Mayor Edwin M. Lee today issued the following statement on the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) Board of Directors reinstating free Sunday parking in San Francisco:

“Repealing Sunday parking meters is about making San Francisco a little more affordable for our families and residents on Sunday, plain and simple. Paid Sunday meters were implemented in 2013 as a response to record budget deficits at Muni, and I thank the SFMTA Board of Directors for moving a budget forward today that eliminates this practice. Instead of nickel and diming our residents at the meter on Sunday, let’s work together to support comprehensive transportation funding measures this year and in the future that will invest in our City’s transportation system for pedestrians, bicyclists, transit riders and drivers alike.”

Mayor Lee called on the SF2030 Transportation Task Force to develop a comprehensive roadmap and coordinated set of priorities and actionable recommendations to maintain the condition of the City’s streets and make Muni and other transportation systems more reliable. Their findings showed San Francisco needed to invest $10.1 billion in transportation infrastructure over the next 15 years, with recommendations to generate $3 billion in new revenue for the long-underfunded system by 2030. Aging, outdated infrastructure and insufficient vehicles are a major cause of service delays and performance challenges for the SFMTA. This November, working with the Board of Supervisors, Mayor Lee will support the Transportation 2030 Task Force’s two recommendations for 2014, bringing to the voters a $500 million general obligation transportation bond and a measure to increase the local vehicle license fee.

Taking a comprehensive approach to funding San Francisco’s transportation system, in his State of the City address, Mayor Lee called upon the SFMTA Board of Directors to suspend Sunday meters beginning with the new fiscal year.