Damien Newton

Despite a handful of small setbacks, East Palo Alto's dream of providing a safe crossing over the 101 Freeway for people riding bicycles and people walking is nearly a reality. Construction of the "East Palo Alto Highway 101 Ped/Bike Overcrossing," a 12-foot wide bridge over Highway 101 between Newell Road and Clarke Avenue, could begin as early as this summer. The bridge will provide a long-awaited connection between the city's east and west sides.

Get state headlines at Streetsblog CA, national headlines at Streetsblog USA

Over a million people marched last Sunday at women's rallies in the Bay Area and Los Angeles, to say nothing of the dozens of other rallies across the states.

So far, we're only talking about trains because that's where the largest overcrowding took place. Most casual transit users choose to take rail over the bus for a variety of reasons. Building out a working and connected rapid bus system would have the same benefits for people who would ride transit regularly but don't.

This last Saturday, you marched. You rallied. You marched in big cities. You rallied in other cities. It was a glorious day for Democracy.

On Monday, the Los Angeles Times published a bombshell article, outlining the details of a "confidential Federal Railroad Administration risk analysis," in an attack on the competence and ethics of the California High Speed Rail Authority. Reporter Ralph Vartabedian claims the report shows cost overruns and delays, although the Times does not provide readers a chance to read the report for themselves.

In 1967, the City of Davis installed America's first protected bikeway. The parking-protected bikeway was not only the first of its kind, but was actually illegal until the citizen's campaign convinced the California legislature to change state law to allow it.

2017 is likely to be a year of unprecedented challenges for the broader movement to create safe and healthy communities through smart urban planning and progressive transportation design. Even before the bizarre proposed appointment of Dr. Ben Carson to head the federal Department of Housing and Urban Design, the change in administrations in Washington, D.C. promises to complicate an already challenging movement in San Francisco and the Greater Bay Area.

By now you’ve gotten at least a dozen emails about #GivingTuesday asking you to donate to an important and worthy nonprofit. This year, of all years, there are a lot of great causes to support.

Where do we go from here?