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– Peter Smith In response to " It’s Official: Chicago Parking Privatization a Massive Rip-Off"
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by Dave Snyder
Photo: plug1If the Geary Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project doesn't get some love from advocates and the general public, the project could be in trouble, according to several people closely following the process.
[...]
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Akit
Muni's outreach is really terrible for all these massive changes and hardly any media agency gave any real coverage (this should have been front page material or first story of the night on the TV).
How can they notify the public with just a little more than a month's notice about route changes?
Even I was shocked that there was little reaction to the changes in a blog posting I did 13 days ago:
http://www.akit.org/2009/11/why-are-citizens-not-angry-at-munis.html
in response to Dec 5 Service Changes Catch Chinatown, Vis Valley Muni Riders by Surprise
Whit
It would be nice if these colorful MTA brochures actually told us which stops were getting cut and if some are getting moved, where to!
in response to Dec 5 Service Changes Catch Chinatown, Vis Valley Muni Riders by Surprise
jamie
I can't help but bristle every time I see the words "extensive outreach" associated with the current MTA folks. I'm hopeful about the Entrips thing ...
in response to Dec 5 Service Changes Catch Chinatown, Vis Valley Muni Riders by Surprise
Greg
This is what happens when you do 1/2 a plan. We're basically implementing cuts from the TEP, but NOT the improvements that were part of the whole plan. So of course there are going to be problems.
That's what happens when you rely on cuts only to balance a budget made unbalanced by other agencies and the state stealing your income, and not finding a local replacement for it.
in response to Dec 5 Service Changes Catch Chinatown, Vis Valley Muni Riders by Surprise
John Murphy
My comment should not have (but did) imply that they knew what they were doing. I doubt you could get an answer from MTA about how that route is used. The 48 isn't as interesting as the 22, but riding it from West Portal to Caltrain is enlightening. People get on in WP and travel either to Noe Valley or to BART. Noe Valley ships people to BART or (very few to) Caltrain. The Mission sends people to SF General. The bus practically empties out at SF General and I expect a quick ride, but we pick up parents with kids on the bottom of Potrero Hill and take them up the hill. Finally we dump off people at Caltrain. A few people from PoHill stay on, I think they are transfering to the T at 3rd St.
What's ironic is that the service "cut" really kicks ass for rich people in Noe Valley who take the Caltrain (though a lot of peninsula workers in Noe Valley are already on the Google/Apple Bus). We also suffer no cuts on the 24 or the J, only minor reduction in the 35, and increased service on the 44 which I take to the Academy of Sciences.
The 35 is in large part a redundancy of the 24. Yet the 26 goes away. Granted there are spots on the 35 route where even stout young folks would not want to walk from the Castro to Diamond.
in response to Dec 5 Service Changes Catch Chinatown, Vis Valley Muni Riders by Surprise
mikesonn
I was referring to the study, not Streetsblog. But you are right, this is anything but new news.
in response to New Study Quantifies High Personal Costs of Building CA Cities for Cars
wheelchairgirl
I don't see how this has improved things for pedestrians all that much. Nor is it going to make things any better for getting businesses to go to Mid-Market. All this does is create a concrete corridor for buses and cyclists, neither of whom are apparently stopping at local businesses because they're too excited about 50 seconds' faster times to someplace *else*.
Meanwhile, Mission is worse and didn't get any improvements to cope with that, the 8th st intersections are a nightmare, and Folsom is a zoo likewise. And pedestrian safety at those intersections is down because of all the confused drivers, and Market remains a scary ghetto. This isn't helping mid-Market in the least; this is helping commuters from elsewhere get through faster.
Call it an advantage for commuters if you like, but don't tell me this is helping mid-Market any. Nor do I see how it's helping pedestrians. One or two car-less intersections isn't making up for less safety at other intersections, and no improvements to ped access have been made.
in response to MTA: Market Street Pilot is Improving Conditions for Muni, Bicyclists
Mark
Well, let's not be too quick to give MTA credit. If you do all of your transit planning while you're looking at a map in a central office and you never actually visit the route, you still might get something right every once in a while. But as anybody who's been to the Glen Park J stop can tell you, it's clear that the TEP people have no idea what they're doing.
And let's not forget that the MTA sets a very low threshold for rapid transit projects that benefit suburban users (10000 daily riders gets you $100M) while imposing different standards on urban users (>30000 is insufficient for funding.)
in response to Dec 5 Service Changes Catch Chinatown, Vis Valley Muni Riders by Surprise
John Murphy
The change to the 10/48 lines is pure brilliance. The 48 was useless as a trip from Noe/Mission to Caltrain because it completely bogged down on Potrero Hill. The section on Wisconsin served as an "elevator" for people living on the lower slopes of Potrero, who would take the bus up one block. This repeated itself block by block. It was freaky - people got on/off the 48 at a constant rate all the way from SF General to 20th/Connecticut. Brutal.
The 10 now serves this same section, but since this chunk of the route is near the end, it doesn't impact "through passengers" to Caltrain, a destination where a minute delay could cost you 30 minutes or more. Someone taking the 10 from the North to/from the Hospital will suffer this delay, but that's a route that never existed before, and isn't to a transfer point. The 48 might very well operate as an express from 25th/Wisconsin to Caltrain, probably saving 10 minutes. Seriously. Of course, it takes 12 minutes for me to ride my bike all the way from Noe Valley to Caltrain
in response to Dec 5 Service Changes Catch Chinatown, Vis Valley Muni Riders by Surprise
Matthew Roth
Not to sound defensive, but we've stated the obvious on this here blog before.
http://sf.streetsblog.org/2009/02/19/a-decidedly-dim-view-of-electric-vehicles/
in response to New Study Quantifies High Personal Costs of Building CA Cities for Cars
mikesonn
"What's more, the report points out that fuel costs represent a small minority of the cost of owning a car, so the craze for electric and other low-emission vehicles will not dramatically reduce the transportation costs for those living far from their jobs and far from transit."
Thank you for finally stating the obvious! Electric cars are not going to save the car culture.
in response to New Study Quantifies High Personal Costs of Building CA Cities for Cars
Jeez
Increase service on the 9, and what does MTA get? Blasted! -- for not doing enough outreach!
It's never enough. Must be tough to run an agency that everyone loves to kick around.
in response to Dec 5 Service Changes Catch Chinatown, Vis Valley Muni Riders by Surprise
wheelchairgirl
@EL: Some of us want sidewalks, you know. There are pedestrians, wacky as that sounds.
...man, I want to like this, but that "permeable" pavement looks like it may be bumpy as heck. Does the whole crosswalk really have to be permeable? Can't we have a concrete lane for all the wheelchairs, strollers, granny carts, walkers, and canes? That stuff looks like the "decorative" antique brick we got stuck with on Fillmore and Market that rattles my teeth loose.
in response to San Francisco Starts Building Green Streets For Stormwater Management
mikesonn
While I understand their concerns and feel the MTA should do a much better job, they are receiving increased service. Along with this, the MTA is going to be dumping some $1.5 billion into the central subway to service these same neighbors at the expense of overall MUNI operation.
I must be missing something.
in response to Dec 5 Service Changes Catch Chinatown, Vis Valley Muni Riders by Surprise
jamie
Eliminating term limits or at least modifying them a bit would be helpful ... forcing politicians to be constantly looking for their next gig every 3 or 6 years creates a conflict of self-interest (preservation, if you will). It is easier to give away the store today when you won't be responsible for the store 2-3 years from now ... even easier to give it away if it will help you fulfill your selfish (we're all human, eh?) need to get elected to that next rung of political power. Our term limited politicians have been continuously kicking the problem can down the road, and now we see the results at the UC system (32% fee increase on the table) ... at some point, young people aren't going to keep paying for the piggish behavior of predecessors, I would think.
in response to A Warning From America’s Cities: The Recession Has Only Just Begun to Hit
MU
@yas
The same people who would have paid to clean up the pollution that would instead be going into the Bay.
Sewage treatment does little or nothing to remove toxics. While you have a point, it is at least slightly better to have these chemicals trapped in stable ground under a street than in the water where it is quickly cycled back into us through water, food, and air.
@EL has a more valid complaint. But I think the point is that you need to do some demonstration projects like this to "prove the concept" (though it really shouldn't need much proving). Once these design concepts become standard, installation will occur as part of normal road construction and maintanance where it should be only slightly more expensive than normal road work.
in response to San Francisco Starts Building Green Streets For Stormwater Management
the greasybear
Let me see if I understand this argument for our actively joining the hotel workers' strike: on its own merits, the strike is socially just; also, if only livable streets activists picket the hotels, then we will likely win over new converts to our completely unrelated and relatively esoteric cause.
I'll set aside the health care and labor/management social justice arguments, because these are but two of the many contemporary American sociopolitical issues I intentionally set aside when I visit Streetsblog. I'm married to a hotel worker. I'm on the strikers' side. But I don't come here to read about that.
So we're left with the claim we can win over new converts to livable streets activism if only we join the hotel union picket line. Supporting that claim, we're given anecdote, political theory and a veneer of sunny optimism--none of which are sufficient. Sure it is *possible* our mere presence on the picket line will compel hotel workers battling a $300/month takeaway to suddenly push for new car-free plazas, cycle tracks, street trees, ciclovias and road diets. But then again, it might not. The author fails to show how her hoped-for outcome is any more likely than the status quo.
I would greatly prefer Streetsblog not wade into issues unrelated to livable streets. And if we must go there, at least provide a compelling argument--it's not much to ask.
in response to Guest Commentary: Transpo Advocates Should Support Hotel Workers
EL
Since much of this "article" is about establishing political unions, I suggest not being overly supportive of any union who chooses to strike in a time when so many are unemployed. Does anyone recall the lack of public support over the recent BART strike?
in response to Guest Commentary: Transpo Advocates Should Support Hotel Workers
EL
Not to discount the merits of this project, but for $1,251,421, how many miles of bike lanes can be painted?
in response to San Francisco Starts Building Green Streets For Stormwater Management
Michael Krueger
I'm surprised that this piece only mentions the gasoline tax's "lost value" due to fuel economy and not to inflation, which is a far bigger effect . . . by more than a factor of ten!
Due to inflation, 18.3 cents in 1993 has the same purchasing power as 12.5 cents in 2008, which translates into a 32% reduction in the purchasing power of the revenue collected by the gasoline tax.
http://www.westegg.com/inflation
Average fuel economy was 23.5 MPG in 1993 and 24.1 MPG in 2008, which effectively reduces the gas tax collected for the same 23.5-mile drive from 18.3 cents in 1993 to 17.8 cents in 2008; this only represents a 2.7% reduction in gasoline tax revenue.
http://www.epa.gov/otaq/cert/mpg/fetrends/420r08015.pdf
Any sensible reform to the gasoline tax must take inflation into account. As long as the tax is denominated in cents and can only be raised by legislative action, its value is all but guaranteed to decrease over time due to inflation, even assume no change in fuel economy.
in response to ‘This Needs Attention’: Senators Seek Shot in the Arm on Transportation
Justin
I have it on VERY good authority that Dr. Klinkenborg is himself a bit of a cyclist.
in response to Today's Headlines
yas
who pays to cleanup the toxic soil after 10 years of the soil filtering out pollution?
in response to San Francisco Starts Building Green Streets For Stormwater Management
mikesonn
That quote from the officer might be taking the reality of the situation into light - i.e. people do drive distracted - but it also sounds as if he is saying that it's just the way it is and that pedestrians just have to accept that fact.
And when the news is using just that quote on their broadcast (in context or not), it makes it sound like the driver isn't at fault of checking their text messages while driving. And the captive audience is going to hear/see that and think that behavior is acceptable.
in response to Blaming the Pedestrian, Again
whir
@friscolex, private cars aren't actually banned on any part of Market under this scheme, they are just forced to turn right at those two intersections. I completely agree that that intersection has been nightmarish for cyclists for years, and it's still on the dodgy side.
I wonder if it would be feasible to convert the entire right side of street (between the sidewalk and the bus median) into a combination of a bike lane on the left side and a right-turn only lane for cars on the right side. That would mean any motorized traffic that wanted to continue east (eg, trucks) would need to get in the lane to the left of the median, but it hasn't seemed very crowded there these last several weekday mornings.
in response to MTA: Market Street Pilot is Improving Conditions for Muni, Bicyclists
Greg
This is an example of "one-way" solidarity. We as readers of streetsblog are stereotyped by the author (btw, "Get your buns down there" what kind of writing is that?) and of course we are expected to "support the hotel workers" and yet, when the MTA budget fight was going on, labor was nowhere to be found, and I didn't see many 'hotel workers' fight the MTA budget.
Plus, as patrick points out, this is a strike about health care benefits. News flash - pretty much any labor strike at this point is about "benefits" because our health care system is hopelessly broken. The BART strike was in part about this issue, too, as is pretty much any labor dispute. That's part of a bigger issue, one where perhaps we should join our labor friends in lobbying for a better health care plan, and perhaps tossing out a few elected officials who think the status quo is OK. But that is an issue separate from transit advocacy.
PS: The idea that an employer should be the prime provider of health care "benefits" is an antiquated notion left over from WW2 and attempts to bust wage controls b/c of the war.
in response to Guest Commentary: Transpo Advocates Should Support Hotel Workers
Dave
Oh please. There's nothing in that quote which is anti-pedestrian! It's obviously a condemnation of distracted drivers. It's pointing out the obvious -- that in a car vs. pedestrian accident, the pedestrian always loses.
I'm not denying that for a long time, urban design has been too focused on cars and needs to focus more on pedestrians and providing balance between the two. But this quote is not ammunition in that fight. Lipstick on a pig, anyone?
in response to Blaming the Pedestrian, Again
friscolex
And Google Maps wants me to drive on Market Street. (With a weird Stevenson detour??)
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=10th+and+market,+sf&daddr=4th+and+market,+sf&hl=en&geocode=FY9sQAIdoA60-CmRpcIWnICFgDGQBeL6CdbA_A%3B&mra=ls&sll=37.776532,-122.4175&sspn=0.012042,0.01929&ie=UTF8&ll=37.781128,-122.411685&spn=0.012041,0.01929&z=16
in response to MTA: Market Street Pilot is Improving Conditions for Muni, Bicyclists
patrick
I find this argument unconvincing. While I see a connection with labor and transportation, that connection would exist with or without the union. The strike is about a small parochial matter, while transportation is a societal issue that goes beyond all boundaries. Plus, the strike is about who pays for health-care and has nothing to do with transportation. If they were striking for transportation benefits then it might make some sense for those interested in transportation issues.
While I understand the issue of health-care is important to those striking, the bigger issue is health-care reform. Without it, their cause is ultimately doomed as no company will be providing health-care after costs continue to skyrocket. With proper health-care reform, their cause is irrelevant as everybody will be covered with decent affordable health-care.
in response to Guest Commentary: Transpo Advocates Should Support Hotel Workers
friscolex
"Right turns made from the center lane of eastbound Market Street at 8th Street create a safety issue for bicyclists as they are in a lane that is to the right of these right-turning motor vehicles."
Indeed, cars freak out and don't know what to do, so stop. (Right in front of me this morning in fact.) That intersection and the eastbound lanes leading up to it has been horrible for years. The Whitcomb loading areas are often extended illegally to the rest of the block and double-parking happens, too. Not to mention the tour buses.
However, I've been enjoying a less-car (oh, the fantasy of car-less!) Market Street for those few blocks. Private cars stream back in of course once you hit the FiDi. That leads me to ask a question I've been wondering since the beginning: Where is the limit of the ban? Is is from 8th Street to the Ferry Building? To Fifth Street? Anyone know?
Kudos to all agencies and non-profits involved for being this pro-active, not to mention the enforcement officers out there every day!
in response to MTA: Market Street Pilot is Improving Conditions for Muni, Bicyclists
zsolt
Who's "we"?
in response to San Francisco Starts Building Green Streets For Stormwater Management
jim
One of the aspects of this that is not being covered is that we are seeing an actual attempt by Muni to improve the speed of its service. This in itself is news. It shows the city that they actually care about the product they are delivering and that they are willing to make private automobile driving potentially less convenient.
Beyond all the usual complaints about cleanliness, homeless riders, surly drivers an so on, it comes down to the fact that being a passenger on a Muni bus is a demeaning experience because it is so slow. The system conveys a sense that your time is not valuable and hence you are not valuable.
50 seconds sounds right. It shows that it takes a lot of intervention to get significant time savings. We will also need signal priority, better stop placement, all door boarding, low floor buses and yes, reduced number of stops so that the spacing falls within Munis own guidelines.
Let's hope that Muni is emboldened by this experiment and will do more comprehensive interventions in the future.
in response to MTA: Market Street Pilot is Improving Conditions for Muni, Bicyclists
jamie
Inconclusive change on Folsom is interpreted by me as actually meaning "there are so many damn vehicles traveling on Folsom, we cannot possibly manually count them all accurately"
Glad to hear they'll begin forcing turns at 10th .. that's where they should've begun forcing turns to start with instead of sending folks down 6th Street where the folks living in SRO's make good use of those sidewalks and didn't need the additional cars endangering them further on what is already one of the more dangerous streets in San Francisco for peds.
in response to MTA: Market Street Pilot is Improving Conditions for Muni, Bicyclists
mattymatt
Looks nice! Maybe someday they can do one in a part of town we're not afraid to go to.
in response to San Francisco Starts Building Green Streets For Stormwater Management
Gillian Gillett
Community Challenge Grants are made possible by the Neighborhood Beautification and Graffiti Cleanup Fund, through the Community Challenge Grant Program. The San Francisco Community Challenge Grant Program provides matching grants to local residents, businesses, non-profits and other community groups to make physical improvements to their neighborhoods. For more information about this local grants program, see: http://www.sfgov.org/site/ccg_index.asp
in response to San Francisco Starts Building Green Streets For Stormwater Management
mattymatt
How is it possible that the improvement is only 50 seconds? That seems impossibly low.
The advance stop lines are indeed nice. Now that area needs to be painted green, with a big bike stencil in the middle of it.
in response to MTA: Market Street Pilot is Improving Conditions for Muni, Bicyclists
Nick
A casual observation would indicate that MUNI is 50 seconds faster for EACH block of Mid-Market since there are no cars blocking the boarding islands or making the busses miss their Stop light cycle. Fast in, fast out.
I find the "50 second gain" in overall effiency to be downplaying just how swiftly the busses are moving. Perhaps they are over-analyzing the data in an EIR-esque fashion.
I like the advance Stop lines even though one ate a sharrow at Market and Guerrero.
in response to MTA: Market Street Pilot is Improving Conditions for Muni, Bicyclists
Dan T.
This is great!!! I can't wait to check it out. I would also like to point out that a coop can also be used to mean a worker cooperative. I work at Box Dog Bikes in San Francisco. For us this means we have shared ownership and workplace democracy at our coop. We are also legally incorporated as such.
in response to Marin County Bike Co-Op 'A Community Hub for Culture and Technology'
zsolt
A little too political for me, I generally will not endorse anything or anyone I don't know much about just to build an alliance. I think hotel workers, like anybody else, should be treated with respect of course, and I welcome anyone who wants to improve public transit -- but issues often are complex and the article didn't contribute to my understanding of what the strike is really about. Generally when it comes down to a picket line, both parties usually revert to one-liner attacks and it's even more difficult to discern the issues at that point. So don't count me in just yet.
I will also note that some of the largest transportation issues that are "bubbling" in the districts the article talks about actually has to do with the very people taking transit, and not some faceless bourgeoisie exploiting them. For example most people I see in Ingleside board in the back, often opening the door for each other or if all else fails, pushing the door in and clearly try to avoid paying the fare. Fare jumping is in fact one of the largest Muni issues "bubbling" in these districts so I'm not sure I agree with the generalizing statement that the workers taking Muni from/to these districts are natural allies in improving transit. Just because they ride the bus does not mean they care about it, or that they would be interested in improving conditions for bikers.
in response to Guest Commentary: Transpo Advocates Should Support Hotel Workers
zsolt
Installing 10 (TEN!) electric cars doesn't sound like an attempt to change. It sounds more like a big middle finger. "Here, you green assholes."
in response to Oil-Centric Houston to Experiment With (Coal-Powered) Electric Cars
Joel Ramos
Sooooooo soooooo glad to see this post! Now I can share it with my Labor friends and help them better understand the need for better transit for their members!!! Thanks!
in response to Guest Commentary: Transpo Advocates Should Support Hotel Workers
frank reynolds
here's one i took recently. seeing this group made me think of it immediately.
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_8XcpkH-irr0/SwSCIQPIhOI/AAAAAAAACvU/EJexCRR8hik/IMG_0899.jpg
cheers.
in response to Eyes on the Street: No Parking, San Francisco
Jym
=v= Bulbouts and chicanes? Street trees where they'll actually calm traffic? Basically the stuff I've been proposing for the last 15 years? Somebody pinch me, I'm dreaming!
in response to San Francisco Starts Building Green Streets For Stormwater Management
patrick
Actually it is true, there are just as many contradictory articles, your statement on the other hand is not true.
The US CO2 emissions dropped from 2008 to 2009 as well, perhaps it's the global recession that is responsible for the reduction, not cap and trade.
It will be much harder with WM than without it for the points I provided earlier, these things tend to be weakened, not strengthened. Dems are in jeopardy of losing a number of seats, and what do you think the first thing the Republicans are going to do if that happens? Gut it further.
If you think WM is good then refute the points I made earlier about it's flaws.
As I've said repeatedly cap and trade can work, but not WM, it is too flawed and will only delay finding a real solution. I believe WM is worse than nothing. I believe a simple fee & rebate system is better than cap and trade, and far better than WM.
I am open minded and willing to change my opinion. If you can show me how I am wrong, then I will do so, but linking to an article is not sufficient.
in response to The Copenhagen Moment
Peter Smith
great post. i totally support this call to action. hopefully i can do my part!
in response to Guest Commentary: Transpo Advocates Should Support Hotel Workers
Sue
I know the members of the Board of Directors are loathe to implement the expanded metering hours proposal because it is likely to be so controversial -- would that raising fares and cutting Muni service were as unpalatable. But our parking policies have to be changed and the sooner that better. If the directors come at this with a unified voice, and unanimously support the proposal, it will be much easier to withstand the onslaught of initially peeved parkers. And if need be, they can move the proposal forward as an experiment for a trial period of one year (as recommended by the MTA CAC) or for one to two years.
in response to MTA Parking Meter Study Outreach Moves Slowly, Despite Budget Woes
rzu
Great post, Fran. Thanks for making the connection between labor and transit - I hope folks heed the call.
in response to Guest Commentary: Transpo Advocates Should Support Hotel Workers
Justin
@Bien, you're reading this here because transit advocates (like yourself it seems) are still asking that very question, and not getting the need to connect transportation issues to class and justice issues.
My guess would be that the median income of bike coalition members is pretty damn high--and while that is fine, we need to think about how to bridge the gap between well-off and middle-class advocates who have the time and energy to spend time speaking up with the working-class people in SF and its environs who use transit and who may not be reached by yuppie-based bike and pedestrian outreach via the normal circuits like bike culture events, etc. ((again, not that there is anything wrong with the yuppie-based stuff. i'm that guy too)).
in response to Guest Commentary: Transpo Advocates Should Support Hotel Workers
Richard Masoner
Great to see Veronic back! I love her!
in response to Streetfilms: Veronica Moss Goes to Times Square
Bien-pensant filler
Why exactly am I reading this here?
in response to Guest Commentary: Transpo Advocates Should Support Hotel Workers
SFResident
ANSWER can vie for the title of "most irrelevant political organization ever constituted." Seriously, they're the kind of political org. that exists as a vehicle for its members to feel self-righteous, not as a vehicle to organize for political change.
That being said, this post is spot-on. It's important to remember that building a better transit infrastructure is as much a question of social justice as it is of environmental justice and we should be working on fostering our natural alliances with both the progressive labor and social activist communities.
in response to Guest Commentary: Transpo Advocates Should Support Hotel Workers