PLANS AND PROGRAMS COMMITTEE

Transcription

1 MINUTES PLANS AND PROGRAMS COMMITTEE Tuesday, October 8, Roll Call Chair Mar called the meeting to order at 10:45 a.m. The following members were: Present at Roll Call: Commissioners Campos, Kim, Mar and Yee (4) Absent at Roll Call: Commissioner Breed (entered during Item 6) (1) 2. Approve the Minutes of the September 17, 2013 Meeting ACTION The minutes were approved without objection. 3. Citizens Advisory Committee Report INFORMATION Joseph Flanagan, Vice Chair of the Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC), reported that there were three items on that day s Plans and Programs Committee agenda that the CAC took action on at its September meeting. He stated that the first item was Item 4 on the Committee s agenda to recommend adoption of San Francisco s project priorities for the 2014 Regional Transportation Improvement Program, which the CAC passed unanimously as part of its consent calendar. He said that the next item was Item 5 on the Committee s agenda to recommend amendment of the Prop AA Strategic Plan, which the CAC passed with one abstention. He noted that the CAC asked Transportation Authority staff to clarify whether the Ellis/Eddy Traffic Calming Improvement project was being funded using programming from another District 6 project. He stated that Transportation Authority staff confirmed that the Ellis/Eddy Traffic Calming Improvement project was being funded using programming from another District 6 project, the Minna/7 th Mid-block Crossing project and that this programming change addressed a special condition included in the 2012 Prop AA Strategic Plan relating to the reprioritization of District 6 pedestrian safety projects. He stated that CAC members also expressed concern about potential reprogramming of City College of San Francisco (CCSF) Phelan Loop Pedestrian Connector project funds. He stated that the CAC wanted to ensure that CCSF s accreditation status was not used as criteria for reprogramming the funds for this project. Mr. Flanagan reported that the last item was Item 10, recommending allocation of Prop K and AA funds, which the CAC passed. He said that the CAC had expressed concerns that scope and cost of the Caltrain Early Investment Program s environmental review be monitored and controlled. The item was approved, without objection. M:\PnP\2013\Minutes\10 Oct 8 PPC mins.docx Page 1 of 7

2 Consent Calendar 4. Recommend the Adoption of San Francisco s Project Priorities for the 2014 Regional Transportation Improvement Program ACTION 5. Recommend Amendment of the Prop AA Strategic Plan ACTION 7. Capital Projects Update Caltrain Early Investment Program INFORMATION End of Consent Calendar At Commissioner Kim s request, Chair Mar removed Item 6 from the Consent Calendar for a presentation. Items 4 and 5 on the consent calendar were approved, without objection. 6. Capital Projects Update Transbay Transit Center INFORMATION Luis Zurinaga, Project Management Consultant to the Transportation Authority, presented the item per the staff memorandum. Chair Mar said that Executive Director Tilly Chang and Commissioner Avalos had joined him for a tour of the Transbay Transit Center site. He thanked Maria Ayerdi-Kaplan, Executive Director of Transbay Joint Powers Authority (TJPA), for the tour and Senator Burton for joining. Commissioner Kim expressed her appreciation for the Transportation Authority s close coordination with the TJPA on funding and supporting the project. Chair Mar encouraged his colleagues to tour the Transbay Transit Center site. He stated that the tour had been invaluable and allowed him to see the future tracks for high-speed rail, the construction at the site, and to better appreciate the scope of the project. Commissioner Kim asked about purpose of the consent calendar, and what the process was for reviewing informational items such as the capital project updates. Ms. Chang explained that the capital project updates were informational items that Transportation Authority staff were planning to include on the Plans and Programs Committee agenda about every month. Ms. Chang noted that a commissioner could remove any item from the consent agenda for a presentation and discussion. Commissioner Breed suggested that such informational items not be placed on the consent calendar if project sponsors would be in attendance at the committee meetings for the items. Chair Mar commented he would be selective about which items were included on the consent calendar. 8. Recommend Addition of Two At-Large Seats and Appointment of Three Members to Two-Year Terms on the Geary Corridor Bus Rapid Transit Citizens Advisory Committee ACTION Chester Fung, Principal Transportation Planner, presented the item per the staff memorandum. Applicants who spoke on behalf of their candidacy included Joel Tomei, Paul Chan, Richard Johnston, and Rob Anderson.

3 Commissioner Breed made a motion to create two new seats, an At-Large seat and a Japantown/Fillmore seat. Commissioner Campos seconded the motion. The motion was approved, without objection. Commissioner Breed expressed a desire to continue the appointment of the new Japantown/Fillmore seat to allow more time to recruit applicants. The appointment for that seat was continued to the call of the Chair. Chair Mar made a motion to re-appoint Jette Swan to the expired Richmond seat. The motion was approved, without objection. Chair Mar made a motion to appoint Paul Chan to the new At-Large seat. The motion was approved, without objection. 9. Recommend Addition of Two At-Large Seats and Appointment of up to Six Members to the Geneva-Harney Bus Rapid Transit Community Advisory Committee ACTION Zabe Bent, Project Manager for the Geneva-Harney BRT Feasibility Study, presented the item per the staff memorandum, highlighting that two seats were appointed at the last meeting. She noted that the recommended action would add two At-Large seats, one each in San Francisco and San Mateo counties, bringing the Geneva-Harney CAC to a total of 13 members, six of which might be appointed today. During public comment, several Geneva-Harney CAC candidates presented their interests and qualifications for the Committee members to consider, including Fran Martin (At-Large), Matt Householder (Crocker Amazon/Excelsior/Outer Mission), and Tom Kirvin (Crocker Amazon/Excelsior/Outer Mission). Ms. Bent reiterated the number of open seats in each district. She added that Erick Orantes spoke at the last meeting and sent a message stating that he could not be present to speak again due to a conflict but was very interested in one of the At-Large seats. The motion to recommend amending the committee structure to include two additional At- Large seats, one each in San Francisco and San Mateo counties, was approved, without objection. Chair Mar stated that Commissioner Cohen asked to continue consideration of the Bayview Hunters Point seat to a future meeting. The motion to continue consideration of the Bayview Hunters Point seat was approved, without objection. Chair Mar noted that Mr. Householder and Mr. Kirvin both presented strong interest and qualifications for the Crocker Amazon/Excelsior/Outer Mission seats. He added that Commissioner Avalos supported their appointment. The motion to recommend appointment of Mr. Householder and Mr. Kirvin to the two Crocker Amazon/Excelsior/Outer Mission seats was approved, without objection. Chair Mar noted, and Ms. Bent confirmed, that Mr. Walker was the only applicant for the Oceanview, Merced, Ingleside (OMI) seat. Commissioner Breed moved to continue this seat to a later meeting so that Mr. Walker and other potential applicants might present their qualifications at a later date. The motion to continue consideration of the OMI seat was approved, without objection. Chair Mar stated that Commissioner Avalos was supportive of Ms. Martin s appointment to one of the two open At-Large seats, noting her activities in the study area over several years. Chair

4 Mar asked Ms. Bent to remind the Committee of Mr. Orantes presentation at the last meeting. Ms. Bent described Mr. Orantes qualifications and interest, also remarking that he spoke specifically about streamlining and bringing a set of improvements to the corridor as soon as possible. The motion to recommend Ms. Martin and Mr. Orantes to the two At-Large seats was approved, without objection. 10. Recommend Allocation of $14,947,382 in Prop K Funds, with Conditions, and $2,210,000 in Prop AA Funds, with Conditions, for Nineteen Requests, Subject to the Attached Fiscal Year Cash Flow Distribution Schedules and Amendment of the Relevant 5-Year Prioritization Programs and Prop K Strategic Plan ACTION Chair Mar stated his support for this item. He noted that the 35% below market rate housing in the Transbay Terminal project area was remarkable and that he was pleased to see the Safe Routes to Schools projects move forward. He noted that he and Supervisor Tang had been working together closely on the Ocean Beach Master Plan and that he was supportive of the funding requested by the Department of Public Works (DPW) for the Great Highway re-route project. He asked that DPW and the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) continue to coordinate with the University of California Hastings College of the Law on a traffic calming project on McAllister Street which needed additional funding for full implementation. Courtney Aguirre, Transportation Planner, and Luis Zurinaga, Project Management Consultant with the Transportation Authority, presented this item per staff memorandum. Chair Mar asked Mr. Zurinaga if the Prop K funds requested for the Caltrain Early Investment Program represented San Francisco s share of the project cost. Mr. Zurinaga referred to Item 7 on the agenda which had the full funding plan for the Caltrain Early Investment Program consisting of Caltrain Electrification, the purchase of electrified vehicles, and the positive train control. He stated that the memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board (PCJPB), the California High-Speed Rail Authority, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, and five other local and regional entities including San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Clara established a funding framework for a High-Speed Rail Early Investment Strategy for a blended system in the Peninsula Corridor. He explained that under that MOU, the PCJPB members San Francisco, San Mateo, and Santa Clara had committed $60 million each for the Early Investment Program. Mr. Zurinaga confirmed that this Prop K allocation would fulfill a portion of San Francisco s commitment. During public comment, Roland Lebrun, San Jose resident, expressed concern about the possibility of the electrification project going over budget. He stated the cost for electrification did not bear resemblance to electrification costs in Europe. Jackie Sachs, Citizens Advisory Committee member, spoke in support of the item. Chair Mar asked Transportation Authority staff to respond to the comment that costs for electrification could cause the project to go over budget. Maria Lombardo, Chief Deputy Director for Policy and Programming, stated that the MOU included an overall program budget of $1.4 billion and that it was normal for a project of this magnitude and at this stage of development to not have all of the funds in place. She stated the MOU was put together in a relatively tight time frame to help start the flow of State Prop 1A high-speed rail funds to leverage federal high-speed rail funds which had a looming deadline for

5 the State to secure the funds. She clarified that the costs used for the MOU were based on a 2009 estimate for the electrification project and that the normal process was to update the project cost near the end of the environmental phase. She clarified that looking at cost escalation alone, the cost increase could be close to $150 million. The item was approved, without objection. 11. Update on 19th Avenue Transit Study INFORMATION Liz Brisson, Transportation Planner, presented the item per the agenda materials. Commissioner Yee thanked Ms. Brisson and the rest of the Study team for strong efforts to do outreach and hear input from the community. Commissioner Yee noted that during the first phase of outreach, the community was not sure if their input would be meaningfully addressed, and the second round of outreach had demonstrated that the Study team listened. Commissioner Yee expressed excitement about the project as the most significant improvement in the southwest of San Francisco since the Twin Peaks tunnel. He noted that a transit travel time savings of seven to eight minutes was tremendous. Commissioner Yee also noted the intersection of St. Francis Circle being a major bottleneck for transit and for motorists. He expressed support for the potential to grade separate this intersection as identified for further Study in the next phase. Commissioner Yee also noted the substantial pedestrian benefit of the project in creating new locations for pedestrians to cross the street. He described the current condition as like a freeway, and that he sees kids running into the middle of the street. Commissioner Yee indicated he had recently been to six or seven neighborhood meetings, and that there was a lot of support from the community to add the St. Francis Circle grade separation into the project, and that in general they feel really positive about the work and the vision and were glad the Study team was open to further revisions based on community input. Commissioner Yee said that he hopes the rest of Commissioners would be supportive of this big capital project, with benefits at least equivalent to that of the Central Subway for San Francisco s west side. Commissioner Yee also indicated his and his constituent s excitement for the project to accommodate three-car trains through Parkmerced, resulting in a 50% increase in capacity. He thanked the Study team for their efforts and said he looked forward to seeing the final report. Chair Mar said he was just now beginning to understand how important this project was, especially for transportation in southern San Francisco. He indicated that he taught at San Francisco State University (SFSU) for 16 years and that getting there by transit, such as via the 28 bus, or even driving from the Richmond could be a real challenge, and that more thought was needed to provide better transportation options. Chair Mar indicated that he was glad Commissioner Yee was working closely with staff on this. Chair Mar noted that Highway 1/19th Avenue also ran through the Richmond and was key north-south corridor to get to Interstate 280. He expressed hope that the team could look at ways these improvements could support the larger corridor through to the Richmond. Chair Mar also indicated interest in the idea of the extension of the M-Ocean View to Daly City BART in coordination with the Daly City Vice Mayor Canepa. He said he knew Stonestown, SFSU, and Parkmerced have been largely involved, and heard that outreach had also happened in the Ocean View-Merced Heights-Ingleside (OMI) neighborhoods. He asked the Study team to continue to involve the OMI, given that its residents were predominantly lower-income and working families, and in particular to ensure that Sheridan and Ortega elementary schools were engaged since this improvement could provide a substantial transportation improvement for them as well.

6 Tilly Chang, Executive Director, thanked Ms. Brisson and Peter Albert of the SFMTA for their partnership on this effort. Ms. Chang said it was exciting to be at tail end of this study and be moving forward in the next phase, most likely with the SFMTA taking the lead and with the Transportation Authority providing technical and outreach support. Ms. Chang noted that this was an expensive project, but with tremendous benefits related to mobility, safety, and access. She said that as the City looked at citywide needs, it needed to be creative because these rail investments here and in other parts of the city needed to be strong performers for federal and state funding. She said the City would also need to be creative regarding local funding sources, and land-based value captured funding strategies were important to consider. Ms. Chang noted this was a point Commissioner Breed had articulated in context of the Fillmore fill work that was important to consider. During public comment, Jackie Sachs, Citizens Advisory Committee member, suggested building a pedestrian bridge over the existing Stonestown station so people in walkers, strollers, and with disabilities, could cross safely and catch the 28. During Ms. Sachs comments, Chair Mar recessed the meeting when quorum was lost and then re-convened the meeting to allow Ms. Sachs to complete her comment. Francisco Da Costa said that the developer was going to tear down 1,500 rental homes to build a new complex which would adversely impact a huge population. He said that when presentations were given and the Study team says the community was there, that we must make certain that a substantial number of those who would be adversely impacted would have had their say. Mr. Da Costa noted that quality of life issues along 19th Avenue were problematic because it was like a freeway and we need to address that in different ways. Mr. Da Costa said it was important to put a burden on the developer so that he must pay to make an improvement and that that improvement be articulated in a Development Agreement. Mr. Da Costa said it was important to help the San Francisco State students and have neighbors from adjacent areas present, and that he did not see this in the presentation or in the empirical data. 12. San Francisco Transportation Plan and Early Action Program Update INFORMATION Rachel Hiatt, Principal Transportation Planner, presented the item. Chair Mar commented that all of the San Francisco Transportation Plan (SFTP) resources were available for review online so that the public could access the information. He asked staff to confirm the dates and times of upcoming SFTP outreach. Ms. Hiatt confirmed that SFTP open houses were planned on October 8 at the Transportation Authority s offices and on October 10 at San Francisco State University. She added that meeting information was posted on the Transportation Authority s website at and that members of the public could also contact any member of the project team for additional information. Chair Mar requested more information on plans for targeted outreach to communities of concern and low-income communities. Ms. Hiatt stated that Transportation Authority staff was targeting outreach efforts at minority, low-income, and non-english speaking communities. Ms. Hiatt explained that the Transportation Authority was working with community-based organizations (CBOs) to conduct SFTP outreach. She stated the Transportation Authority staff was working with the CBOs on strategies for reaching out to the communities of each respective CBO and tailoring activities and opportunities for input to each community.

7 During public comment, Citizens Advisory Committee member Jackie Sachs commented that there was funding for Geary Corridor Bus Rapid Transit in the SFTP, but no funding for Geary Light Rail (LRT). She expressed concern for the lack of funding for Geary LRT in the SFTP. Ms. Sachs emphasized the need to consider the status of delivering the projects in the Prop K Expenditure Plan when considering the reauthorization of Prop K. 13. Introduction of New Items INFORMATION There were no new items. 14. Public Comment 15. Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 12:24 p.m.