Kicking off 2019 with Board Elections and our Annual Report

The Transportation Authority Board held elections in its first meeting of the year, selecting Commissioner Aaron Peskin as chair and Commissioner Rafael Mandelman as its vice chair.

In a separate action, Commissioners Matt Haney and Shamann Walton were elected chair and vice chair, respectively, of the Treasure Island Mobility Management Agency, a role the Transportation Authority plays to implement the Treasure Island Transportation Program. 

Our Director Tilly Chang presented our 2018 annual report at the meeting, which summarizes our planning, funding, project delivery, and oversight activities from the past year. See her presentation (PDF) or download the report (PDF).

Transportation Authority Studies Reservation and Pricing System for Crooked Section of Lombard

The Transportation Authority is studying a reservation and pricing system to better manage traffic flow on the crooked section of Lombard Street. Last week, we held a community meeting in partnership with District 2 Commissioner Catherine Stefani to present options about what a reservation and pricing system could look like and gather community feedback. Learn more and fill out an online feedback form.

The project team will use community feedback to refine our proposal for a reservation and pricing system for Lombard. In a few months we expect to present our final recommendations to the Transportation Authority Board. Our board will then provide direction on next steps. State legislation would also be required to enable San Francisco to implement a reservation and pricing system. 

Transportation Authority Releases District 10 Mobility Study

Our newly-released District 10 Mobility Management Study focuses on near-term, lower-cost, non-infrastructure solutions to make it easier to get around in the Bayview, Dogpatch, Potrero Hill, and Visitacion Valley neighborhoods. The study identifies a set of strategies to reduce congestion through partnerships between community organizations, developers, and emerging mobility service providers. 

Learn more and download the report (PDF).

Safety Improvements Coming to Alemany Maze

Safety improvements are coming to the Alemany interchange area, a key connection between the communities of Bernal Heights, the Portola, Silver Terrace, and the Bayview.
 
In December, the California Transportation Commission awarded $2 million from California’s Active Transportation Program (funded by the Senate Bill 1 gas tax program) to San Francisco Public Works for construction of a new multi-use path for pedestrians and bicyclists, connecting San Bruno Avenue more directly to the Alemany Farmers Market. Other improvements include new traffic signals, bicycle lane development and high visibility crosswalks.

"I'm so pleased we were able to win this key grant to improve walkability and bikeability through the freeway maze that divides District 9 neighborhoods of Bernal Heights and the Portola,” said Hillary Ronen, District 9 Supervisor and Transportation Authority commissioner. “This project is a significant first step toward increasing safety and access for our community, including the many people who depend on the Alemany Farmers Market for affordable, healthy produce." 

The Transportation Authority released a report in 2017 which recommended safety and accessibility improvements in the area. To date, we have worked with our partners at SFMTA and SF Public Works to use revenue from San Francisco’s half-cent sales tax for transportation for construction of a buffered bike lane and other roadway markings that will help emphasize pedestrian crossings, as well as design of the new path. These preliminary efforts laid the groundwork for the state funding award. 

Learn about the 2017 Alemany Interchange Improvement Study.

Transportation Authority’s Joe Castiglione Receives Zephyr Award for Leadership in Travel Analysis

Congrats to Joe Castiglione, our Deputy Director for Technology, Data, and Analysis, for receiving the Zephyr Leadership Award. 

Joe has worked with the Transportation Authority for the past four years and leads our data analysis work. He and his team focus on everything from studies on ride-hail companies, to traffic modeling and analysis, to data visualization. Joe first started as an intern at the Transportation Authority in 1997 and is a published author and active contributor in the demand modeling field.

The Leadership Award is granted to an individual who supports the Zephyr Foundation’s mission of advancing rigorous transportation and land use decision-making for the public good by advocating for and supporting improved travel analysis and facilitating its implementation. 

New Benefits for Bay Area Vanpools

The new Bay Area Vanpool Program provides resources and rewards for commuters to find or start a vanpool. A $9.5 million commitment approved by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission allows qualifying vanpools that rent their vehicles through the Commute With Enterprise service to reduce the cost of their van rates by $350 a month.
 
A vanpool is a group of seven to 15 people commuting together with an unpaid driver. Vanpool vehicles can be rented through a third-party provider or be owned by an individual or an employer, however only vanpools that rent through Enterprise qualify for this incentive program.
 
Learn more and sign up via 511 SF Bay.

Intern with Us

Want to build skills in transportation planning, modeling, engineering, or funding? Check out our internships and apply by February 11th.

This Sunday, February 10th: SF Urban Film Festival Storytelling Workshop

Join us this month for a storytelling workshop with the SF Urban Film Festival at SPUR. Learn about storytelling through an urban planning process that is happening in real time – the implementation of the autonomous shuttle on Treasure Island. We hope you’ll join us for this workshop, happening Sunday, February 10th, 3pm. Register here. 

Apply to join the Transbay Joint Powers Authority Citizens Advisory Committee 

The Transbay Joint Powers Authority (operator of the Salesforce Transit Center) has 7 full-term seats available on its Citizens Advisory Committee. Learn more and apply.

Stop by Better Market Street pop-up office hours

The Better Market Street project team will be holding office hours through the month of February at a temporary pop-up in the lobby of A.C.T.’s Strand Theater, 1127 Market Street. See the pop-up schedule.
 

Attend a meeting with the Transportation Authority

Attend an upcoming Transportation Authority meeting to hear project updates and share your thoughts at public comment. View agendas.

Transportation Authority Board 
The Transportation Authority’s governing board consists of the 11 members of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Our board meets twice monthly to receive updates on transportation projects, allocate funding, and make decisions on project planning and delivery.

Upcoming board meetings located at City Hall, Room 250:

• Tuesday, February 12, 10:00 a.m.
• Tuesday, February, 26, 10:00 a.m.

BART, Amtrak assess building new shared transbay crossing: BART and Amtrak are teaming up on assessing the possibility of building a second Bay Area crossing, one that would give passengers a “one-seat” ride on the Capitol Corridor train from downtown San Francisco to Sacramento. [SF Chronicle]

San Francisco moves forward with paid reservation system for Lombard Street: Plans for the paid reservation system for the most crooked street in San Francisco were moved forward following a meeting between city officials and residents Wednesday evening. [NBC Bay Area]

Congestion pricing, often attacked as inequitable, is actually the cure for inequitable transportation: A new report by TransForm sees congestion pricing as a way of advancing transportation equity — but only if the plan makes buses move faster, improves air quality and improves transit. [Streetsblog USA]

Metropolitan Transportation Commission names Therese W. McMillan new executive director: Obama Administration Veteran Returns from Los Angeles to Replace Steve Heminger. [MTC]

BART service to begin 1 hour later: Beginning February 11, BART will shift its start of service from 4 a.m. to 5 a.m. on weekdays to allow extra time for a critical seismic retrofit of the Transbay Tube. This change will last for the duration of the 3.5 year-long project. [BART]

The San Francisco County Transportation Authority

We plan, fund, and deliver projects to improve travel choices citywide. Visit our website to learn more. For information on projects in your neighborhood, visit MyStreetSF, our interactive project map.

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We hope you find this newsletter informative. If you have feedback or ideas for future editions, email us at communications@sfcta.org.