Resolution in support of San Francisco’s Transit Effectiveness Project and Muni Forward Program

[Transit Effectiveness Project and Muni Forward Program]

Resolution in support of San Francisco’s Transit Effectiveness Project and Muni Forward Program.

WHEREAS, 40 percent of San Francisco’s greenhouse gas emissions in 2010 came from cars and trucks, and trips in personal automobiles account for the great majority of these emissions; and,

WHEREAS, Greenhouse gas emissions contribute to human-made climate change; and,

WHEREAS, San Francisco’s vulnerabilities to climate change include sea level rise and flooding, heat waves, damage to local ecosystems, and risks to the city’s transportation and water infrastructure; and,

WHEREAS, The City of San Francisco’s  Climate Action Strategy supports measures that increase walking, transit ridership, car sharing, ridesharing and bicycling to achieve greenhouse gas reduction goals; and,

WHEREAS, The City of San Francisco has set the goal for 50 percent of all trips in the city to be made by means other than driving alone in a personal vehicle by 2018; and

WHEREAS, The City of San Francisco has adopted a Transit First Policy that gives transit vehicles priority over other vehicles on city streets; and,

WHEREAS, The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) implements San Francisco’s Transit First Policy by planning and implementing projects designed to make it faster, safer, more convenient, more reliable, and more enjoyable to walk, bike, use transit, take a taxi, or some combination of all the above; and,

WHEREAS, SFMTA conducted an in-depth planning effort called the Transit Effectiveness Project (TEP), that identified the key issues that affect San Francisco’s transit reliability, safety, and access, and proposed a series of improvements to San Francisco’s Muni transit network; and,

WHEREAS, The TEP Environmental Impact Report was certified by the San Francisco Planning Commission in March 2014; and,

WHEREAS, SFMTA has launched the Muni Forward program, which works to implement the proposals set forth by the TEP for the purpose of holistically improving transit in San Francisco and contributing to the fulfillment of the City’s Transit First Policy; and,

WHEREAS, The San Francisco Department of the Environment collaborates with other City agencies, including SFMTA, to support policies, programs, and initiatives like Muni Forward that improve transit in San Francisco; and,

WHEREAS, The San Francisco Department of the Environment will continue to educate and conduct outreach to San Francisco residents, commuters, and businesses through projects and programs to decrease trips in a personal vehicle; now, therefore, be it,

RESOLVED, That the Commission on the Environment’s Policy Committee supports the proposals set forth by SFMTA’s Transit Effectiveness Project, and be it,

FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Commission on the Environment’s Policy Committee supports SFMTA’s Muni Forward program to implement proposals of the Transit Effectiveness Project.

I hereby certify that this Resolution was adopted at the Commission on the Environment’s Policy Committee Meeting on October 8, 2014.

Monica Fish, Commission Secretary

VOTE:      2-0 Approved; 1 Vacant

AYES:      Commissioners Wald and Gravanis

NOES:     None

ABSENT:  None