Year: 2009

The conservative "tea party" movement, last seen complaining about the government-funded local transit system that they took during an anti-government march in Washington D.C, is veering back to form in Florida with an organized protest against the state's proposal for broad new investments in rail transit.

The myth that U.S. roads "pay for themselves" thanks to user fees is a subject that's likely familiar to many Streetsblog readers -- but just how much of the nation's highway funding is provided by charging drivers?

At California State Assembly Committee on Transportation meetings this morning and Tuesday, the California Transit Association (CTA) and public transit agency representatives will discuss the challenges that state funding cuts have imposed on transit providers. Today's hearing is at the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board Room. The Tuesday hearing takes place in the Sacramento Regional Transit District Board Room.

Earlier this year, Lorain County, Ohio, purchased 13 new buses for its transit service using federal stimulus money. Come January 1, those buses are going to be sitting idle.

Bail Set at $5 Million for Muni Stabbing Suspect (SFGate, KGO, SF Appeal) Muni Drivers’ Union Head Rips Upcoming Service Changes (The Snitch) A Last Look at the 26-Valencia (Mission Loc@l) Increased Muni Operator Absenteeism Eating up Scarce Funds (SF Examiner) Three Children Injured by out-of-Control Driver in Daly City (KGO) BIKE NOPA Has Pictures … Continued

Streetfilms' John Hamilton was on the scene of today's press conference to celebrate San Francisco's first bike lane in three years and announce what the city plans to do over the next six months to improve conditions for bicyclists in San Francisco. Stay tuned for more Streetfilms coverage of all the bike improvements!

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, three members of the Board of Supervisors, MTA officials, SFBC staff and bicyclists -- standing in the glaring fall sun amidst the roar of cars on Oak Street -- celebrated the city's first new bike lane in three years today, and then grabbed the paint rolls and applied buckets of shiny green paint to the Scott Street bike box.

At a press conference this afternoon to celebrate the city's first new bike lane in three years, Mayor Gavin Newsom and MTA Chief Nat Ford learned that Clear Channel had backed out of its option to implement a public-use bike share program in San Francisco. Ironically, just as Mayor Newsom was answering a question from Streetsblog about the future of bike share in San Francisco, Ford approached him with the news, which he had just found out about.

DPT crews installed San Francisco's first physically separated bike lane this morning on a westbound stretch of an existing bike lane on Market Street between 9th and 10th, and before workers had even finished putting in the final safe-hit post, some drivers began disrespecting it, rolling into the lane, causing bicyclists to merge into auto traffic.