Month: January 2013

Crews began work yesterday on an overhaul of Jefferson Street in Fisherman's Wharf that will expand pedestrian space, reduce the number of cars, and create a more welcoming public realm for the throngs of tourists that regularly crowd the street. Improvements on the first two blocks of Jefferson, between Jones and Hyde Streets, were fast-tracked for completion in time for America's Cup, which is set to begin on July 4. Construction was originally scheduled to begin in October, but it was pushed back to January for unspecified reasons.

Perhaps Rep. John Mica's most remarkable legacy as chair of the House Transportation Committee is the single-minded focus he gave to attacking Amtrak. Under the guise of wanting it to succeed, Mica has repeatedly excoriated it as a "Soviet-style monopoly" and a waste of taxpayer dollars. He's tried to sell off its only profitable line, the Northeast Corridor, and made a mockery of every aspect of its operations, right down to food service. If there's anything he got more glee out of criticizing, it was the Transportation Security Administration.

The most significant part of the fiscal cliff deal for transportation was the bump that some transit riders got in the form of a commuter tax break that's now on par with what drivers get. There are two more minor elements in the bill for transportation -- both of them random enough to fit into the Washington Post's list of "weird" provisions in the deal -- but Congress punted on the bigger questions for another two months.

More and more cities are opting to upgrade their transit networks with rapid bus routes. But as we've discussed before, few are actually creating true Bus Rapid Transit.

More headlines at Streetsblog Capitol Hill

Two pedestrians and one vehicle passenger lost their lives in separate car crashes in the last two weeks, marking the last of 19 pedestrian deaths in 2012, and the first two traffic fatalities of 2013.

In a sign of the increasing market for car-sharing, Avis car rental is expected to purchase Zipcar today for a tidy $500 million. With the acquisition, the car rental giant will begin offering short-term car rentals, as have competitors Global and Enterprise.

After an exciting first year, we are thrilled to announce our YPT San Francisco-Bay Area 1-year anniversary and networking party! In addition to an exciting gathering of YPT members and friends, we will be featuring the following special guests: - Ed Reiskin, Director of Transportation of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) - Michael Scanlon, General Manager and CEO of San Mateo Country Transit District - Michael Gougherty, Senior Transportation Planner with the San Francisco Bay Area Water Emergency Transportation Authority (WETA)

Happy New Year, transit riders! Thanks to some shrewd maneuvering on the part of some U.S. Senators, transit commuters will be able to claim as much in tax benefits as car commuters do in 2013.