To: Whom it may concern
From: RENEWSF Board of Directors
Date: March 5, 2008
Subject: 39-Coit Bus route

                  We have recently learned from the Draft Preliminary SFMTA TEP Transit Network Alternative for District 3 that “A portion of the 39-Coit along Union St. from Stockton to Montgomery would be discontinued.”

                  We categorically disagree with this finding for a number of reasons.  The 39-Coit is the only public transit that goes up to the top of Telegraph Hill to the corner of Montgomery and Union Sts. - a very steep grade - and a lifeline for many elderly and infirm people who live in the very dense neighborhoods surrounding that important intersection.  The closure of that section of the 39-Coit route has been suggested before, and was the catalyst for the formation of the Telegraph Hill Dwellers a half-century ago, organized to prevent what was perceived then as a disaster for the residents.

                  Rather than shorten the route of the 39-Coit, we at RENEWSF, a neighborhood organization dedicated to the improvement and revitalization of the north-east sector of San Francisco, have previously suggested, with the support of other neighborhood organizations, that the route of the 39-Coit, rather than be contracted, should be expanded, a move which would solve a number of problems simultaneously.

                  I have taken the liberty of enclosing below the suggestions made by this organization for your consideration:

Proposed Improvements to Muni’s 39-Coit Line

Goals:

• Increase MUNI ridership among both residents and visitors to the Northeast section of San Francisco
• Reduce auto traffic and attendant congestion up to Coit Tower, a major tourist destination in the city
• Add a third alternative  for tourists to and from Fisherman’s Wharf, alongside the Cable Cars and the antique trolleys along the Embarcadero
• Encourage more tourists into and through Chinatown and North Beach, while reducing traffic congestion in these heavily-visited areas

Vehicles:

• Use new or different vehicles (Orion buses?) to make them unique and attractive to tourists as a third alternative to the Cable Cars and the Antique Trolleys of the F line. 
• Marketing the route by painting the busses with tourist scenes from Fisherman’s Wharf, North Beach, Chinatown and Coit Tower would help make them more visible and attractive to visitors.

Route:

• To make 39-line buses more attractive to visitors, lengthen the loop all the way through fisherman’s Wharf (including restaurant row, the Cannery, Ghirardelli Square, etc.) and tweak the existing route to bring riders within walking distance of Chinatown, through North Beach and closer to Broadway.
• Prominent signage at designated stops, advertising this as the “Third Tourist Line” between the F-Line and the Cable Cars and “the best route between Fisherman’s Wharf and North Beach, Chinatown and Coit Tower.”.

Traffic:

• Working with DPW, devise a cost-effective, cheap solution to let buses pass queued traffic on Telegraph Hill Blvd waiting to reach Coit Tower parking lot.
• Rationale: bypassing queued traffic shortens riders’ trip, reduces fuel emissions from idling on hill in traffic, provides local dwellers access to their homes.

Promotion

• Include 39-line in brochures distributed by Market Street Railway on F-line cars and at cable car kiosks (currently already included, with more than 150,000 brochures distributed annually).
• Work with Pier 39 and Wharf Association to make brochures available near 39-line stops along F-line track.
• Ask Wharf Association to promote 39-line bus on their website.

These modest changes would serve to increase rider-ship on the 39-Coit line, making it more cost-effective; it would continue to provide a vital service to the elderly residents of Telegraph Hill; it would provide an enhanced tourist experience for visitors to this part of the city; and it would decrease automobile congestion in the most densely-populated section of town. We urge the MTA to consider these proposals before taking the drastic step of eliminating such an important life-line in our neighborhood.