Remarks—Transit Month, San Francisco Transit Riders, September 2021

Thanks Thea and thanks everyone for coming. 

It is an honor to be joining San Francisco Transit Riders during transit month which culminates days of outreach—muni rides, forums and events—thanks to SFTR’s incredible staff, board and volunteers--promoting the importance of good transit in the city for safer streets, better air quality, mobility, accessibility, and a more livable city. 

I have been an observer of the state of transit affairs in the city from outside working as a Program Officer for Housing and Transportation for a foundation in Silicon Valley. Engaged during the midst of the pandemic with advocates from the Voices for Public Transportation on safety issues for transit operators and riders and on bolstering resources for operations for the multiple transit agencies in the region, I took a certain level of pride in San Francisco’s attempt to keep several essential routes that connected people to hospitals and commercial corridors intact over and above service to downtown. As we all know it, San Francisco, under Jeff Tumlin’s leadership, quickly became a national case-study in this regard. 

But now emerging out of the pandemic the city is faced with tough questions amidst dwindling federal support and SFMTA’s own structural deficit. There are continued questions about reliability and service access in many communities. As an example, I am thinking about a little bit south from here: the Bayview-Hunters Point, which has been challenged by systemic disparities. And these are historical. Our transportation infrastructure and policies have historically prioritized suburban commutes over highways like the 101 freeway that pollute poorer neighborhoods in urban areas such as Bayview-Hunters Point, impacts travel for transit dependent people, and creates public health concerns overall because of the community’s  increased reliance on cars. 

But the Bayview-Hunters Point community also has an inherent strength amidst this challenge and other issues the community has experienced.  In the face of subsequent phases of boom, displacement, loss, severe disrepair, and concerns related to toxic wastes even since the Second World War, and the establishment of the Navy base that we have learned the community experience: during the acquisition and closure of the shipyard, the ‘redlining’ practices of the U.S., the rupture from 101 freeway, and more—until the recent redevelopment of the area, and the pandemic—amidst all of this, the community has also been resilient. One of the largest bastions of African Americans for several decades, and then becoming more diverse with in-migration of Latinx and Asian American communities, Bayview-Hunters Point continued to model “a community ethos of self-sufficiency” and a history of community organizing and advocacy for securing funding for better housing, community centers and transportation first initiated under the leadership of Eloise Westbrook, Julia Commer, Rosalie Williams, Bertha Freeman, and Oceola Washington. 

The Bayview Community Based Transportation Plan and the Bayview Community Transportation Task Force have previously provided a roadmap for community engagement and transit planning. Post pandemic, is a crucial time for SFMTA, SFTR and other community partners to reinforce confidence, energy and rigor in the community to continue the efforts in improving transit options in the Bayview as well as in other parts of the city. 

I am excited about joining San Francisco Transit Riders and our partners in reimagining what that engagement and facilitation of community leadership might look like. 

Thanks for this opportunity and have a good evening.