San Francisco Bicycle Advisory Committee

Minutes of the Meeting on October 30th, 2008

Members Present:

• Richard Tilles, District 2
• Marc Brandt, District 3
• Jared Washkowitz, District 4
• Susan King, District 5
• Bert Hill, District 7 (Chairman)
• Mark Hotsenpiller, District 9
• Casey Allen, District 11

Introduction

• Meeting was called to order at 6:35 PM by Chairman Hill
• Chairman Hill introduced new member, Jared Washkowitz from District 4
• Minutes from the September meeting were approved.

Public Comment

• Jessica Meek pointed out that the signed route 60 at Cesar Chavez has a very scary under crossing at Route 101.  The area is not well-lighted, has a lot of broken glass and is frequently populated by homeless that take up much of the width of the route.
• Susan King said that the best immediate solution is to take another route such as 16^th Street.
• Dustin White of MTA said that the route will be improved when the injunction is lifted and that Jessica should call 311 when she spots broken glass on the bike route.
• Casey Allen said that this is Caltrans right-of-way and that they should be alerted to the problem.
• Hill said that he could work out a better route for Jessica.

Chairman and Committee Reports

• There was no Chairman’s Report.
• King reported that the new traffic signal at Fell and Masonic is working out very well.  She also said that the Sunday Streets program will be continued in 2009.
• Marc Brandt said that the Bay and Columbus intersection problem is being improved by the MTA and that a signal change is in process.
• Jared Washkowitz said that he intends to reach out to bicyclists in the Sunset.

SFMTA Report

• Dustin White delivered the report and handed out written information.
• Keith Maddox has been appointed to run the City’s new bike sharing program.
• The Bike Plan Draft EIR is scheduled to be issued by Thanksgiving, with a hearing on January 8.
• White then went over comments made by the BAC that were not incorporated in the Draft Bike Plan:
  • Only public meetings held this year were listed.
  • Only the length of bike lanes was tabulated because it would be difficult to quantify other facilities.
  • Bike boulevards were not incorporated in the text because the DEIR does not analyze them.
  • Highway 35 was not added as a long-term improvement for the above reason.
  • Bikes are not allowed in bus lanes because the CVC only permits transit vehicles.
  • It was felt that no new system for tracking improvement requests was needed because 311 already takes care of it.
  • Bikes are allowed to pass vehicles on the right.
  • DPH was not added as a resource for injuries.
  • Neighborhood outreach is beyond MTA’s capabilities.

• Hill stated that bike boulevards should have been included in the report – but recognized that to do so could delay publication of the DEIR.
• White said that the signal sequencing at Fell and Masonic should be revised soon.  Casey Allen said that he agrees with the change.
• King asked if Illinois Street temporary paving over the tracks could be made at least semi-permanent until the tracks were needed by the Port.  The pavement, which greatly improved safety, was taken out immediately by DPW after the second Sunday Streets.
• Richard Tilles asked what bike route change was requested by the Presidio.  White said that it was for Route 61 on Arguello Boulevard.
• Allen said that the O’Shaughnessy route needs clearing.
• White said that we would need to contact the Planning Department for a copy of the Transportation Study.

BART Report

• Mariana Parreiras, recently appointed to the BART Bicycle Committee gave a report on their latest meeting.
• BART has received 75% positive feedback on their bike cars.  Thirty out of 80 have been modified and all may eventually be changed.  Hill asked if they could have an insignia so that bikers could tell where they were in a train consist.  The problem cited was that they are often the first car of the train, where bikes are not permitted.
• Parreiras said that bike channels are expensive (180-200K) and not very popular so they may not be installed at other stations. 
• The Committee is reluctant to try to change bike blackout hours since ridership has gone up since last surveyed in 1998 and any new policy might increase rather than decrease blackout hours.
• She said that 232 bikes were stolen in 23 months, primarily from outside bike racks.  They have installed 202 E-lockers to prevent theft.

Task Force Reports and Other Business

• King said that vehicular traffic on the Golden Gate Park Concourse is still a problem and should be addressed before new supervisors take office.
• The next two meetings cannot take place on the 4^th Thursday because of holidays.  Hill will contact committee members for an alternative Thursday date: either the 4^th, 11^th or 18^th of December.
• Brandt wanted the Committee to put new emphasis on projects that can be achieved (hopefully in a short period of time).  He will prepare a matrix for Committee review at the nest meeting.
• The meeting adjourned at 8:45.