The N-Judah Chronicles

So, in keeping with my ‘duties” as the guy who blogs about all things “N” related, there’s a meeting tomorrow at Jefferson Elementary regarding the Transit Effectiveness Project (TEP) for the N-Judah and the 28. You can read all about the details here at the SFMTA website, if you’re interested.
My questions is simply this: Why are we having this meeting in the first place?
The TEP was completed FOUR years ago, and was done so with tremendous public input. There is no good reason to have more endless “talk” and “outreach” for this plan. If we hadn’t had an incompetent (Nathaniel Ford) at the helm of the SFMTA for so long who took this multi million dollar plan to improve service and put it on a shelf to rot, and a Mayor who used the SFMTA like an ATM machine, we’d be a lot further along towards having something we could all enjoy.
Instead, the agency is still stuck in first gear with the endless prattle about “parking meters” and the like, and there’s no one really standing up and taking on the problem the way we should. Instead of trying to find rent money in the couch cushions, the SFMTA, the City of San Francisco, and its associated politicians need to get a grip on reality. The way to fix the system was completed years ago. Now it is time to look at how much it costs to pay for that plan, and then find the money accordingly, through a combination of efficiency at the agency AND replacing stolen gas tax money and work order money with something permanent (and that is NOT PARKING TICKETS).
I’ve been saying this for several years now, and it’s time someone listened. I’m not the only one who has seen the problem and discussed it, and I won’t be the last. But as we all know, the definition of insanity is to do the same thing over and over again and expect different results. It’s time for someone at City Hall to wake up, stop coming up with new ways to bust the budget, and show some leadership on this problem.
I’m not holding my breath, though. Given the political games the Mayor, the Board of Supervisors and the assorted special interests would rather play at City Hall, it’s not likely the people’s business will be a priority anytime soon.