Year: 2009
Top Categories
National Transit Funding Report Highlights Local Transit Woes
Genesis, a local affiliate of the Gamaliel Foundation, joined with representatives from the national Transportation Equity Network (TEN), AC Transit, and Amalgamated Transit Union Local 192 today to call on Congress to act to stem the tide of transit service cuts, fare hikes, and operating budget shortfalls. The press event coincided with the release of Stranded at the Station, a report prepared by Transportation for America (T4A), Gamaliel, Nelson Nygaard and TEN, which details the woeful fiscal conditions of most of the major transit operators around the country and offers solutions for how to get them out of the quagmire.
August 18, 2009
Eyes on the Street: Parked Cars Block Bike Lanes Near Ballpark
An anonymous photographer snapped the above photo last Wednesday on Terry Francois Boulevard, across from AT&T Park, where SFpark electronic meters were recently installed. It seems one driver got the wacky idea that the new meters require cars to park perpendicularly, across the bike lanes, and the other drivers followed?
August 18, 2009
Transit Cuts Report Underscores Cities’ Congressional Influence Gap
In a report
released this morning, Transportation for America (T4A) expands on its
months-long effort to map transit cutbacks across the nation and
concludes that 10 of the largest 25 local agencies are being forced to
hike fares by more than 13 percent.
August 18, 2009
Cyclonomics
Since the impact of bike lanes on businesses has emerged as a peripheral issue in the New York City mayoral race, as well as one City Council contest (and counting), a post today from the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia seems especially timely.
August 18, 2009
Today’s Headlines
Details on BART Contract Emerging; Mercury News Says Both Sides Gave Concessions SF Gate: “Public Outrage Weakened BART Strike Threat” Muni Diaries Launches BART Diaries Pittsburg Man Surrenders in Hit-and-Run That Killed His 83-year-old Neighbor (BCN via CBS5) Attorney Charged in Hit-and-Run of Bicyclist in Denver (Denver Post) San Rafael Will Become First Marin County … Continued
August 18, 2009
SPUR Evening Forum: Rising Tides: The Winners
"This summer, the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission, AIA San Francisco and other partners hosted an international design competition for ideas about how cities can prepare for and adapt to sea level rise—one of the most critical impacts of global warming. Competition entries ranged from imaginative ways to live on (or in) water to practical engineering strategies for adapting buildings and infrastructure for floods. Some proposals simply suggested moving coastal city dwellers to higher and drier ground.
August 17, 2009
Specter of a BART Strike Raises Important Questions for Bay Area
Thank goodness the BART strike seems to be averted. I'd wager that you thought a little harder about your commute today, no matter which mode you used.
August 17, 2009
Tracking Transport Subsidies: As Tough as Following the Stimulus Money
The $787 billion economic stimulus effort was intended to be a model of
government transparency -- but a privately run website called
Recovery.org soon began beating out the government in the race to trace federal dollars. Now, as the Pew Charitable Trusts begins to expand its Subsidyscope fiscal monitoring project, some similar gaps in spending data are emerging.
August 17, 2009
Could Ending the ‘War on Drugs’ Help Ease Urban Budget Crises?
Despite talk of a
nascent economic recovery, the brutal toll exacted on state budgets by
the recession continues -- with palpable consequences for transit riders and already lower-income urbanites. Could the cure for cities' fiscal woes be a dramatic shift in drug policy?
August 17, 2009