Matthew Roth
Recent Posts
San Francisco to Start Smart Parking Management Trial Soon
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The central principle of San Francisco’s cutting-edge parking management program, SFPark, comes right from Econ 101. If there are more people looking for parking than there are parking spaces (i.e. demand is greater than supply) adjust the price of parking until there is enough turnover on a given street, or roughly one free parking space […]
California’s Pay as You Drive Insurance Program Could Reduce Driving
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The California Department of Insurance has approved a pay-as-you-drive insurance program encouraged by environmental advocates and transportation planners because it provides an incentive to drive less by reducing premiums for low-mileage drivers. Widespread adoption of similar insurance policies could reduce driving in the U.S. by as much as eight percent, according to a Brookings Institution […]
BART to Study Feasibility of Running Later Weekend Trains
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Anyone who has tried to go out on Friday or Saturday night to a concert or a show across the Bay from where they live understands the challenge posed by BART’s relatively early closing hours. Some people try to find a couch to sleep on, some don’t go out as long as they’d like or […]
SFMTA Installs 100th New Transit Shelter
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The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) announced today that it has installed the 100th new transit shelter, representing a new aesthetic for one of the more iconic pieces of street furniture in the city. The shelters began on a trial basis in May 2009 when Mayor Gavin Newsom showcased a solar-powered shelter on Geary […]
SF Congestion Pricing Study Moves Forward Without San Mateo Boundary
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The study analyzing numerous options for congestion pricing in San Francisco touched off such a political furor in San Mateo County, you’d have thought San Francisco was about to moat up and charge a fee for admission. Politicians and planners from Daly City and San Mateo spoke about the plan today as though they were […]
Congestion Pricing on KALW’s Crosscurrents
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San Francisco traffic planners will study congestion pricing further, following the vote of approval today by the Board of Supervisors in their capacity as directors of the SFCTA. The action puts the debate to bed for a couple more years, but expect the turmoil to begin anew when the SFCTA completes the required environmental review […]
Matthew Roth Departing Streetsblog San Francisco
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Editor’s note: Matthew Roth, Deputy Editor and co-founder of Streetsblog San Francisco, will be leaving as a full-time staffer starting in the new year as he pursues further journalism opportunities. Over the course of two years of work (530 stories), he has helped make Streetsblog what it is today and we’ll miss his regular presence, […]
Nissan Leaf Coming to SF Saturday, Polar Bear Hugging Expected
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The all-electric Nissan Leaf will make its debut tomorrow in San Francisco after the company delivers its first production vehicle to Olivier Chalouhi in Petaluma. Chalouhi was the first customer to order a Leaf online and the company intends to reward him for his early adoption. Chalouhi will pick up his vehicle at the Nissan […]
SFMTA, Newsom Support Study of Protected Oak and Fell Bike lanes
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During routine business at the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency Board meeting Tuesday, Director Cheryl Brinkman recounted how enjoyable it was to ride her bicycle on the new physically separated bike lane on Division Street between 9th and 11th Streets. Brinkman said she hoped the SFMTA would consider how it could improve the connection for […]
The Sinister Logic of Old-School Traffic Engineering, in XtraNormal
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There is a strange world where up is down, in is out, right is wrong, and black is white. I’m not just talking about the San Francisco Planning Department’s indefensible trip-generation analysis for new parking spaces. No, I mean the world of old-school traffic engineers, where improving safety on the streets means reducing conflicts with […]
Balance Bikes and Licenses for Kids
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Balance bikes are getting ever more popular and from most accounts they are an excellent way to help kids learn to be comfortable and get them riding bikes faster than with training wheels. So when we got a press release recently announcing a promotional gimmick between a company called Balance Bikes 4 Tots and Picturoo.com […]
Congestion Pricing Fracas Shows Lamentable Ignorance of Facts
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You’d think the Tea Party had descended on San Mateo County, what with the piqued rhetoric in the media over San Francisco’s congestion pricing study. I don’t like to invoke Sarah Palin’s jargon, but I keep coming back to her horrible phrase “lamestream media” when I see yet another story that paints San Francisco transportation […]