Project Manager Mike Powers, the correction of the ramps, with hot patch, may happen on Thursday and Friday, June 19th and 20th.  Per the contract, the hot patch will extend 2 to 4 feet into the road pavement at most intersections, but at one corner at California and Park Presidio, it may extend 7 to 8 feet.

W. Bradley Electric and Ghilotti Brothers also disturbed SF Recreation and Park Department work along the pathways between Funston and Park Presidio and 14th Avenue and Park Presidio.  Sprinklers and plants were damaged or removed, according to nearby resident and Recreation and Parks volunteer Patty Phleger.

"We all want them to be accountable and for them to take care of their mistakes," said Phleger.

Photo: Susan Vaughan

At the same time that bus service will be reduced, fares will go up.  Starting July 1, the one-time fare will go from $1.50 to $2.00; fast Passes will go from $45 to $55, and then to $60 by January 1, 2010; and the new Fast Passes will no longer be BART-enabled.  Richmond residents who take buses downtown and then transfer to BART to go to the Mission District or beyond will now have to pay an extra $10 for a pass that will also work on BART within the City.  The Senior, Youth, and Disabled Pass will go from the current $10 to $15 in July and to $20 by January 1.

“I don’t care if they raise the fare,” said Newport.  “I’d rather pay more and have the service than have to walk further and wait longer.  It doesn’t seem fair that they are doing both.”

A rider waiting for the 38 at Cabrillo near La Playa who wouldn't identify himself noted that part of the current budget debacle was due to the passage of the 2007 Proposition A charter amendment that turned the operator salary into a floor, dictated by operator pay for the two highest paid public transportation systems in the country.

Mira, a Russian immigrant on a fixed income, had not known about the increases in passes for seniors. When she found out, she spoke for herself and her husband.  “I think it’s too much,” she said, shaking her head.

Another rider, Lina Chao, thought the increases in bus fares were unavoidable.  “The price of oil and the salaries of employees are increasing,” she said, though she was not pleased about the route changes. “It will be very inconvenient, especially to go to the Safeway.”

To try to address concerns like these, MTA Executive Director Nat Ford wrote in a May 22 memo that fare increases and service cutbacks could be mitigated by potential service enhancements to various lines serving the Richmond District.

The MTA plans to increase peak period frequency of 38-L (from Financial District to Point Lobos) from 7 to 6 minutes and extend weekday service hours from 6:45 pm to 9 pm.  The 5-Fulton will increase frequency in the morning and late afternoon, east of 6th Avenue.  And the 1AX- California will extend to 6th Avenue, with the 1BX-California starting near 6th Avenue instead of Park Presidio (where it now starts) in order to reduce overcrowding on the 1BX.

None of these potential service enhancements, however, seem to really address the issue of service cutbacks to the outer avenues, especially during non-peak periods.

When Outer Richmond resident and SFBC Program Director Andy Thornley realized that service on the 5-Fulton would be reduced past 6th Avenue, he was not pleased.  Thornley said he had been looking forward to the 5 getting better through implementation of the MTA’s Transit Effectiveness Project before the budget crisis hit.  “It’s definitely discouraging to see the 5 get worse” past 6th Avenue, he said.

Other service changes in the Richmond District, according to a link on the MTA website:

• The 5-Fulton past 6th Avenue will be cut in half during peak periods.
  
• The wait time between 31-Balboa buses will go from its current 10 minutes to 12 minutes.
• The 18-46th Avenue, which currently goes from the Legion of Honor, south on 33rd to Geary, and west on Geary past Sutro Heights and the Cliff House, will be rerouted to traverse the route that the 38-Ocean Beach now travels from 33rd Avenue to the Safeway at La Playa.
• The 2-Clement will cease to operate past 14th Avenue, and the 4-Sutter will be entirely eliminated.
• The segment of the 1-California that goes south of Market Street to Howard along Main and Beale will be eliminated.  This may not seem significant to residents of other parts of the City.  However, without light rail or BART, Muni-dependent residents of the Richmond District find getting almost anywhere beyond the Financial District time-consuming and awkward.  Right now, the 1-California is the only bus from the Richmond District that makes it past the Transbay Terminal into SoMa.
• The 29, though not part of the downtown feeder system, will cease operation north of Baker Beach.  Riders destined for the Golden Gate Bridge or the Presidio Main Post will have to transfer there to the PresidiGo, a free shuttle operated by the Presidio Trust.
  

San Francisco’s Richmond District is blessed with stunning vistas of the Golden Gate Bridge and the Pacific Ocean, but its street grid has turned its roads into feeder freeways, a fact that bedevils residents and pedestrian and bicycle advocacy organizations and has prompted calls for traffic calming and beautification.

To that end, this past Saturday District One Supervisor Eric Mar convened a town hall meeting with residents, city planners, DPW employees, Richmond District Police Captain Richard Corriea, and representatives of the SFBC, Senior Action Network, and Walk SF to discuss traffic issues and suggestions for streetscape improvements. 

Though there were suggestions from participants for streetscape improvements, which staff for Supervisor Mar collected and hope will be incorporated the Planning Department's Better Streets Plan and the Department of Public Works' Great Streets Program (GSP), the overwhelming concern was dangerous traffic.

“We need to start doing something to make the city more pedestrian friendly and more family friendly, “ said Anthony Lazarus who lives near 24th and Anza. “I’m not patient anymore.”

"When I think about better streets, I think about making them safe for my 9-year-old daughter," said Supervisor Mar.  "I also think about my close to 90-year-old mother.  I want to make sure the streets are safe for her when she's walking."

Another town-hall participant, Pam Tau-Lee, said, “Every morning I take my life in my hands to cross [Fulton Street] to catch the bus,”  “There are rear-enders because people are not looking as I’m crossing the street.”

SFPD Captain Corriea noted that a decision had been made decades ago not to put commercial enterprises on Fulton Street, leaving it for Golden Gate Park, residences and four lanes of traffic – which led it to become what resident Karen Willman described as the “Fulton Freeway.”

Another street of concern, according to Corriea, is 43rd Avenue, a steep, recently repaved hill that links Geary Boulevard and Chain of Lakes Drive, used frequently by motorists traversing Golden Gate Park. There was a hit-and-run collision on 43rd not long ago. The young victim is still hospitalized, and a warrant has been sent out for the arrest of the driver, who may have been intoxicated at the time.

MTA traffic engineer Adam Gubser explained three “E’s” for improving safety for pedestrians and bicyclists: education, enforcement, and engineering – obstacles that might slow down traffic while beautifying the streetscape at the same time. Corriea noted that officers have issued 4,200 traffic citations in the Richmond so far this year, up about 1,000 over the same time last year.

“I think the traffic stops are educational,” he said, noting that people slow down when they see other drivers pulled over. He was also open to moving his station’s speed trailer – an electronic sign that flashes the speed limit – around to where people thought it was necessary. “We think people slow down when the see it,” he said.

“In making the rounds with some of the supervisors, it became very clear that [parking enforcement on Sundays] was very important to them,” said Tom Nolan, the chair of the MTA Board of Directors, who proposed the parking enforcement amendment.  In particular, “Supervisor [Carmen] Chu didn’t like the idea of enforcing parking in merchant corridors out in the avenues next to residential areas.”  He added that the Mayor’s office was also in support of eliminating Sunday and evening enforcement.

“There was budget room to vote for [the amendment],” said Director Malcolm Heinicke after the meeting.  “I remain interested in it as a revenue source…but we didn’t have a gun to our heads.  I want to err on the side of more process and hear from more merchants.”

The directors declared a fiscal emergency April 7, allowing the MTA to waive all California Environmental Quality Act reviews, but perhaps because the proposal to eliminate plans to charge for parking at meters on Sundays was a surprise, Muni riders were not organized to oppose the amendment.  However, in conversation during a break in the meeting, members of the public spoke.

“That’s not fair,” said Muni rider Patty Sweet.  “[If] people choose to take their car instead of the bus, get the money from them.”

“We just lost a $9 million opportunity to restore service, “ said Paul Hogarth of the Tenderloin Housing Clinic.  “Those of us who have been fighting for transit justice have always been told, ‘We’re in a budget crisis.’  It’s really insulting to see [the directors] turn around and reject this proposal while raising fares at the same time.”

Director James McCray, Jr. voted against the proposed amendments and the overall budget.  Expressing concern for 53-Southern Heights riders in Potrero Hill and 26-Valencia riders, McCray called his vote a protest vote, adding, “It’s difficult for me to decrease service and increase costs.”

The budget will now be considered at the Board of Supervisors Budget and Finance Committee on May 6 at 1:30 p.m.

Presidio parking lot. Photo, Sue Vaughan

As required by law, traffic engineers have evaluated intersections in the Presidio for level of service – or the amount of time that it takes for a vehicle to pass through an intersection due to congestion – for the Presidio’s Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).  They have determined that, due to projected increases in daily one-way vehicle trips from roughly 35,000 today to 53,000 in 2030 in the Presidio as a whole – and from 7,500 one-way vehicle trips to 16,765 in the Main Post alone – certain intersections may require traffic mitigation measures, including traffic lights.

According to Presidio Trust Transportation Program Manager Mark Helmbrecht, lights could be installed within the Presidio at five different intersections in and around the Main Post, and at the Lombard Gate at Lyon Street.  Outside the Presidio traffic lights could be installed along Presidio Avenue leading up to the Presidio Gate at Pacific, Jackson, Washington, and on Arguello at Washington, one block away from the Arguello Gate.

Any decision to install traffic signals, however, would be made by city government through the MTA – and those proposed for the Presidio would have to pass National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) and National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) reviews, according to MTA Traffic Engineer Jerry Robbins and Presidio transportation engineer Amy Marshall.  The city only approves funding for two to three new traffic lights per year on average, added Robbins.

In terms of funding for signals in the Presidio, the city and the Presidio would “would sit down and have a discussion about the fare share of the cost the signals,” said Marshall.

However, said Helmbrecht, “It’s our intent that we’re not going to have signals here in the Presidio.”

“The intent,” he said, “is to mitigate the number of vehicle trips that are produced and the mode.  More people will take transit.  More people will walk.  More people will bike.”

According to Helmbrecht, the EIS study correlated projected traffic to the CAMP with its square foot capacity – 100,000 – to two other major institutions, the de Young at 300,000 square feet and the Legion of Honor at 100,000.

“The California Academy of Sciences has at times 10,000 visitors a day.  The number of visitors is not related to square footage but to the novelty of the project,” responded a skeptical Richard Emerson, a Presidio Heights resident and a member of the board of California Academy of Sciences.  “There are times when we get five times the number of visitors expected per square foot.  The academy has exceeded expectations.”

Members of the public also voiced concerns about increased opportunities for cut through traffic from one side of the Presidio to another because of the rebuilt Doyle Drive, which will include an exit right to the Main Post at Girard.  In particular, they were concerned that the amount of traffic going through the Lombard Gate would increase.

“Make traffic [coming off the exit] turn right,” suggested Bill Hudson.  “Make people go to the Presidio.”

Hudson also suggested that the Presidio create a remote parking lot near Fort Scott, just as motorists are exiting the Golden Gate Bridge.  From there, visitors could take the PresidiGo Shuttle to the Main Post attractions.

According to Helmbrecht, the PresidiGo Shuttle now carries 300,000 people annually.  Acknowledging that Muni is unlikely to ever meet the needs of the Presidio, he said the Presidio Trust was “well on its way to increasing” shuttle ridership.

“The Trust is proposing something that is causing all these adverse effects,” said Becky Evans, a long-time member of the Sierra Club in reference to the CAMP.  “The easiest way to stop them is to withdraw the proposal.”

"The Trust has acknowledged that there will be severe congestion, " added Don Green, chairman of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors Presidio Neighborhood Working Group.  "the best way to avoid that is to reduce the planned level of development and to put [the CAMP] in the city and to reduce if not eliminate the new lodge that is proposed."

According to Green, suggestions have recently floated that Fisher could site his museum at the Giants ballpark parking lot, where it would be easily accessible from downtown and near the T-Line.

Public comment on the Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the Main Post of the Presidio has been extended until June 1, 2009.

Photo by Bryan Goebel

9th Avenue. Photo by Chris Duderstadt

Photo by Susan Vaughan

Staff at the San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department are applying for a grant to bring back the Golden Gate Shuttle bus that used to operate between the stretch of parking spaces at Ocean Beach between Fulton and Lincoln Way and improved signage to encourage people to park there or elsewhere in the west end of the park.  In addition, they are considering adopting a “Smart Parking” program in which people pay to park in the east end of the park.  Authority members also discussed the possibility of establishing a shuttle between the Parnassus garage serving the University of California at San Francisco.

And the much-maligned Muni Culture Bus that operates between cultural institutions in the city?  Usage is down, staff acknowledge, perhaps because of the economy and the correlated drop in tourism.  It costs $7 for an all day pass – but riders get a $3 discount at the academy and a $2 discount at the de Young, making the ride only $2, said Denny Kern of Rec  and Park.

Still, some authority members objected to the culture bus, especially when Muni service is being cut in other parts of the city.

Cut the culture bus instead of service on other Muni lines first, recommended Rizzo.

SFCTA Graphic

Five decades after activists killed plans for a major freeway traveling through San Francisco’s Panhandle, construction companies are lining up for the contract to break ground in August on another major freeway through a park – the Presidio Parkway, which will replace Doyle Drive in the Presidio National Park.

Plans to improve or replace the state-owned road have been in the works since at least the early 1990s.  The San Francisco County Transportation Authority (SFCTA) is managing the project.  It received approval of its Environmental Impact Report in December 2008, but some issues – and a few detractors – still remain.

“The primary purpose is a seismic safety job and an operational safety job,” said Randy Rentschler, spokesperson for the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), adding that Doyle Drive as it is now rates a two out of 100 on state safety criteria and that it and the Golden Gate Bridge serve as economic links to the North Bay.

The current roadway, which connects the Golden Gate Bridge with San Francisco’s Marina neighborhood, is 68 feet across, and has six lanes, no shoulders, and no median.   In the morning, traffic cones delineate four lanes for the drive into San Francisco.  Workers in the back of trucks move the cones after the morning commute to create more lanes for outbound traffic.

The Presidio Parkway will be at least double the width – over 146 feet at points – and medians will separate the inbound and outbound traffic. The lanes will be 12 feet across, and planners have added one more lane and shoulders.  At two points, the roadway will travel underground through tunnels that are landscaped on the surface.

Mayor Gavin Newsom announces Doyle Drive is shovel ready. Flickr photo: mayorgavinnewsom.

Arguably the new design does not increase vehicle capacity. It is bookended by bottlenecks, the Golden Gate Bridge at one end and the streets of the Marina at the other. Still “it’s too big,” said Howard Strassner, a retired engineer and the long-term chair of the Sierra Club Transportation Committee.

“It could be cut down to three 11-foot lanes in either direction with a little median, and every now and then a shoulder.  That would be a much smaller impact on the park.”  Such changes would also reduce the current price tag by several hundred million, and make funds available for other projects such as the proposed train box at the Transbay Terminal, said Strassner.

The new design, added retired transportation engineer Jerry Cauthen, “will make it possible for drivers to drive faster” contrary to the very purpose of the rebuild.

“Personally, I think it’s going to be a really big roadway.  We won’t realize how big it’s going to be until it’s built,” said Becky Evans of the Sierra Club.

“The era of freeway building is long gone,” said Norm Rolfe, a retired engineer and long time civic activist who got his start during the freeway fights of the 1960s and has been fighting freeways ever since.  “This is going to be a big gash across the Presidio.”

In 2003, when San Francisco voters passed Proposition K, a sales tax measure to refund the SFCTA and the rebuild of Doyle Drive, the project was estimated to cost around $400 million.  That price tag has since ballooned to $1.045 billion.  A hodgepodge of local, regional, state, and federal funds will pay for the rebuild, but despite efforts by some environmentalists to attach direct costs to driving, no tolls or congestion pricing are included.

“We worked as hard as we could to get tolls,” said Rentschler.

But according to Dick Spotswood, a former board member of the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway, and Transportation District (GGBD) and former mayor of Mill Valley, when tolls and congestion pricing were proposed last year as funding sources, a donnybrook ensued.

If tolls were to be imposed, said Spotswood, they should apply to drivers going in both directions.  “Marin County feels tolled to death on the bridge.”

Politicians representing the North Bay – including the three candidates for state senate, Mark Leno, Carole Migden, and Joe Nation – came out in opposition to tolls and congestion pricing.  Even San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, who has been campaigning for governor, said during a February press conference on Doyle Drive that congestion pricing was a “threat” and noted, “No one wanted to create a second toll booth on Doyle Drive.”

Graphic: Marc Salomon