Support the Revised SFTEP Proposal before the MTA Board TUESDAY, 9/16

September 15th, 2008

SFTEPAfter months of public input, the SF Transit Effectiveness Project is presenting its updated proposal for route changes to the MTA Board tomorrow. This proposal would make the most dramatic changes to Muni lines in a generation, adding buses and streetcars and speeding up service on the most important lines while keeping essential community service lines running. Staff estimates that this proposal will allow Muni to add 70,000 new riders every day – a 10% increase in ridership at a time when gasoline prices are rising and demand for transit is growing rapidly.

Rescue Muni supports this proposal as revised. We were very pleased that the TEP staff and CAC took our suggestions into account when the updated proposal was written, but we also want to reiterate our support for the concept of the TEP, which is to use modern measurement techniques to learn where passengers actually want to ride the system and align routes to this demand, and also to design routes to make service much faster and more reliable. If you have been stuck on a slow, unreliable line thinking that there has to be a better way, the SFTEP is designed specifically to solve this problem!

(If you haven’t already reviewed the detailed proposal for the lines you ride and the system as a whole (pdf), please take a look now.)

These will be considered at the MTA Board on Tuesday, September 16. If you agree with us that this proposal will make service much faster and more reliable both on YOUR line and citywide, please come to the meeting and speak in favor! Details:

SFMTA Board Meeting and Public Hearing on SFTEP
City Hall Room 400 (1 Carlton B. Goodlett Street)
Public Comment at 3:30 pm and again at 5:30 pm

Thanks!

Cautious Optimism

November 7th, 2007

Yes on AElection results are coming in very slowly this year because of the Secretary of State’s requirement that they be tallied by hand, but absentee numbers came in last night, and things are looking good.

Proposition H, the nightmarish omnibus parking measure, is trailing 42%-58% in absentees, so it’s clearly headed for a well-deserved watery grave. Proposition A, the Muni reform measure, is on the knife’s edge, leading 51%-49%. People who vote absentee are usually markedly more conservative than people who vote at the polls, and since opposition to Prop A came largely from more conservative quarters (the Chamber of Commerce, the Republican Party, etc.) it’s reasonable to hope that the at-the-polls ballots will widen that margin, not tip it over to the No side.

That said, it was a very low-turnout election with a big last-minute No on A campaign push, so only cautious optimism is warranted until we see some counts of the at-the-polls ballots, from precincts distributed throughout the city geographically. But things are looking good so far.

Mayor Newsom has a 70-point lead and our hearty congratulations on winning a second term. And Proposition C is leading 74%-26%. So we’re three-quarters of the way to a clean sweep, and we have reason to think the coming days or weeks will bring good news on Prop A. We’ll keep this blog updated with news on Prop A as we get it. And you can check results as they’re updated on the Department of Elections site here.

-Daniel M.

UPDATE: (4:36 p.m.) With the first batch of at-the-polls votes counted, Proposition A’s lead has increased to 54%-46%, and Proposition H trails even further now, at 36%-64%.

Don’t Forget to Vote

November 6th, 2007

Yes on AToday’s the day.

If you haven’t voted by mail yet, be sure to go to the polls today and vote. This election is widely expected to be a low turnout affair, but it’s a critical election for the future of Muni. The outcomes on Proposition A and Proposition H will have an enormous impact on transportation in this city.

This election is a crossroads for Muni. It really is. We face a choice between a real Muni reform measure that extends the work of 1999’s Prop E, and injects new funding into the agency, and a measure that puts parking and private automobiles first. Muni’s on the ballot today, and Muni needs your vote.

Please vote Yes on A and No on H. And if you’ve already voted, phone a friend and urge them to vote. Tell them what’s at stake. Don’t assume they know. Don’t assume they’re already planning to vote. Send them a link to the Rescue Muni page, and to our friends at Yes on A/No on H.

Once more, for emphasis, are Rescue Muni’s complete endorsements:

Mayor: Gavin Newsom
Proposition A (Muni Reform/Clean Air): YES
Proposition C (Public Hearings on Ballot Measures): YES
Proposition H (Massive Parking Increase): NO

See you at the polls.

-Daniel M.

Muni Re-Reform: Contact Your Supervisor TODAY To Urge A YES Vote!

July 30th, 2007

Please take a moment TODAY to contact your Supervisor to urge him/her to put the Muni Reform amendment on the ballot!

Last week, as we noted, a consensus was reached at the Board of Supervisors on the proposed Muni reform package sponsored by Supervisor Peskin. (Ex Editorial.)

Supervisor Alioto-Pier and Mayor Newsom have both expressed concerns about the measure after a provision was added to block the so-called “Parking for Neighborhoods Initiative”, strongly opposed by Rescue Muni, because increased parking would be a disaster for Muni and highly counterproductive to Muni reform.

However, Rescue Muni supports this measure, and also strongly opposes the Parking for Neighborhoods measure. We urge the supervisors to pass it tomorrow and place it on the ballot this fall. We also encourage Mayor Newsom to take a strong stand in opposition to this anti-rider parking measure that threatens to undo Muni reform and push more San Franciscans into their cars.

To keep San Francisco a Transit First city, please contact your Supervisor to encourage a YES vote, and also call Mayor Newsom’s office to urge him to oppose the parking measure! The Supervisors vote tomorrow, so a call today is essential.

Thanks!

Supervisors: Support Peskin Amendment; Oppose McGoldrick Amendment and Parking Initiative

July 23rd, 2007

The following letter (also in pdf) went out to the Supervisors tonight, who are tomorrow considering proposals to further reform Muni. Rescue Muni supports the Peskin amendment (Re-Reform) and opposes the McGoldrick amendment (Un-Reform).

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