Re: [Transpo] reminder - Wednesday meeting to discuss MUNI charter ref orm
It's unlikely that I will be able to make it to the meeting. However, I did read Peskin's charter amendment prior to a discussion about the item at the Sierra Club. Not that I remember the details. I took notes, but I can't remember where I left them. If I remember correctly, the reform empowers the MTA to raise parking fees and dedicate all the increase in parking fees to public transit. It also reforms some of the relationship between the employees and the management -- and it's my understanding that the unions are not happy about the changes. Sue Please note: message attached Hi, This is a reminder that the Transpo WG will meet tomorrow night from 7-9 to discuss the Peskin and McGoldrick MUNI charter reform amendments. I sent copies of both to the Transpo list, so members of that group can find them in the archives. Peskin's is fairly coplicated, so please read it before the meeting. If anybody else needs copies of the legislation, let me know. JMC
On Wed, Jun 27, 2007 at 01:55:03AM +0000, susan_e_vaughan@juno.com wrote:
It's unlikely that I will be able to make it to the meeting. However, I did read Peskin's charter amendment prior to a discussion about the item at the Sierra Club. Not that I remember the details. I took notes, but I can't remember where I left them. If I remember correctly, the reform empowers the MTA to raise parking fees and dedicate all the increase in parking fees to public transit.
Yes, that seems to be the main reason we'd support the legislation.
It also reforms some of the relationship between the employees and the management -- and it's my understanding that the unions are not happy about the changes.
There is a requirement that the management take 10% of their pay as performance incentives rather than salary. If the MUNI union includes management, I could see why they would be unhappy about that. On the other hand, the legislations changes the current maximum limit on employee pay (the average of the 2 highest paid groups of transit employees from major cities in the US) into a MINIMUM level of pay! I can't imagine them having a problem with that. JMC -- John-Marc Chandonia (jmc@sfgreens.org) http://sfgreens.org/
Hi all, The D3 Dem Club has often broken the mold and supported Green candidates and causes. Some of us should definitely show up at this forum as friendly participants to counter the inevitable nonsense that will be put forward by Andrew Sullivan (who has been invited to attend - the club likes to foster active debate); especially those of you like John-Marc who have a really tight grasp of Muni issues. [begin forward] The District 3 Democratic Club wrote: Addition to prior meeting notification: we’ll also be welcoming panelist SPUR Transportation Policy Director Dave Snyder. All other details remain the same. Thanks & hope to see you there for another fun forum! DATE: Monday, June 25th, 6pm - 8:15pm LOCATION: Bocce Café (478 Green St, SF 94133, cross street Grant St (North Beach)) in the back outdoor covered area http://boccecafe.com/ PANELISTS: * President of the Board of Supervisors Aaron Peskin * * Chairman of Rescue MUNI, Andy Sullivan (www.rescuemuni.org) * * SPUR Transportation Policy Director Dave Snyder (www.spur.org) * AGENDA: 6 - 6:30pm Mix & mingle, reception (no host bar) 6:30 - 8:15pm Forum discussion followed by Q&A DESCRIPTION: The recent MUNI T-Third light-rail line was introduced to much fanfare but had numerous issues sparking widespread criticism and a wider community debate on the poor state of our city’s transportation system. Supervisor Peskin has responded to recent MUNI woes with a charter amendment that includes the following measures for the Municipal Transportation Agency (MTA): • Allocate all revenue from The City’s parking garages and meters to the MTA • Revoke the agency’s non-negotiable salary formula, which keeps its operators among the highest paid in the country • Give the agency more time to adopt its budget. • Incent MTA executives with bonuses for increased ridership • Require in the city's constitution that the MTA produce a plan to reduce carbon emissions from all vehicles and increase ridership While the amendment addresses important areas in need of improvement, labor union representatives have indicated that drivers salaries are not so much the issue as the ongoing budget deficit. Please join us as Supervisor Peskin sheds more details on this significant ballot measure and the panelists and attendees join in this fascinating discussion. ARTICLES: http://www.examiner.com/a-678076~Peskin_to_make_Muni_reform_push.html http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/06/10/MNGR0QCTEC1.DTL&...
http://www.examiner.com/printa-803334~Newsom:_Less_is_more_with_bus_stops.ht... Local Newsom: Less is more with bus stops The results of a preliminary study recommend that The City should remove some bus stops. (Cindy Chew/The Examiner) The results of a preliminary study recommend that The City should remove some bus stops. Bonnie Eslinger, The Examiner 2007-06-28 23:47:00.0 Current rank: # 297 of 5,036 SAN FRANCISCO - Some bus stops will need to be eliminated in order to make Muni more efficient, Mayor Gavin Newsom said. “Less bus stops, less double parking and we’ll make a big impact,” Newsom told The Examiner on Wednesday. “There are too many bus stops.” The City won’t start removing bus stops until next year, after the results of an 18-month, $2 million comprehensive study of how to improve Muni are released, said Newsom. A preliminary report from that study revealed that San Francisco’s public transit system is the slowest compared with other metropolitan systems. Muni vehicles, on average, move at the rate of 8 miles per hour, compared with New York City at 14 miles per hour and Boston’s top speed of 18 miles per hour. Muni’s sluggish pace is due to car traffic, double-parked cars, the number of stop signs, wheelchair use and the high number of transit stops, according to the study. The transit agency has attempted to remove bus stops in the past, but has “received a lot of pushback,” Muni spokeswoman Maggie Lynch said. In 2004, a plan to speed up the 38-Geary route was abandoned after hundreds of Tenderloin residents protested the elimination of neighborhood stops. “It’s something we pride ourselves on, that you’re a block away or two blocks away from any bus stop in The City. But no city of our size has this many bus stops,” said Newsom. “We can’t run efficiently like that." In a 2005 report, the San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association said improving stop spacing was the “cheapest, fastest and easiest way” to improve transit speed and ridership. “Studies show most people will walk a bit farther if their transit trip is faster — the Geary Limited proves the point every day,” the report noted. Newsom said Muni’s comprehensive study, called the “San Francisco Trasnit Effectiveness Project,” will detail which stops are most utilized and which are not. “It’s going to be strategic and based on facts and evidence,” Newsom said, acknowledging that some people would still be put out by the removal of stops. This week, the mayor received an outpouring of criticism for authorizing the removal of hundreds of trash cans throughout The City — in an effort to stop residents and businesses from using them for dumping purposes. When asked whether he was risking additional ire, Newsom laughed. “You know, it’s something only a second-term mayor could get away with,” he said. “[Bus stops are] sacrosanct. You think, ‘Why would people complain about garbage cans?’ Now imagine a bus stop. You’d probably get recalled.” beslinger@examiner.com
participants (3)
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Eric Brooks -
John-Marc Chandonia -
susan_e_vaughan＠juno.com