Thank you District 10, Supervisor Malia Cohen, District 6, Supervisor Jane Kim, and District 2 Supervisor Mark Farrell for supporting the neighborhood groups in your districts.

      Supervisor Malia Cohens Open Letter                            Supervisor Jane Kims Public Statement 

                             (District 10)                                                                           (District 6)

                                                  Supervisor Mark Farrells Public Statement

(District 2) 



The SFMTA Board who oversees the San Francisco public transit system has been unduly influenced by special interest groups who are pushing an anti-car agenda for their own purposes. Not everyone in San Francisco is young, white, affluent, or physically capable of riding a bicycle. It is time for Mayor Ed Lee and the San Francisco Board of Supervisors to diversify the SFMTA Board to include small business owners, senior citizens, minorities, car owners, and persons with disabilities.

In 1999 San Francisco voters passed Proposition E, which combined the Municipal Railway (Muni) and the Department of Parking and Traffic (DPT) into a new agency called the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA). The SFMTA is governed by a seven-member Board of Directors appointed by the Mayor.  Under Prop. E, SFMTA board members were appointed by the mayor and confirmed by the Board of Supervisors. All members on the body were supposed to be qualified in some manner, and completely autonomous from City Hall politics.

The SFMTA is not carrying out the mandates of Prop E. The dismal state of Muni and the budget, and their
apparent war on cars is making the SFMTA highly unpopular with almost everyone. San Franciscos public transit system is the slowest in the nation because of poor governance and not because of private automobiles. 

• Private autos move signifigantly faster than pedestrians, bicycles, and public transit vehicles so they can't be blamed for traffic congestion and MUNI delays.

• One of the primary goals of the SFpark program was to  help the SFMTA reduce Muni costs by speeding up buses and streetcars. After spending $20+ Million dollars of Taxpayer money on SFpark,  Muni's on-time performance fell to their lowest numbers in history leaving passengers stranded. or waiting over 40% of the time. 

• Removing street parking spaces to build bicycle lanes is a violation of Federal ADA Laws. 

• The are no private autos circling or cruising for parking in the underground MUNI tunnels and the trains arrive late and don't leave on time.
  

• Private Autos that are stuck behind slower moving bicycles idle in traffic longer, increasing their carbon emissions, which leads to poorer air quality and increased greenhouse gasses. 

• Cars are not circling or cruising for parking on lower Market street because you can't park on lower Market street.

• The if-you-build-it-they-will-come argument isn’t very convincing when motorists stuck in traffic witness empty bike lanes on a daily basis.

• Highrise buildings are being erected all over the city despite the fact that buildings are the largest contributor to climate change, responsible for nearly half (46.7%) of U.S. CO2 emissions in 2010. By comparison, transportation accounted for 33.4% of CO2 emissions and industry just 19.9%. Source: U.S Energy Information Administration
• Removing auto emissions and replacing them with building emissions is actually speeding up the effects of climate change and global warming. 

• A huge exodus from San Francisco may be under way as high-tech companies are packing their bags for Car Friendly cities like Palo Alto and Mountainview. 

City Planners and the Bicycle Club have a shared solution to fix the San Franciscos public transit system. 

"Give us more money".

So, what is the endgame? Is City Hall trying to make public transit faster for its residents, or slower for the special interests who have their own agenda.  When politicians ignore their constituents to pay back political favors to special interest groups then you have to question if these politicians are fit to lead our beloved city.

Learn more at Transparency International

"Not everyone in San Francisco is young, white, affluent, or physically capable of riding a bicycle. It is time for Mayor Ed Lee and the San Francisco Board of Supervisors to diversify the SFMTA Board to include business owners, senior citizens, minorities, car owners, and persons with disabilities. MUNI leaves passengers waiting over 40% of the time and residents are suffering."