Year: 2009
Top Categories
Muni Reaps the Benefits of Reduced Traffic on Market
It's been half a century since the "roar of the four" streetcar lines dominated Market Street, but with the Market Street traffic diversion trial in effect today, trains and buses reasserted themselves over automobiles as the uncontested dominant vehicles on the city's main thoroughfare. With eastbound automobiles forced to turn right at 6th and 8th Streets, the roar of the four subterranean transit tracks - BART and Muni Metro - was easily audible in certain spots. For the first time, subways, streetcars, and buses included, San Franciscans could hear the roar of the eight.
September 29, 2009
Driver Reaction to Market Street Diversions Surprisingly Upbeat
Although there are still some kinks that need to be ironed out on Market Street to make the six-week trial diversion of personal automobiles more efficient, the sky did not fall and reaction to the changes was fairly positive, even from drivers in personal vehicles. One consistent complaint was the relatively small signs affixed to street posts, which several drivers claimed they didn't see.
September 29, 2009
Streetfilms News: Podcasts, YouTube, Twitter and “Streetfilms Shorties”
You've been asking for more ways to get your Streetfilms fix, and now you've got 'em.
September 29, 2009
Senate Climate Bill Leaks: The Good News and Bad News for Transport
The Senate's climate change legislation will finally
make its debut tomorrow, courtesy of environment committee chairman
Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and foreign relations committee chairman John
Kerry (D-MA). But the Washington Post has already obtained a
"close-to-final" version of the bill [PDF], which provides some details but leaves unanswered the key question of how much aid will go towards clean transport.
September 29, 2009
Presidio Launches Temporary Street Closure and Traffic Calming Study
In an effort to make the Presidio function less like a traffic shortcut and more like a national park, the Presidio Trust is trying out an idea that's caught on in the dense city that borders it: a trial street closure. From today until October 27, Presidio Boulevard will be closed to private automobiles between West Pacific Avenue and Upper Simonds Loop [map PDF], as the Presidio Trust and the MTA study traffic impacts. Muni and emergency vehicles will still have full access.
September 29, 2009
Report: Feds Subsidize Parking Six Times as Much as Transit
"Subsidy" is a word used quite often in transportation policy-making circles, whether by road acolytes who claim (falsely)
that highways are not federally subsidized because of the gas tax or by
transit boosters who lament Washington's unceasing focus on paying for
more local asphalt.
September 29, 2009
Are Two-Way Streets the Way of the Future?
Today on the Streetsblog Network, we're featuring a post from San Francisco's Pedestrianist
about two-way street conversions in Minneapolis and how such changing
traffic patterns could benefit pedestrians and other users:
September 29, 2009
Today’s Headlines
Better Market Street Trials Start Today (SF Gate, Examiner, KCBS, KGO, NBC11) Plan to Revitalize Mid-Market with Synchronized Digital Billboards on November Ballot (SF Gate) Abandoned Gym Bag Forces Evacuation of Transbay Terminal (SF Gate) Construction Underway on Temporary Transbay Terminal (KGO) Fisherman’s Wharf Merchants Worried New Parking Fees Will Hurt Business (SF Examiner) Oakland … Continued
September 29, 2009
Walk San Francisco Annual Meeting
"We’ll have Amit Ghosh, the Deputy Director of Planning from the MTA to tell us about plans for pedestrian improvements here in the City.
September 28, 2009
Walk San Francisco Peak2Peak Walk
"Want a challenge? Sign-up for this year's Peak to Peak Walk, a 15-mile trek up and down SF's highest peaks. Walkers get a unique view of SF's skyline, stairways, paths, parks, and monuments - all while raising money for Walk SF's vital pedestrian safety and advocacy work. Breakfast, lunch, snacks, raffle prizes, and a year's membership in Walk SF included in the registration fee. Special Low Price this year!"
September 28, 2009