City Hall: Please justify the Panhandle bike lanes

As readers of District 5 Diary already know, the primary justification for eliminating more than 100 parking spaces on Oak and Fell Streets to make protected bike lanes is to make cyclists more "comfortable" riding bikes there. There's no evidence of a safety emergency, and the city hasn't bothered to present any other justification. This is just another anti-car, pro-bike project based on the city's "mode shift" theory---that if the city makes it harder and more expensive to drive and park in San Francisco, a lot of people will give up driving their wicked motor vehicles and start riding bikes. The city even admits that it has no evidence for that theory; it's based on nothing but wishful thinking and trendy anti-carism from the Bicycle Coalition. The likely result of these projects: They will only make traffic worse for everyone in San Francisco.

FROM:

Mary Miles (SB #230395)

Attorney at Law

San Francisco, CA

TO:

Edward Reiskin, Director, MTA

Luis Montoya, MTA

John Rahaim, Director of Planning

Bill Wycko, Environmental Review Officer

Brian Smith, Information Director

Re: Oak and Fell Project

IMMEDIATE DISCLOSURE REQUEST PURSUANT TO THE PUBLIC RECORDS ACT AND SUNSHINE ORDINANCE

This is an IMMEDIATE DISCLOSURE REQUEST pursuant to the Public Records Act (Gov. Code secs. 6250 et seq.) and the San Francisco Sunshine Ordinance (SF Admin. Code secs. 67 et seq.). I request access to and the opportunity to make or get the following records:

   
1. All records of environmental review of the "Oak and Fell Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Project." If these records do not exist, please so state in writing, referring to this item number in this Request.

   
2. Traffic counts on Oak and Fell Streets taken in the past five years, including the dates, times, and name(s) of the person(s) making the counts, and the method used to make the counts. If these records do not exist, please so state in writing, referring to this item number in this Request.

   
3. Bicycle counts on Oak and Fell Streets taken in the past five years, including the dates, times, and name(s) of the person(s) making the counts. If these records do not exist, please so state in writing, referring to this item in this Request.

   
4. Pedestrian counts on Oak and Fell Streets, including the dates, times, and name(s) of the person(s) making the counts. If these records do not exist, please so state in writing, referring to this item in this Request.

If these records are in an electronic format, please provide them on a disk. If they are only in hard copy, please provide the records for my review within 24 hours of your receipt of this IMMEDIATE DISCLOSURE REQUEST. If I have not received a response to this Request by 5:00 p.m. on October 3, 2012, I shall deem this Request denied.

Thank you for your attention to this IMMEDIATE DISCLOSURE REQUEST.

Sincerely,

Mary Miles

Attorney at Law