Month: March 2013

Maryland is one of a growing number of U.S. states that's found itself in a tough spot when it comes to transportation funding.

Man Struck and Killed by BART Train at Glen Park Station (Mercury News) CAHSRA Sues “Everybody” to Prevent Future Lawsuits (CoCo Times) Friends of Caltrain Survey: SFO-Bound Drivers Want Express Bus From Millbrae BART On First Day With All-Electronic Tolling, Confused Drivers Stop at GG Bridge Toll Plaza (PBB) Discovery of Broken Bolts on New Bay … Continued

The threat of earthquakes that could destroy the homes of thousands at any moment has always loomed over San Francisco. In a bid to to reduce that risk, the Board of Supervisors is expected next week to mandate seismic retrofits for nearly 3,000 wood-frame "soft-story" buildings with five housing units or more that are potentially in danger of collapse.

Not one to back away from a terrible argument, CNN’s Anderson Cooper is sticking with his series exposing the “boondoggle” of federal high-speed rail funding. In a segment aired Monday night, he and reporter Drew Griffin hammered away yet again at their argument that high-speed rail has been a waste of money. Under the tagline “Keeping Them Honest,” Cooper and Griffin hope to raise public ire about the taxpayer money “dumped” into a program sold as high-speed rail but is really just moving slow trains “a little faster.”

Another day, another parking atrocity. Eight cities have already faced off in Parking Madness, where we attempt to find the worst parking crater in an American downtown. Milwaukee, Tulsa, Dallas and Louisville emerged victorious in the first half of the first round.

There should be a special term for the all-too-common phenomenon of a state DOT putting the kibosh on a promising local project. DOT-blocking! (Yes, it's pronounced "dot-blocking.")

More headlines at Streetsblog Capitol Hill

Efforts to reduce traffic caused by drivers circling for parking in the northeast Mission took another step forward last week when the SF Municipal Transportation Agency presented its revised proposal for the expansion of parking meters and permit regulations. Opposition seems to have slightly dwindled compared to the first neighborhood meeting in November, though the SFMTA's presentation was still interrupted by shouts from audience members who seemed to feel that drivers shouldn't have to pay the going rate for limited street parking.

This week we're really getting into the thick of our Parking Madness tournament, the hunt for the worst parking crater in an American downtown.