Month: July 2010

San Francisco's parking and traffic managers know the public is going to love or hate the new SFPark demand-based parking management trial depending on how it delivers on the fundamental promises made from the beginning: The trial will make parking more convenient and efficient.

The newest repurposing of street space in San Francisco, the Mission Community Market (MCM), will formally launch today with its first weekly market and street closure on Bartlett Street between 22nd and 21st Streets from 4-8 pm. After holding a successful fundraiser in June, the MCM's organizers are hopeful the event has already gained a foothold in the community and will continue to improve and draw new participants.

One of the stories that's been percolating all week on the Streetsblog Network stars Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa in a new role: urban cyclist. On Saturday, Villaraigosa was riding in a bike lane on Venice Boulevard (his first bike trip as mayor), when a cab driver cut him off, forcing him to brake suddenly and fall off his bike. Many advocates for better cycling conditions, including Streetsblog LA's Damien Newton, wondered whether the broken elbow Villaraigosa suffered might prompt the mayor to tackle street safety problems with more urgency.

Listen to this In-Depth Crosscurrents Report on High Speed Rail (KALW) Newsom Conducts 5th Doyle Drive/Presidio Parkway Groundbreaking (SF Gate, Marin IJ, Examiner) Target Could Come to Geary and Masonic and to Metreon (Examiner, ABC) CPMC Long-Range Development Plans Released (SocketSite) More on BART Vote for Fare Reduction Riders Don’t Want (CoCo Times) AC Transit … Continued

"The Mission Community Market begins this week and will only grow from here.

As if the Campaign to Stop the Dirty Energy Proposition weren't already on the right side of history, now they've got Edward James Olmos stumping to defeat Proposition 23 and uphold AB 32, California's ground-breaking greenhouse gas legislation. I think ever since Stand and Deliver, if Edward James Olmos told me to do something, I wouldn't hesitate to trust his authority.

The Board of Supervisors, acting as directors of the San Francisco County Transportation Authority (SFCTA), voted 8-3 yesterday to put a $10 vehicle registration fee increase on the November ballot, a measure that would raise $5 million yearly for congestion mitigation, street and road resurfacing, pedestrian safety and improved transit.

Earlier this week, London launched its first two "cycle superhighways" to decidedly mixed reviews. First announced by then-mayor Ken Livingstone in 2008, the cycle superhighways haven't quite lived up to the expectations for safe and fast bike travel implied by their name, as you can see in this BBC News video.

A fresh look at old information can sometimes be all you need to better understand a knotty problem. And a fresh look is exactly what the Washington Metropolitan Area Transportation Authority provided with a new set of bus maps released this week. Using GPS data gathered last year, these maps show the average speed of the transit system's buses, painting a picture of where bus riders could use faster service.