Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the SFMTA Reform topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Supervisors delay SFMTA charter change after heated public comments; staff to propose outreach plan
Summary
Sponsors of a charter amendment to move some parking and traffic authority from SFMTA to a new 'livable streets' department moved the measure to the November ballot and asked SFMTA to deliver a 90-day outreach and staffing plan after widespread public testimony both supporting and opposing the split.
The San Francisco Rules Committee on Jan. 24 heard extensive debate over a proposed charter amendment that would remove the Municipal Transportation Agency's authority over parking and certain traffic regulations and create a separate 'livable streets' department and commission.
Sponsor Supervisor Asha Safaei (co‑sponsored with Supervisor Peskin) framed the measure as a response to district-level complaints about stop signs, preferential parking, curb management and other neighborhood traffic concerns. Safaei said the proposal would preserve the existing commission (with mayoral appointments) but create a department focused on local street, curb and parking issues so the SFMTA could concentrate on its core transit mission.
Tom McGuire, sustainable streets director for the SFMTA, told the committee the agency would outline within 90 days a plan to be more responsive to supervisors and neighborhoods by assigning planners and engineers to work more directly with each supervisor's office and by pursuing more proactive, community-based planning. "We really do hear the frustration and we are looking forward to an opportunity to both resolve the frustration and rebuild your trust," McGuire said.
Public comment was sharply divided. Supporters — including the chair of Save Our El Taraval Stops and neighborhood residents — said the agency is too centralized and has ignored local concerns, citing the removal of Muni stops on El Taraval and the loss of a Seventeenth Avenue inbound stop as examples. Opponents, including Walk San Francisco and other transit advocates, argued that splitting SFMTA would increase bureaucracy, undermine coordination needed for Vision Zero and safety projects, and slow projects that require integrated decisions about transit, parking and street redesign.
Community groups asked the committee to require clear, public documentation of any interim SFMTA commitments. Supervisor Safaei asked SFMTA to present a staffing and communications plan to supervisors within 90 days. The committee amended the proposal to target the November ballot and continued the item to the call of the chair to allow further work with stakeholders.
The committee's action keeps the issue active while giving sponsors time to refine the measure and SFMTA an opportunity to produce the promised outreach and district-level staffing plan.
