Hi again all, I'm assuming Dave that your concern about the BRT issue is not blocking in regard to that being considered as part of the agenda item? I'll raise this tonight at the meeting, and if there are no concerns that other items need to take precedence, then you'll be on for March Katherine. I'll let you know. peace Eric dave@livablecity.org wrote:
I'd like to participate in this conversation. Kathy is right that Muni is expanding at a time when they don't have the funds to operate their current system, and this indeed puts the success of citywide public transit at great peril. The SFGP is already on record supporting Geary BRT and while light rail transit is usually better than BRT and is probably the better answer for Geary Blvd, it doesn't mean BRT there is a bad investment. Opposing Geary BRT would be like saying we're against bike lanes because what we really need is car-free cities.
No comment on the record on the other capital investments Kathy is referring to!
Dave
At 6:43 AM -0800 2/27/07, Eric Brooks wrote:
I have no problem with a presentation. But how I feel is irrelevant, we go by consensus.
As long as there are no objections raised over email, or at tonight's meeting, let's do your presentation next month.
All on this list, does anyone have concerns regarding Katherine's proposed Muni big ticket discussion (see below) being agendized in March?
Eric B
grrlfriday@mac.com wrote:
Eric --
I can't come tomorrow night. But I would like to discuss MUNI's big-ticket items -- the Central Subway, BRT, and the Transbay Terminal -- and see if they are really conducive to the best long-term plan for MUNI. MUNI is spending millions of dollars a year in Prop K money on
engineering studies for these projects, bleeding money while the rest
of the system languishes. Then they complain about shortfalls at every turn. My thinking is that if they weren't hemorrhaging so much money on pork they would have enough to run a decent system. The Green Party needs a comprehensive platform about these three issues, so we can educate the public about them. It is my opinion that MUNI is taking a wrong turn, and the only people who benefit are people
like Stuart Sunshine, who is still making over $200 k/year, most of it
paid for by MUNI, even AFTER he left his MUNI post.
I would like you to look at a Web site called "Light Rail Now", and look at the "Myths" section. It explodes a lot of the myths about BRT
and shows how it was mostly promoted by Republicans. Republicans hate transit because it shows that public systems can really work, which undermines their privatization agenda. By the same token, Peter Strauss has consistently underfunded surface transit on Stockton to make the Chinese community demand the Central Subway. These are things we ignore at our peril. If the Green Party won't focus on
them, I don't know who will.
Please let me know if you are willing to set this up for next month's meeting. If you are willing to study the Light Rail Now site, I have a friend who is a MUNI planner who would come and talk with us about these things. But he told me that unless people are willing to get some background on these issues he doesn't think it's worth it to come, because he won't be able to convince you anyway. Please let me know how you feel about this. I know some of these things are part of the official Transpo platform, but they haven't been revisited in awhile, and I think they have new resonance these days that bears taking a closer look.
--Katherine
"Let's have a moment of silence for all those Americans who are stuck in traffic on their way to the gym to ride the stationary bicycle." - Earl Blumenauer
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