Community, Advocacy and Labor

Transit advocates in favor of redirecting stimulus funds for the Oakland Airport Connector to financially struggling transit agencies are out in force at this morning's MTC Commission meeting in Oakland, along with dozens of union construction workers. Streetsblog's Matthew Roth reports the main meeting room and overflow rooms are filled beyond capacity. Roth and Streetsblog contributor Chris Carlsson are covering the meeting and will have full write-ups later today. In the meantime, follow our Twitter feed for updates, and see more photos below the break.

Muni riders have a chance at a reprieve from the one thousand hours per day of lost service that the MTA is proposing to cut in order to plug a $17 million deficit before the end of the fiscal year in June. The service cuts will lead to overcrowded buses on the major routes and the total elimination of service on the outer portions of some routes, while some transit riders will be forced to find alternate means of travel, especially at night.

On a recent visit to Mayor Gavin Newsom's Press Office, I was a bit befuddled by the enormous comic behind the reception desk. The four-by-five foot framed illustration completely dominates the room, but that wasn't the half of it. Click on the picture to enlarge it and read the speech bubble, you'll see what I mean. 

StreetUtopia is a new community organizing effort centered in North Beach. Launched by Hank Hyena and Phil Millenbah at an inaugural event in early January, they drew upwards of 150 people to an empty historic storefront at 1 Columbus Avenue, where they showed Streetfilms, had a small art exhibit, and conducted a survey of the folks who turned out. Hank Hyena explained his motivation in terms of European cities which are often greener, more bike-friendly, and with more pedestrian-centers than US cities. Along with several other parents of children at Yick Wo Public School, including co-instigator Phil Millenbah, a San Leandro city planner, they staged an inspiring evening of art, film, and conversation.

With the civil rights imbroglio between BART and the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) making news last week, a problem that could imperil $70 million in federal stimulus funds obligated to the Oakland Airport Connector (OAC), advocates are calling on the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) to give the stimulus money to cash-strapped transit operators or face the possibility of losing it altogether. The FTA has given BART until March 5th to prepare an action plan to meet Civil Rights Act Title VI requirements to analyze the impacts the OAC fares will have on minority and low-income riders, something BART has so far failed to do.

In a strongly worded reply to Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Administrator Peter Rogoff yesterday [PDF], a number of BART Board Directors and General Manager Dorothy Dugger contested the FTA's assertion that BART has not complied with its obligations to minority riders under Federal Civil Rights Act Title VI in relation to the fare for the future Oakland Airport Connector (OAC). Citing a number of public meetings and involvement by several minority organizations in planning for the OAC, the letter asserts that BART is inclusive in its planning process and encourages public input.

It appears 2010 is the year the stewards of San Francisco's streets have marked to figure out how to cooperate with each other to design and build a better realm. While the much touted Better Streets Plan synthesizes best practice principles and standards for street design, the release of a new City Controller report (weeks early!) outlined how the city family has historically failed to work together to better our streets [PDF], reminding us of the distance each agency has to bridge before the public sees any concrete improvements.

When San Francisco Board of Supervisors President David Chiu introduced legislation last October to limit new garages in existing buildings in District 3, which includes North Beach, Telegraph Hill, and Chinatown, his action catalyzed several advocacy groups that don't always see eye to eye. The bill is aimed at stopping no-fault evictions where building owners turn rental units into more valuable for-sale units and has united the community group Telegraph Hill Dwellers with transportation advocates Livable City and the Chinatown Community Development Center (CCDC), who are concerned about tenant rights and affordable housing, particularly in Chinatown.

A proposal to drastically cut Muni service while raising some fares has angered and energized transit riders in advance of Tuesday's MTA Board meeting, and has left advocates and elected officials in search of alternative measures to fill the agency's $16.9 million budget gap. Proposals are starting to pour in from advocates as well as members of the Board of Supervisors, who currently have limited control over such service cuts.