SFist Reader Marivi sent this letter to District 5 Supervisor (and SFist partygoer) Ross Mirkarimi, and ccd us. As of yesterday, she has not recieved a response from Mirkarimi's office.* This SFist has never had the pleasure of riding Muni with children, and this letter really made us think about how difficult it must be. Have you had issues similar to Marivi's? What do you think of her suggestions? Let us know in the comments!

I'd *love* your help in making Muni more sensitive to the needs of children and their caregivers, especially with regard to Muni's policy about strollers. (Must be folded; kids on lap).

I wrote to them a few months back asking for specific instructions on how to safely comply with that policy when caring for more than one small child. (Complying with the policy sounds easy, until you arrive at the stop and have to deal with the logistics of folding the stroller and boarding with two squirmy children: Where do you put the kids while you fold the stroller? How do you climb the train's steps while carrying two kids and a stroller? Once seated with two kids on your lap, how do you pick up your stroller and disembark down the steps without dropping the kids or losing your balance? How do you do any of this without handing your kids to a stranger or leaving them unattended on a seat or sidewalk where they can squirm, fall, crawl or walk away?)

I never got a response to the message I sent via their website. I emailed the board secretary as well and got a message back right away telling me I'd hear back from their PR department. A month later, I hadn't heard back,so I contacted her again. She assured me I'd hear back soon. Another month went by. I sent her another message. FINALLY I got a reply TWO months later. All it said was "It is our policy that strollers should be folded and children should be on the adult's lap." I had not asked what the policy was, but for help in complying with it when traveling with more than one child. I'm not sure they ever bothered to read the question!

Alas, I suspect they adopted that policy without ever thinking through *how* one might go about doing that (or even whether it can be done.)

See Marivi's modest proposal after the jump!

A friend of mine with triplets tried boarding at a wheelchair ramp with her stroller. She was told to go find someone to help her lift her stroller up the steep stairs. I can see not allowing use of the wheelchair ramp during rush hour, but this made no sense as it was around 11 a.m..

It wasn't that long ago that the disabled were told to rely on strangers to hoist their wheelchairs up stairs. This is unacceptable.

The City claims to want to both decrease traffic and stem the tide of young families leaving the City. But Muni's policy is clear: If you have more than one small child, buy a car or leave town. (We've bought a car; our friends with triplets now live in the East Bay.)

There may well be a way to safely comply with Muni's policy if you are caring for more than one child, but Muni doesn't know of any, or if they do, they are unwilling to share it with the parents and caregivers who need to know.

My humble recommendation? Re-examine the policy and consider the following:

Assuming children *are* safer on an adult's lap with strollers folded (and I know many parents who dispute whether this is even true):

a) Allow caregivers with more than one child under the age of 4 to board using wheelchair access ramps outside of rush hour
b) Add "caregivers with small children" to the list of those provided priority seating (along with seniors and the disabled)
c) Instruct Muni drivers, particularly those on buses, to remain stopped until caregivers with children are seated (this is a common complaint of parents who take buses. It is *impossible* to balance on muni buses when you've got a child in one hand and a stroller in the other.)
d) Provide clear instructions on how to safely comply with the "stroller folded, kids on lap" policy when traveling with more than one child
e) Consider changing taxi rules as in Manhattan: no car seats needed for children traveling in cabs.

Raising a family without a car in the city is difficult enough without being able to use Muni.

* Update: Moments after this post went up, Marivi recieved a response from Ross Mirkarimi. "I quite agree with your sentiments and suggestions. I will add them in with our list of concerns and objectives in improving Muni - we need a much better mass transit system." OK, Ross, so what's next?