Friday, October 6, 2017

PSAC Agenda October 10, 2017 City Hall, Room 400, 6PM

  1. Call to Order (2 minutes)
  1. Roll Call/Introduction (5 minutes)
  1. Approve Agenda (2 minutes)
  1. Approve Minutes (5 minutes)
  1. General Public Comment (10 minutes)
  1. Police Department Report
    1. Sgt. Embody (10 minutes)
  1. Distracted Walking
    1. San Mateo Supervisor David Canepa (20 minutes)
  1. MTA Report
    1. Victoria Chong (10 minutes)
  1. Safe Routes to School funding resolution - Action Item
    1. Jacquie Zapata and Jon Winston (10 minutes)
  1. Median Resolution - Action Item
    1. Howard Strassner (10 minutes)
  1. Healthy Saturday Resolution - Action Item
    1. Jon Winston (10 minutes)
  1. Robots on Streets Resolution - Action Item
    1. Rick Johnson and Jon Winston (10 minutes)
  1. Van Ness Ave Turns Resolution - Action Item
    1. Howard Strassner (10 minutes)
  1. Members Report (10 minutes)
  1. Chairs Report (10 minutes)
  1. Future Items (5 minutes)

  1. Adjournment

Draft resolution to extend the car-free event on JFK Dr. to a year-long event.

RESOLUTION URGING THE EXPANSION OF HEALTHY SATURDAYS IN GOLDEN GATE PARK, A ROAD CLOSURE ON JFK DRIVE BETWEEN THE TEA GARDEN AND TRANSVERSE DRIVE TO BE A YEAR LONG EVENT.

WHEREAS,  A car-free street in Golden Gate Park will expand the opportunities for health, recreation, and fitness in the safety of a traffic free environment; and

WHEREAS,  Healthy Saturdays serve a vital role in providing a safe space for children to enjoy the outdoors on bikes, trikes, skateboards, and roller skates without close supervision from parents: and

WHEREAS, A car-free JFK Drive will enable seniors to access the Park by bicycle or on foot.

WHEREAS, The popularity of  the car-free area in Golden Gate Park over the last fifty years shows the need to be expanded to every weekend; and

WHEREAS, Cities around the world are finding that car-free areas provide urban dwellers with a healthy respite from noisy, busy everyday life; and

WHEREAS, Healthy Saturdays is an opportunity to enhance the park at little or no cost to taxpayers; and

WHEREAS, the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department and San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency are under a mandate to make Golden Gate Park safer for all travelers from the 1998 Golden Gate Park Master Plan, which prioritizes pedestrians first, bicycles second and motor vehicles third; and

WHEREAS, the area of the closure will stay the same, and will not directly impact access to park institutions like the Cal Academy or the museums;  THEREFORE, BE IT

RESOLVED, That the San Francisco Pedestrian Advisory Committee supports and endorses San Francisco Department and Recreation and Parks' proposal to expand Healthy Saturdays in Golden Gate Park into a year-long event.

PSAC draft resolution to ban the use of autonomous delivery devices on sidewalks

RESOLUTION SUPPORTING THE PROPOSED SAN FRANCISCO BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ORDINANCE PROHIBITING THE OPERATION OF AUTONOMOUS DELIVERY DEVICES ON PUBLIC SIDEWALKS AND RIGHT-OF-WAYS

WHEREAS, Vision Zero is San Francisco’s policy to eliminate all traffic deaths in San Francisco by 2024 and to ensure the safety of our public realm for pedestrians, cyclist and vehicle passengers and drivers; and

WHEREAS, Autonomous Delivery Devices (Devices) are a new technology of significant weight and size that have not been proven safe to travel along public sidewalks or right-of-way; and

WHEREAS, These Devices present numerous safety risks and would be an intrusion in the way of life of the city’s most vulnerable populations, including children, seniors, and those with limited vision or mobility; and

WHEREAS, At the May 16, 2017 meeting of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, Supervisor Yee introduced an ordinance (File No. 170599) to protect the  public by amending the Public Works and Police Codes to prohibit the operation of these Devices on public sidewalks and right-of-ways and establishing penalties for their unlawful operation; and

WHEREAS, This ordinance aligns with the Guiding Principles for Management of Emerging Mobility Services and Technologies, as adopted by the Transportation Authority Board at its July 25, 2017 meeting, in terms of safety and congestion; and

WHEREAS,  Allowing  these  Devices  to  roam  the  city’s  sidewalks  would  represent the commercialization of the pedestrian right-of-way which is already narrow and congested; and

WHEREAS, San Francisco has prioritized sidewalks for people and changing that priority is contrary to the goals of Vision Zero; and

WHEREAS, This is a private versus public priority and safety is the number one role of the Vision Zero Committee; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the Transportation Authority supports the ordinance and urges the  San Francisco Board of Supervisors to adopt it, in order to further the goals of Vision Zero and protect the safety of the general public.