After Three Years, SF Bike Injunction is Closer to Being Lifted
Three years after a judge prohibited any bicycle improvements in San Francisco, the MTA Board and the Planning Commission are expected to finally approve and adopt the EIR and the Bike Plan this week, and legislate at least 45 of the 56 projects, which could bring up to 34 miles of new bike lanes to the city, hopefully within the next fiscal year.
June 22, 2009
Today’s Headlines
Debunking the Cars = Commerce Myth: Business Booming in Car-Free Times Square (NY1) U.S. Mayors Want More Federal Funding for Transportation Infrastructure (ENS) Sacramento Regional Transit Considering $2.50 Bus Fare, Highest in Calif. (Sac Bee) Man on a Scooter Dies After Being Hit by a VTA LRV in San Jose (ABC7, VTA Watch) Considering the … Continued
June 19, 2009
Todays’ Headlines
LaHood’s Transpo Bill Delay Like a “Bomb Being Dropped” on Oberstar’s Committee (AP, NYT) High-Speed Railing Funding will Be Doled Out Starting in September (AFP) But CHSRB Says Funding Criteria is “Fuzzy”; Political Clout will Help First High-Speed Commuter Rail Service Makes Debut in Britain (Guardian UK) Bay Area Transit Agencies Won’t Use Stim Funds … Continued
June 18, 2009
Plan Would Track SFPD Officers on Muni Using Translink Cards
Everyone knows spotting an SFPD officer on Muni is rare, but now the department thinks it has a way to provide some accountability and track the number of officers who are actually riding the transit system: Translink cards.
June 17, 2009
The Nat Ford Rumor Mill Keeps on Churning
First he was rumored to have been considered for a job in the Obama administration. Then, it was the executive director opening at the LA MTA, a position insiders say he was interviewed for but didn't get. And even now, despite a pledge he made in an interview with Streetsblog that his "career goal" is "to focus on the San Francisco MTA," rumors persist within the MTA and at City Hall that MTA Chief Nat Ford continues to look elsewhere.
June 17, 2009
Today’s Headlines
More on Standoff Between BART Unions, Management and Potential Strike (SF Gate, CocoTimes) MTA Board Approves SFPD MOU (SF Gate) Americans Sticking With Transit Despite Wave of Service Cuts and Fare Hikes (T4America) Columnist Urges VTA Not to Get Rid of the Almaden Shuttle (Merc) Mountain View May Ease Taxi Restrictions (Merc) $15 Car Registration … Continued
June 17, 2009
MTA Director Heinicke Questions Use of Streetcar Rehab Funds
It may be a moot point now that funds are allocated, but MTA Director Malcolm Heinicke today questioned whether the MTA should be spending $18.7 million to enter into an agreement with Brookville Equipment Corporation to refurbish 16 historic streetcars. Some of his comments seemed to echo a Streetsblog piece a few months ago questioning whether those streetcars keep Muni stuck in the past.
June 16, 2009
Today’s Headlines
Public Works Agencies Say Schwarzenegger Budget Will Be “Devastating” (SF Gate) Pedestrian Hit Near Stanford Campus is a County Roads Worker (Merc) Half of World’s Traffic Fatalities Are Not in Cars (Baltimore Spokes via Streetsblog.net) SFO Officials Consider Shuttle Bus for Workers to Avoid BART Surcharge (SF Gate) 10th Congressional District Candidate Wants to Invest … Continued
June 16, 2009
MTA Releases MOU with SFPD
More than a month after it was promised, the MTA has released a memorandum of understanding (PDF) with the San Francisco Police Department, an agreement that will give the transit agency and its chief Nat Ford control over SFPD officers who are supposed to be patrolling Muni.
June 12, 2009
Eyes on the Street: Cops Tell Double Parkers to Get Out of the Bike Lane
We've written before about obstructions caused by motorcycle cops parked in the bike lane (and the SFPD generally doesn't have a good reputation among cyclists), but yesterday around 4:30 p.m. -- a few hours after Sunday Streets wrapped up -- I spotted a cop parked in the bike lane on Valencia Street just before 16th for a good reason: to shoo away a motorist who was double parked.
June 8, 2009