Bryan Goebel

A proposal to reconfigure the Phelan Bus Loop as part of the Balboa Park Station Area Plan received a major boost today with the announcement that the Federal Transit Administration has awarded the SFMTA more than $6.8 million for the project.

What does San Francisco's retired top traffic engineer think about Market Street, Muni and global warming? We sat down with Jack Fleck recently for an extended interview. The 62-year-old retired last week after more than 25 years with the former Department of Parking and Traffic and the current San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA).

A Win for LaHood: Lobbying Group Drops Effort Against Distracted Driving Campaign (AP, WaPo) Mayor Newsom: City Will Find Money to Restore Half of Muni Service Cuts (SF Examiner) Monthly Crime Rate on Muni Decreases by Nearly 50 Percent (SF Examiner)  VTA Changes Mountain View Bus Route to Stop at Senior Center (Daily News via … Continued

The attorneys on both sides in San Francisco's four-year-old bike injunction saga have filed their proposed orders with Judge Peter J. Busch, documents he requested at a recent hearing that will inform his final decision on whether to lift the frustrating legal hold on the Bike Plan.

Ray LaHood “Alarmed” by Lobbying Effort to Reframe Distracted Driving Debate (NYT) Temporary Transby Terminal Set to Open on August 7th (SF Gate, SF Business Times) Sen. Boxer Touts Doyle Drive Project as Jobs Booster in Campaign Event (SF Examiner, SF Gate) Jury Deliberations Delayed in Mehserle Trial (SF Gate) Calm Urged After Verdict (LAT) … Continued

We're pretty sure this happens every July 4th, but bicyclists headed westbound up Market Street toward Van Ness, and especially those turning right from Polk, got quite a surprise Sunday afternoon to find rows of Muni buses -- along two blocks -- queued up in the bike lanes. The difference this year is the bike lanes are green and separated with soft-hit posts, some of which looked pretty beat up after being run over by the buses.

SFMTA Board to Hold Public Hearing Today on Restoring Muni Service (SF Examiner) Woman Injured in 2006 Muni Crash on Market St. to Receive $750k Claim (SF Examiner) SFMTA Will Stop Paying Six Muni Operators for Work as Union Reps (City Insider) Fourth of July Marked 150th Anniversary of First Market St. Rail Line (SF … Continued

At the corner of Fell Street at Divisadero it's frightening to witness the minute-by-minute close calls between drivers and cyclists on a one-way arterial that resembles the freeway it was once proposed to be. Some drivers, on a speeding high from their descent down the hill to the problematic stretch that precedes the intersection, jostle for space, lean on their horns, yell expletives and generally have no regard for the right of way of bicyclists, let alone each other, as they queue up to turn left onto Divisadero or get gas at the ARCO BP station, which has now become the scene of weekly protests.

Coverage of New Bay Bridge Tolls Focuses on Drivers “Who Slowed to Save a Buck” (Merc, The Snitch) UC Berkeley Study Questions Ridership Forecast Model for Ca. High-Speed Rail (SF Gate, LAT, Merc) Caltrain Cutting Its Holiday Train (Daily Journal)  Uncivil Noe Valley Minority Disrupts Pavement to Parks Meeting (Noe Valley SF via SFist)  Maldonado … Continued

Editor's note: This is the first of a three-part series on the past, present and future of traffic engineering in San Francisco.