Bryan Goebel

Mayor Gavin Newsom’s Scare Tactics on the MTA Budget (Beyond Chron) Free Transit Still Possible on Spare the Air Days Next Year; Search for Funds  (KCBS) Here’s One Way to Keep Cars Out of Select Bus Service Lanes (Ecstatic E’s Journal) VTA Board Members to Give Up Monthly Stipend (Merc) California, Florida Likely to Get … Continued

A portion of 17th Street in the Castro is being closed to cars at Market this weekend, marking the beginning of San Francisco's first trial street closure. The two DPT workers installing the new signs late this afternoon were a little taken aback by my excitement at first, but they happily directed me around. The street will be transformed into a pedestrian plaza by Tuesday afternoon, according to DPW. A press conference with Mayor Gavin Newsom is scheduled for Wednesday morning and a community celebration is planned for next Saturday. It will include a speech by Supervisor Bevan Dufty and a blessing by the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence.

It's bad enough Caltrain already has an image of being unfriendly to bicyclists, despite its efforts to prevent bumps on the system by boosting bicycle capacity on its trains, now comes this word: Staff is toying with the idea of making bicyclists pay a $1 surcharge that would raise an estimated $800,000.

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors Budget and Finance Committee voted 4-1, with Supervisor Carmen Chu dissenting, to recommend the rejection of the MTA's $778 million budget following a marathon meeting yesterday that featured some enrapturing political theater when BOS Prez David Chiu grilled MTA Chief Nat Ford.

BOS Prez David Chiu Lines Up Votes to Reject Muni Budget (SF Gate, SF Examiner, SFBG) Snapping Photos on Muni Property Can Get You in Trouble (What I’m Seeing) Do Tourists Ride Replacement Buses When Cable Cars Are Broken? (SF Weekly) More on BART’s Plans to Upgrade Trains (ABC7) BART Says Test Run of Program … Continued

CBS5 Raises Questions About Police Costs for Critical Mass (Eye on Blogs) CHSRB Responds to Palo Alto Vice Mayor’s Call for Abolishment of High-Speed Rail Commish BART Moves Ahead with 20-Year Plan to Upgrade Aging Trains (SF Examiner) Professor Questions Whether Bay Area Toll Lanes Will Make Money (East Bay Express) LA Metrolink Agrees to … Continued

More on Caltrain’s Budget Woes (SF Examiner)  Caltrain to Replace Unsafe Bridges and Remove 100 Trees (San Mateo Daily Journal) Burlingame City Council Insists HSR Must Be Underground (San Mateo Daily Journal) Electrical Problem Delays BART Service Through Transbay Tube (ABC7, SF Appeal) Seattle Metro Rolls Out Sleek New Articulated Buses (Seattle PI) Infrastructurist Maps … Continued

Support appears to be growing at City Hall for Supervisor David Chiu's motion to reject the MTA's budget passed last Thursday. Very little has changed to satisfy Chiu, who remains deeply concerned about fare hikes, service cuts and work orders that are draining the MTA's budget.

Board of Supervisors “Poised to Reject” MTA Budget (KCBS) Will Muni Fare Hikes Really Raise New Revenue? (SFBG) Beyond Chron: “Muni Cuts Betray Promise of the Transit Effectiveness Project” Caltrain Board of Directors to Consider Fiscal Emergency, Higher Fares, Cuts (Merc) Downtown San Jose High-Speed Rail Would Benefit an A’s Stadium (Merc) SFCTA Study Released … Continued

"This walk will begin in the heart of Cole Valley, just a stone's throw away from the bustling Haight Ashbury district. From there, we'll wind our way through Cole Valley, down Hugo Street, admiring the historic Victorians and small neighborhood businesses along the way. We'll then stroll down Irving Street, the Inner Sunset's commercial hub, spotted with small businesses and restaurants. We'll make a quick pit stop at Arizmendi Bakery, a worker-owned cooperative bakery and gourmet pizza establishment, launched by the same folks behind Berkeley's famous Cheesboard Collective. After grabbing some snacks and perhaps a cup of coffee, we'll make our way to the breathtaking Tiled Steps at 16th and Moraga - an intricate mosaic mural spanning 163 steps up the hill! We'll slowly climb the steps, take in city views from the top of the hill and make our way back through the sunset over to Golden Gate Park. Weather permitting, participants are enouraged to grab some wine and a baguette and continue the good conversations over a picnic in the park."