.
-, .
"
,~-~;.~ ...
OSPUR
('.' ::~
. • •• •••
. •'.: >
... ..
Issue 511/ March 2012
Ideas + action for a better city
TH~EU
.I:: • •
Faster Buses
I
•
Navigating a Better Future for Transit
.Regional Fares
/
/
=-I
DIR ECTOR'S LETT ER
OSPUR SPUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS Co-Chairs Lee Blitch LindaJo Fitz Co-Vice Chairs Emilio Cruz David Friedman Mary McCue WadeRose V. Fei Tsen Secretary Bill Roselli Treasurer Bob Gamble Immediate Past Co-Chair AndyBarnes Advisory Council Co-Chairs Michael Alexander Paul Sedway
Board Members Carl Anthony AlexaArena ChrisBlock Larry Burnell MichaelaCassidy MadelineChun Charmai neCurtis GiaDanil ler-Katz Keliy Dearma n Shelley Doran Oz Erickson MannyFlores Gillian Gillell ChrisGruwell Anne Halsted Dave Hartley Mary Huss ChrisIglesias LaurieJohnson Ken Kirkey Dick Lonergan EllenLou JanisMacKenzie John Madden
GordonMar Jacinta McCann ChrisMeany EzraMersey Terry Micheau Mary Murphy Jeanne Myerson Brad Paul ChrisPoland TeresaRea Byron Rhell Victor Seeto Elizabeth Seilel Chi-HsinShao Ontario Smith Bill Stotler Stuart Sunshine Michael Teitz James Tracy WillTravis SteveVelieI DebraWalker CynthiaWiluszLovell Cindy Wu
CHAIRS & COMMITTEES Program Commillees BallotAnalysis Bob Gamble Disaster Planning Jacinta McCann Dick Morten ChrisPoland Housing Ezra Mersey Lydia Tan
Transportation Emilio Cruz Anthony Bruzzone
Executive LeeBlitch LindaJo Fitz
Good Goverment Bob Gamble
Finance Bob Gamble
Regional Planning Larry Burnell Libby Seilel
Human Resources MaryMcCue
Operating Commillees
Audit Project Review John Madden CharmaineCurtis Mary Beth Sa nders Nominating Stuart Sunshine ReubenSchwartz Sustainable Development Paul Okamoto Bry Sarte
Building Mana gem ent Larry Burnell Business Membership TomHart Terry Micheau
Individual Membership Bill Stotler Investment Ann Lazarus Major Donors LindaJo Fitz Anne Halsted Planned Giving Michaela Cassidy Silver SPUR Dave Hartley Teresa Rea
SAN JOSE ADVISORY BOARD AndyBarnes ChrisBlock J. Richa rdBraugh Larry Burnell
2
MAR CH 2012
Brian Darrow JamesMacGregor ConnieMartinez Anu Natarajan
MohammadQayoumi LydiaTa n KimWalesh Jessica Zenk
Transit for the Next Ge eratio In transit, it 's th e small details that ofte n matt er most to riders. When my two daught ers were younger, it was easier for us to get from our house in San Francisco to Oakland 's Fairyl and (despite th e 15minute walk fr om th e 19th St reet BART stat ion) than to many destinati ons in San Francisco, simply because BART is fast and has elevato rs, while Muni buses don't allow passengers to board wit h kids in st rollers. Last year, we gave up th e family car and are now even more reliant on tr ansit t han ever. For us, transit is our ti cket to mobility. Egon Terplan Today, pick ing my older daug hter up from schoo l requ ires two Muni Regional Planning buses - a journ ey that only wo rks because th e tra nsfer is to a fr equent Director and reliable route . In tran sit, it's also the littl e t hings t hat can lead to big prob lems on th e systemic level: an extra bus stop here; a few more passengers delaying a trai n leaving the station there; a double-parked car; a missed green light. Acro ss an entire city - or the entire Bay Area - these little things add up to something that's increasingly pricey . And cost increases over ti me wi ll leave us, one day, with a public transit system t hat is no longer feasib le to mainta in and ope rate. San Franciscans know this story all too wel l. For mo re than a decade we've heard about various atte mp t s to save and impr ove Muni - in 1999, in 2007 and again in 2010. A core issue is that costs are rising faster t han any corresponding increase in service levels. Buses and tra ins run slow ly. Stops are t oo close toge t her. Some parall el lines have du pli cate - and mediocre - serv ice. These issues are beco ming mor e and more commo n t hroug hout th e Bay Area. Part of th e probl em is th at we ask a lot of tran sit. We want our bus stops to be convenient, and we want serv ice t o be fr equent. We want reduced or fr ee fares for yout h, but don 't want serv ice cuts for others. We want our t rip to be fast and th e fare affo rdable. All of t his happens in a contex t where th e main alternat ive - dri ving - is underp riced du e to subsidized roads, art ificially low gas prices and ot her facto rs. Making tr ansit bette r is hard. Many have opinions (r iders, managers, operato rs, advoca tes), yet their interest s don't all alig n. Land uses and st reet conditio ns compo und t he challenges - whet her in dense urban neighborhoods or sprawli ng, pedestri an-u nfr iendly sub urban arte rials. For t he past year and a half, the regio n's tr ansport ation planning agency, th e Metropolitan Transporta tio n Commission (MTC), has been analyzi ng service pattern s and cost issues across all of t he Bay Area's 27 trans it operators. (That's rig ht-27 different t ransit operators, an average of three for each county.) We've devoted this issue of The Urbanist to the issues raised by t he MTC's proje ct, specifically how to strengthen t ransit across th e ent ire Bay Area by improving service, controlling costs and attracting
Ill, I.~
new riders. Great citie s and regions offer many cho ices for mob ility. Not everyo ne can walk or bike, and not everyone can or should dr ive. We simp ly have no othe r optio n than to make t ransit wo rk bet ter. Wheth er or not our famil y remains car fr ee, I want my daughte rs growin g up in a city and reg ion where th e public systems - includin g publ ic tr ansit are dignifi ed and long-l astin g . The ideas in thi s issue explore what we can do now to achieve that. • TH E URBANIST
MA RCH 2012
NewsatSPUR Time to Change the Makeup of the MTC Ever since th e Metropolitan Tran sportation Co m m issio n (MTC) b egan in 1970 , so me Bay Area lead ers hav e so ug ht w ay s to improve th e reg ion al transport ation p lanning and d eci sion -making board . In th e p ast ye ar, leg islat o rs hav e f loated a relatively sim p le propo sal: A d d vot ing seats on th e MTC for San Jose an d Oa kl and . Why? Th e ce nt ral cit ies of San Fran ci sco, Oa k lan d and San Jose w ill be taking o n a lar g e sha re o f re g io na l g ro w t h and sho uld have de d ic ated seats at the t abl e to vo t e on t ransp o rta t ion f un d s. Given t hat San Fra nc isco already has two gua ran t eed seats, SPUR en do rses t he id ea o f ad d iti o nal seats for Oakl and and San Jose but also sug ge sts a b igger reform . Major d ecision s at MTC sho u ld be mad e with w eighted voting, m eaning th at co m m issio ners' votes are weighted by th e numbe r o f peop le and jobs th ey repre sent. Thi s ch ange w ould ensu re that d ecisions are mad e by those representing th e largest share of Bay Area residents and worker s. Read our di scu ssion on th is topic at www.spur.org/mtc .
SPUR Awarded New Grant for Ocean Beach Work On January 19, the Californ ia State Coastal Conservancy awarded SPUR a $40 0,0 0 0 grant to pursue implementat ion of th e recommendat ions in th e Ocean Beach Master Plan, with matching grant s to be provided by the National Park Service and th e San Francisco Publ ic Utili ti es Commission. The unanimous vote by th e conserva ncy board (which funded the master plannin g process)
THE URBAN IST
will allow SPUR to continu e wo rking wit h pub lic agencies for a more sustainable approach to managing erosio n at Ocean Beach while provid ing publi c access and enviro nmenta l pr ot ect ion . Plan reco mmendation s include rerouting th e Great High way behind t he zoo sout h of Sloat Bou levard, allowing for a spect acular coastal trai l and a more flexible approach to pro tect ing wastewate r infr astru ctur e from rising seas.
SPUR San Jose (State University) SPUR now has t wo members of it s po licy staf f serving on t he faculty at San Jose State University 's Departm ent of Urban and Regional Planning . This semeste r, Egon Terplan , SPUR's regional po licy director, is teaching a course on local tran spo rtat ion planning at th e venerabl e downtown San Jose campus. Terplan jo ins SPUR's Publi c Realm and Urban Design Program Manager Benjamin Grant, wh o has been teaching th e history of urb an fo rm and urb an design st udios at SJSU since 2006 . Terpl an and Grant's involv ement is part icularly tim ely given SPUR's new presence in San Jose; in fact , th e President of San Jose State Universit y serves on t he SPUR San Jose Advi sory Board.
Funds for BART to SanJoseApproved Afte r six decades of wo rk to exte nd BART to San Jose, th e $2.3 billio n needed for impl ement ati on has come thr ough fr om t he Valley Transpor tati on Authority (V TA), the U.S. Depart ment of Transporta t ion and state and local sales tax measures app roved by vot ers in 20 0 0 and 2008. The lQ-m ile exte nsion will br eak ground thi s April and should be running train s to Berr yessa Stat ion, th e fir st of fi ve planned statio ns in Santa Clara County, by 2016. SPUR will be weighing in on th e land use designat ions around t his fut ure stati on as it mov es forward .
SPUR Supports Senate Bill 654 as Redevelopment Dissolves As of February 1, redevelopme nt agencies ceased to exist in Califo rnia. Wh ile thi s eno rmou s change has caused many pr obl ems, one of t he most significant is th e loss of aff ordable housing fund s created by redevelopm ent areas. Senator Darrell Steinberg propo sed Senate Bill 654 in an effort to pr eserve the se affo rd able housing resources by ensuring that any exist ing fund balances on deposit in t he Low and Moderate Income Housing Fund of a dissolved redevelopm ent agency woul d be tran sferred to th e successor agency of t he sponsoring comm unity . The bill also ensures that such fu nds wo uld cont inue to be used for affordab le housing . SPUR hopes t hat t his im portant law secures passage.
Mayor Proclaims February 15Tomiquia Moss Day in San Francisco Each year, th e mayor and th e board of supervisors recogn ize th e not abl e indivi duals for t heir cont ribut ions to San Francisco. In celebrat ion of Black Histor y Month, Mayor Lee selecte d SPUR's Community Plannin g Policy Direct or Tomiqu ia Moss as his choi ce for thi s honor. Her work as th e foundin g dir ect or of t he San Francisco Community Justi ce Center and her com mit ment to serv ice in our co mmunit ies and city were recogni zed in a proc lamatio n de sig nat ing Febru ary 15 as Tomiqui a Moss Day in San Francisco. We cong rat ulat e Tom iqu ia on t his I amaz ing honor.•
/
MAR CH 2012
3
TRANSIT SUSTA INAB ILITY
Six Ideas for Saving Bay Area Transit
Summary: The cost of running tran sit is rising faster th an improvement s in service. Drawin g on th e find ings of th e MTC's Transit Susta inability Project, thi s art icle offe rs some actionable ideas to help make tr ansit better.
Improving transit by changing financing, fares, speeds, metrics,
By Ega n Terp lan
territory and maps.
Every day, Bay Area resident s and visitors tak e more t han 1.4 mi llio n trips on one of 27 different pub lic tr ansit operat ors. But for mor e than a decade, th e costs to op erate th ese tran sit syste ms have been increasing far faster th an any improvement s in service. Unless we make changes now, th e system will not be sustainable in th e future. Regi onwide, tr ansit carries one in te n people to wo rk. It costs more th an $2.2 billion to run th ese 27 tr ansit syste ms each year. More th an $70 0 million comes f rom fares and $1.5 billion is a dir ect subsidy from a hodg epodge of sources (sales t axes, federal fund s, state gas tax revenues). By looking out to 2035 , th ese syste ms will face a combined $17 bil lion capita l deficit and an $8 billion op eratin g deficit. In recent years, th e costs of runnin g th ese tr ansit syste ms have increased far faster th an inf lation, even as ridership on some bus syste ms has declined. Abo ut 14,000 peop le wo rk fu ll tim e for t he region's pub lic tr ansit syste ms. Wages and fr inge benefits account for mor e th an thr ee-qu art ers of th e operat-
with correspo nding improvements in service, th e viability of t ransit in t he Bay Area is at risk. Recogn izing t his looming crisis, th e Metrop ol itan Transport ati on Commission (MTC), th e region al agency th at fund s tr ansportation, launched th e Transit Sustainability Project ( TSP). At it s most basic level, th e goal of th e TSP is t o high light th e challenges facing Bay Area transit and pro pose solut ions. The fixes wo uld includ e cont rolling th e rapidly rising cost of runnin g th e Bay Area's buses and tr ains as well as restructurin g th e t yp es of service offe red . In short , th e Bay Area cannot remain economi cally compet it ive, nor meet it s goals of cut t ing greenhouse gas emissions, with out a tran sit system th at do es a better job of getting peopl e where th ey need t o go in a cost-e ffect ive and efficient manner. Much of our new invest ment in transit is quit e simply not result ing in bett er service. This has to change. SPUR interprets th e key find ings of th e TSP report and offers six sugges t ions for how to save our tr ansit system.
ing and maint enance costs of tr ansit , and th e cost of fring e benefit s in part icular is rising fast. At th e same tim e, bud get shortfa lls, unpr edictab le revenues
What Doesthe Transit Sustainability Project Tell UsAbout BayArea Transit?
and serv ice cuts are degr adin g th e quality of publi c tr ansportation . Transit syste ms face compet it ion from an und erpri ced alte rnat ive - dri ving - and of ten op erate in low -densit y and auto -ori ented environments that are not conducive to grow ing rid ership. Unless th ere is some change to costs and revenues,
4
MA RCH 20 12
Th isarticleisbasedona discussion paper developed bytheSPURTransportation Po licyBoard. Read thefull paperat spur.org/ tsp
The TSP made four import ant findin gs about cost and service delivery of Bay Area tr ansit. Issues of th e organizat ional and institutional st ruct ure are addr essed in a separate art icle on page 10.
Finding 1:Costs are increasing faster than inflation T HE URBA NI ST
\
\ \
TRANS IT SUSTA INA BILI T Y
FIGURE 4
Most Bay Area transit operators carry fewer than 20 people per hour of service 90 80
.
70
.
60
.. ...... . . . . .. . .. •. . . . .• . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . .... . .. . .• . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . ... . .. . ... . . ...... ... . . .. . . .. . . ..... . . . .. . . . . .. . . .... . . . . . . .
50
.
40
.
30
. A VERAGE 23.63
Passengers per Revenue Vehicle Hours, Fiscal Year 2009-2010 Byshift ing fromaguaranteedfunding streamto abounty paid by the MTC, operatorswill havea direct financial incentiveto increase ridership. Growing ridershipisone of the key goalsfor improving BayAreatransit.
2
Establish a regional fare policy that does not penalize customers who transfer between systems
When passengers transfer between BART or Calt rain and a local bus, th ey almost always pay tw o fares (t here are a few except ions, such as f ree tr ansfers from Caltrain t o Muni). In general, bus syste ms have littl e financial incenti ve to coo rd inate schedules wit h train syste ms. And t he rail syste ms have no requir ement to help pay for th e local bus syste ms, even tho ugh t hey are getti ng addit ional rider s and fares fro m th ese bus syste ms. This doesn't make sense. The Bay Area needs a regional fare po licy. This is complicated but certainly possible to imp lement wit h th e Clipper Card as it is rolled out to all agencies. One approach would be for regional rail agencies like BART and Calt rain to pay a bo unty to t he local operators who deliver passengers to t heir systems. For example, if a passenger takes a local bus from Marti-
Improving t ransit speed and service requires investments in thin gs like dedicated lanes for buses, signal priority and ot her operat ional improvements. When st reet s are designed for auto speeds, tr ansit suffers and costs go up . MTC is already proposing a new $30 mill ion pilot progra m for prioriti zing tr ansit on existing cit y st reets to speed service. This annual pro gram is a good start and should be expanded.
nez to t he Concord BART stat ion, BART should share some of the paid fare with County Connecti on, t he local op erato r. The end result could be better service to passengers, because the local agencies will benefit if th ey do th e right th ing - like coo rdinate schedules, adop t reasonable tr ansfer tariff s and extend th eir
and San Francisco, we need an independent tr ansit analysis office to both im prove the pub lic's compr ehension of the challenges facing tr ansit systems and
hours of service. 8
MA RCH 20 12
3
Establish a new regional capital invest ment program that invests in speed improvements on key transit corridors
4
Create a tenured, independent regional transit analysis office to collect and distribute objective information and performance metrics
Just as we have a legislat ive analyst in Sacramento
pr ovide tr ansit op erato rs with clearer information on how and where th eir partic ular system should improve. There is already a lot of t ransit inform ation out t here. But th ere is no office wit h tenure and st ruct ural THE URBA NI ST
FIGURE 5
The Region's Transit Vehicle Fleet
2,742
TheBay Areahasover4,400 transit vehicles.Over 3,000 (68%) of themarebuses,
Motor Buses
makingthismodetheworkhorse for transit intheregion.
independence whose sole focus is to tr ack tr ansit perform ance and provide objec t ive input to tra nsit boa rds t hrough out th e region .
5
Allow transit operators to pick up and drop off passengers within each others' service territories
Today, tr ansit bus ope rato rs all have disti nct serv ice territor ies. These territories are monopolies to th e extent th at one opera tor cannot pick up or drop off passengers in a te rritory contro lled by anot her. Operato rs should be able to pick up and drop off passengers in each ot her's service territories. (T his wou ld, however. requir e changes to state law.)
6
Produce a single transit map for the Bay Area and move toward common branding
815 Rail Veh icles
4,467 313
Tota l
Tro lley Buses
While mergin g many of the Bay Area's tra nsit syste ms is imp ractica l and not likely to achieve significa nt cost savings, making th e ent ire regio n feel more like a single system could achieve many of t he same result s. The Clipp er card is one ste p in th e right direct ion. Creat ing a single t ransit map for th e region wo uld be another. A furt her ste p would be to move toward common market ing and brandin g. This app roach has been taken in Melbourn e, Aust ralia, where th ere are numerous transit ope rato rs but the pub lic face of tr ansit is a single brand : Metlink.
What's Next for Transit? Bay Area tran sit systems, whi le op erated separately, are ow ned by t he same shareholders: th e peop le. That simple fact should make improving tra nsit for it s owners (i.e., it s customers) a top priority. To get the Bay Area's $1.5 billion in annual tran sit system investments to produce bet te r result s requires muc h more t ransparency and direct and accountable fina ncial incentive s. These are not revolut ionary concepts - in fact, th ey are th e basis of all democratic systems. The system will not get bet ter on it s own. It will start to unravel unless we make needed changes. A bett er and sustai nable tra nsit syste m for th e region wi ll make a better Bay Area. •
TH E URBANI ST
287 Li gh t Rail Vehicl es
o
258 Vans
39 Cab le Cars
13 Ferr y Boats
MAR CH 2012
9
TRAN SIT SUSTA INA BILIT Y
Can We Reduce Costs While Improving Service?
Summary: The Bay Area has 27 transit agencie s but consolidation isn't necessarily the answer to better transit. A solution may be found in greater collaboration and coordination throughout the region .
The Bay Area has 27 separate transit agencies. Should we be trying to make them function more like one?
By Boris Lipkin
Transit agenciesin the Bay Area and every ot her part of th e country are facing unprecedent ed challenges. Revenues have shrunk du ring th e recession, while ope rati ng costs conti nue to grow. With uncert aint y abou t future sources of federal, state and local fun ding, many agencies are turn ing to drastic measures t o close th eir budget gaps inc lud ing laying off staff, cutting service, increasing fa res, instit ut ing f urloughs and/or tr ansferr ing capit al funds to cover operat ing costs. The Metropolitan Transportat ion Comm ission (MTC) and th e Bay Area transit age ncies have sta rte d to look at th e proble m on a regional level in order to develop a financially sust ainable pro cess and system that can withs tand t he imp act of future economic crises on th e regional t ransit syste m. The Transit Sustai nabilit y Project (T SP) has evaluated th e region's tr ansit syste ms based on th eir fin ancial, service and institut ional characteri stics. This art icle w ill lay out how t he Bay Area's insti t ut ional framework compares with t hat of ot her tr ansit-r ich reg ions and wi ll examine wh ether consolidat ing tr ansit agencies or ot her solutio ns might improve t hat fr amewor k. The Bay Area has one of t he most comp lex combinat ions of tra nsit service providers in t he count ry. It is home to 27 different tra nsit agencies - seven large agencies and 20 smaller ones th at to get her operate every major mod e of tran sit, includ ing buses; heavy, light and commuter rail;
BorisLipkin isassociateconsultant at
10 MAR CH 2012
demand-response serv ices; vanpools; ferries; and even the San Francisco cable cars. Collectively, the "Big Seven" make up a significa nt piece of the pie.' They accounted for 93 percent of Bay Area tr ansit operato rs' 2008 operating costs, 88 percent of
Parsons Brinckerhoff
20 08 revenue vehicle hours and 96 percent of 200 8 rid ership. The 27 Bay Area t ransit agencies serve almo st 500 million passenger tr ips per year and have a t otal operat ing budg et of mo re th an $2 billion .
Is the Bay Area unique? The TSP instituti onal analysis compared the Bay Area to ot her regio ns th at have similar levels and t ypes of services: New York, Chicago , Bosto n, Washington D.C., Philadelphia, Los Angeles and Seattle . Only New York had more operato rs th an th e Bay Area, with 37. How ever, th e New York reg ion has nearly thr ee times th e popu lati on of t he Bay Area and spends close to five t imes as much on tr ansit. Al l of t he ot her regions have fewer op erators. For example, Boston and Philadelphia have ju st one large operator each, and six and four smaller ope rato rs, respecti vely. Not only does th e Bay Area have more op erators th an th e ot her regio ns, it also has some of th e most dispersed ope ratio ns. Every ot her region has at least one do minant operator that accounts for close to or significant ly more th an 50 percent of th e t ransit budg et for th e regi on. In th e New York region, the New York MTA is responsib le for more than 75
1
TheBigSeven operatorsare Alameda-Contra Costa
Transit District (Ae Transit); BayAreaRapid Transit District (BA RT); Golden Gale Bridge. Highway and
Transportation District (Golden Gate); San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA); Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board (Caltrain); San Mateo County Tra nsitDistrict (SamTrans); and Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA).
THE URBAN IST
FIGURE 1
How the number of transit operators in the Bay Area compares with other peer regions in the US
Region
Large agencies
Small agencies
Total number of agencies
Total regional transit budget
Percentage of regional budget in large agencies
BAY AREA
7
20
27
$2 .2 billion
93%
CH ICAGO
4
11
15
$2.1billion
96%
PHIL ADE LPH IA 1 4 5 $1.2 bil lion 87% ........................................................................................................................................................................................................ LO S A NG ELES
7
BOSTON
13
20
$2.2 billion
84%
6
7
$1.2 bi llion
96%
WA SHINGTO N D.C.
3
9
12
$1.7 bi llion
92%
SEATT L E
4
5
9
$1.1 billion
79%
........................................................................................................................................................................................................ N EW YORK CIT Y 10 27 37 $11.5 billion 94% ........................................................................................................................................................................................................
PEER AVERAGE
4
11
15
percent of th e regio nal budget - New York City Transit account s for 52 percent by itself. In Bosto n, the MBTA has 96 percent of th e region's tr ansit budg et. In the Bay Area, no oper ator account s for even 30 per cent of the region 's tran sit services, creating a comple x regional tran sit system .
What does having so many operators mean for Bay Area transit? Having so many differe nt ope rators has an impact on how tra nsit is prov ided and ulti mately on how custom ers experience it. Each of th e Big Seven - and many of th e smaller operators - has it s own board, executive management , st aff, vehicles, labor cont racts and jurisdict ions. Some also have t heir own sources of fund s, rig ht s of way and sets of influent ial st akeholders. With each agency acting independe nt ly, not only are decisions made withou t the benefit of a wid er perspect ive, but some staff may serve dupli cate functions, and expertise gained in one part of t he region may not be applied in ot her part s of the region. This approach to prov iding transit may be leading to inefficiencies or potential redundan cies, and we may be missing out on economies of scale that could reduce costs and improve th e quality and quantity of service in the region. Fragment ed service can also aff ect customers. While th e Clipp er Card has unifi ed fare collect ion on th e Big Seven systems, almost every other part of the customer experience remain s as disparate as ever. There is no region-wide service planning, and each system has its own bran ding, maps, schedules, fare structures and way finding system s. Clipper aside, a customer from one part of th e reg ion wo uld likely be as familiar wit h t ransit in ot her par ts of th e cou nt ry as
THE URBA NI ST
$2 .7 bil lion
92%
The Bay Area's 27operators makethe region'ssystem morefragmented than in comparable regions
Not only does the Bay Area have more separatetransit operatorsthanmost other USregions,but none of its7 largest systemsaccount for more than 30%of the region'stotal trans it budgel.Thisfractured transit systemissimilar in complexity and challengewith theregion'slOa-piuslocal governments. Regional planning is made harder withso manyseparateactors.
she wou ld with tr ansit in ot her parts of t he reg ion.
What can be done to improve the region's institutional structure for transit? Having 27 independent op erators may seem inefficient, but merg ing some or all of them would not necessarily lead to better outcomes. Consolidation either of specific fun ction s, such as vehicle procurement, or of agencies outright - may be th e right solut ion in some select cases but not in ot hers. There could be several reasons why larger agencies or one "superage ncy " wou ld not necessarily pr odu ce better result s th an what we have today. The cost st ructures among agencies are vast ly diff erent. Wh ile some consolidat ions might achieve economies of scale, t here could be ot her instances where combining age ncies wo uld result in higher costs. Addit ionally, t he agencies serve differe nt purposes, have diff erent goa ls and operate in different geographies. Examples in ot her regions show pot entia l for greater collaboration, coordinati on and select f unctiona l consolidat ion to produce posit ive out com es. For example, th e New York MTA consolidated some of th e admini strati ve fun cti ons of its operators into a business service cente r, which is saving th e agency millions of dollars per year. In th e Bay Area, regional tran sit op erators can examine areas such as customer service, IT, mark eting , service planning , cap ital planning and vehicle pro curement for opportun it ies for greater effi ciency. These changes wil l not happen overn ight, but by working together, t he t ransit provider s and t he MTCcan create th e ongoing collabo rativ e proce sses and insti t ut ional changes t hat wi ll reduce costs and im prove t ransit service in t he region . The Transit Susta inability Project is t he first step. •
The views expre ssed in this article are solely th ose of the author and no t necessarily of th e Metropoli tan Transp ortati on Comm ission, Parsons Brincke rhoff or any ot her organization.
MAR CH 2012
11
!ill (BART SubwaYfM etr o , Caltrain) Light Rail (Muni Metro, VTA Ught Rail)
Streetc ar (Historic F Marketl
Rapid Bus (Umiteds and Rapids)[O
TRAN SIT SUSTA INAB ILITY
Regional Rail (Amtrak, Capital Corridor, ACE)
Local Buses
The Reality One mapmaker's vision for a single integrated Bay Area transit map
(GoldenGate, SamTrans)
Ferries •
(Golden Gate Ferry, Baylink, Oakland/Alameda Ferry)
Stations and Transfers Metro/Subway Station Transfer Station Transfer Zone
Map by Brian Stokle
-requiresleaving station to transfer
Text by A llison Arieff
Terminal Station- Metro -with metro line number
Terminal Station - Metro -at transfer station
Rail line under construction A Note on this Map: Maps are highly contested territo ry, nearly impos sible to create without arousing suspicion, ire or alternate viewpo ints. As such th e job of th e cartog rapher is one not just of art but of dip lomacy. Here, mapmaker Brian Stok le has endeavored to create two visions of th e Bay Area's trans it systems exclusively for The Urbanist. On th ese two pages is a map representing all of t he t ransit routes in the Bay Area to illustrate t he pote ntia l for connectiv ity betwee n exist ing systems (as well as th ose under constr uct ion). On the followi ng t wo pages, Sto kle present s a somewhat utopian vision of what Bay Area tr ansit could look like in th e future . The form er aims to demonstr ate how far a single map could go toward impr oving not only legibi lit y of our many systems but act ual tr ansit mobility. Bot h maps have been designed to promo te conversation - and even provoke debate - around the futu re sustainability of transit in our region . As Stokle explains, most tr ansit maps do little to show th e routes of nearby systems, which makes system legib ility, not to ment ion t ransit mobility, quit e limited. The MUNI map is helpfu l for navigat ing San Francisco, for example, but th ere is no comp arable reg ional map to help one navigate easily bet ween say, San Jose and Oakland. This integrated map of th e Bay Area's rail and rapid bus system aims to show how a legible map mig ht positively affec t tran sit mobility in the region . This map reveals some of the geog raphic and othe r logisti cal challenges to making an int egrated regional tr ansit map given th at th e Bay Area is vast and th ere is a 50- mile long body of water in t he midd le of it. 12
MARCH 2012
Although only 47 square miles, San Fra ncisco hasmuch moretransitthan the Peninsulaorthe East Bay. Consequently, it has been made disproportionately large inorder tokeep the map legible, while other areas arecondensed insize. This mapendeavors tomaintain some sense of geography forreference, andshows all the rail andrapid bus routes.
-future station
SubwaYfM etro BART liD BART G) BART ClD BART (iIi) BART CD Caltrain (f) Caltrain
Fremont- RichmondUne Pitlsburg/Bay Point - SFAirport Une Fremont - Daly City Une Richmond - Millbrae Line Dublin/pleasanton- Daly City Une Baby Bullet Express Une Local Line
Light Rail/Streetc ar
0
0
e e $
0 1
m
Muni Muni Muni Muni Muni Muni Muni VTA VTA VTA
Markel/Embarcadero Streetcar Church Metro Une Ingleside Metro Une Taraval Metro Line Oceanview MetroLine Judah Metro Line ThirdStreet Metro Line Alum Rock-SantaTeresa Une (90l) MountainView - Winchester Une (902) Ohlone/Chynoweth - Almaden Line (900
Bus Rapid TransitjRapids
f1lil tilt tilt
VTA ACTransit AC Transit Q!li) Wheels CD Muni D Muni tm Muni D Muni _ Muni
EI Camino - AlumRock Rapid International - TelegraphRapid San Pablo Ave Rapid Tri Valley Rapid BayshoreExpress - San Bruno/Geneva San Bruno Umited Mission Umited San Bruno Umited Geary Limited
Local Bus Routes
l!t!l ~
Brian Stokle isan urbanist who specializes in cartog raphy and transportationplanning.You canseemore ofBrian's map workon his blog UrbanLife Signs: urbanlifesigns.blogspol.com.
Golden Gate Transit SamTrans
San Francisco - Santa Rosa EI Camino Real Lines
(Âą)
Airport
~ Hospital
Iii\
~ (long distance)
Tram Station
~ @
Points of Interest
r:;;:::..
@l
Intercity BusStation (Greyhound)
't::::::J
HighSpeed Rail Train Station
Umversitles and Colleges
THE URBAN IST
s:
co
~
o u
=lI
~ V'""
Martinez
®
Marin
"
"$m,.Wt!ttit!ltiL---'<:::::====:::!::!!~!!!!!===--
Antioch
I
'
• :. ',North Concord
~--..ilIOIo~-h--':~
g
to Stockton & Fresno
liD •
l'iJ •
•
:!l
Hillcrest Ave Antioch
Point Lobos
East Bay
San rancisco IHij1jl:ttAM Q
lawrence
Livermore la b
6!lil
...
Oyster Point
South San Francisco
SanBruno (Callrain)
South San
Franciscol<: : ; ~~tA~==~~~~I~Ca~lIriain): ~ liD (BARTl
San Bruno (BARTl
+- IIilIIilIilIIIi
Ilwarm Springs
Peninsula
San Jose
Stations and Transfers Metro/ Subway Station Transler Station Tran sfer Zone (requires leaving station to transfer)
TRA NS IT SUSTA INAB ILITY
mml!llII
Terminal Station - Metro
B
New Rail, Service and Extensions
A
High-Speed Rail s
Possible Future What a comprehensive regional transit system might look like
(with metro line number)
CAHSR
SanFrancisco - SanJose - Los Angeles
Metro (BART & Commuter Rail ) BART BART (!1l) BART Metro BART Metro Il9 eBART
em W:lg~r
_ ACE CD Caltrain e!) Caltrain
SanJoseDiridon - American Canyon Downtown Livermore - SanJoseDiridon Baby Bullet- extend toTransbayTerm. Local Line- extendtoTranbayTerm. and East Bayvia 2ndTransbay Tube
Muni Muni Muni !Ii VTA VTA VTA VTA W VTA lim BART
extendedto SF State- Embarcadero reroutedtoDalyCity - Embarcadero Lombard- Bayshore extendedto Eastridge - Santa Teresa extended toVasonaJunction- Downtown realigned: Almaden - Mountain View Ca pitol/Guadalupe - Mountain View SanJoseAirport Connector Oakland AirportConnector
Tex t and Map
by Brian Sto kle
Light Rail
e o
m Planning ahead fo r future tr ansportati on infrastru ct ure is alway s im por tant, even during eco nom ically challenging tim es, because buildi ng and imp lementing new pr oj ects require years of plannin g, gat hering fun ds and ga rnering politi cal and communit y sup po rt and review. This map highli ghts f uture proj ect s - some pl anned, some th eor eti cal - th at would im prove tr ansit serv ice in t he Bay A rea. A lso includ ed are new service, exte nsions and reroutin gs where signif icant access im pr ovem ent s wo uld benefit localiti es and th e regi on as a w ho le; a seco nd Transbay Tube; num erous bus rap id-t ransit exte nsions t hro ughout th e regi on; and exp ress bus service along th e Peninsula to serv ice employ me nt areas east of Highway 101. Some planned or prop osed tr ansit pr oject s are not shown - suc h as BART to Liverm or e, Dum barton Rail, and the co nt inued BART exte nsion f rom San Jose's Dirido n to Santa Clara. W hi le SPUR previously endorsed th e first t wo exte nsio ns in its 20 08 report "A Midlife Crisis for Regio nal Rai!," th ey are excluded here both du e to quest ions about th ose project s' costs/be nefits and to spa rk co nt inued d ebate abo ut w hich tr ansit investm ent s would have t he greates t positive benefit to rid ers. W hen lookin g at serv ice rath er t han mod es (e.g., rail, bus), we find th at many areas would be better serve d by high qualit y bus rapid tr ansit instead of new rail serv ice. While rail serv ice is desirab le, it is of te n not cost-e ffec t ive and lacks d emand in part icular co rrido rs or to certa in sta t ions. 14
MA RCH 20 12
Richmond - SanJoseDiridon SanJoseDiridon - Daly City Downtown Berkeley- Civic Center Bay Fair - Civic Center Pittsburg/Bay Point - Hillcrest/Antioch
m
o T
Streetcar FortMason - 4th &King Jack London Square to Emeryville
Muni Muni
Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) @ VTA Q;!) VTA
e1J 6!Ii) ~
m
Wi! 9
mil Qilll
MountainView- Eastridge Mall De Anza College- Eastridge Mall SamTrans EI Camino: PaloAlto - DalyCity Wheels Tri-Valley BRT: LivermoreLab-Stoneridge Golden Gate Santa Rosa - TransbayTerminal ACTransit Bay Fair - Berkeley Marina Muni 16th Street: 4th &Townsend - Church Gea ry: Point Lobos - TransbayTerminal Muni VanNess:Fisherman's Wharf- 4th &King Muni Muni VanNess: Fort Mason - City CollegeSF
m
Rapid Bus (Local/Express)
AC Transit MacArthur Bd: Coliseum-TransbayTerm. m AC Transit )-80: Vallejo-Transbay Terminal 01lll CountyConecl. San Ramon Valley: PleasantHill-Hacienda l!llID VTA Dumbarton: Union City-Stanford Res.Prk. VTAlSamtrans SanJoseDiridon-Millbrae mil Muni Oakdale/Palou-24th Street/Mission
mm
Regional Rail SMART Capital ACE
~
Santa Rosa-Larkspur Monterey-Sacramento Stockton-SanJoseDiridon
Airport
(ÂąJ
Train Station ~ (longdistance)
~ @
t:::::\
@J
Iii\ "'::::::J
High Speed Rail TrainStation
N
Hospital
5
Universities andColleges Pointsof Interest IntercityBusStation (Greyhound)
T HE URBANI ST
:it
elD
S ' n/ American F~:~~eld Vacaville Davis Sacrame nlo ~ Can ~~:=O = = J
' Jt.1lltl :1ttm:m
' •
Marin
:. ' ,
NorthConcord
~
_®
Antioch 4lIl)
RailroadAve Pittsburg
Fr
I
IOceanBeach
~fu~ &
I ,
....
Stockton
::>
IDUblinlPleasanto~ _
.~:'.It• • Ef\l=::':";''''--~~
VascoRoad
~r~ _
Peninsula ~
High Speed Rail
-= III
Capital Corridor)
Ii!
= C
Metro ICaltrain, ACE, Metro {BARTl Light Rail Str eetcar Bus Rapid Trans it
~
Local Rapid Bus
,I
Regional Rail
----. ....
Ferry
•
~ .~. ~
~
to Salinas and Monterey
~
ISantaTeresa I
URBAN FIELD NOT ES
Case Study #46:
A Spectacle of Ravens Sometimes, arc hitecture rea lly is fo r t he b irds. Caseworker: Adrian Cotter
I began looking up into the sky one day while passing Verb a Buena Gardens and was amazed by a swarm of sta rlings shifti ng thr ough th e air. Since th en, stro lling down every San Francisco st reet feels like a nature walk, and every building loo ks like a pote ntia l home for all manner of creat ures. I really got hooked when I sto pped along my commute one day to watch a raven soar and th en fly into its nest on a court house in downtown San Francisco. Over a coup le of month s, I watc hed the spectacle of four chicks hatchin g, leaving th e nest and dispersing into t he wild abov e the heads of my fellow city dw ellers. I waited impat ient ly th e next year, wonde ring wher e th ey'd gon e and if th ey'd come back. They did, but only to be driv en off by a small gang of crows, whereupon I notic ed a different sort of spect acle: t he argum ent over t he vert ical spaces we have created with building s and t rees. I discovered hawk s nest ing on Ninth St reet, as well as ravens nesting on City Hall and in Union Square and taking over Cow Palace as th eir ow n playground, groups of crows interspersed - and vig orously defending th eir te rr ito ries. Among ot her species, I observed pigeons and weste rn gulls, Brewer 's blackbirds and European star lings. There's no questi on t hat t here's plent y of natur e living in our built enviro nment - and not just birds but raccoons, skunks, ow ls, bats and more.
Adrian Cotler worksas a web developerfor theSierraClub,butspendsagoodamount of timewanderingcity streets andtrailsand drawing and photographing thenatural and unnatural thingshefindsthere.
16 MAR CH 2012
B Starlings On an Oct ob er day, a flock of starlings settle onto th e wires and cranes of the shipyar ds along Third Stre et. Their flocking does not seem to happ en in any consisten t place, th ough they do seem to gravitate toward a few tr ees outside San Francisco's Main Library.
o Pigeons Despit e all t he countermeasures we take to keep pig eons off our building s, t hey always fi nd a wo rkaround. Pigeons are almost as despised as rat s, but I can't help but be amazed at the ir tenacity and th e beauty of th eir flight as they swoo p down thr ough th e unnatu ral canyons of our cit ies.
..
â&#x20AC;˘
B Ravens One day in December, dozens of ravens play in th e Bayshore, nesting in trees around th e Cow Palace. I first not iced th em when going to t he Bike Expo t here, watching up to 50 ravens play in the updraft of th e building.
T HE URBAN IST
mRaven Fledglings
o Hawks
Four f ledglings and a parent wander about atop th e federal court house at Ninth and Mission - th is was t he group I watched for a few month s on my commute to wo rk. Tragedy st ruck when one of th e nestl ings left th e ledge and was run over.
The fir st tim e I saw th e haw ks living on Nint h and Market, one of t hem was f lappin g about awkwa rdly gripping a pigeon in it s talons, while t he ot her followed closely behind hoping, perhaps, for a piece of th e act ion.
When not in t heir nest, t his pair can often be found sitt ing on flagpoles across fr om th e Federal Building on Sevent h and Mission or t he bell tower at Mission Dolores. â&#x20AC;˘
MA RCH 20 12 17
CITY NE WS FRO M AROUND THE GLOBE
City: A Guidebookfor the Urban Age Einstein biographer and Universit y College London researcher P.D. Smit h has pub lished City: A
light updated information on users of pub lic tr ansportation . Despit e shift ing societa l roles and responsibiliti es, it is st ill ofte n women who pro vide famil y care services like grocery shopping, and many women are using pub lic tr ansport ation to do t his. Previous rid ership st udies ofte n neg lect ed to include "care work " as a user categ ory, thu s leaving out a significant numbe r of female rid ers.This new data can provide critica l cont ribut ions to publ ic tr ansportati on design, such as ramps and wid er aisles for st rollers. "PublicTransportation's Hidden Gender Imbalance,"
TheAtlantic Cities. 2/1/2012
Guideb ook f or th e Urban Age, a
charming ly obsessive explorat ion in words and pictur es of 7,0 00 years of urban life. From t he earliest Sumerian cit y of Erid u to t he wired eco-c it ies of the fut ure, Smith embarks on a multi-centur y tour high lighting urban histor y, customs, infrast ruct ure, architectur e, langu age, markets, crime, park s, cemeteries, transporta t ion, food and leisure act ivit ies across cult ures. Discursive, imagin ativ e and comprehensive, Smit h's analysis of every thing from th e Hanging Gardens of Baby lon to skate boarding and graffit i should be savored. Starred review,Publishers Weekly.2/13/2012
Public Transit's Hidden Gender Imbalance Transportation data gat hered by Gend ered Innovati ons, a pr oject devot ed to gender analysis at Sta nfo rd Universit y, bring s to
18 MA RCH 2012
Bungee Beware The highest cab le-stayed brid ge in th e wo rld now hovers over th e massive ravin e form ed by th e Baluart e River, known to locals as th e " Devils Backb one." Located on th e bord er between Sinaloa and Durango in western Mexico, th e brid ge stands at 1,322 feet over 250 feet taller than th e Eiffel Tow er. Design ed to significant ly cut tr avel tim e between Durango and tour ist-dri ven Mazatlan, th e bridg e is also expected to help sta bilize th e region and boo st th e economy,
wit h effo rt s to curta il drug produ c-
tion and tr ansport. According to th e EI Univ ersal daily paper,
York Times. Previously regarded as pristin e and virt ually
engineers on th e Baluart e proj ect said th ey were "co ntac ted by local dr ug lords and ord ered not to begin const ruct ion until aft er t he [marijuana] harvest. The engineers complied and th e two sides now respect each ot her." Region: ' Los Angeles Times. 1/27/2012
uninhab ited for all of tim e, th ese geog lyph s suggest th at th e Amazon was likely pop ulated for cent uries by th ousands of peopl e, living in organized communit ies and connected by an intricate network of highly developed roads and large-scale agricult ural parcels.
Walkability Trumps
to Amazon'sLost World," TheNew York Times,
Square Footage
1/14/2012.
"Mexico Builds Record-BreakingBridge in Drug
"Once Hidden by Forest, Carvingsin Land Attest
A monum enta l shift is takin g place among hom ebuyers. A recent survey conducted for the Nati onal Associat ion of Realto rs report ed th at 60 percent of respond ents would sacrifice a bigger house to live in a walkable, mixed-use neighb orh ood . Addit ionally, 75 percent of respond ent s report ed "wa lkability " as one of th e top priorit ies when decid ing where to call home. Multi ple fact ors are likely responsible for thi s shift away from th e house-and-yardin-th e-suburb s ideal, includ ing broadening awareness of th e healt h benefit s of city -living versus suburban or rural living, environmental concerns t hat promote less dr iving , and th e housing bust which has forced peop le to re-think what const it utes th eir "dream" hom e. "Most Americans Want a Walkable Neighborhood,
Not a Big House: ' Good. 2/7/2012
An Urban Amazon?
Deep in th e Amazon rainforest, recent archaeological discoveries have upended pr evious concept ions of th e wor ld's largest tr opi cal rain forest. "The deforestat ion th at has st ripped th e Amazon since th e 1970 s has also exposed a long-hidd en secret lurking underneath th ick rain forest: fl awlessly design ed geomet ric shapes spanning hundreds of yards in diameter," said Simon Rom ero of th e New
Payphone: Anachronism or Opportunity?
What do pay phones and book s have in common?lmpen ding obsolescence. But Columb ia architec ture grad John Locke seeks to exte nd th e future of both , fostering community and literacy by creatin g public phone libraries thr ough out Manhatt an. He designed custo m shelves and round ed up enough donated books to fill th em and let cit y residents do th e rest. " I'm interested in pay phones because th ey are both anachronist ic and quotidian...but [ph one booth s] can also be a place of oppo rtunity ..." As for books, he cont inues, "They're th e greatest th ings ever, and everyo ne should have mor e." In some locat ions, book s were sto len; in anot her, th e shelves were removed, but Locke remains undeterred. John Locke's blog,Gracefulspoon.com, February 2011
TH E URBAN IST
MEMBER PROFILE
Walking the Walk
You're an avid cyclist and serve on the board of the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition. Why are we seeing such an increased interest in biking, and how is that good
Jean Fraser Chief of theHealth Systemfor San Mateo County and member, Board of Directors,SF BikeCoalition
Wh en J ean Fra ser isn't hard at wo rk as Chief of th e Hea lth Syste m for San Mateo Count y she's b usy pro m oti ng w al kab le, b ikabl e, liv abl e co m mu nities as a cri tical co m po ne nt of p ub lic health. Frase r firs t became acqua inted w ith SPUR t hro ug h its "indispensab le" vo t e r guide. "I was so happy to find an organization th at was committed t o good government, great architecture and open space, and the many things needed to support a great cit y," she explains. " I love that SPUR brings peop le of all poli t ical st ripes together to have ho nest
for cities? I bike for t ransportat ion because it's t he most reliable, easiest and most eff icient way to get around San Francisco, and tens of thou sands of ot her peop le are discovering th e same th ing. Driving is a hassle and expensive, Muni is far better th an it used to be but st ill unreliab le and oft en slow, and walk ing any distance t akes too long . Every minu te count s for me as I have a mor e th an full-time job plus a family. On a bike, you can get anyw here in San Francisco in 30 minu tes or less dressed in a suit and heels, even fr om t he Richmon d where I live, and you never get st uck in tr affic jams. And I can eat browni es and never have to go to a gy m.
conversatio ns about t he to ugh issu es."
You founded the kids' cycling program Freedom from Training
You have a particular interest in
Wheels - what inspired that? We all remember learning to ride a bik e and t hat mom ent when you got it and t hen you were free; it 's th e closest thing t o flyin g. Sharing t hat joy wi th hund reds of kids and th eir parent s is a kick ! And since kid s t ake inst ruct ion much bett er from an adult oth er th an th eir parents, I can help both th e kids
walkable, bikable communities. How do these elements make a city more livable? Peop le live in cit ies to have access to other peop le and th e ideas, good s and services t hey create, and to feel safe and welcome in a community. A car is ant ith etic al to what citi es are all about. creatin g
isolat ion and danger and sprawl. Walk ing and bik ing support peop le's connect edness and make our stre ets qui et er, safer, healthi er and much, much more interesting. But a walkab le, bikab le community also needs excellent pub lic tr ansit because all of us need a lift somet imes.
and th eir par ent s. Plus, it 's a gre at way to int roduce people to th e SF Bike Coalit ion and our mission of makin g th e cit y safe and inviti ng fo r peop le aged 8 to 80 to ride a bike for ever yday purposes. You've seen SPUR's past and present. What do you think is crucial for SPUR's future as an organization? I am very excited abo ut SPUR ope ning an office in San Jose. So many of our issues have to be solved regionally, such as transportation, housing , preparing for climate change, locat ing job s in urban cores. I work in San Mateo County, which could really benef it from SPUR's work if it had a more region al foc us. As for SPUR's own susta inabi lity, my husband and I feel th at we have an obligati on to giv e back to our own comm unity. That 's why we are major donors to SPUR and have included SPUR in our est ate plan. â&#x20AC;˘
WELCOM E TO OUR NEW MEMBERS! Joe Ahrenholtz DanielleAmarant Peter Armstrong Hourig Ayanyan McCray Baker Street Associates Geoffrey Barton linda Becker Be nsonIndustries MaraBlitze r DerekBowe r Elizabeth Bridges CaitlinCampbell
T HE URBANI ST
Jose Campos JonChristensen Kaitlyn Connors J.Marien Coss Jay Cross Julie Doherty DerekDrish Alexander Eng Heidi Faison Sally Fee Charlie Fitzgerald OscarGonzalez
ChristieHarbinski MikeHawkins Michael Hennessey Emily Hope Robert Hunt Eric Ibsen Alexandra Janos ClaytonJew Ben Kaufman NoraR. Klebow StephenKoch Ca meronKramlich
lisa Kucik Anima Sarah LaVoy Emily Lesk Lorenzolista na Alex Lofton Reed Martin Justin McCormick Lawrence McGuire Suzanne Merdith PeterMoylan CaseyNoel Adam Phillips
Erin Pidot LeilaPike Kika Probst Ryan Race Ivana Rosas Susanna G. Russo Desiree MSmith DarrellSommerlatt Erica Stephan AndrewSullins Don Tomasi TedTrautman
Marko Tu lcanaza Adrienne Turner JulieVeit Deborah Vick Gertrude Villanueva Hannah Waen RobinWaldroup Hsiao-li Wang Marci Wasserman Matthew Wisniewski RonaldYearwood
MARCH 2012 19
Monday March 19, 2012 5:30 PM
32nd Annual Good Government Awards
spur.org/ggawards
Th e 32 nd Annual MFAC Good Government Awards ar e spon sored by th e Municipal Fiscal Advisory Committee (MFAC), a project o f San Francisco Planning and Urban Research (SPUR). Fo r 32 yea rs, th ese aw ard s hav e rec ogni zed ou t standing perform ances by managers working fo r th e City and County of San Fran ci sco . Th ese awards represent a uni q ue opportunity to ac know led g e San Franc isco's t o p manag ers for t hei r leadership, vi sion and ab ili ty t o m ake a d iffere nce both wi thin city governmen t and the co m m u nit y at larg e. Please join us in rec og nizi ng this year 's awa rdees, highli gh t ed in t he following pages.
Thank you to our generous event sponsors
(pa rtia l list as of 2/14/12)
CHA IR
STEW A RDS
W a d e Rose V ice Presi de nt, Exte rna l & Gove rnm ent Relatio ns
Acad emy of A rt Univer sity · A ECOM • Anonymou s · Co m cast • KPMG LLP • Reco logy • San Francisco Waterfront Partn er s LLC • Sho re nste in Co m p any LL C
*
Dignity Health.
PARTN ERS A r u p • B lue Shie ld o f Ca lif o rn ia' Bro wn a n d Ca ld we ll· HOK • J a c ob s '
ADVO CAT ES
J on e s H all , P B • Pu b li c Fin an ci al M an ag em en t, In c .• Sa n Fra nc isco G ia nts'
. . Pacific Gas and Electric Company'
Sa n Fran ci sc o Intern ati ona l A ir po rt
r:li'dl
SUPPORTERS HONO RA RY MFAC CO MMITTEE Th e Honorab le Ed w in M. Lee The Honorab le Gavin Newsom The Honorable Wi llie L . Brown, Jr. The Honorable Fra nk Jordan Th e Honorable Art Ag nos T he Honorab le Dianne Fein stein Mrs. Gina Moscone
ABO UT MFAC A p roj ect of SPUR, MFAC has bee n at t he service o f each San Francisco mayor fo r m or e than 30 yea rs. Through a net work o f co m mu nit y pa r tne rs. MFAC co nnec ts Cit y department s t o pro bo no co nsu lti ng resources to help im pr o ve Cit y services.
AR CADI S Malco lm Pirn ie, Inc. • Avant Hou sing / AGI Cap ita l· An d y & Sara Barn es· Em erald Fund , Inc . • Rob Evan s & Terry Micheau • Anne Halst ed & We lls Whitney· Hat haway Dinwiddie Con struction Co • Hawkin s Delafield & Wood LLP • Jacob s Associates· Richard Lon erg an· McKinsey & Company. LLC • MJM Manag ement Group· San Franci sco Muni cip al Transportation Agency· Pillsbury Winth rop Shaw Pittman LLP • Presid io Gradu at e Schoo l · Skidmore . Owing s & Merrill, LLP • Stone & Yo ung be rg LLC MEDIA SPO NSORS
~ CLEARCHA1:i.tl,m·
@:omcast.
IllisiDessTimes
SPONSORSHIPS & TICKETS AVAILABLE ONLINE AT spur.org/ggawards
2012 MFAC
Public Managerial Excellence Awards The Municipal Fiscal Ad visory Comm ittee eM FAC) is p leased to host the 32nd annua l Good Government Awards in March 2012. Th is event recognizes and acknowledges exemp lary job performance and leadership by emp loyees of the City and County of San Francisco. Event cha ir W ade Rose of Dign ity Hea lth, city department heads and Mayor Ed Lee wi ll present Ed Harrington with a Lifetime Achievement Award and a select number of outstand ing city emp loyees with the distinguished Pub lic Managerial Exce llence Award. Please jo in us!
LIFETIM E ACHI EV EM ENT AW ARD Ed Harrington Ge nera l Ma nager of t he San Francisco Pub lic Utility Comm iss ion
SPUR has c hosen to hon o r Ed Harrin gton fo r a lifet im e of service to t he City and County of San Franc isco, incl u d ing unpa ra lleled fi scal leadership and managerial excellence through five mayoral admin istrations. Harrington currently serves as the gen eral manager of the San Francisco Publi c Ut ilities Commissio n (SFPUC), a regional util ity t hat delivers water to 2.5 m illio n Bay Area custo mers, co llects and trea ts was tewate r and sto rm wate r, and p rov ides hyd ro electr ic and o t he r ren ewab le p ower reso urces fo r San Fra ncisco m uni cip al custo me rs . From 19 91 to 20 08, Harr ing t on ser ved as San Fr anc isco's con tro ller, where he administered San Francisco's $6.1 billion budg et. Before becoming control ler, he worked with the SFPUC, the Mun icipal Railway, the W at er Department and th e Hetch Hetchy Water and Powe r Syste m .
2012 MFAC PUBLIC MANAGERIAL EXCELLENCE AWARD WINNERS
In t he 2011-2 012 cycl e, w e c o nsi dere d 19 individ uals and 12 team s. O f t hese 31 no m in at ion s, we selec t ed f iv e winn er s:
Jocel yn Qu intos Di v ision Ma nage r, Busi ness Ser v ic es Divi sion , Finance and Admini stration Dep art m en t of Pub lic W orks ( DPW) Jocelyn Quintos was chosen for her out stand ing leadership and management of DPW's account ing operatio ns. In just six month s, wo rking across many city depa rtments, her dilige nce
and dedicat ion led to th e automat ion of DPW's cont ract serv ice orders, change orders and HRC compliance/ payment aut hor ization systems. This resulted in a significant reducti on in
processing tim es, faster mobilization of cont ractors to start wor k and complete eliminat ion of delays associated with paper -based app roval processes.
Ha rlan L. Kelly Jr. A ssista nt Genera l Manag e r, Inf rast ructu re, Pub lic Ut ilit ies Commi ssion ( PUC) Harlan L. Kelly Jr. was chosen for his exemplary leadership in th e delivery and imp lementation of th e PUC's lO- year capital improvement prog ram for water, sewer and power, and his specif ic innovation on the Construct ion Management Information System
(CMIS) to add ress inefficiencies in large, complex capital projects . By streamlining and coordinati ng tasks, and by enhancing transparency and accountability with a clo ud- based system, CMIS enables project managers throughout t he geogr aphically
dispersed project areas to make faster and more inform ed decisions. The improved CMIS has already cont ributed to an overall Water System Improvement Prog ram cost savings of $167.6 million.
Ste ven Cast ile Go lf and Tu rf O p e rat ion s Manag er, Recreatio n and Par k Departme nt Steve n Castile, wh o manages t he cit y's agro nom ical pract ices for five golf courses, th ree stadiums (including Candlesti ck and Kezar stadiums) and 220 parks, was selected for his
commit ment to preserving publi c access to parks while ensuring environmental susta inability of par kland. His partic ular accomplishments in bringing Harding Park up to the ex-
pect ations of th e PGA Tour illustra te his creativity in staff management and resource allocatio n to create a worl d-class golf venue that genera tes visibili ty and income for th e city .
Mun icipa l Tax Automat ion Team Office of th e Treasu re r and Tax Co llec tor Darrell Ascano, Senior Inform ation Systems Engineer Tajel Shah, Direct or, Budget and Operations Rebecca Villareal-Mayer, Senior Business Analyst
The Municipal Tax Collection Team is being honored for its excellent teamwo rk and achievement in upgrading t he tec hnolog y used to collect and process t he major it y of th e cit y's General Fund revenue. By ado pti ng an aggressive, non- incremental approach
- upgradin g th e entire system over eight mont hs - the team successfully executed a complex project th at has changed the way tax information is collected and funds are received. This has resulted in increased taxpayer compliance and expense savings'.
SFpa rk Pilot Program San Fra nc isco Mu nicipa l Tra nsportatio n Age ncy (SFMTA) Jay Primus, Proj ect Manager George Reynolds, Park ing Meter
The SFpark team is being hon ored for its imp lementation of the ground -
based pricing system. The SFpark
Superinte nde nt
breaking smart park ing manag ement
team designed and imp lement ed a
Steven Lee, Finan cial Contrac ts and
pro gram SFpark. The progressive
large pi lot program und er tight t ime
Services
park ing manag ement pr ogr am pro-
constr aint s, d emonst rati ng innova-
Lorraine Fuqua, Manag er, On-Stre et
vid es convenience to drivers, reduces
tio n w it hin an area of th e pub lic
Parking Services Cont rac t s
t raffic and is instru mental in helping
realm t hat is often taken for granted.
t he city move towa rd a demand -
i
I
I
• •
......
••••
••
• • DmOlDm
OSPUR
Join SPUR today!
The San Fra ncisco Planning and Urban Research Association is a membersupported nonprofit o rgan ization. We rely on your support to promote good planning and good government through research , education and advocacy.
Find out more at spur.org/join.
z
OSPUR
Nonprofit Org. US Postage PAID Permit # 4118 San Francisco, CA
Ideas + action for a better city
~
G)
~ Z
654 Mission Street San Francisco, CA 94105-4015
G)
Âť
tel. 415.781.8726 info@spur.org www.sp ur.org
OJ
m
--I --I
m
::0 "T1
C --I C ::0
m
"T1
o
Time-dated material
::0 --I ::0
Âť Z
CJ)
--I
SPUR San Jose Launch Party
Thursday March 8, 2012 5:30 - 7:30 PM
For the first time in our lOO-year history SPUR is expanding . Plea se jo in us for cocktails and hors d'oeuvres to celebrate the launch of our new office in the biggest cit y in Northern California - San Jose!
San Pedro Sq uare Mar ket 87 North San Pedro St reet San Jose, CA 9511 0
spur.org/sanjose
Guests must RSVP to attend at spur.org/sanjoselaunch Contac t event s@spur.org fo r mor e inf ormat ion
The Urbanist is ed ite d by Allison Ari eff and d esign ed b y Shaw n Hazen , hazenc reet ive. corn. It is p rinted on Fi nc h Casa Opaq ue pape r: 30 % p o st- con sum er w aste, 66% renewab le energy, c hlorine- free , ac id -f ree .