Matthew Roth

SFMTA Chief Nat Ford Says SF Weekly Muni Story Inaccurate, Defends Agency (SF Weekly) Reaction to Assaults at Muni Stops Includes More Cops and Large Rewards (SF Gate, CBS) Muni F-Line Extension Stalled Because of Supervisor Alioto-Pier (Examiner) Dangerous Drivers Put Themselves and Others in Hospital (Examiner, Examiner, CBS) SF Meets Kyoto Protocol Carbon Reduction … Continued

Car sharing is a growth industry, as pioneer City CarShare would tell you, and it has beneficial environmental and economic impacts. Studies of car sharing services like Zipcar and City CarShare show that for every car that is shared, up to 15 private vehicles are taken off the road. Owning and operating a personal car is the second-highest family expense behind owning a house, and the highest expense for people who rent.

You don't even need X-ray vision. All you gotta do is call 311.

Mayor Newsom Begrudgingly Considers Sunday Meter Parking, Predicts Failure (SF Gate) Alioto-Pier Puts Roadblock in Way of F-Line Expansion in Marina (Examiner) Elsbernd, TWU Debate Muni Operator Pay and Work Rules Tonight (Examiner) 8 Hurt in 19th Avenue Red-Light Running Crash (CBS, Examiner) Detailed Story on the Bay Bridge (60 Minutes) Oakland Truckers Finding Environmental … Continued

The pioneer Pavement to Parks plaza at Castro Street, 17th Street, and Market Street is about to celebrate its first birthday with a makeover that will bring it a step or two closer to permanence, though planners say this is an iterative step toward a permanent plaza and not the final design.

Though the trial sidewalk extension "parklet" in front of Mojo Cafe has been open for just over a month, it has quickly become a community meeting place and a boon for business. The trial permit for the space lasts six months, but given the enthusiastic embrace of the parklet by the neighborhood, I wouldn't be at all surprised to see that permit extended.

Matier and Ross Complain About Residential Parking Permit Fee Increase Supes Prez Chiu Uneasy About MTA Budget, Could Force Issue (SF Weekly) Newsom Hopes Muni Drivers Will Take Similar Wage Hit as All Other Unions (Examiner) Thorough Vandal Breaks 30 Windows on Muni Train (SF Weekly, CBS) New Method of Burying Cable Causes Minimal Sidewalk … Continued

One of the central criticisms of Muni's objective to consolidate bus stops is that it hasn't conducted thorough demographic analysis of the people who use each stop, particularly seniors and the disabled. Rather than rely solely on the distance between stops and the incline of the streets, say critics, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) should make nuanced decisions about each stop based on the amenities near the stops and the people who use them.

SFMTA Says Muni Service Cuts Could Be Pared Back (SF Gate) SF Weekly Wonders Whether Nat Ford Read Their “Muni Death Spiral” Cover Article Man Killed at Muni Castro Station (SF Gate, KCBS, Examiner, SF Appeal, Examiner) Mission Pedestrian Killed by Muni Bus Remembered by Friends (ABC) BART Fires 2nd Officer in Oscar Grant Shooting … Continued

I'm guessing some of you might share my distaste for the once-a-year gaga over the Earth, especially when it takes the form of NBC changing its logo color or Chevron touting its environmental record. I'm not saying we shouldn't be thinking about cutting greenhouse gases or leaving the car at home to walk, bike, or take transit to work today, but I am cynical about the political and media frenzy that kicks in around Earth Day, and then conveniently disappears for all the un-Earth Days (can you hear the Mad Hatter singing it now from the front seat of his H2?).