Planning Commission hears transportation briefing on funding, projects and pricing

San Francisco — Transportation officials told the Planning Commission on March 26, 2009, that the city must pair land‑use choices with transportation investments and new revenue strategies to meet climate and ridership goals.

Timothy Papandre, deputy director for transportation planning at the Municipal Transportation Agency, said transportation and land use are ‘‘inextricably linked’’ and that local policy must manage demand as vehicles and fuels become cleaner. "Transportation choices available affect our ability to participate in society," Papandre told commissioners during an informational briefing.

Tilly Chang, deputy for planning with the San Francisco Transportation Authority, walked the commission through the city’s funding picture and a menu of projects. She highlighted that Prop K generates about $80 million a year for city transportation programs and cited the 2009 federal stimulus package as a one‑time infusion that included roughly $50 billion nationally for transportation, with about $9 billion aimed at transit. Chang said San Francisco received stimulus support for resurfacing and Muni recapitalization and that the city’s top four priorities remain Transbay Terminal, electrification, Central Subway and Doyle Drive.

Why it matters: presenters framed funding and policy as the constraint on meeting projected growth and greenhouse‑gas targets. Papandre said San Francisco’s transit boardings are roughly 800,000 now and could reach about 1,000,000 daily trips by 2030 if land use and transit investments are coordinated. To deliver projects more quickly, Chang and Papandre discussed pricing options including a congestion‑pricing feasibility study and the SFpark pilot for dynamic parking pricing and better real‑time parking information.

Major project and program notes: presenters described the Transit Effectiveness Project (TEP), which found 75 percent of boardings concentrate on 15 corridors and recommends rerouting and service changes to match demand; area plans for Treasure Island, Park Merced and Nineteenth Avenue that call for multi‑agency coordination; a congestion‑pricing feasibility study that could generate an estimated $50 million per year; and work to integrate car sharing, taxi administration and real‑time traveler information into a multimodal payment and planning framework.

Public comments and concerns: during public comment, bicycle and pedestrian advocates applauded the coordination but urged changes to environmental analysis and metrics. "We really can't do it if we're still using the wrong thermometer," said Andy Thornley of the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, calling for CEQA and level‑of‑service (LOS) reforms to better reflect multimodal impacts. Marilyn Amini said the briefing was not adequately agendized and raised a Brown Act concern, asserting that shifting from LOS to a trips‑generated standard could mask cumulative unmitigated impacts. Other neighborhood speakers asked for a clearer single public interface for local planning and pressed officials to consider merchants hurt by prolonged construction.

Commissioner questions and follow‑up: commissioners probed the presenters on the ridership and household projections, origins of added transit trips, the sequencing and phasing of TEP in light of budget constraints, fleet electrification prospects and the timing and traffic impacts of the Doyle Drive work (presenters said contracts were expected to be let in summer with implementation starting in the fall). Commissioners requested project materials and updated TEP documentation; staff said they would provide information packets and post presentation files online.

What’s next: the briefing was informational; no formal action was taken. Staff committed to provide the commission with project packets and updated TEP materials and to continue coordination among agencies on funding and implementation.