Richmond residents confront Muni over #2-Clement change

by Jonathan Farrell

Richmond District residents confronted Muni officials in August in an attempt to have Muni reconsider changes in route services for the #2-Clement bus. Muni seemingly had tried to push its proposal through, regardless of public outcry, but Richmond residents and community leaders persisted to be heard.

Initially, Muni wanted to have the #2-Clement bus end its route at the corner of 14th Avenue and Clement Street, which happens to be a busy spot for a synagogue with a school and community center. With Park Presidio and Geary boulevards nearby, residents were concerned that having the bus end its route at that location would only create more congestion, causing more pedestrian safety issues.

On Aug. 11, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Authority (SFMTA) held a community meeting at Congregation Beth Sholom. The meeting was a follow-up to a public hearing that was held at City Hall at the end of July to inform the public about transit service changes.

As a result of the community meeting, Muni representatives told the audience of about 40 people at Congregation Beth Sholom that they would recommend the end of the route be moved to Funston Avenue as an alternative.

While the August meeting focused primarily on the community's demand that Muni re-think the idea of having the #2-Clement end its route at the corner of 14th Avenue and Clement Street, the overall changes Muni proposes will impact routes citywide. The proposed citywide service changes are sweeping.

As a result of the current recession, Muni is trying to deal with a $129 million deficit.

At the end of July, Room 416 at City Hall was filled with people from every district in the City for a meeting.

Residents claim they learned of the hearing for Muni's proposed service changes only two to three days before the scheduled hearing, which was held at the end of July. ÊRepresentatives from numerous neighborhood groups said they got very late notification of the hearing.

Various people commented at both the hearing and the Aug. 11 community meeting that Muni's notification to the public of the proposed changes were spotty and inconsistent with established protocol.

A large number in attendance at the community meeting on Aug. 11 were from Clement Street and the surrounding area.

Although there was no one present from Funston Avenue, Julie Kirshbaum, program manager for the SFMTA's Transit Effectiveness Project, insisted notification was distributed to residents along Funston.

Kirshbaum said the proposed changes were arranged after much study, observation and commuter/rider data collected.

Some people expressed skepticism regarding the data, especially since most of it was available only via a power-point presentation. Muni has not posted recent information on its Web site and very few details were given on handouts to the audience at both public gatherings.

The Aug. 11 community meeting was a result of community leaders, like those from Congregation Beth Sholom and the Park Presidio Neighbors Association, standing up and speaking out at the July public hearing.

For the meeting, the SFMTA appointed John Newlin, a former SFPD police captain, to preside. When Newlin continued recommending that such changes to the #2-Clement bus be implemented, disregarding the public's plea for Muni to reconsider or "table the issue," community leaders like Rabbi Micah Hyman of Congregation Beth Sholom and Doris Lee of the Park Presidio Neighbors Association marched out of the hearing to seek the help of Supervisor Eric Mar at the SF Board of Supervisors.

The SFMTA board of commissioners will be reviewing the proposed changes again on Sept. 1, at City Hall, Room 400, at 2 p.m.

"Our request to move the end of the #2-Clement line to Funston was a success," said Lee.

For more information, call the SFMTA at (415) 701-4500 or go to the Web site at www.sfmta.com.