Transit not traffic!
Vote Yes on Measure A and No on Measure H for a more livable San Francisco
Enrique Peñalosa, former mayor of Bogotá, holds that before making decisions about transportation, one must first ask a more fundamental question: What kind of city do you want? a livable city? a sustainable city? a socially just city? a diverse and vital city? a city where children and seniors can move safely through the city? a city where no one is disadvantaged by not owning a car?
The urgency of finding more sustainable ways of living has never been greater, as the news is increasingly full of stories about resource depletion, natural systems under threat, and the growing environmental and human cost of living out of balance with the natural and human systems that sustain life.
San Franciscans will have a clear choice this November between two visions of the city. Voters in the November will have a chance to support a Measure A, a charter reform measure that will increase funding for MTA, the parent agency of Muni, and expand the agency's authority to manage its operations and responsibilities relative to other city agencies.
Voters will also have a chance to reject Measure H, the so-called "parking for neighborhoods" measure, financed by Gap Chairman Don Fisher, that would roll back three decades worth of successful policy aimed at encouraging downtown commuters to walk, bicycle, and use transit, strip the city's diverse neighborhoods of their ability to choose parking policies that meet their unique needs and conditions.
San Francisco has had a Transit First policy since the early 1970's. The Transit First policy emerged from the Freeway Revolt of the early 1960's, along with the realization that San Francisco's compact neighborhoods and narrow streets could not sustain automobile-centered growth without doing great violence to the city.
No, No, No on Proposition H!
This November, our "Transit First" policy will be challenged by Proposition H. Proposition H, the so-called "parking for neighborhoods" measure, would roll back three decades worth of policy aimed at encouraging downtown commuters to walk, bicycle, and use transit.
The SFBC and other livable city advocates have been calling Prop H "Parking for Downtown" and "Traffic For Neighborhoods"
Here are just a few of the many reasons this deceptive scheme will be disastrous for San Francisco: Traffic and pollution for our neighborhoods. According to the Planning Department, if this measure passes, over the next 20 years up to 20,000 new vehicles will be congesting San Francisco roads every day. That means more traffic, more air pollution, and the problems associated with both - more danger for bicyclists, pedestrians, child asthma, global warming, etc. Prop H will increase the amount of parking allowed downtown by 400-600%! And will require a parking spot for every new housing unit built outside the northeastern section of the city. What about those of us who don't own cars? What about those of us who would rather build a bedroom in that space?
Danger for bicyclists, pedestrians, street trees! This measure would give a property owner the absolute right to build a garage in their existing residential building - regardless of whether the curb cut is on a key bike route! Curb cuts encourage cars to back out and drive over bike lanes. They also damage the pedestrian environment. More curb cuts means more cars parked on the sidewalks. New curb cuts could also eliminate or move a bus shelter, a mature street tree, or a retail store front.
Loopholes so big, you can drive a HUMMER through them. The measure provides unlimited parking for what it calls "low emission vehicles". Hybrids and bio-diesel, you think? Not a chance. Low-emission, according to this law, includes HUMMERS, Cadillac Escalades, Ford Expeditions and Range Rovers, none of which get even 20 mpg.
Threats to affordable housing. Today, developers are encouraged to use limited resources and space to build affordable housing, not garages. Under this measure, the same developers will be forced to use up money and space for parking. That means less affordable housing for San Francisco.
The Wrong Road for San Francisco. From the days of the Embarcadero Freeway revolt to the battle to stop a highway through Golden Gate Park, San Franciscans have fought for a livable, walkable, transit-friendly city. This measure would undo thirty years of progress and put us on the road to being more like Los Angeles or Houston or Atlanta.
Yes on A!
Proposition A is a charter reform measure that will increase funding for MTA, the parent agency of Muni, and expand the agency's authority to manage its operations and responsibilities relative to other city agencies.
Key provisions of Prop A:
Increased funding for Muni. If this measure passes, the MTA will be able to keep 80% of the money from parking revenue, instead of sending half of it to the General Fund as is the case today. This amounts to a $26 million funding increase in the first year to help keep Muni affordable and reliable.
Requires MTA to create a Climate Action Plan. To reduce air pollution and global warming, this measure requires for the first time that San Francisco's transportation system meet standards that exceed those set by the Kyoto Global Warming Treaty. It requires the MTA to create a Climate Action Plan by January 1, 2009 with a goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions from San Francisco's transportation sector to 80% of 1990 levels by 2012.
Work Rule & Driver Pay Reform. Prop A is supported by the Unions and the Labor Council. For decades, transit reform in San Francisco has run into an immovable obstacle - a Charter-imposed cap on salaries that undermines collective bargaining and eliminates the ability of managers to negotiate for new work rules that help make the system run better. This measure removes this obstacle and creates a collective bargaining dynamic where unions have the incentive to join management for new rules that will increase reliability and efficiency.
Restructures MTA bureaucracy to cut waste and improve efficiency. This measure reforms MTA's management team to allow real accountability at the top. It introduces pay based on performance for top MUNI officials; increases the number of managers who are accountable to the MTA Chief; and, for the first time, allows the General Manager to recruit a team of people outside of the bureaucracy and be able to fire people who does not perform. This is the most significant expansion of management accountability the City has seen in decades.
We need your help to ensure that our city continues to roll towards streets where bicyclists, pedestrians, and transit users are prioritized before the single occupancy automobile!
To help with the campaign for Transit not Traffic, contact:
Natasha Marsh
transitnottraffic@gmail.com
415.641.2421