Matthew Roth

Rather than hit you with another story of Muni's budget woes and labor battles, we were thrilled to read this charming account on Muni Diaries of a bus driver named Tammy on her 33-Stanyan route who bedecked her coach with balloons and bunting. According to the account by a Muni rider named Greg, Tammy offered candy to everyone getting on and welcomed them aboard. She even crafted a sign with her operator number (2442) and her bus number that reads: "Until Muni realizes that without our passengers there is no Muni, thank you all for the great ride."

The trend of local governments embracing data transparency and opening their vast sets of information to the public takes a huge leap forward today with the announcement that San Francisco and Washington DC have embraced a common open source data platform for 311 service requests, or the Open311 API.

Market Street crash yesterday. Photo: Katie Doze/SF Appeal Chiu Calls for Possible Rejection of SFMTA Budget (SF Appeal) Muni Ad Wraps Approved (Examiner) Taxi Medallion Sale Forecast Lowered (Examiner) Bizarre Market Street Car Crash Leads to Minor Injuries (SF Appeal, NBC, Examiner) Electric Caltrain Could Slow Commute for Many (Merc) Peninsula Critics Pay French Company … Continued

More headlines at Streetsblog Capitol Hill

More headlines at Streetsblog Capitol Hill.

When the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA), which runs Muni, instituted the sweeping December 5th service changes and eliminated several bus routes, including the 26-Valencia, bicycle advocates immediately raised the question of what would be done with the now abandoned bus stop spaces. Would they be turned over to cars as free parking, would the SFMTA add new meters, or would the agency perhaps consider the space as a testing ground for innovative on-street bicycle parking, what Portlanders know and love as "Bike Corrals"?

The California State Auditor released an unflattering report yesterday that accuses the California High Speed Rail Authority (CAHSRA) of mismanagement of the nation's largest high speed rail project, a move that put the CAHSRA and other supporters on the defensive yet again.

More headlines at Streetsblog Capitol Hill

If you haven't already seen the excellent two-part historical photo montage "The Lower Haight of Yesteryear" by the good folks at Haighteration, it's highly worth your time. It's amazing to me how many buildings are essentially unchanged from a century ago.