Bryan Goebel

Transit News Disappointing in Final Stimulus but HSR Gets a Boost (AP via Transport Politic) Transit Takes a $459 Million Hit in State Budget Deal But Will it Pass? (LAT, Ca.Progress Rep.) BART Board to Get Update on Police Oversight Committee (SF Gate) SF Park Rangers Want to Carry Guns and Get Full Law-Enforcement Status … Continued

San Francisco's Traffic Code states that a motorcycle officer or the driver of any other emergency vehicle is allowed to park in a bike lane when "engaged in emergency services." California code is a little less clear but Streetsblog tipster Andrew Turley points out that cops obstructing the bike lane can create dangerous conditions for cyclists forced to merge into busy traffic. He came upon an officer parked in the bike lane on Market Street between 8th and 9th today. He sent these pictures and his account of what happened when he confronted the officer, who was preparing to eat a plate of eggs at Sam's Diner:

MTC Committee Could Slash Stim Funds Today for Muni, AC Transit (Beyond Chron) President Obama: The Days of Building Sprawl Are Over (Veritas et Venustas) But the Days of Widening Highways Aren’t (VTA Watch) SF Parks Dept. Will Install 2,000 Parking Meters (SF Gate) Driver Stabs Off-Duty SF Bicycle Cop After “Traffic Altercation”(KTVU) Activists Demand … Continued

San Francisco's bike injunction has prevented the MTA from testing colored bike lanes on city streets but it's not stopping the Presidio Trust from doing its own experiment.

President Obama Urges Stimulus Passage Without Republican Support (WaPo) Bay Area Activists Should Urge Pelosi to Rescue the Stimulus Package (Beyond Chron) Newsom Won’t Be Among California Mayors in D.C. to Plead for Stim Money (Merc) Oakland Cyclist Who Was Victim of Hit-n-Run Still in Hospital (CBS5) China Close to Taking Over as the World’s … Continued

Bill Brand, a former longtime reporter for the Oakland Tribune, was the victim of last night's crash involving an N-Judah train at 2nd and King Streets. We don't know many details but Brand was walking when he was struck shortly after 9 p.m. He's reported to be in critical condition at San Francisco General Hospital.

Deal Reached on Senate Stimulus Bill (NYT, HuffPo) House, Senate Versions Differ on Transit (Transport Politic via Streetblog Network) LaHood Says Stim Money Will Go to States, Not Cities (Reuters) Editorial: Transit Cuts Will Hurt California Riders (Sac Bee) Two Pedestrians Struck by Muni Vehicles (SF Examiner, SF Gate) Other Departments “Robbing” Muni Budget (SF … Continued

Nearly five years after the San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed a resolution calling for a study of alternative future configurations for the remaining Central Freeway, the MTA Board of Directors agreed this week to consider doing it in the Eastern Neighborhoods Transportation Implementation Planning Study (EN TRIPS).

Senator Jim DeMint, the South Carolina Republican who said that directing stim funds toward bicycle and hiking infrastructure will not help the economy or create jobs, has gone too far. He and Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn, another pro-highway Republican who is no friend of bicyclists, have just proposed an amendment that would kill all stimulus funds for bike and hiking trails. 

Caltrain's Board of Directors has approved a plan to improve bicycle capacity that is a step beyond staff's recommendations but will it be enough to keep bicycle commuters from getting bumped? No. Still, advocates were pleased with yesterday's decision to increase capacity by 8 bicycles on each bike car, even though it falls short of the plan they proposed for 80 bikes on each train.