Prop A to pass! Prop H takes a beating! SF votes Tranisit Not Traffic!

"The Prop A campaign was an impressive display of unity. Any coalition that includes labor and the Bike Coalition is something to be reckoned with."
-- Sasha Magee, on Left in SF blog after Election Day

The Transit Not Traffic superheros took the day! Photo by Adam

It is time to celebrate! Raise a glass and toast our huge election day win for Transit not Traffic!

Thanks to hard work, door-to-door precinct walks, countless phone calls, and neighborhood meetings, volunteers from the SFBC and other community organizations, environmental groups, and labor united and proved we could stop one of the most deceptive ballot measures in years.

As the final votes are counted, Proposition H is getting steamrolled! This deceptive measure will not be adding 20,000 more cars to our streets everyday, it will not be undermining community planning processes, and it will not be moving Muni stops or degrading bike lanes for private parking spaces. And with Proposition A winning, we will move the city forward, bringing much needed new funds to Muni and requiring the City to create a Climate Action Plan.

A big SFBC "Thank You" to all the volunteers who came out in full force to spread the word, educate, and get out the vote.

Click the links below to jump to see what the SFBC's positions were and for more on each issue:

Yes on A!
NO, NO, NO on H!
No Endorsement for Mayor
The SFBC Mayoral Survey and Candidates' Responses
Articles and other opinions about Props A and H
Downloadable PDF: SEIU's A and H Comparison

Yes on A!

Why should you vote Yes on A? Click the quick video below to find out:

Proposition A is a charter reform measure that will increase funding for MTA, the parent agency of Muni, and expand the agency's authority to manage its operations and responsibilities relative to other city agencies.

Key provisions of Prop A:

Increased funding for Muni. If this measure passes, the MTA will be able to keep 80% of the money from parking revenue, instead of sending half of it to the General Fund as is the case today. This amounts to a $26 million funding increase in the first year to help keep Muni affordable and reliable.
Requires MTA to create a Climate Action Plan. To reduce air pollution and global warming, this measure requires for the first time that San Francisco's transportation system meet standards that exceed those set by the Kyoto Global Warming Treaty. It requires the MTA to create a Climate Action Plan by January 1, 2009 with a goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions from San Francisco's transportation sector to 80% of 1990 levels by 2012.
Work Rule & Driver Pay Reform. Prop A is supported by the Unions and the Labor Council. For decades, transit reform in San Francisco has run into an immovable obstacle -- a Charter-imposed cap on salaries that undermines collective bargaining and eliminates the ability of managers to negotiate for new work rules that help make the system run better. This measure removes this obstacle and creates a collective bargaining dynamic where unions have the incentive to join management for new rules that will increase reliability and efficiency.
Restructures MTA bureaucracy to cut waste and improve efficiency. This measure reforms MTA's management team to allow real accountability at the top. It introduces pay based on performance for top MUNI officials; increases the number of managers who are accountable to the MTA Chief; and, for the first time, allows the General Manager to recruit a team of people outside of the bureaucracy and be able to fire people who do not perform. This is the most significant expansion of management accountability the City has seen in decades.
Who Else Supports It?
Groups across the city have endorsed Proposition A. Click here for the growing list of Proposition A supporters.

No, No, NO on H!

See why see why the SF Chronicle calls Proposition H "the most dangerous measure" on this November's ballot.

This November, our "Transit First" policy is threatened by Proposition H. Prop H, deceptively named "Parking for Neighborhoods", will roll back three decades of successful policy aimed at encouraging residents to walk, use transit, and bicycle. It is one of the most radical, anti-environmental, anti-planning measures to make it onto the San Francisco Ballot.

Polling shows that when people are educated about Prop H, support drops like a stone. To volunteer to help educate voters, email Rachel or call: 431-2453 x302.

Prop H is "Traffic For Neighborhoods"

Here's why Prop H is disastrous for San Francisco:

Traffic and pollution for our neighborhoods. If Prop H passes, the Planning Department estimates up to 20,000 new vehicles congesting San Francisco roads every day within the next 20 years. That means more traffic and more air pollution, and the problems associated with both: more danger for bicyclists and pedestrians, child asthma, and global warming. Prop H will also increase the amount of parking downtown by 400-600%, bringing even more traffic into the City! In addition, Prop H forces an off-street parking space upon every new housing unit built outside the northeastern section of the city. What about those of us who don't want to own a car?
Danger for bicyclists, pedestrians, street trees! This measure would give a property owner the absolute right to build a garage in their existing residential building - regardless of whether the curb cut is on a key bike route! Curb cuts encourage cars to back out and drive over bike lanes. They also damage the pedestrian environment. More curb cuts means more cars parked on the sidewalks. New curb cuts could also eliminate or move a bus shelter, a mature street tree, or a retail store front.
Loopholes so big, you can drive a HUMMER through them. The measure provides unlimited parking for what it calls "low emission vehicles". Hybrids and bio-diesel, you think? Not a chance. Low-emission, according to this law, includes HUMMERS, Cadillac Escalades, Ford Expeditions and Range Rovers, none of which get even 20 mpg.
Threats to affordable housing. Today, developers are encouraged to use limited resources and space to build affordable housing, not garages. Under this measure, the same developers will be forced to use up money and space for parking. That means less affordable housing for San Francisco.
The Wrong Road for San Francisco. From the days of the Embarcadero Freeway revolt to the battle to stop a highway through Golden Gate Park, San Franciscans have fought for a livable, walkable, transit-friendly city. This measure would undo thirty years of progress and put us on the road to being more like Los Angeles!
Want More Information?
Download the Planning Department's analysis on Prop H here.
Who Else Is Against It?
Groups across the city strongly oppose Proposition H - from the Sierra Club to the San Francisco Labor Council. Click here for the growing list of Proposition H opponents.

Commit to turning the tide on Prop H! Volunteer!

We need people to flyer, phonebank, and put up window signs in their neighborhoods. To volunteer to help get out the bike vote: email Rachel or call: 431-2453 x302. Volunteer opportunities listed in the left sidebar at the top of this page.

No Endorsement for Mayor

The SFBC will make no endorsement in this November's race for Mayor. The SFBC's Board of Directors voted to take no position after considering the candidates' responses to our questionnaire, our members' input via an online vote, and our experiences organizationally. We thank members who registered their preferences and encourage others to review the questionnaires below to learn more about the candidates' stances on sustainable transportation issues.

In considering the incumbent Mayor Gavin Newsom, the SFBC acknowledges and appreciates that his Administration has increased attention and visibility toward bicycling as an important environmental, health, and livability issue in the City. Specifically, many of our members appreciate and respect the Mayor's high-level commitments to better bicycling, particularly around Bike to Work Day; his staff's attention to safer, saner streets; and his decision to appoint Leah Shahum, Exec. Director of the SFBC, to the MTA Board of Directors.

But members also expressed disappointment in what they consider a lack of commitment to prioritizing bicycling in his responses to our candidate questionnaire. People were also disappointed that he has not come out publicly and more strongly in opposition to Proposition H, which would have disastrous effects on the City's environmental and Transit-First goals. And most significantly, while people appreciate the public commitments that Mayor Newsom has made to better biking, there is frustration with the lack of follow-through and priority of these commitments.

The SFBC Mayoral Survey and Candidates' Responses

Here are the responses to the SFBC survey from candidates.