December 2005 - Transpo - list.sfgreens.org

TV Channel 5: MUNI Death Prompts Calls For Safe Streets For SF Pedestrians
by Jym Dyer 20 Dec '05

20 Dec '05

=v= Hooray for Green activists who showed up! http://cbs5.com/video/?id=9435@kpix.dayport.com <_Jym_>

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Another pedestrian killed by MUNI. Join us for a press conference today and a candlelight vigil tomorrow
by Emily Drennen 19 Dec '05

19 Dec '05

Hi- Ross is hoping to see some Green Party activists at today's press conference. Can anyone make it? Also, there will be a candlelight vigil tomorrow night. Thanks, Emily Walk San Francisco E-news December 20, 2005 ************************************************************* ACTIONS and EVENTS ************************************************************* ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Press conference with Sup. Mirkarimi, Walk SF, and SAN Today at 4pm (Haight at Cole Streets) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ On Saturday evening around 6 PM, Edward Badelalla, a 64-year old pedestrian was hit and fatally injured by a 43 MUNI bus at the corner of Haight Street and Cole Street. He died around 10 PM that evening due to the severity of his injuries. This is the second pedestrian killed by a MUNI bus in two weeks. At 4pm today, Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, and representatives from Walk SF and Senior Action Network will be holding a press conference at the site of the collision (Haight and Cole Streets) to speak about pedestrian issues in the Haight and citywide. Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi was very concerned about the most recent pedestrian death, The City absolutely needs to do a better job making our neighborhoods safer for those who walk. For too long, we have built our streets for the goal of moving as many cars as quickly as possible, to the exclusion of other forms of transportation such as transit, walking, and biking. As a Transit-First city, we need to make our streets safer and more comfortable for the hundreds of thousands of people who ride MUNI, walk, or bike every day. Emily Drennen, Executive Director of Walk San Francisco, followed by saying, The sheer number of pedestrians who get injured or die on our citys streets each year is staggering. The thing that makes us the angriest is that, for the most part, these deaths and injuries could have been prevented. With better enforcement of the traffic laws, more pedestrian countdown signals and crosswalks, and people taking just a little bit more care driving, many of the people we have lost could have still been with us. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Pedestrian Safety Advisory Committee Tonight at 5:30 pm at City Hall, Room 82 (basement) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Come hear the latest on the development of the Pedestrian Master Plan at tonight's PSAC meeting. If you are possibly interested in applying for one of the PSAC's 3 vacant seats, you may want to attend a meeting and check them out! For more info, contact PSAC Chair Cheryl Brinkman at Cheryl.Brinkman(a)McKesson.com, or just come to the meeting tonight. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ IMPORTANT! Candlelight vigil for Edward Badelalla TOMORROW night (Tuesday, December 21st) at 6pm Haight at Cole Streets ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Walk SF, Sup. Mirkarimi, and SAN will be holding a candlelight vigil at the intersection where Edward Badelalla was fatally injured by a MUNI bus on Saturday night. Please candles (if you have some) and a somber mood to mark the second pedestrian death in less than two weeks. Please urge your friends, family, and colleagues to attend to demand no more ped deaths by MUNI! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Pro bono web design needed ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Our Walk SF website is in serious need of an overhaul. After having a hard time recruiting volunteers to do the work, we'd love some professional help. Is there a web design firm out there who could donate some pro bono help? Please contact Emily at 415.431.9255 or emily(a)walksf.org if you can help. Thanks! ************************************************************* DONATE ************************************************************* Our board has set a goal of raising $5,000 in our first end of the year appeal. If you can help su meet this goal, please contact the office at 415.431.WALK, director(a)walksf.org, or go to www.walksf.org to make an extra contribution for this important work. We can't do it without you! ************************************************************* TELL A FRIEND! ************************************************************* Do you know someone who cares about pedestrian issues? Someone who wants a more livable city? Or just someone who loves to walk? Send them the Walk SF e-news! It's an easy way to spread the word about Walk SF and get involved in making San Francisco better for walkers. ************************************************************* SUBSCRIBE/UNSUBSCRIBE ************************************************************* If someone forwarded this Walk SF e-news to you and you'd like to receive it regularly, or if you currently receive the e-news and would like to unsubscribe, please click here: http://walksf.org/mailman/options/e-news_walksf.org ************************************************************* JOIN WALK SFers: Our Online Discussion Group ************************************************************* www.walksf.org/mailman/listinfo/walksfers_walksf.org Did you know that Walk SF offers a list-serv for our members to discuss issues important to them and the organization? Click the above link to subscribe. We suggest selecting the option to receive the list email batched in a daily digest. ************************************************************* Walk San Francisco 1095 Market Street, Suite 502 San Francisco, CA 94103 415-431-9255 (office/fax) www.walksf.org ************************************************************* ******************************* Emily Drennen, MPA Executive Director Walk San Francisco 1095 Market Street, Suite 502 San Francisco, CA 94103 415-431-WALK (office/fax) www.walksf.org ******************************** __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com

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Re: [SFGP-A] Meeting with Ross over the Holidays
by susan_e_vaughan＠juno.com 17 Dec '05

17 Dec '05

The TWG meeting has been cancelled for December. Sue -- Eric Brooks <brookse(a)igc.org> wrote: Keep in mind that Transportation Working Group meets that night, so they should probably just roll their meeting into the Ross meeting. We likely have a lot of transit issues to cover with Ross in any case. Cheers, Eric Susan King wrote: >Happy Holidays to you all. > >Ross Mirkarimi would like to have a meeting with us on Tuesday, December >27th at 6:30 at the SFGP offices. This is the first of a semi regular >meeting that we will have with Ross to discuss how we can support him in >office and have a good working relationship with him. > >Per Ross' request, he would like to have the meeting with active Green Party >members only. This means that he requests that the meeting NOT be posted on >our website or advertised through our larger email update/alert lists. > >Ideally we will have opportunities to invite a broader audience to meet with >Ross as well, but he wanted to have the first few meetings be more >internally focused with seasoned Green Party activists. If you are on this >list, you are of course invited. > >Peace, >susan >_______________________________________________ >San Francisco Green Party Active Members List >To unsubscribe or edit your options, go here: >https://list.sfgreens.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/active > > > _______________________________________________ San Francisco Green Party Active Members List To unsubscribe or edit your options, go here: https://list.sfgreens.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/active

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Next week's GM, followed by no-specific holiday/winter party ...
by susan_e_vaughan＠juno.com 08 Dec '05

08 Dec '05

Hello Everyone, We have a short GM next week on December 14. We would like to follow that with a end-of-year blow out potluck in the SFGP office. Bring whatever you want. Remember, the kitchen has some utensils, so we can avoid plastic ones. The list is starting here: Vegan dip with pita bread -- Sue Vaughan Bottle of very inexpensive Charles Shaw Merlot -- Sue Vaughan

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Ped Rally today at 5pm. Ped pinned under MUNI bus at 6:30 am. Van Ness at Jackson
by Emily Drennen 05 Dec '05

05 Dec '05

Hi all- I wish I were writing with better news, but a ped was struck and pinned by a MUNI bus around 6:30 am on Van Ness at Jackson. Steve Gerstle, Walk SF former Board Member, lives on this corner and saw the person under the bus. In an ironic twist of fate, Steve has been working diligently for years to better ped conditions on Van Ness, especially on this corner. Last month, he wrote a guest editorial about the lighting conditions at this location (below). He has also sent in countless letters, emails, and calls to the MTA to get ped count-down signals on Van Ness, to no avail. If someone takes just one glance at DPH's Ped Injury and Death Map, athey can see that Van Ness is a VERY dangerous street for peds. Yet, money for ped count-down signals for locations along Van Ness has not yet been identified yet. http://www.sfgov.org/site/frame.asp?u=http://www.dph.sf.ca.us/ Walk SF is **PISSED OFF** that another ped had to get seriously injured or killed (we don't know which) in an entirely preventable situation. Join us at 5pm at the corner of Van Ness and Jackson to protest ped conditions along Van Ness. We are working to get the media to cover our event. We are not powerless. Let's stop bureaucratic fumbling from injuring or killing anymore peds in San Francisco! Hope to see you then, Emily PS Feel free to call me on my cell 374.9556 if you want info. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Friday, October 21, 2005 (SF Chronicle) Broken streetlights leave residents in the dark Steven Gerstle As night approaches in our neighborhood, I worry if our streetlights will turn on. This is not a concern that most Americans have, but for those of us living near Van Ness Avenue, nightfall often brings complete darkness. Effective street lighting is a major deterrent to crime and improves pedestrian safety. Van Ness Avenue has more than its share of street crime as well as pedestrian deaths and injuries. The problem has many facets. About half a dozen agencies are responsible for maintaining streetlights in San Francisco, including MUNI, PG&E, CalTrans, the Department of Public Works and San Francisco Street Lighting. In addition, even though San Francisco might have responsibility for maintaining a streetlight, PG&E often controls the circuits and switches. In June, all of the street lights on Van Ness Avenue went out. The PG&E circuit was defective. After the mayor's office intervened, PG&E switched the lights to a different circuit. The catch was that the lights could not be turned off. After months of being on, the lights began to burn out; however, the city could not replace the bulbs because it was unsafe to do so with the power on. One by one the streetlights went out and our neighborhood again descended into darkness. PG&E repaired the defective circuit, but then set the light timer incorrectly. As a result, the lights were left on during the day and into the night, but turned off long before the sun came up. Soon after the timer was reset, it stopped working. PG&E did not have a spare timer available, so an employee is now in charge of flipping the switch that turns our streetlights on and off. Light sensitive switches to turn streetlights on and off have been available for decades, but San Francisco still relies upon antiquated timers that need to be manually set. The street lights along Van Ness use Edison-era bulbs that give off a faint light. Other cities replaced this type of bulb decades ago with brightly illuminating vapor lamps. Our mayor and Board of Supervisors need to adequately maintain and update our street light system. Bureaucracy needs to be reduced, with one city agency put in charge of lighting. PG&E needs to be pressed to maintain the switches and circuits that power our lights. San Franciscans cannot afford to be left in the dark. STEVEN GERSTLE Upper Van Ness corridor ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 2005 SF Chronicle Emily Drennen Executive Director, Walk San Francisco 415-431-9255 office/fax www.walksf.org 1095 Market Street #502, SF, CA 94103 Advisory Council Member, Bay Area Air Quality Management District Citizen's Advisory Committee Member, Metropolitian Transportation Agency Past Chair, SF Bicycle Advisory Committee __________________________________ Start your day with Yahoo! - Make it your home page! http://www.yahoo.com/r/hs

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C-3 Parking legislation comes before the Land Use Committee on Wednesd ay, 12-07, 1 p.m.
by susan_e_vaughan＠juno.com 04 Dec '05

04 Dec '05

Hello Everyone, The TWG should have done an evaluation of the C3 legislation that has been through the Planning Commission and is now going to the BofF, Land Use Committee. The c3 legislation will supercede anything specifically addressing Mid-Market. While the party (through the TWG) has not taken a position on the c3 legislation, we can testify individually in favor of lowering parking minimums and establishing stringent parking maximums (that kind of thing is in our transportation plank). If you can, go to the hearing at 1 p.m. in Room 263 and testify or send e-mails to Sophie.Maxwell(a)sfgov.org, gerardo.sandoval(a)sfgov.org, jake.mcgoldrick(a)sfgov.org and mary.red(a)sfgov.org (clerk of land use). Below the digest that follows is an e-mail from John Avalos (in CHris Daly's office). Sue Vaughan Here is the digest from Tom Raulovich: Supervisor Daly's legislation to reform residential parking in the downtown (C-3) districts will be heard Wednesday at the Land Use Committee. This legislation is a long-overdue reform aimed at increasing the supply and affordability of downtown housing while preserving the downtown's historic transit-oriented character. This legislation will reduce the amount of traffic generated by new housing Downtown, which will help us in our efforts to reclaim road space Downtown for wider sidewalks, bicycle lanes, and transit lanes, and will allow Muni service to move more effectively through downtown's congested streets. A downtown that generates less traffic will reduce also reduce the public health and environmental impacts of traffic on the surrounding dense residential neighborhoods, including SoMa and the Tenderloin, and will facilitate goods movement to production, distribution, and repair (PDR) uses on the edges of downtown. It will also, by eliminating garage entrances and port cocheres on major transit, bicycle, and transit routes, reduce traffic conflicts and improve the attractiveness and safety of walking, bicycling, and transit use in our downtown. The legislation proposes to: 1. Eliminate minimum parking requirements for dwelling units 2. Establish a by-right maximum for dwelling units of 1 space per 4 units, with more units allowed by conditional use 3. Establish maximum parking cap for dwelling units of 1 space per 2 units 4. Eliminate minimum dimensions and independent accessibility requirements for off-street spaces 5. Require any off-street parking to be below-grade , or on the ground floor and wrapped in active uses on all public frontages; partial exceptions allowed for sloping sites with Commission review and wrapping of any above-grade parking with active uses. 6. Establish limits on width of garage openings to off-street parking and loading. 7. Prohibit sidewalk narrowing and port-cocheres for loading or parking, and prohibit garage entrances on Market Street, Folsom Street, Embarcadero, Stockton Street, California Street, Geary Street, Powell Street, Montgomery Street, and Grant Avenue. 8. Establish bicycle parking requirements for residential uses of 1 space per 2 units for projects up to 50 units, and 1 space per 4 units for projects larger than 50 units 9. Require 1 dedicated space for car sharing vehicles for each 200 dwelling units 10. Require that parking spaces be sold/leased separately from dwellings in projects of more than 10 units, and provides exceptions for affordable housing projects. Here is John's e-mail: Hey Sue Thanks for these points. the c3 legislation is going to the Land Use Committee on Wed Dec 7, starting at 1pm. It would be important to have these points heard there. I've cc'd this to Rachel who's working on the legislation and who's does chris schedule. She can perhaps confirm if one of us can be there. I'm not available on the 10th, but maybe one of them is. Best, John John Avalos Legislative Aide to Supervisor Chris Daly 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place Room 244 San Francisco, CA 94102 415-554-7970 phone 415-554-7974 fax 415-5227 TDD/TTY "susan_e_vaughan@ juno.com" <susan_e_vaughan@ To juno.com> John.Avalos(a)sfgov.org cc 11/17/2005 08:25 transpo(a)sfgreens.org, PM tom(a)livablecity.org Subject Mid-Market summit re. transportation, December 10, 3 o 5 p.m. Hi John, The Transportation Working Group of the San Francisco Green Party is planning on holding a summit to create a campaign behind the following three aspects of transportation in Mid-Market, whether or not there is redevelopment there. These three points are based on things that Jeremy Nelson was recommending before he went to Nelson/Nygaard. And most elements are probably included in the C3 legislation that Chris is working on with Tom Radulovich. They are as follows: 1) There should be no more than .25 parking spaces per housing unit, and we ask that you seriously consider going lower, with the greatest share of parking spaces used for car-share vehicles; 2) There should be no above-ground parking spaces other than the minimum required for the operation of the buildings and the safety of building occupants; 3) The redevelopment plan should include funds specifically dedicated to expanding the bicycle lane network, engineering the Market Street bike lanes, and pedestrian improvements such as countdown signals at all corners within the plan area; This summit will be on Saturday, December 10, from 3 to 5 p.m., at the SFGP office at 1028a Howard Street, between 6th and 7th streets. So far Jim Meko, Jazzie Collins, and Jeremy Nelson have all agreed to participate. I am waiting to hear back from April Veneracion, Angelica Cabande or someone else from SOMCAN. I'm wondering if you have a phone number for SOMCAN. We would also like you to know that you (or Chris or anyone else from Chris's office) are invited to participate. This could be a good opportunity to build community support for the C3 legislation. I look forward to hearing from you. Sue Vaughan (415) 668-3119

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Oil Depletion Protocol
by susan_e_vaughan＠juno.com 02 Dec '05

02 Dec '05

Great!! I'll be calling Erika at Studio Z shortly. Richard Heinberg is pushing this thing called the Oil Depletion Protocol in which the importing countries that sign on would agree to reduce their oil imports by about 2 percent annually, and the exporting countries would agree to reduce their exports by two percent annually. I think the TWG and Energy Working Group should look at this (I have copies) and consider getting the GM to endorse it. What do you think? Sue -- Don Eichelberger <done(a)greens.org> wrote: Susan- I was among those who founded the Green Party. Been involved since the Mid-'80's, and helped write the first Energy Plank for the platform, and worked with Ross and Regina register voters to qualify the party. Others around at the time I can remember include David Fairley (first newsletter editor), Pam Coxson, Nancy Marmol and Harry Driggs. Regina would probably have the best list of who was around at the time. I also do music, and would be happy to perform an original song or two, "Green Party Candidate Blues" and "Solar Power in the Foggy City Blues". I also have a couple of anti-war songs, if there is room. Seems I went to Studio Z one time and they had a few chairs set up. Don At 07:06 AM 11/28/05 +0000, you wrote: >Hi Susan, > >I think it's best to give our high profile Greens more time to speak, and >then to simply introduce CC members and to ask working group >chairs/co-chairs to speak for about one minute. I'm imagining doing >something along the lines of the hurricane fundraiser that Ellen Gavin and >Krissy Keefer put together -- speaking and entertainment, all mixed >up. You've mentioned before that Greens don't always meet the bar >minimum. I'm hoping that making it a "variety show" turns out more people. > >I am a little concerned that Studio Z isn't a sit-down place. I sat on >the floor the one time I remember being there, and I don't recall that >there were chairs there. I'm hoping that is not a problem. What do you think? > >Do you have James Tracy's e-mail? How about Tommi's? > >Thanks. > >Sue > >-- Susan King <funking(a)mindspring.com> wrote: >Hi Sue, thanks for your good work on this. > >It is always a challenge to find a date that works for everyone. I support >the chosen date as it appears to work for most folks and the venue is free >(no bar minimum). FYI, from my experience doing events, Greens do not always >meet the bar minimum, though they do drink a bit when the bar is donations >requested and drinks are $1-2 each. > >I like the speakers list but would add Charlene to talk about either housing >issues in Hunter's Point, the spike in violence in the City (she was covered >on the TV news about this recently). > >I would also urge you to keep the speaker's list as short as possible, >because it can get a bit long for folks to hear lots of just talking. >Dancing (Krissy), singing (judy), music (Charles and Liz), comedy (Terry) or >other entertainment can really enhance the evening. > >James Tracy, a Green activist is a spoken word artist, he might be willing >to do something. Tommi Avocelli Mecca also does stand up comedy, he might be >good. I am sure you will have a great line up. > >Don't forget to ask someone to do the pitch for funds. > >Anyway, this looks great. > >peace, >susan > > > From: "susan_e_vaughan(a)juno.com" <susan_e_vaughan(a)juno.com> > > Date: Mon, 28 Nov 2005 04:53:33 GMT > > To: susan_e_vaughan(a)juno.com > > Cc: active(a)sfgreens.org, ErikaSF(a)aol.com > > Subject: Re: [SFGP-A] Studio Z fundraiser -- tentatively January 26 > > > > Oops!!! > > > > I'm obviously still waiting to hear from Ross Mirkarimi, as well. > > > > Also, who can tell me who the original founders of the SFGP were? I > want to > > make sure they are included: Betty, Barbara, Regina, Ross, and ????? > > > > Sue > > > > -- "susan_e_vaughan(a)juno.com" <susan_e_vaughan(a)juno.com> wrote: > > Hi Everyone, > > > > A. How are people with January 26 at Studio Z? Its a Thursday night, > which > > means that Christina Olague will not be able to participate. Lisa > Feldstein > > has also told me that she will not be free that night. We could try to do > > this on the first Friday of January but would have to have a bar guarantee > > (about 200 people). > > > > B. These are the responses I got from people when I did outreach for the > > speakers/performers for a fundraiser/community building event at Studio Z: > > > > 1) Kevin Danaher has spoken for himself and Medea Benjamin > YES. They will > > both be there and will speak. > > > > 2) Lisa Feldstein is in Colorado until sometime in February, so if we > do it > > on January 26 (last Thursday in January) she will not be able to > participate. > > > > 3) Christina Olague has a Planning Commission meeting on Thursday, January > > 26. Lisa reminded me of this conflict, and told me that the only time when > > the Planning Commission does not meet on every Thursday is when there are 5 > > Thursdays in the month. If we wanted to wait to include Christina, we > would > > have to hold off on a fundraiser until March (5 Thursdays) or August (5 > > Thursdays). > > > > 4) Rob Arnow he is willing to speak on behalf of Voter Owned Elections. > > > > 5) Steven Hill a maybe. He does not yet know his schedule for > January or > > any other date next year. > > > > 6) Mark Sanchez YES. > > > > 7) Renee Saucedo YES. > > > > C. Im still waiting to hear from: > > > > judy b. > > Terry Baum > > Chuck Gonzalez and Liz Ross (actually, who knows how to contact them?) > > Matt Gonzalez > > Jane Kim > > Krissy Keefer > > Sarah Lipson > > > > Who else have I missed? Does anyone else know of talent musicians, > > singers or spoken word performers who can do short events? Or any former > > candidates that Ive missed? > > > > Sue > > > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > San Francisco Green Party Active Members List > > To unsubscribe or edit your options, go here: > > https://list.sfgreens.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/active > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > San Francisco Green Party Active Members List > > To unsubscribe or edit your options, go here: > > https://list.sfgreens.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/active > > >_______________________________________________ >San Francisco Green Party Active Members List >To unsubscribe or edit your options, go here: >https://list.sfgreens.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/active "><"<>"><"<>"><"<>"><"<>"><"<>"><"<>" Organizing is Sorting in to smaller piles, Then dealing with them. Wonder why you can't? It is always best practice To ask how you can. "The government of an exclusive company of merchants is, perhaps, the worst of all governments for any country whatever." Adam Smith, "The Wealth of Nations" Don Eichelberger Abalone Alliance Safe Energy Clearinghouse http://www.energy-net.org San Francisco Green Party http://www.sfgreenparty.org California State Green Party Issues Working Group Co-coordinator http://cagreens.org/giwg/ Green Community/GreenWorks project for sustainable small businesses http://www.sfgreenworks.org 2940 16th St., #309 San Francisco, CA 94103 phone 415-861-0592 or 415-567-4577 done(a)energy-net.org done(a)greens.org done(a)ispwest.com

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