Rules Committee forwards two SFMTA reappointments after debate over Vision Zero, accessibility and vehicle-encampment impacts

Supervisor Hillary Ronan, chair of the Rules Committee, moved on April 1 that the committee send two mayoral nominations for the Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) to the full Board with a positive recommendation. The committee voted unanimously to forward both nominations after nominees described goals for Vision Zero, accessibility and enhanced outreach to merchants and residents.

Tianna Hensley, who identified herself as an SFMTA board director since 2021, told the committee she had chaired the board’s policy and governance committee and the Vision Zero subcommittee and said her top priority for another term would be“addressing our Vision Zero goal and policy,” including better interdepartmental collaboration with fire and public-works agencies to speed safety projects. She also said the agency will begin its first accessibility strategy to review programs’ fit for people with disabilities and said she planned to advocate for a sustainable funding source for transit.

Janet Tarlov, the second nominee, described a long record of merchant advocacy and said she had worked with taxi drivers, safety advocates, business leaders and people experiencing vehicle homelessness. Tarlov said she prioritized helping groups “advocate effectively for their point of view” and cited an example in which staff moved a bus shelter after constituent outreach.

Supervisors used both confirmations to press nominees on neighborhood impacts. Chair Ronan said she disagreed with a recent mayoral-ordered removal of recreational vehicles in Bernal Heights and warned that removals without placement options displace people to other neighborhoods: “You’re gonna move them to someone else’s front door,” she said. Supervisors also asked about MTA’s role coordinating with the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing and Public Works.

The committee examined Valencia Street bike-lane changes and merchant concerns at length. Supervisor Asha Safai and others said merchants on Valencia had seen little progress on restoring a side-running protected lane and raised worries that parklets and curb changes reduce parking for customers. Tarlov said the SFMTA board had directed staff to continue a center-running pilot while developing curbside alternatives and exploring design changes such as “floating parklets,” acknowledging tradeoffs including lost parking and questions about safety and deliveries.

There were no public speakers on the first nomination; a number of merchants and small-business representatives spoke in support of Tarlov during the second nomination, praising her neighborhood work and leadership. Vice Chair Shamone Walton, Supervisor Safai and Chair Ronan recorded ayes on both motions and the committee passed both forward recommendations without objection.

The nominations and the committee’s recommended amendments (removing language rejecting the nominations in the draft documents) will now be considered by the full Board of Supervisors on the item date indicated by the clerk.