This is the archival website for the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA). It is not kept up to date. Please visit the SFMTA website for current information. SFMTA Multimodal Accessibility Advisory Committee (MAAC) > July 21, 2011, minutes |
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SFMTA | MUNI ACCESSIBILITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE (MAAC) MAAC members: Present: Roland Wong, Ed Evans, Jean Kempf, Bruce Morgan, Vernon Smith, Kevin Lee, Joseph Flanagan, Byron Yan, Jeanne Lynch, Marc Grossman, Roger Rose, Randall Glock, David Longa, Jan Copriviza, Les Clark Absent: Elizabeth Dawson*, Felton Peterson*, F. Ross Woodall*, Melvin Galloway, Miro Kielbus* *Excused SFMTA Staff: Matt West, Virginia Rathke, Lea Militello, Heath Maddox Members of the public: Nate Call to Order & Introductions The meeting was called to order at 1:05 p.m. As both the Chair and Vice Chair were not present, Roland Wong, Secretary, chaired the meeting. Reading and Approval of Agenda The agenda of July 21 was approved as read. Reading and Approval of Minutes The June 16 minutes was approved. Announcements Mr. West made several announcements:
Ms. Lynch had two announcements:
Mr. Yan announced that on Tuesday, July 26 at 5 p.m., joint forces of ILRC and SF Main Public Library are celebrating the 21st Anniversary of American with Disabilities Act (ADA). Mr. Evans agrees with Ms. Lynch about Walk Your Bikes on sidewalk and would like to know if it’s bilingual format. Ms. Lynch indicated that the flyer is in several languages and would like to expand the languages offered to Russian, as there are many Russian speakers in the Richmond. Mr. Evans announced that on July 25 at 10 a.m., there will be a meeting to speak about public benefits. Mr. Wong made two announcements:
Nate commented about the availability of the monthly “P” Pass and concerned about the wait time of the study of the pass to be made permanent. He further indicated that there is not enough places to purchase the P Pass. Mr. Evans commented on the men’s restroom at the 3rd floor, the lighting is poor and the lock is difficult to read and use. Mr. Yan participated in the aforementioned Pedestrian Safety Committee meeting and is concerned about the proposed SFMTA bus stop consolidation how it impacts the seniors and disability community. Ms. Copriviza found the information for the SFMTA MAAC recognition award. She will follow up with Mr. West. The operator is in the Potrero Hill division. Mr. Rose agrees with Mr. Evans about the men’s bathroom where he has to wait for someone to open the door due to poor light and the lock is a problem. Mr. Lee announced that he was able to secure funds from his Archery Club of $175 to purchase items for the Recognition Awards. Thank you Mr. Lee for securing the funds for MAAC. Presentations 1. SFMTA Police Safety Lea Militello, Commander, SFPD Lea.militello@sfmta.com | 415-701-5247 Commander Lea Militello gave a presentation regarding the role of the SFMTA Police Safety Division. Mr. Glock commented that there is a lot of fighting on buses, and of the need for an expanded police presence on the buses. Ms. Militello finds that the Bus Camera Program has helped to resolve may instances of this – People often do not realize that they are being filmed. Ms. Lynch spoke about bicycles and skateboarders, in particular their illegal use of the sidewalks at the expense of pedestrian safety. Mr. Morgan saw a woman passenger’s purse snatched while on the bus. This is a frequent occurrence. Mr. Lee would like to know the response time in regards to the “Text a Tag” program – is this effective? Ms. Militello stated that the response time varies, but that in general this has been a highly effective program and a quite successful deterrent. Often officers are able to intercept the bus within one stop. Mr. Grossman expressed concern about safety along N-Judah corridor, where there is a lack of islands where passengers can wait for the trains to arrive. Ms. Militello stated that this is an issue and that we may need to work with planning on some sort of traffic calming measure for the areas in question. Mr. Wong made a comment about exploring the use of flashing red lights on LRVs – such as that used by school buses to notify oncoming vehicles to stop while passengers boarding and exiting trains. Right now, many motorists ignore that the LRVs are boarding and alighting at transit stops -- It is dangerous for passengers because drivers not yielding to pedestrians. Ms. Militello thought that this might be a good idea and believed that we could explore it further, though it would best be done through Muni operations, not SFPD. Mr. Flanagan spoke of having a meeting with seniors and disabled community about priority boarding and the need to clarify policies on priority seating. Mr. Smith expressed concerns with boarding and getting off the LRV on the surface. He often finds himself using his cane to signal to motorists to yield so that he can step into the street to board the LRV, but to no avail – the motorists seldom stop. This same problem is present on getting to and from boarding islands – How can we get motorists to follow the law and yield to passengers at these locations? Mr. Flanagan spoke of issues with priority seating – passengers often do not yield to senior and wheelchair users. Mr. Evans says drivers don’t inform passengers to move to the back of the bus – Often this causes him to be passed up as there is no room in the front of the bus to board wheelchair users. Ms. Militello informed Mr. Evans to report the incident to 311 or call SFMTA for the appropriate department to educate the driver. Mr. Evans expressed concerns regarding the shelter at Turk and Hyde – they are taking away shelters in the Tenderloin! Ms. Militello indicated that it is not the intention of the SFMTA. We do not seek to remove these shelter, however there is a need to educate the public on the role that shelters play in providing safety and accessibility -- There is a public meeting about the shelter on Turk and Hyde on July 26, please come to it. Mr. Lee asked if we could examine the use of police cadets to help patrol Muni. Could we require that cadets complete a specific period of assignment to Muni before graduating to become full fledged SFPD officers? Ms. Militello stated that the cadets already must ride along with the uniformed police; however we might be able to look at this further and may be able to make better use of the requirements already in place. 2. SFMTA Access Recognition Award. Mr. Bob Planthold presented a recognition award to Mr. Jose Alvarez. Mr. Alvarez is a Muni operator on the F-Market line ensured a wheelchair passenger was able to board a streetcar that the passenger was not able to board due to the over crowdedness of the streetcars. 3. SFMTA Bike Sharing Proposal. Heath Maddox, Senior Planner, Livable Streets Heath.maddox@sfmta.com | 415-701-4605 Mr. Maddox made a presentation on the bike sharing pilot project which is comprised of rental bikes for use by the general public. A supply of 500 bikes will be made available for rental throughout the city, mainly in the Northeastern area of the city. Mr. Glock wanted to know how secure these rentals are – What is to stop someone from walking off with both the bike and its securement apperatus? Nate – How do we ensure that these bikes are not completely trashed in a manner of days? Also, there is a good chance that someone will take one of these bikes and analyze the germ count on them and find that it is very high, has SFMTA thought of the repercussions of this? 4. MAAC member nomination. Ms. Jessica Ellis was elected to the MAAC membership, which will expire on March 1, 2013. Old business 1. Brainstorm Session – Goals for 2011-2012 MAAC This has been tabled for next month. 2. Letter to SFPD This item has been tabled for the next meeting. 3. Issues with announcements in subway This item has been tabled for the next meeting. Public comments None Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 3 p.m. The next MAAC meeting will be on August 18. |
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