[0:09] . >> good morning, colleagues.

[0:15] welcome to the september 15th regular meeting in 2026 of the

[0:20] san francisco county transportation authority.

[0:24] >> happy independence day to all my central american sisters

[0:28] and brothers. >> I am commissioner and melgar

[0:32] chair of this board along with vice chair danny sauder.

[0:36] welcome everyone. Our clerk today is amy sayang

[0:40] and also I would like to acknowledge maturity at a

[0:41] subcommittee for staffing us during this meeting.

[0:45] madam clerk, please call the roll and then make your

[0:48] announcements. >> commissioner chan chan

[0:52] absent commissioner chin chin present commissioner darcy

[0:57] darcy present commissioner fielder field are present

[1:00] commissioner mahmood mahmood present commissioner randleman

[1:04] mandel and absent chair melgar present melgar present vice

[1:08] chair sardar sardar present commissioner cheryl cheryl

[1:14] present commissioner walton walton absent commissioner wang

[1:18] wang absent. Chair we have quorum also the

[1:22] transportation authority welcomes your attendance here

[1:23] in person at the legislative chamber room to 52nd floor city

[1:26] hall when you can't be here the proceedings are streaming live

[1:31] at s.f. Gov tv dot org or airing on s.f. Local cable

[1:36] channel 2670 7178 or 99 depending on your provider

[1:40] written public comment may be submitted by sending an email

[1:43] to clerk at s.f. Cta.org or by mailing comments via u.s.

[1:47] postal service to us of cta 1455 market street 2020 second

[1:54] floor san francisco, california 94103.

[1:57] >> thank you. Thank you.

[2:00] at this time I'd like to excuse commissioner walton from this

[2:05] meeting and also commissioner mandel men from the parts of

[2:08] the meeting that he will miss although we are expecting him

[2:10] at some point before before calling the next item as chair

[2:13] I'd like to invoke rule 3.26 from the rules of order to

[2:17] limit total public comment per item to 30 minutes for today's

[2:20] meeting each speaker will have two minutes to speak on a given

[2:24] item. Madam clerk please call our

[2:27] next item item to approve the minutes of the july 28, 2026

[2:31] meeting. >> this is an action item I

[2:35] don't see anyone with questions or comments so let's go to

[2:39] public comment on this item please.

[2:40] >> is there anyone in the chamber who wishes to speak on

[2:42] item two the minutes there is not okay public comment is

[2:47] closed colleagues may I have a motion in a second to approve

[2:51] the minutes please move by fielder seconded by cheryl.

[2:55] >> madam clerk please call the roll on the motion to approve

[2:59] item two commissioner chan chan absent commissioner chin chin I

[3:06] commissioner darcy darcy I commissioner fielder fielder I.

[3:10] commissioner mahmood mahmud I chair melgar I melgar I vice

[3:15] chair sauder solder I commissioner cheryl cheryl I

[3:22] commissioner wong wong absent there are seven eyes the

[3:26] minutes are approved. >> thank you so much.

[3:29] let's go to the next item please.

[3:32] item three community advisory committee report this is an

[3:33] information item and we are joined by chc chair kat siegel

[3:40] who is here remotely to present.

[3:44] welcome, chair. Siegel thank you.

[3:45] good morning, chairman carr vice chair slaughter

[3:49] and transportation authority commissioner is the cac has met

[3:53] twice since my last report to you in july we received a state

[3:57] and federal legislation update and voted to approve the

[4:01] recommended support position on state senate bill 1246 the ab

[4:08] regulations bill. Members overwhelmingly

[4:10] expressed that while they supported the legislation it

[4:13] didn't go far enough with multiple members focusing on

[4:17] the 30 minute threshold for blocking emergency vehicles

[4:21] being too high and citing recent incidents throughout the

[4:25] city where abs have blocked both emergency vehicles

[4:29] and muni service. The cac also received an update

[4:32] on the san francisco transportation plan 2050 plus

[4:35] member feedback emphasized wanting to see greater emphasis

[4:40] on transit service expansion, major transit improvement

[4:44] projects and reimagining the transit network for changing

[4:48] travel patterns at our september 9th meeting the cac

[4:52] voted to approve the allocation of $22,500,000 in prop l funds

[4:59] to the t j for the portal project engineering phase.

[5:03] members wanted to know whether f t a or state g r f funds are

[5:08] at risk and staff reaffirms the strong partnership with mta for

[5:11] this project while acknowledging the significant

[5:15] risk to t c p funds planned for this project due to recent

[5:18] changes by the california air resources board, the cac also

[5:23] voted to support the bag cycle for project nominations

[5:26] recommended by staff during discussion members expressed

[5:31] surprise at some of the relative project scores

[5:34] particularly the high score assigned to the treasure island

[5:38] electric ferry project compared to the 16th street mission bart

[5:42] station elevator modernization project noting the bart

[5:45] station's high usage and the importance of reliable

[5:49] elevators for accessibility, staff clarified that project

[5:53] readiness was heavily weighted and that prior oberg funded

[5:57] bart elevator projects had experienced delivery issues

[6:00] and remained incomplete. This led to a follow up

[6:04] discussion from members about what key barriers bart has

[6:08] faced in elevator project delivery and how the

[6:12] transportation authority might be able to help bart complete

[6:16] these critical projects more quickly.

[6:17] thank you and I can answer any questions.

[6:20] >> thank you so much at chair segal.

[6:24] madam clerk, I also want to note that we've been joined by

[6:25] commissioner walton. We had excused him but he's

[6:29] very much here so I don't see any questions or comments from

[6:32] my colleagues on the chair's report.

[6:35] >> let's go to public comment on this item please.

[6:37] is there anyone in the chamber who wishes to speak on item

[6:40] three? >> the cac report?

[6:43] >> there's not. Okay.

[6:43] public comment is now closed. >> let's go to item number four

[6:48] please. Item for appoint abigail

[6:51] pantaleon as the district 11 representative to the community

[6:55] advisory committee. This is an action item.

[6:58] >> we have amelia warley here to present on this item.

[7:02] >> good morning chair. Good morning commissioners.

[7:06] the transportation authority has an 11 member community

[7:07] advisory committee which members serve a two year term

[7:11] on and the board appoints members to the cac.

[7:14] each commissioner nominates one member to the committee.

[7:18] neither staff nor the cac make recommendations on

[7:21] appointments. Applicants must be san

[7:22] francisco residents and they must appear before the board at

[7:26] least once to describe their interests and qualifications.

[7:29] the district 11 seat is open as the result of the prior

[7:33] representative resigning and commissioner chen has

[7:34] indicated her intent to nominate abigail pantoja for

[7:37] the position who I believe has joined us remotely today to

[7:41] speak about their interest and qualifications.

[7:44] >> thank you. Welcome is pantoja.

[7:50] hello. Thank you.

[7:51] good morning everyone. Let me start with you two.

[7:55] >> yes. Good morning everyone.

[7:58] my name is abigail pantoja. I'm very honored and excited to

[8:02] be considered for the community advisory committee to represent

[8:06] district 11. I have san francisco my home

[8:09] for the past 12 years and muni is my ride.

[8:13] I feel incredibly lucky to live in a city where just outside my

[8:15] doorstep I've had the 49, the 49 and even the 52 bus lines

[8:19] connecting me to so many parts of the city.

[8:22] that connection and mobility is what made me first interested

[8:25] in getting involved in local government and becoming an

[8:29] advocate for my community in the transportation world.

[8:33] throughout my career I've had the opportunity to work

[8:36] in different fields and also work with so many different

[8:39] people from different backgrounds.

[8:40] I've worked at a local nonprofits serving immigrant

[8:44] women and children who are new to the city and I help them

[8:47] connect them with resources all across francisco.

[8:49] >> I've worked in the food service where I heavily relied

[8:52] on muni to get to work even as early as 5 a.m. And today I

[8:59] work at the university of san francisco where area where I

[9:00] interact with students and support them in their day

[9:04] to day experiences. And transportation and mobility

[9:07] has touched every one of these experiences.

[9:10] I ride the bus daily and I've seen the changes over the years

[9:14] throughout my time here and it has been definitely felt when

[9:17] lines are short in frequency slows down and alternative

[9:20] routes need to be considered. Even what may seem like small

[9:24] inconveniences for one person can have a much greater impact

[9:27] on someone who relies on public transportation every day.

[9:31] myself included may be a choice for some people but for many

[9:35] people it's their only option. Public transportation isn't

[9:39] just about getting from one place to another.

[9:42] it connects people to their jobs schools, families,

[9:45] resources and communities. It's a constant reminder of how

[9:49] important accessibility, reliability and connection are

[9:52] to our everyday lives. I hope to bring that

[9:53] perspective to the committee listen to the needs of district

[9:58] 11 residents and do my due diligence to be a thoughtful,

[10:00] engaged and dependable representative of our

[10:03] community. Thank you so much.

[10:06] >> thank you so much, commissioner chen.

[10:11] >> would you like to say a few words about your nominee?

[10:12] great. Thank you, chairman.

[10:15] I've got colleagues. I'm very excited to extend my

[10:16] support for this appointment of abigail pantoja.

[10:19] abigail. >> it's a longtime excelsior y

[10:23] resident, a community worker and a daily transit rider.

[10:26] in conversations with my office.

[10:30] >> abigail emphasized her strong commitment to community

[10:33] engagement and amplifying the voices of transit riders.

[10:37] as a member of the community advisory committee.

[10:39] she looks forward to representing the experiences of

[10:41] working family navigating the city on public transportation

[10:45] and and uplifting themes of affordability, equity

[10:50] and protecting public transportation services.

[10:54] she is rooted in the community and has a big spirit and I look

[10:58] forward to her collaboration as a member of community advisory

[11:02] committee. >> thank you.

[11:04] >> thank you, commissioner chen.

[11:05] madam clerk, let's go to public comment on this item please.

[11:09] >> is there anyone in the chamber who wishes to speak on

[11:12] item for the appointment of abigail pantoja to the cac?

[11:16] >> there is not okay public comment on this item is now

[11:19] closed. Commissioner chen would you

[11:20] like to make a motion? >> yes.

[11:24] thank you, chair. I would like to make a motion

[11:27] to appoint abigail pantoja to the seat representing district

[11:31] 11 on the community advisory committee seconded by fielder.

[11:38] >> and I know we can't take this.

[11:39] can you please take a vote on the motion to approve item

[11:43] four? >> commissioner chan chan

[11:46] absent. Commissioner chin chin I.

[11:50] commissioner darcy darcy I. Commissioner fielder.

[11:54] fielder I. Commissioner mahmud mahmud I.

[11:55] commissioner chair melgar I melgar I.

[12:01] vice chair sardar sardar I. Commissioner cheryl cheryl I.

[12:05] commissioner walton walton I. Commissioner wong wong absent.

[12:09] >> there are eight eyes the motion is approved.

[12:13] thank you. That motion passes.

[12:15] congratulations ms. Patel. Let's go to item number five

[12:18] please. >> item five.

[12:19] state and federal legislation update this is an action item.

[12:23] >> welcome is grab. Great.

[12:27] thank you. Amber crabb, senior public

[12:28] policy manager and I'm joined by martin reyes who's a

[12:31] principal planner for government affairs remotely.

[12:34] so we are recommending support on one federal bill and I'll

[12:39] provide an update on state legislation as well as we near

[12:43] the end of the session. >> so the position we're

[12:46] recommending is a support position on h r ten 033

[12:50] and this is representative mullins ave emergency response

[12:54] coordination act. So it was announced in july

[12:58] and it would require the national highway transportation

[13:02] safety administration to set minimum safety standards for

[13:06] autonomous vehicle interactions with emergency responders

[13:09] and this is currently a gap one of the many gaps in federal

[13:14] policy. So we did work with

[13:17] representative mullin on the legislation and while there's

[13:20] been kind of bipartisan interest in the issue, we do

[13:25] not expect the bill to move forward this year.

[13:26] however supporting it does allow us to continue the work

[13:29] that we're doing at the federal level to educate, build

[13:33] coalitions and help inform the development of federal policy

[13:36] then on the state level so august 31st was the last day

[13:40] for the legislature to act on bills and the bills are now on

[13:43] the governor's desk to either approve, veto or allow them to

[13:48] become law by the end of this month.

[13:52] so we wanted to note three bills that we have support

[13:55] positions on that are currently on his desk.

[13:58] the first is assembly bill 2308 and this is assembly member

[14:00] haney's bill related to net tax increment financing authorizing

[14:06] an extension of it hopefully in order to raise additional

[14:09] funding for the portal project. The second bill is senate bill

[14:13] 1167 from senate senator blake spear and this would clarify

[14:17] and revise definitions of e-bikes basically and other

[14:21] devices making it unlawful to label things like e motos

[14:28] and other devices that are not really e-bikes being marketed

[14:29] as such. It also clarifies that kind of

[14:33] existing restrictions on the use of those bicycles with

[14:37] respect to use on pathways and things like that do apply

[14:40] to the bikes that do not meet the e-bike definition and then

[14:47] the final bill that is on his desk is senate bill 1246.

[14:50] this is senator cortez's autonomous vehicle bill that

[14:54] would its related to remote driving and emergency response

[14:58] requirements for commercial hb operators.

[15:02] this is a bill we had to support and seek amendments

[15:05] position on the bill and we were seeking amendments to make

[15:07] some of the data they're collecting regarding response

[15:10] times and other data points we wanted to make them required

[15:14] reporting quarterly to the state and to make them public

[15:18] and the senator did incorporate those amendments into the final

[15:22] version of the bill. So we thank him, we're grateful

[15:25] and we're excited and crossing our fingers that it moves

[15:26] forward. >> so then I also wanted to

[15:29] provide an update on capitol invest and this is something we

[15:33] gave you a detailed presentation in in july I guess

[15:36] it was. >> so the legislature took

[15:40] action in august to finalize the proposal and the remaining

[15:43] budget items that weren't addressed in june.

[15:45] so this does include action on cap and invest and as we

[15:48] reported in july, it's it's still going to be significantly

[15:53] lower revenue levels due to the california air resources board

[15:57] action earlier in the year. So the biggest impact to this

[16:03] unfortunately with respect to transportation is on the

[16:05] transit programs. >> so a little bit of good

[16:08] news. There was a slight increase

[16:11] in revenue for the program due to higher than anticipated

[16:12] auction revenues and some other measures were included that may

[16:19] increase the overall funding in future years such as

[16:20] recommitting interest earned into the program.

[16:24] >> however, I guess one other good piece of news is that

[16:29] there was some transit funding added back and this these were

[16:34] prior year commitments to regional operators or regional

[16:39] planning agencies. So for the bay area these funds

[16:43] were committed to the bart to silicon valley phase two

[16:45] project and bart core capacity. So those were restored which

[16:49] frees up some capacity at the local level that otherwise

[16:53] could have been needed by those projects.

[16:54] >> however the legislature did not restore two important

[17:00] programs in the cap and invest expenditure plan and they

[17:04] remain funded far below the target levels at about 25% is

[17:08] the estimate and that kind of puts at risk important future

[17:12] investments. >> so one program is the low

[17:16] carbon transportation operating program and this provides

[17:19] operating funds directly to transit operators as of mta

[17:23] receives or has received about 17 million a year and uses it

[17:29] for its free muni for seniors, youth and people with

[17:33] disabilities. So its mta is currently

[17:37] exploring how to address that as part of its overall budget

[17:39] process. The lower funding for that

[17:42] program then the other big program that is cut

[17:46] significantly is the transit intercity rail capital program

[17:51] and this is a program that the portal project had been seeking

[17:56] 750 million this year in grants .

[18:00] now with the fy reduce levels it's going to be very

[18:01] challenging to see that commitment even if it's over

[18:05] several cycles. So we are working with tgp

[18:09] and see other transit operators and ctas the basically to

[18:15] figure out how to maybe address this next session either

[18:20] restoring this funding or finding additional funding for

[18:24] transit and it's going to be a key priority in our advocacy

[18:27] program for next year which we'll be bringing to you either

[18:28] in december or january. >> so with that I'd be happy to

[18:32] take any questions you have. I don't see any questions or

[18:35] comments from my colleagues. Miss crabbe, thank you so much

[18:39] for a very thorough overview. I just here hot off the presses

[18:45] that ab 2168 has been signed by the governor so let's get thing

[18:49] so thank you so much let's go to public comment okay thank

[18:54] you thank you on the I'm sorry is there anyone in the chamber

[18:58] who wishes to speak on item five the state and federal

[19:01] legislation update there is just a moment and your two

[19:08] minutes begins now. >> thank you chairman melgar

[19:12] and members dupree for the record, she and her team folds

[19:15] representing skirt vaults. There's a lot here I support

[19:19] reasonable regulations for any transportation system

[19:26] interacting with emergency responders whether autonomous

[19:30] or not. I'm interesting to see what

[19:34] remote driving looks like but automated driving is like 94%

[19:41] safer than human driving. So is it really going to be any

[19:46] different when somebody is driving a car remotely from a

[19:49] screen? >> we have to look at that

[19:52] and I hope we can get our money get our money to build the

[19:56] portal and I think we're going to talk more about the portal

[20:00] later and certainly there has to be clarification ations

[20:04] about e-bikes and I love e-bikes and I don't know how

[20:08] you're going to really prohibit I don't know how good

[20:12] prohibition of sale of some of these bikes is going to be

[20:13] because people can always drive into the next state over

[20:16] and bring them home. So I don't know how that's

[20:19] going to work. It's like we try to ban selling

[20:23] cars in california. There's just going to drive

[20:25] over the state line and drive them back so there has to be a

[20:30] sense of reason in this and I hope we can get more money

[20:34] though it looks like the lc tops it's kind of like it tops

[20:41] it's up the tops as an airplane certification I guess it's very

[20:46] similar in being able to get the money we need to keep our

[20:50] systems going. I'm not happy about the vote

[20:53] that karp took a few months ago with that as far as air permits

[20:58] went so we have to get our money and lastly I'm concerned

[21:04] about publicly available data. I don't want my name out there.

[21:05] thank you. >> thank you for your comment.

[21:09] is there additional public comment in chambers?

[21:12] there is not. >> thank you so much and again

[21:16] thank you ms. Crabb for the thorough presentation.

[21:20] I would just ask that my colleagues follow the issue of

[21:25] the cap and invest closely. It is how we fund some of the

[21:29] programs that we are so fond of or have in the past for muni

[21:35] for youth and discounts to seniors.

[21:36] so we need to work with our state delegation and our

[21:40] governor next governor to make sure that that continues.

[21:43] so thank you so much for staying on top of it.

[21:46] >> let's go to an item number six please.

[21:49] oh, before we go there, I just want to acknowledge that we

[21:53] have been joined by commissioners wang and chan.

[21:56] >> I thank you for joining us. We have oh, I'm sorry.

[22:01] yes, it I forgot this is not just an informational we

[22:05] actually have to support the recommendations of staff.

[22:08] may I have a motion please and a second to support the

[22:12] recommendations moved by vice chair sauder seconded by

[22:15] commissioner chen. >> okay.

[22:19] on the motion to approve item five commissioner chan chan I

[22:25] commissioner chin chen I commissioner darcy darcy I

[22:30] commissioner filter filter I commissioner mahmud mahmud I

[22:34] chair melgar I melgar I vice chancellor sauter I

[22:38] commissioner cheryl cheryl I commissioner walton walton I

[22:42] commissioner wong wong I there are ten eyes the motion is

[22:46] approved the motion passes thank you at let's go to item

[22:51] number six now please item six allocate 22,500,000 in prop l

[22:57] funds with conditions to the transbay joint powers authority

[22:59] for the portal project engineering phase activities

[23:02] starting october 1st, 2026 and appropriate 3,500,000

[23:07] and prop l funds with conditions for the portal

[23:08] project oversight engagement and work program for initiation

[23:12] of pre-construction this is an item action item.

[23:16] >> thank you. We have car carl holmes here

[23:20] today. I thank you mr. Holmes for

[23:23] presenting on one of the most important things that are is

[23:25] going on in transportation in our city.

[23:28] >> I also want to acknowledge that the executive director of

[23:31] the te jpa adam van de water is here with us in case there is

[23:35] any questions or comments. Go ahead, mr. Holmes thank you.

[23:39] >> thank you, chair miller good morning to you.

[23:42] good morning to vice chair sauter and commissioners carl

[23:43] holmes deputy director capital projects and please as of gov

[23:50] tv serves slides. >> so as you say to chair

[23:54] mogahed this is there's two items that are part of this two

[23:58] actions that are requested as part of this item.

[24:01] the first is a request to allocate $22.5 million to jpa

[24:04] as they are advancing this project.

[24:08] the second is to request an appropriation for $3.5 million

[24:12] to s.f. City to us as well as to our consultants as we engage

[24:16] in our oversight and other activities that we lead

[24:19] and co-lead. Next slide please.

[24:20] you all have seen this before but just as a reminder overview

[24:24] of the project essentially extending caltrain as the

[24:28] initial operator from the fourth and king station to the

[24:32] salesforce transit center which currently has the train box

[24:36] in the basement of the transit center awaiting rail extension.

[24:41] the second operator is the future operator of california

[24:45] high speed rail. And then the other members of

[24:47] the six agency membership are mtc as another funder and then

[24:53] also the city and county of san francisco.

[24:56] >> next slide our role is captured in four different

[25:01] categories. So funding governance, enhanced

[25:02] oversight in our work program. With regards to funding of

[25:05] course that's what brings us here today.

[25:09] that funding also brings with it oversight and we have

[25:13] increased our oversight over the last several months as the

[25:17] project gets closer to awarding different contracts to to

[25:21] proceed and to advancing design and construction.

[25:27] and then with regards to governance board of supervisors

[25:29] president mandolin serves as vice chair of the jpa board

[25:32] just as an example our executive director tilly chang

[25:36] also serves on the executive working group and then we have

[25:40] staff and consultants that are also part of the integrated

[25:43] project management team with regards to the work program

[25:47] that that pertains to activities that we lead

[25:54] and co-lead with regards to the funding and funding advocacy as

[25:57] well as activities such as ridership forecasting.

[25:59] next slide here you can see the timeline and currently we're

[26:06] in the the dot that shows the 2024 to 2026 as the project

[26:09] again is advancing right now it is in the engineering phase

[26:16] with fta. There's also currently a live

[26:20] procurement right now and one of the largest of the different

[26:24] contracts that will be letting the next year or two if tpa is

[26:32] is successful. And so far it's been going

[26:36] going well if they're successful they plan to take

[26:39] that procurement to their board to request award in early 2027

[26:45] also in the next march shows that right of way acquisition

[26:52] so there's three different three or so tranches of right

[26:53] of way acquisitions that the tgp is is processing and so the

[27:00] first of those is expected to come to the board of

[27:01] supervisors as a separate body early 2027 as well.

[27:07] next slide. >> so here you can see the cost

[27:14] and funding plan the project budget was back in 2023 at

[27:21] $8.25 billion. It has been revised as of 2025

[27:28] to a $7.5 billion project that includes $730 million that is

[27:32] part of expenditure from phase one.

[27:36] again referencing back to that train box that that was

[27:40] constructed ready to receive the extended rail so fta

[27:44] allowed for tgp to gain credit for that.

[27:47] so we're glad that they're able to include that in this process

[27:51] . There is still a $2.2 billion

[27:52] funding gap and you heard from ms. Crabb with regards to some

[27:59] of the funding that we are monitoring.

[28:00] for example the intercept which has been impacted by recent

[28:04] decision of of california air resources board.

[28:08] >> so we know that the funding is not fully restored in in

[28:15] terms of the recently approved fiscal year 2027 budget.

[28:18] but we continue to monitor this and we're working with our

[28:23] stakeholders and continue to advocate for trying to restore

[28:29] or make sure that funding can be provided.

[28:31] next slide this here shows a three year work plan valued at

[28:37] about 600 million. So of course this allocation

[28:41] request is not capture or cover all of these items but it just

[28:45] references the activities and I mentioned the right of way

[28:49] acquisition. I mentioned the engineering

[28:50] phase but as funding becomes available tpa may look at

[28:56] starting some early works construction so an example of

[29:00] that is utility relocation that's needed to help with the

[29:04] civil internal contract. Next slide for context on the

[29:07] funding request for tgp again what we're requesting today is

[29:14] 22.5 million in the past prop l has has provided $21.5 million

[29:20] and of that there was 12.5 that was recently allocated

[29:24] in february and so again this request today is to cover a 12

[29:30] month period with that about 19 million is for program

[29:34] and construction management consultants under tgp and then

[29:38] the remaining three and a half or 3.7 million is for caltrain

[29:42] and there consultants. >> next slide then for context

[29:48] on our appropriation so in the past we have received prop k

[29:54] $3.3 million back in 2020 three and at that time we were

[29:58] expecting it to last 18 months but we were able to stretch it

[30:02] for about three years. So again we are requesting

[30:06] today 3.5 million for us to continue the work that we're

[30:10] doing including our enhanced oversight and things such as

[30:14] the ridership forecasting. Next slide.

[30:18] so to close we are recommending the allocation of $22.5 million

[30:25] to gpa and 3.5 million to s.f. Cta and with that I'll turn it

[30:29] back to you. >> chair melgar thank you.

[30:30] as is very important project is happening in district six at

[30:35] commissioner dorsey. >> thank you chair melgar

[30:38] colleagues I'm really excited to be supporting this.

[30:39] I'm excited to see it being brought forward and I hope

[30:43] you'll join me in supporting it .

[30:46] the portal project formerly known as the downtown rail

[30:47] extension or atx will extend caltrain from fourth and king

[30:53] street to the salesforce transit center and accommodate

[30:54] future california high speed rail service.

[30:57] as chair melgar said, this is san francisco's top rail

[31:02] capital priority and this funding keeps the project

[31:06] moving forward through the engineering phase.

[31:09] just as important, the $3.5 million of our own oversight

[31:10] work is something that will make sure that the

[31:13] transportation authority stays closely engaged on funding

[31:17] strategy risk management and interagency coordination as

[31:21] we head into pre-construction with federal, state and local

[31:24] funding all in motion this package and the work it funds

[31:27] really matters. So I want to thank t.j. Pierre

[31:31] in our own s.f. Cta also colleagues especially chair

[31:35] melgar and president mandel men for all their work in getting

[31:37] the project to the state stage. I'm happy to support it

[31:40] and hope you will all join me. >> thank you commissioner

[31:44] dorsey. Just wanted to chime in.

[31:47] you may remember that last year the mtc on which I represent

[31:51] you recommended the portal for funding to the state to the

[31:59] tune of 750 million and alas the pot that that was coming

[32:02] from is the capital invest that we have spoken about that the

[32:06] governor staff recommended for other things.

[32:10] >> so we it is a little bit of a hiccup and nevertheless we

[32:15] are approving this funding because we believe in this

[32:18] project. We believe in this beautiful

[32:22] vision of a connected san francisco that will be the hub

[32:25] of transportation for someday high speed rail but other you

[32:29] know, regional rail bus that will connect not just san

[32:33] francisco in the bay area but really all of northern

[32:37] california and the rest of the world.

[32:38] so I want to thank director van de water for being here and for

[32:43] the work that he and his staff does every day.

[32:47] I thank you, mr. Holmes. And above all I want to thank

[32:51] our executive director tilly cheng who along with president

[32:55] randleman has been so involved and all of these things.

[33:02] but director chang has always championed this and also jesse

[33:10] kaylor for all of his work. >> thank you so much for

[33:11] everything la. >> let's go to public comment.

[33:17] is there anyone in the chamber who wishes to speak on item six

[33:22] the portal funding item there is your two minutes begins now.

[33:29] >> thank you again chairman guard members will need to

[33:33] debrief for the record she and her team poults.

[33:36] >> this is very important to me as one who goes back and forth

[33:40] between here and the east bay. It's cumbersome getting between

[33:44] embarcadero and forth and king .

[33:47] >> I actually went to a tgp meeting in 2010 might have been

[33:50] them I forget what we've talked about but and it was in this

[33:54] room. So I have some history with

[33:57] this but there is precedent in this project but that's very

[34:01] near to me. You know coming from new york

[34:05] there is this place in new york called grand central madison.

[34:09] >> you know it is part of the grand central ecosystem.

[34:13] >> it's located about 100ft below the historic grand

[34:17] central terminal. It's an eight track terminal

[34:21] that allows for people to go between long island and the

[34:28] east side of manhattan and about 40% of long island

[34:29] railroad users who go in and out of manhattan are using this

[34:36] new grand central madison. >> I have pictures of it on my

[34:38] phone. >> I've used it a number of

[34:41] times and it works really well and it's also really nice you

[34:44] got to see it. >> it's it's kind of like our

[34:45] transbay terminal so it is why is that?

[34:52] we built that train box and I must have spoken on it back

[34:55] in the day so we can be ready. I don't think it's as big as

[35:00] grand central madison. >> I think it's a six track

[35:01] facility but we need to have a world class public

[35:08] transportation facility in the heart of san francisco that

[35:12] will allow for connections between the east bay and and

[35:16] the peninsula. >> this will shorten the

[35:20] distance to about a block and a half between bart and caltrain.

[35:23] so let's keep this work going. >> I'm on it.

[35:28] I'm with it. Thank you.

[35:31] >> thank you for your comment. Is there additional public

[35:32] comment on this item? >> there is not okay public

[35:36] comment is now closed. I think I heard commissioner

[35:39] dorsey make a motion. Thank you chair melgar I would

[35:43] like to at this time move to approve item number six to

[35:47] allocate an appropriate prop l funds as described to advance

[35:51] the portal project. >> thank you.

[35:53] do I have a second seconded by chen?

[35:57] >> let's go. Let's go.

[35:58] I think we can do this same house same call now and let's

[36:01] do that it's same how same call.

[36:05] >> thank you so much. Congratulations.

[36:08] let's go now to item number seven.

[36:11] item seven adopt san francisco's one bay area grant

[36:14] cycle for project nominate. >> and so this is an action

[36:18] item. Okay?

[36:19] another really important action item we have nicolette chen

[36:22] here is your transportation and planner to present.

[36:26] welcome. Thank you.

[36:27] good morning chair vice chair and commissioners as of gov tv

[36:31] I'm sharing my slides here today to present san

[36:34] francisco's one bay area grant cycle for project nominations.

[36:41] >> the one bay area grant program or bag consists of

[36:45] federal funds distributed through mtc through a series of

[36:48] programs that support implementation of planned bay

[36:49] area obike for continues the approach from previous cycles

[36:53] of balancing regional priorities with local needs.

[36:56] mtc divides coburg funds up into a regional bucket and a

[37:00] county program bucket and the subject of today's item is the

[37:01] county program the oberg for county program provides funds

[37:08] over four fiscal years from 2027 to 2030 as the congestion

[37:11] management agency or cma for san francisco.

[37:15] the transportation authority is responsible for conducting a

[37:18] call for projects for the oberg county program and submitting a

[37:23] rank nomination list to mtc. Mtc will then evaluate

[37:27] nominations for the region and select projects for funding

[37:30] . Mtc can fund projects out of

[37:31] the submitted rank order and I'll speak more about that

[37:34] in a few slides. A wide variety of project types

[37:37] are eligible for oberg including transit reliability

[37:42] and access improvements, pedestrian safety and transit

[37:45] and roadway maintenance projects.

[37:49] >> earlier this spring the board adopted a funding

[37:50] framework for san francisco's oberg for county program.

[37:54] since the oberg county program is competitive, mtc requested

[37:57] that cma submit a project nomination list for 120% of

[38:04] available funding capacity to ensure there is a sufficient

[38:07] pool of project nominations to select from san francisco's

[38:11] 120% target is 56.6 million spread over the four year

[38:14] cycle. The framework includes $2.1

[38:18] million to augment our base cma planning funds that we receive

[38:21] from mtc and 5.8 million for the safe routes to school non

[38:25] infrastructure program to continue the program over the

[38:28] next four years. The remaining 48.7 million was

[38:30] used for the oberg county program call for projects

[38:33] and is the subject of today's board action.

[38:38] >> these are the board adopted bag screening criteria most of

[38:42] which come from mtc projects. >> must be all of these

[38:44] criteria to be eligible for object funding.

[38:47] I won't go into detail on these in the interest of time but I'm

[38:51] happy to answer questions afterwards.

[38:54] >> after we screen for eligibility we use these board

[38:58] adopted criteria to prioritize project applications.

[39:01] projects could receive a maximum of 75 points across all

[39:03] the evaluation criteria for the county program.

[39:06] project readiness and deliverability criteria was

[39:09] the most heavily weighted to assess of projects to meet

[39:11] project delivery requirements associated with federal or bag

[39:14] funds since these funds could be lost to san francisco or the

[39:18] region if projects are not able to meet federal and regional

[39:22] deadlines. Mtc also considers this factor

[39:25] in their scoring process after we submit our board adopted

[39:29] project nominations to mtc. Mtc will evaluate and score

[39:33] projects at the regional level. Mtc will normalize the county

[39:37] program scores across the region and they are on up to 25

[39:40] additional points based on delivery and risk regional

[39:44] alignment and federal system performance goals.

[39:48] in addition, cmac eligible projects can receive up to ten

[39:51] bonus points for air quality benefits.

[39:53] >> mtc axioms to submit a ranked project nomination list.

[39:56] however, mtc does have the discretion to fund projects out

[40:00] of rank order to ensure a balanced program of projects.

[40:03] while mtc will aim to get each county close to their 100%

[40:07] target when selecting projects, there is no guarantee projects

[40:11] will be funded as this is a competitive program.

[40:15] we hope to get at least san francisco's 100% target which

[40:18] is 39.2 million if not a bit more.

[40:22] >> in general we found that projects that scored well

[40:23] demonstrated that they would be ready to proceed as proposed

[40:27] in the application with minimal delivery risks provided

[40:30] benefits for pedestrians, bicyclists, transit

[40:33] and automobiles improve safety on the high injury network or

[40:37] in areas where there is a known safety issue and were

[40:38] identified through a community based planning process with

[40:42] documented diverse community support.

[40:45] >> we released our call for projects on april 17th and by

[40:49] the july 7th deadline we received 14 applications from

[40:52] six agencies with requests totaling 89.2 million

[40:56] in comparison to our 48.7 million nomination target.

[40:59] we made applications available to the board and to the public

[41:04] back in july by posting them on our website before reviewing

[41:11] the staff recommendations. I'd like to draw your attention

[41:12] to the fact that we received three applications for projects

[41:15] that have pending grants from other sources.

[41:19] mission street safety has a pending grant application

[41:22] and may receive an award from that source.

[41:23] howard streetscape was awarded federal raise funds in 2022 but

[41:26] as of mta is still waiting for the grant agreement to be

[41:31] executed. Lastly some very exciting news.

[41:33] we were notified last week that caltrans 22nd street ada

[41:37] project received the full funding requested from the fta

[41:41] asap program. We are confirming next steps

[41:42] for caltrans to secure the funds through fta the pending

[41:45] grants for these three projects.

[41:49] total 46.4 million and this means that if these pending

[41:53] grants are secured there bag requests would be reduced.

[41:56] the timelines for hearing about the remaining two pending

[41:59] grants is from later this calendar year to early 2027

[42:03] which is after we submit our back nominations to mtc.

[42:07] this puts san francisco in a unique situation and so with

[42:10] mtc's guidance we plan to submit a contingency list along

[42:14] with the 120% nomination target list so that mtc has enough san

[42:19] francisco projects to choose from in the event that any of

[42:22] these pending grants are secured.

[42:26] >> finally here we have our staff recommendations.

[42:29] we are recommending six projects within the 120%

[42:33] nomination target and as I'll cover in the next few slides

[42:36] we're also recommending seven projects on a contingency list

[42:39] and two projects to be prioritized for funding from

[42:41] other transportation authority administered sources.

[42:44] one of the ways we are able to geographically balance projects

[42:48] is by strategically looking across other funding programs

[42:52] that the transportation authority prioritizes and this

[42:53] includes prop d t.a. Tax and prop two which have

[42:57] upcoming calls for projects. >> and of course prop l.

[43:01] I'll give a very brief description of each project

[43:04] and I'm happy to answer questions after.

[43:07] first up is missing street safety improvements which will

[43:09] construct multimodal safety improvements on mission street

[43:12] from the embarcadero to third street.

[43:15] howard streetscape will construct traffic safety

[43:16] improvements benefiting all modes on howard street from

[43:20] fort sill avenue streets 16th street plaza will redesign the

[43:23] two plazas at the bart 16th street mission station with a

[43:26] focus on improving transit access and rider experience.

[43:29] access for all will construct curb ramps, accessible

[43:33] pedestrian signals and restrike crosswalks at six priority

[43:36] intersections with sub sidewalk basements in downtown north of

[43:40] market street. Bayview caltrain station will

[43:41] advance pre environmental work to restore caltrain access

[43:44] in the bayview neighborhood and treasure island electric

[43:48] ferry pilot will use the requested funds to support the

[43:51] first three years of electric ferry service.

[43:53] >> this is the only project we are recommending at a partial

[43:56] level in order to stay within the 120% target.

[44:00] >> I'll also note that the west portal horseshoe project scored

[44:04] high enough to be included on the 120% target list we are

[44:06] recommending to fund this project with property tnc tax

[44:10] funds which avoids having to federalize the project which

[44:14] brings a lot of additional requirements and allows the

[44:15] project to move forward as soon as it is ready

[44:19] and strategically funding this project with local sources also

[44:22] allows us to get closer to the full amount requested for the

[44:25] treasure island ferry pilot project which is on our 120%

[44:29] target list. >> this table shows the

[44:32] projects we recommend nominating for our contingency

[44:36] list. If any other projects with

[44:37] pending grants mentioned on the previous slides secure funding

[44:41] from those sources we will coordinate with mtc to consider

[44:43] applying those additional funds to unfunded projects and rank

[44:47] order. Treasure island ferry is first

[44:50] on the list to meet the full requested amount.

[44:51] should additional funding become available 22nd street

[44:54] ada improvement will install accessible sensibility

[44:58] improvements at this station which is the only non

[45:01] wheelchair accessible station on caltrans weekday rail line.

[45:05] improvements for this project include ada compliant ramps to

[45:09] access the platform from street level, improve lighting

[45:13] and installing tactile warning tiles to the platform to help

[45:15] low vision passengers board safely.

[45:17] >> gary 19th avenue o assuming the ada grant award is

[45:24] confirmed we will be able to drop this project from the

[45:25] contingency list. Gary 19th avenue subway would

[45:28] advance planning to develop a rail rapid transit subway

[45:32] oriented underneath geary boulevard and 90th avenue.

[45:35] as noted in the recently adopted study.

[45:38] 16th street mission elevator modernization will upgrade the

[45:39] to elevators at the bart 16th street mission station to

[45:43] ensure reliable transit access from the plaza to the platform

[45:47] for the chinatown community based transportation plan.

[45:51] as if mta would work with the cbos and community partners to

[45:54] develop a comprehensive transportation plan to improve

[45:58] multimodal access within and to chinatown, california street

[46:02] transit and safety will construct transit priority

[46:05] and pedestrian safety improvements along the one

[46:06] california bus route from steiner street to 32nd avenue.

[46:09] traffic signal cabinet and fiber communications

[46:13] upgrade program will replace outdated traffic signal

[46:16] cabinets and network devices along the high and dry network

[46:20] to maintain infrastructure in a state of good repair and enable

[46:22] future integration of transportation systems.

[46:25] we have already started identifying other potential

[46:29] funding sources for all projects in case they don't

[46:32] receive back funding and will continue those discussions with

[46:34] project sponsors. >> lastly, we recommend

[46:37] prioritizing these two projects for other transportation

[46:42] authority administered sources .

[46:44] as I mentioned previously we recommend funding the west

[46:46] portal project from the prop dnc tax program.

[46:48] the digital wayfinding and paratransit project will

[46:53] implement digital wayfinding that benefit the visually

[46:56] impaired along five to be determined mini bus lines

[47:00] and all underground muni stations.

[47:01] it is coupled with the procurement of billing software

[47:04] that will track non-emergency medical trips that qualify for

[47:07] reimbursement from managed care providers.

[47:10] this project is not competitive for o bag but this is an

[47:12] important project for disadvantaged groups that we

[47:15] can advance using local prop l funds.

[47:19] sufficient funds are available in the prop l paratransit

[47:22] program to fund the bag request and meet future annual requests

[47:26] for the program. We plan to bring a staff

[47:27] recommendation to program these property and prop l funds later

[47:31] this fiscal year. >> next steps in the o back for

[47:35] schedule are shown on this slide.

[47:38] mtc will announce awards in early 2027 and after project

[47:42] selection mtc requires sponsors to provide local resolutions

[47:46] committing sponsors to comply with mtc project delivery

[47:50] and other requirements. We will work with sponsors to

[47:53] support those resolutions going to their respective boards

[47:57] and support our mtc representatives as oh beg for

[47:58] county program nomination. Go through the mtc process.

[48:05] with that happy to answer any questions.

[48:06] project managers are in attendance for all from all

[48:10] the agencies that submitted applications.

[48:13] and lastly I would like to send an appreciation to all our

[48:14] sponsors efforts in preparing the applications and fielding

[48:18] questions from us over the last couple of months.

[48:21] thank you for listening. Thank you.

[48:25] >> commissioner dorsey thank you chair melder.

[48:26] I am really thrilled to see several district six projects

[48:29] scoring high in this and I strongly support the

[48:33] recommendations for the mission street safety improvements

[48:36] howard streetscape and the treasurer island electric ferry

[48:40] pilot mission and howard are key arterials connecting

[48:43] growing residential areas, affordable housing offices,

[48:45] small businesses and transit the maintenance

[48:49] and improvements of these corridors is crucial to

[48:52] supporting both downtown recovery and continued

[48:53] residential growth. I want to especially

[48:56] reemphasize my strong support for the treasurer island

[49:00] electric ferry request. We need to keep investing

[49:01] in the transportation options that will meet and support the

[49:05] growth of this neighborhood especially as we work on plans

[49:08] to expand the number of housing units on fraser island.

[49:12] the city is holding firm in its commitment to making treasure

[49:15] island a transit friendly neighborhood.

[49:16] I think we are seeing some very promising trends in new

[49:20] residents use of ferry service so we need to continue

[49:23] investing in that. This package has my strong

[49:24] support and I hope the mtc will support it as well.

[49:28] and thank you to everybody who has supported and worked on

[49:31] this. >> thank you commissioner

[49:34] dorsey. I'm also very excited about the

[49:35] electric ferry service to treasure island.

[49:39] looking forward to it. It's a great list of projects.

[49:42] >> I do wish there were more west side projects but that

[49:46] will come as we progress on our plans.

[49:49] I'm excited to support. I just wanted also my

[49:51] colleagues to know that the old bag policy has been worked on

[49:57] by mtc commissions over the years.

[50:01] >> it hasn't always been easy to align nine counties into you

[50:04] know, a policy that makes sense for everyone and it has evolved

[50:08] and incorporated climate change and transit oriented

[50:12] communities and also preservation of existing

[50:20] residents. So it's all been, you know, a

[50:21] collaborative effort with all our neighbors and I'm so

[50:25] excited to be presenting and moving forward these

[50:28] recommendations. I think I heard commissioner

[50:31] dorsey make a motion right now .

[50:36] >> we'll move and we'll we'll take your motion after public

[50:37] comment but it is very exciting.

[50:40] let's go to public comment. Is there anyone in the chamber

[50:44] who wishes to speak on item seven the one bay area grant

[50:46] cycle for project nominations? There is your two minutes

[50:52] begins now. >> thanks again chair myrna

[50:56] and members alida dupree for the record she and her team

[50:57] foltz. >> there's a lot here when I

[51:00] read it all on my phone some of this is very near and dear to

[51:04] me. >> the the 22nd street ada

[51:10] program is especially important to me.

[51:11] all of our stations should be accessible.

[51:15] I remember the days when virtually every new york city

[51:19] subway station was only accessible by stairs

[51:26] and there's still about 200 something of them that are

[51:27] still only accessible by stairs.

[51:30] >> so we really have to work on that.

[51:34] and I would like to ride that electric ferry here.

[51:35] they have lots of them up in norway and something

[51:41] different as I've never been on an electric ferry before.

[51:45] I've never even been on like one of those electric trolling

[51:48] motor bass boats. So that's a big thing for me

[51:52] and this bayview station sounds interesting.

[51:55] >> I think I've only been a baby once but in new york there

[52:00] are lots of people who use commuter rail to travel within

[52:03] the city of new york. >> they use that I think it's

[52:07] still called the city ticket. I do it all the time because

[52:09] it's faster than the subway even though it costs a little

[52:15] bit more. So this will help help people

[52:16] to use caltrain to get to that southeast neighborhood much

[52:20] more easily than making lots of stops on light rail or busses.

[52:26] >> so there's a lot here I'm interested in this geary

[52:30] subway. Maybe it'll look like the

[52:33] second avenue subway in new york.

[52:34] it's a two track line. >> maybe we could put some

[52:40] artwork in there or some historical mosaics and tiles

[52:41] like they do over in new york because I want to get across

[52:45] the city more quickly and easily.

[52:48] >> thank you. Thank you for your comment.

[52:51] >> is there additional public comment on this item?

[52:55] >> there is not capable of coming this no close.

[53:00] >> commissioner dorsey thank you chair melgar.

[53:01] at this time I would move to adopt item seven adopting san

[53:04] francisco's o bag cycle for project nominations.

[53:07] >> I have a second please. Colleagues seconded by chen

[53:11] and I think we can take this same house same call.

[53:15] >> it's approved. Thank you.

[53:18] let's go on to our next item please.

[53:20] item eight introduction of new items.

[53:23] >> this is an information item .

[53:25] >> I do not see anyone on the roster with new items to

[53:30] introduce so let's go to public comment please.

[53:33] item nine public comment. Is there anyone in the chamber

[53:37] who wishes to speak on item nine?

[53:38] >> there is and your two minutes begins now.

[53:44] >> thanks again chairman and members as needed to brief

[53:49] the record she and her team folds representing skirt

[53:52] faults. Good meeting today.

[53:53] brief and succinct. You can go out and get my lunch

[53:58] . >> I don't actually live in the

[53:59] city of san francisco though. Back in 2010 I stayed in the

[54:03] outer sunset for six months, had a temporary census job

[54:10] here. I worked in the office.

[54:11] I didn't have to go out on the road.

[54:13] >> it was fun. But I advocate that we should

[54:18] be regional in our thinking. I went to a symposium at mtc

[54:25] and we had some honored guests there in transportation and a

[54:29] special visit from former speaker emerita nancy pelosi.

[54:36] I heard the word reasonable. So how can we be reasonable?

[54:41] >> so I'm learning more about that word because this should

[54:42] not just be about the city and county of san francisco.

[54:45] I come over from the east bay all time today.

[54:49] >> I came from pleasanton. That's a long bart ride.

[54:52] I've never used that part of the park before.

[54:56] >> and bart is very important to me.

[54:57] I like bart almost as much as I like the new york city subway.

[55:01] >> but bart has has a very unique distinction of being the

[55:05] people system. >> so I come here in wanting to

[55:11] enjoy san francisco transportation in its fullest.

[55:15] >> I can't claim real technical expertise.

[55:19] >> I just I just barely made it out of high school.

[55:23] you know, when people were doing their subjects and doing

[55:24] well in school I was skipping fare on the subway.

[55:28] now I pay for the subway with with armani.

[55:31] that was 45 years ago. So san francisco is an

[55:35] important part of this region. Which is my beloved bay area,

[55:39] my second home. >> thank you.

[55:42] >> thank you for your comment. There is no additional public

[55:47] comment. Public comment is closed at

[55:50] madam clerk. >> let's go to the next item.

[55:54] item ten. Adjournment we're adjourned.

[55:55] thank you

RESCHEDULED Transportation Authority Full Board

Agenda

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