Committee approves forwarding ordinance to require subway master plan; amends timing

The Land Use and Transportation Committee voted unanimously to forward to the full Board of Supervisors an ordinance requiring the city to prepare a comprehensive subway master plan within 12 months and to update the plan every four years. The committee approved a minor amendment to change the start of the 12-month deadline from the ordinance—s effective date to within 12 months of the mayor's signature.

Supervisor Scott Wiener, the ordinance author, framed the need for a subway-focused plan around sustained population growth and congestion, saying, "San Francisco has 200,000 more residents today than our city had in 1980" and warning that existing surface transit does not provide the capacity needed for projected growth. Wiener said the plan would identify priority corridors and initial subway alignments to keep projects in the pipeline for funding and delivery.

Michael Schwartz, senior transportation planner with the San Francisco County Transportation Authority (SFCTA), said a multi-agency, long-range planning effort and an active procurement (request for proposals) are underway to bring consultants on board. Schwartz noted regional and local ridership increases and argued that a unified vision would help coordinate existing corridor studies and upcoming projects.

Graham Satterwhite of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) highlighted related studies (BART metro program, MTC core-capacity study, Muni rail capacity work and Caltrain downtown extension) and emphasized that delivering subway projects will require new funding approaches, alternative delivery methods, and additional engineering and project-delivery capacity. Satterwhite described the proposed work as a means to "build a shared vision for the future of transportation in San Francisco."

Public commenters varied. Esther Stearns, speaking for San Francisco Transit Riders, said the plan should account for shifting concentrations of residents in the Southeast and Far West and prioritize equitable access to employment. Steven Tabor of Russian Hill Neighbors said the city needs specific, buildable plans rather than conceptual corridor studies. Sue Hester urged the committee to "plan for construction," recommending trained traffic-control officers be funded as part of major construction appropriations to reduce congestion during projects.

The committee adopted Supervisor Wiener's amendment (changing the timing trigger to mayoral signature) and then unanimously forwarded the amended ordinance to the full Board with a positive recommendation. The ordinance will be scheduled for the full Board's consideration.