Director’s Report to the Mayor’s Disability Council (MDC)

Nicole Bohn, Director Mayor’s Office on Disability October 16, 2020

I look forward to today’s conversation on Transportation and access to JFK Drive as part of COVID-19 response. Please do not hesitate to recommend action items related to any part of these presentations, or other items discussed in this report, as follow-up to today’s Public Hearing.

Highlighted here are some of the Mayor’s Office on Disability (MOD) key collaborations in recent weeks, which we hope are impactful to San Francisco Bay Area residents with disabilities.

Accessible Voting: The Voting Accessibility Advisory Committee (VAAC) met on Friday, October 9, 2020 and focused on accessible voting options for those who are registered to vote in San Francisco. The supplemental documents for this meeting will be posted to the VAAC website at https://sfelections.sfgov.org/participate-advisory-committees

Members learned about accessibility of the outdoor voting center open now through Election Day and located outside the Bill Graham Auditorium at 99 Grove Street, as well as Remote Accessible Vote by Mail, Curbside Voting, Polling Place voting on Election Day, and Emergency Ballot Delivery Services for those who are hospitalized or are in Skilled Nursing Facilities. More information can be found at the Department of Elections website at https://sfelections.sfgov.org/ways-vote and https://sfelections.sfgov.org/accessible-voting-and-services

COVID Response and Recovery: From the onset of the Pandemic in March of this year, MOD has been actively engaged in COVID response and recovery specific to San Franciscans with disabilities, including listening sessions that have directly taken the feedback of residents, advocacy groups and non-profits serving Deaf and disabled individuals into account. Council Members will recall that MOD provided a full presentation of COVID response actions taken by MOD in collaboration with other City departments serving San Franciscan’s with disabilities as part of the August 2020 MDC Executive Planning meeting, and may consider bringing this content to a future public meeting.

In addition, the Council may consider learning about the accessibility compliance approach of the Shared Spaces (outdoor dining) program, which is expected to be extended into 2021. This recommendation is part of the final report of the Economic Recovery Task Force (ERTF), which is now public and has recommendations that may impact people with disabilities. Information about the Shared Spaces program and the ERTF can be found via the following links: https://sf.gov/information/make-your-shared-space-accessible and https://sf.gov/file/shared-spaces-design-guidelines-using-sidewalk-or-parking-lane and https://onesanfrancisco.org/covid-19-recovery

Deaf and Hard of Hearing DGO: In July 2020, the SF Police Commission adopted the Departmental General Order for Interacting with Deaf and hard of Hearing individuals. https://sfgov.org/policecommission/sites/default/files/Documents/PoliceCommission/PoliceCommission071520-DGO5.23InteractionswithDeaf%26HardofHearingIndividuals.pdf

Now, the SFPD is beginning to engage on development of a training plan to assist Officers with Implementation of the Order. Again, Council members are encouraged to engage on this issue, and consider learning about the plan in an upcoming public meeting.

Dockless Scooter and Bike Share: With expansion of electronic scooter permitting as part of COVID response, SFMTA is in the process of updating accessibility guidelines for powered devices in the right of way. Accessible powered devices are also part of the program and companies that were awarded permits presented their designs to the Multimodal Accessibility Advisory Committee (MAAC) in their September 2020 meeting. When finalized, accessibility guidelines will be posted at: https://www.sfmta.com/projects/powered-scooter-share-program-permit

Accessible Housing: New MOD Information Bulletins for Design and Construction of Accessible Buildings are now available on the MOD website. They are intended for wide use and distribution, and are compiled here to help ensure consistent accessibility for Deaf and disabled residents in San Francisco. The guidance contained is based on accessibility best practices and concepts of Universal Design, and is provided in conjunction with the Mayor's Office on Housing and Community Development, Mercy Housing, and Mikiten Architecture: https://sfgov.org/mod/plan-check-forms-and-information-sheets

Legislative Updates: MDC and members of the public may want to engage with the following:

Transportation Network Company (TNC) legislation: SB 1376: The TNC Access for All Act is in pilot implementation phase. The Mayor’s Office on Disability, SFMTA and the County Transportation Authority                (CTA) continue to be parties to the comment proceeding, on the recommendation of the Mayor’s Disability Council

This report posts to the MOD homepage following this meeting. For questions or comments, or to get involved in or provide feedback on any of the items mentioned in this report, please contact MOD at 415 554-6789 or mod@sfgov.org. To stay current on opportunities, activities and events pertaining to people with disabilities, please subscribe to our newsfeed at http://sfgov.org/mod/.