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| SFMTA home > About Us > Meetings > SFMTA Citizens Advisory Council (CAC) > PMC June 17, 2006, minutes | |||
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City and County of San Francisco Planning, Marketing Committee (PMC) FINAL MINUTES Monday, June 19, 2006 at 10:00 a.m. 1. Call to Order / Roll Call (Agenda Item 1). The regular meeting of the Planning and Marketing Committee (PMC) was called to order at 10:03 a.m., Monday, June 19, 2006. Bruce Oka (Chair) presided. A quorum was present including the following: PMC Members Present at Roll Call: Bruce Oka (Chair), and Norman Rolfe. PMC Members Present, but absent at Roll Call: Emily Drennen (arrived at 10:13 a.m.) PMC Absent: none MTA CAC Members, not on this committee, but also present: None MTA Staff (San Francisco Municipal Railway [Muni] and Department of Parking and Traffic [DPT]) Present: Debra Reed (MTA CAC Secretary), Jack Fleck (DPT Acting Deputy Director and City Traffic Engineer), Frank Markowitz (DPT Pedestrian Program Manager, Transit Planner IV), and Peter Straus (MUNI Manager of Service Planning) Community Representatives Present: None 2. Adopt Minutes of May 21, 2006: Motion to adopt the May 2006 minutes by Norman Rolfe, with spelling corrections. 2nd by Bruce Oka CAC passed unanimously (Ayes - Oka (Chair), and Rolfe) 3. Public Comment – Concerning any issue within the jurisdiction of the Council and not noted on the agenda: None 4. Report of the Chair: (PMC Chair) Bruce Oka Mayor Willie Brown was still undecided as to acting as mediator for the Debit Card discussions involving Muni and taxi companies. 5. 6 month Evaluation of Traffic Circulation on Octavia Blvd and Central Freeway Study (Discussion/Action) Jack Fleck, DPT Octavia Boulevard was opened to traffic in September 2005. Mr. Fleck reviewed traffic circulation and flow adjustments using a slide presentation previously presented to the MTA Board by Bond Yee (DPT) during March 2006. Comments and Questions from the PMC: Emily Drennen: Any reports of pedestrian and bicycle collisions? Response: To date, only one bike accident. Neighbor complaints involved pedestrian safety, mostly when crossing before vehicles making right turns. Response: Pedestrians pushing the button for crossing would be given more time to cross before the signal light would change to the green arrow permitting traffic to make right turns. Ms. Drennen felt that the procedure of pedestrians pushing pedestrian buttons to cross the street was not standard for San Francisco streets. Pedestrians had previously asked for a stop sign for the intersection at 13th and Mission streets. Ms. Drennen had heard that Cal Trans did not want a stop sign placed there. Response: The area could possibly belong to Cal Trans, but other alternatives to alert motorists could be considered. Norman Rolfe: Suggested color-coding lanes, such as bike and bus lanes. Response: Colors could be confusing for motorists from city to city. 6. Pedestrian Traffic Signal Timing (Discussion/Action) Frank Markowitz The goal would be to equip 800 of the 1200 signals with Signal Timing, except remote industrial areas mainly used by trucks. Without new sources of funding, demand for audible/accessible signals and to retrofit intersections had slowed down the progress of the visual timing signal project. Comments and Questions from the PMC: Bruce Oka: Oakland signals had audible chirping and tweeting sounds. Response: Oakland’s signal sounds are direction indicators. Many of San Francisco’s streets are not aligned north and south. There were experiments with talking signals, however with traffic noises and so many different languages, the scratchy swishy sound proved most useful. Emily Drennen: Why should a blind person need to push an audible signal button, it should be automatic? Response: Noise complaints had been a concern. MTA had been negotiating with Lighthouse for the Blind and California Council for the Blind for alternative solutions. Was the city’s standard for crossing 2 ½ feet per second? Response: The goal was 2 ½ feet per second. Many wide streets have island mediums that serve as safety spots. By Cal Trans standards a 4-foot island medium was standard. On the other hand, pedestrian buttons could be a solution to increase time for pedestrian crossing. What was the cost for the remaining pedestrian traffic signal timing? Response: $21 million as a 10-year project, however much sooner if the money was available. Ms. Drennen added that in looking at the Pedestrian Injury and Death Map, Van Ness Avenue also being one of the problem areas, that there were intersections without countdown signaling that indicated a high number of injuries and death. Norman Rolfe: Were signals on 19th Avenue and Van Ness Avenue maintained by the State? Response: The City maintained them but through an MOU the City receives reimbursement from the State. Motion WHEREAS an average of three pedestrians are injured each day and more than one pedestrian is killed every other week in San Francisco; and WHEREAS, 300 of San Francisco’s signalized intersections that do not have pedestrian signals include many of the most dangerous intersections for pedestrians, including Van Ness Avenue and 19th Avenue; and WHEREAS, MTA staff has estimated that it would cost $21 million to install pedestrian countdown signals at all of the signalized intersections that do not currently have pedestrian signals (300 intersections at approximately $70,000 per intersection), THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the MTA CAC strongly urges the MTA and the San Francisco County Transportation Authority to fully fund the installation of pedestrian countdown signals across the city within two years, as opposed to over a ten-year period as it stands now. 2nd by Bruce Oka CAC passed unanimously (Ayes - Oka (Chair), Drennen, and Rolfe) 7. Systems study of bike accidents on various Metro systems, such as, Sacramento, San Jose and Portland (Discussion/Action) Mr. Oka wanted statistics about injuries on transit vehicles, namely injuries to passengers caused by bicycles on board. Oliver Gajda (DPT) requested more time to prepare a presentation. 8. Service Planning (Discussion/Action) Peter Straus Transit Effectiveness Project (TEP) – 20 stakeholder interviews were conducted. Marketing was planning a random digit dial 500 participants, to determine people who use or don’t’ use Muni and why. The first Citizen Advisory for TEP was scheduled for Thursday, June 22, 2006. Bus Diamond Lane Violations – Violations occurring on Geary and O’Farrell had minimal impact on transit flow. 7 Haight and 31 Balboa Terminal Changes – were scheduled to be reviewed by the MTA Board on June 30, 2006. 3rd Street service – Changes under consideration were the 15x replacing the 9x along with extending of the lines, also with changes for the T line, scheduled to be reviewed by the MTA Board on August 1, 2006. A satellite yard would be open for Breda storage in August 2006. Training had begun for new hired and rehired bus operators. 9. Committee Members’ Questions/Information Requests: (Discussion) No questions at this time. 10. Schedule Upcoming Meetings and Agenda Items: Next regular meeting: July 17, 2006, at 1 South Van Ness Avenue, Conference Room 3075, at 10:00 a.m. 11. Adjournment: 12:33 p.m. Explore: |
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The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) manages transportation in San Francisco, California. Copyright © 2000-2010 SFMTA. All rights reserved. Updated February 25, 2010
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