SFMTA Board Passes Budget: Sunday Meters, Free Muni for Low-Income Youth
The SFMTA Board of Directors today approved a two-year budget that calls for parking meter enforcement on Sundays and free Muni passes for low-income youth. The budget must next be finally approved by the Board of Supervisors before it goes into effect on July 1.
The board favored a free youth pass program for low-income students, but members weren’t convinced that expanding the proposal to include anyone under 17 would be worth the trade-offs in cuts to Muni maintenance that staff presented to the board — at least in this budget cycle. Advocates rebutted agency staff on this point, arguing that the board was presented with a false choice.
Sunday parking meter enforcement was also opposed by roughly two dozen speakers, all of whom defended the entitlement to free car parking for churchgoers. However, board members saw past the rhetoric and argued that parking must be managed on Sundays as it is on any other day of the week.
We’ll have more on the meeting tomorrow.
