As the media have reported, there may be a strike of the Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART) system as early as Monday, July 1. Such an event will undoubtedly impact the commute throughout the Bay Area region. The City of San Francisco remains open for business during this time and local City agencies are coordinating to ensure vital public services are not interrupted. To help minimize the impacts from this strike, we are encouraging the businesses community to plan ahead and consider commute alternatives for their employees including:
 
・         Adjusting Work Hours
・         Telecommuting
・         Carpooling
・         Taking Alternate Routes
 
We appreciate your support in sharing this information and working with your employees to help minimize impacts during this time. Please do share and pass on this information.  If you have questions and concerns, contact:
 
Gloria Chan 
Communications Director 
Office of Economic and Workforce Development
Tel: (415) 554-6926, [email protected]
 
Meantime, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) has developed a contingency plan to get people to and from their destinations; including:
 
Muni
 
To keep major BART corridor service fully staffed, the SFMTA will prioritize Muni service along the following bus routes and rail lines during peak hours:
・         14 Mission
・         49 Van Ness-Mission
・         J Church (to and from Balboa Park/Geneva)
・         N Judah (to and from Caltrain @ 4th and King)
 
Transit Fare Inspectors will be deployed to assist customers with directions on how to reach their destinations and how to purchase their Muni fares.
 
Parking and Traffic
 
SFMTA Parking and Traffic, Enforcement and Off-Street Parking employees will be mobilized to implement measures designed to alleviate traffic congestion and to assist travelers. Parking garages may have parking available. Off street parking staff will provide garage managers with additional outreach materials.
 
Visit www.sfpark.org or download the application to find real-time information about available on and off-street parking spaces and rates in SFpark pilot areas.
 
Casual Carpooling
 
Casual carpooling will be expanded for San Francisco-East Bay travelers and available from 3 to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday.
 
・         Carpooling Departure Point C1 for East Bay locations along the Richmond BART Line is located on Beale Street between Howard and Folsom streets.
・         Carpooling Departure Point C2 for East Bay locations along the Fremont and Dublin/Pleasanton BART lines is located on the west side of Spear Street between Howard and Folsom streets.
・         Carpooling Departure Point C3 for East Bay locations along the Pittsburg/Baypoint BART Line is located on the east side of Spear Street between Howard and Folsom streets.
 
Taxi Service
 
In the morning, taxi stands will be at key transfer points: Transbay Terminal and Caltrain Station. Evening taxi stands are at downtown hotels. A map of the hotel stands is available on sfmta.com.
 
Biking or Walking
 
In addition to transit, carpooling and parking, the SFMTA recommends that commuters consider bicycling and walking when these options are viable. If you plan to use a bicycle for your commute, a map of bicycle routes is available at:http://www.sfmta.com/maps/san-francisco-bike-map-walking-guide.
There are number of transportation alternatives with websites that provide information to help plan commutes during this period. The Bay Area’s 511 website is a valuable resource in helping to plan a trip from anywhere in the Metropolitan Bay Area. Links to many trains, buses and ferries are also provided for your convenience below.

Bay Area Commuting
All things transit at 511.org: http://www.511.org/

Casual carpooling: http://rideshare.511.org/carpool/casual_carpool.aspx
More on casual carpooling: http://www.ridenow.org/carpool/

Buses
Alameda/Oakland/Contra Costa: http://www.actransit.org/
Western Contra Costa: http://www.westcat.org/
North Bay: http://www.goldengatetransit.org/
San Mateo County: http://www.samtrans.com/
Santa Clara Valley: http://www.vta.org/
San Francisco: http://www.sfmta.com/

Ferries
Vallejo, Oakland, Alameda: http://sanfranciscobay
 
Trains
Amtrak: http://www.amtrak.com/home
Caltrain: http://www.caltrain.com/

(San Francisco – June 18, 2013)  Since January 2013, the Excelsior Action Group has assisted local small businesses with outreach, education, and free inspections for Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards and regulations.  One goal of this work is to increase accessibility to businesses in the Excelsior commercial corridor for the entire community, including the large population of seniors living in District 11.  EAG’s ADA Program also seeks to protect local small businesses from a rash of costly ADA lawsuits which have targeted vulnerable merchants across the City who are not fully compliant with ADA standards.

Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 requires “public accommodations to provide goods and services to people with disabilities on an equal basis with the rest of the general public.”  Noncompliance with ADA standards constitutes a violation of the civil rights of persons with disabilities; plaintiffs who feel their civil rights have been violated can file private lawsuits against noncompliant businesses.  In the past few years, there has been a tremendous proliferation of ADA lawsuits, with more than 14,000 lawsuits being filed against vulnerable California small businesses by only a handful of lawyers.  In San Francisco, these lawsuits are prevalent among neighborhoods with older building stock and large concentrations of immigrant-owned businesses.  Beginning in December of last year, several small businesses in the Excelsior were targeted by a string of ADA lawsuits which affected both property owners and their commercial tenants with extremely costly fees and settlements.  These lawsuits raised concerns among neighboring businesses and spurred EAG into action.

A community-based nonprofit organization working to revitalize the commercial corridor in the Excelsior, EAG has worked to support neighborhood small businesses since 2002.  EAG’s ADA Program has been a multi-tiered response to educate Excelsior merchants about the requirements of the ADA law and guide them on a pathway to accessibility.  EAG has worked with local volunteers to conduct trilingual ADA outreach door to door on Mission Street.  In March, EAG organized a free Cantonese-language workshop for Chinese business and property owners because the Chinese population has been singled out by a disproportionate number of these lawsuits.  Finally, EAG recruited a group of the most vulnerable businesses to participate in its ADA Compliance Inspection Program, which provided inspections and individual consultations from Certified Access Specialists of Sally Swanson Architects.  Funded by the City’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development, this program provided inspections which can cost up to $5,000 to nine Excelsior businesses for free. 

“Education has been the most important component of this work,” explained EAG Corridor Manager Nicole Agbayani, “Many Excelsior merchants believe that ADA regulations do not apply to them because their businesses predate the law.  We are spreading the message that ADA applies to every business and our organization is here to help get them on the right track.”

Smartphones have become a part of our everyday lives. It is estimated that over half of the US population owns a smart phone which creates an environment ripe for violent street crimes.

According to Consumer Reports, 1.6 million Americans were victims of Smartphone theft last year. Here in San Francisco, almost half of our robberies involve a stolen mobile communication device.

Unlike other types of crimes, this wave of smartphone theft can be fixed through a technological solution. Such a solution would render phones inoperable if reported stolen removing the incentive for would be thieves.

That is why New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and George Gascón, San Francisco District Attorney launched the "Secure Our Smartphones (S.O.S)" Initiative today. We are co-chairing this national coalition of State Attorney Generals, State Leaders, District Attorneys, major city Police Chiefs, state and city Comptrollers, public safety, public safety activists, and consumer advocates to encourage the cell phone industry to adopt technologies that deter smartphone theft. 

The cell phone industry has an unprecedented opportunity to exercise corporate responsibility to help deter crime. But they must hear from you - their consumers.

Please take a moment to sign our petition asking the cell phone manufacturers and carriers to put public safety before corporate profits.