MTA Community Meeting Debates Whether to Alter
Bus Routes in Neighborhood
37-Corbett and 35-Eureka lines singled out for possible changes

By Jaime San Felippo

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (MTA) held a community meeting at the Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academy on May 10 to present preliminary proposals for Muni bus route changes in the neighborhood as part of the San Francisco Transit Effectiveness Project (SFTEP).

The SFTEP is the first comprehensive review of Muni since the 1970s. More than 100 people from the Castro, Noe Valley and Diamond Heights neighborhoods poured into the auditorium for the meeting, which was the eighth in a series of 11 community meetings held round the city.

Britt Tanner, an engineer and assistant program manager with the SFTEP, gave the presentation. Tanner explained the point of the project is to make Muni run as smoothly and effectively as possible by improving reliability, reducing travel times and updating Muni routes.

It was when Tanner got to the changes on the 35-Eureka and 37-Corbett lines that the meeting became contentious. In the SFTEP proposal, the 35-Eureka bus line would replace part of the 37-Corbett line as well as parts of the 48-Quintara line. The segment along Diamond, Addison and Farnum streets would be eliminated due to low ridership.

The latter proposed change caused the crowded room to erupt in boos and jeers. Diamond Street is one of the steepest hills in the city and many of the meeting’s elderly attendees live up in the hills of Diamond Heights and depend on the 35 line to get them home.

The 37-Corbett bus has two different proposed route changes. In both scenarios, the line would no longer end at the Church Street Muni Station, a major stop for many because of the Safeway store on that intersection. This also provoked boos and shouting from the crowd.

Many complained that SF MTA officials were out of touch with who rides these lines and what the Muni experience is really like.

“I would like to see the 37 continue going to Safeway,” said George, a 37-Corbett rider who preferred not to give his last name. “But we would not have Safeway the way it’s proposed, going back on the promise they made in 1979.”

The last time the 37-Corbett line was changed Muni discontinued the line going to the Diamond Heights Safeway, but compromised by extending the line to the Upper Market Safeway.
Supervisor Bevan Dufty was in attendance to show support to both his constituents and members of MTA.

“It’s no surprise to me that Muni is the city’s lifeblood,” said Dufty. “Ultimately the goal is to make Muni work better. In regards to the 35, there are geographic restraints and we need to respect that.”
After a question and answer period, MTA officials broke the attendees into smaller brainstorming groups. Each group got their own MTA representative and a map to draw their ideas of how the Muni lines should be re-routed. When each representative reported what the concerns of their group was, the majority of the people spoke about the changes to the 35-Eureka line.

Tanner said she was prepared for the way the crowd reacted to many of the changes MTA may be making.

“We received comments that we expected,” said Tanner, who received a small round of applause when she told the crowd it was her birthday. “We want to get input from the people that will possibly be affected.”

Tanner said that MTA will take all comments received from the community meetings and adjust the SFTEP proposal accordingly before they present their final recommendations to the MTA Board of Directors.

She noted that it would be a while before any changes in routes will be seen, but added what will be happening immediately is the hiring of more drivers and a lot of work to improve reliability of the Muni system.

Adam Gubser, a transportation planner with MTA, said that while they may not have been addressed in the presentation, Muni drivers have a big role in improving service.

“Management is taking issues with drivers very seriously,” said Gubser. “We expect the drivers to take their job seriously and professionally.”

At the end of the meeting, some still remained skeptical.

“I have a lot of issues with Muni,” said Kathy Lu, a Twin Peaks resident and 37-Corbett rider. “The price keeps going up while effectiveness goes down. If you’ve ever ridden a world class transportation system like in London or Tokyo or New York, you would know how bad off our system is.”

To view all preliminary proposals for Muni route changes go to www.sftep.org.

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