SFMTA director highlights meter-shop overhaul, regional funding push, Van Ness BRT gains and subway cell service

San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency Director Julie Kirschbaum opened her director's report at the board's April 1 meeting by honoring the agency's meter shop for completing a citywide conversion to new multi-space meters and other upgrades that staff said make maintenance simpler for the agency and payment easier for customers.

Kirschbaum said the meter shop program now maintains roughly 27,000 parking spaces citywide, installs and services pay stations and signs, manages license-plate-recognition data and parking-collection contracts, and performed an estimated 45,000 service events since Thanksgiving. "These kinds of win–wins are exactly how we're going to have to navigate this very difficult period," Kirschbaum told the board. Streets Director Victoria Wise and Meter Shop Manager Tony Mazzetti spoke…