Year: 2009
Top Categories
Transport Debate Still Stalled As Oberstar Decries ‘Lack of Political Will’
Halfway through the extra month
that Congress gave itself to resolve a long-simmering dispute over
funding the nation's transportation system, Democratic leaders remain
deadlocked over whether -- and how long -- to wait before debating a
broad reform of federal infrastructure policy.
October 16, 2009
Sacto Transit Agency Tries an “Exclusion Policy” for Misbehaving Riders
With several well-publicized violent incidents on Muni buses recently, including two brutal attacks and a videotaped fight, security has become a hot issue for the MTA. Though the agency actually reported a slight decrease in crime over the past fiscal year, it hasn't matched the 13 percent citywide drop in the most serious crimes over the first half of 2009. The San Francisco Police Department responded in late September with a one-day sting called "Operation Safe Muni," and the MTA has scrambled to test its onboard camera equipment, which has failed during several incidents, including the stabbing of a young boy in September and the West Portal light rail vehicle crash in July.
October 16, 2009
Michigan Makes Roads Safe for Fuzzy Dice — Not Bikes
From Michigan's M-Bike.org, a story of misplaced priorities.
October 16, 2009
Nevius Does a Great Job Blaming the Victim and Distorting Data
C.W. Nevius's column in the Chronicle today ("S.F. a dangerous city for careless pedestrians") is a great example of blaming the victim, ignoring data, and misrepresenting the experts you quote. But it wouldn't be Nevius otherwise, would it?
October 15, 2009
Donald Shoup Calls San Francisco Parking Meter Study “Pathbreaking”
With the debate about parking meter rates and hours raging on both sides of the Bay, Streetsblog called UCLA Professor Donald Shoup, author of The High Cost of Free Parking and arguably the world's foremost parking expert, and asked him his opinion on the new San Francisco MTA parking meter study, which was released on Tuesday and calls for increasing meter hours in commercial districts where parking occupancy rises above 85 percent and where businesses are open late on weekdays and on Sundays.
October 15, 2009
The Oversight Gap in Team Obama’s High-Speed Rail Plan
The White House's economic stimulus law included several large new spending programs, from $4 billion for broadband to $2.4 billion for electric car batteries. But nothing has aroused so much interest -- and criticism -- as the $8 billion for American high-speed rail.
October 15, 2009
Streetfilms: Drivers Behaving Rudely
San Franciscans and New Yorkers have a lot in common when it comes navigating the mess of threatening autos on the streets. In my neighborhood near Polk Street, I've recently noticed a lot more aggressive drivers skirting the law, blocking crosswalks, failing to yield, and honking for no good reason.
October 15, 2009