GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING
Thursday, December 17, 7 p.m.
At SPUR (note new location!), 312 Sutter #500 (near Sutter/Grant)
Topic of Discussion: THE MUNI REFORM INITIATIVES
As you know, riding Muni remains a frustrating experience. Despite funding of Muni in real terms that matches or exceeds that experienced during the past generation, Muni remains unreliable and overcrowded, and passengers still experience crime and harassment. Traffic causes serious delays, making a bad situation worse. Many San Franciscans who would prefer to use transit must sit in traffic, take taxis, or walk because Muni is so unreliable.
RESCUE MUNI¹s Steering Committee has joined with the San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association (SPUR) and other concerned parties to draft a pair of Muni Reform Initiatives that we believe will make the system significantly better and strengthen San Francisco¹s Transit-First policy. We hope to get them on the ballot in the next election.
What does this pair of ballot measures do? In summary, they:
… establish a detailed list of service standards Muni must meet,
… enforce these standards with a system of bonuses to be paid only if they are met
… provide for stable funding so that Muni can meet these standards
… put Muni and the Department of Parking and Traffic under one Transportation Commission
… empower this Commission to implement a much stronger Transit-First Policy for San Francisco, including priority for transit, bicycles, and pedestrians over automobile traffic.
We have scheduled a special General Membership Meeting on Thursday, December 17, at 7 p.m. to discuss these proposed initiatives. We will give a detailed briefing on the initiatives and answer your questions. (A vote to officially endorse the initiatives, as required by RM bylaws, will take place at a future General Membership Meeting, probably in January.)
This is our best chance at real, meaningful reform in many years. It is also the most important step yet taken by our young organization. From our beginnings as a small group of frustrated riders, we have grown to several hundred transit riders committed to making San Francisco¹s transit system the best in the world. With the Muni Reform Initiatives, we can take a stand for the rider and demand that the city put Transit First.
If you have questions in advance of the meeting, please send email to transit1@rescuemuni.org. Thanks!
Andrew Sullivan
Chair, Steering Committee
RESCUE MUNI