Matthew Roth

Matthew Modine has been getting a lot of negative attention recently for his stance on wearing a helmet while he cycles: i.e., he doesn't wear a helmet while he cycles (it would have to be a large helmet to fit that copious coif). A profile of his Bicycle for a Day in New York Mag spins off track into a diatribe about his perspective on gravity and head trauma, while closing with an objectification of his posterior that would never fly were he not a dude.  But hey, its New York Rag, what can you expect?

We get a lot of Greenversations press releases over the transom and most go right to the trash, in no small part because "Greenversations" is one of the more odious portmanteaus a government agency or corporation has yet proffered. Not quite as annoying as the idea that Ray LaHood's multi-modal transportation blog is called the Fast Lane (stay tuned to Streetsblog for more on this), but close.

NY Times Writer Takes Agonizingly Long Ride on CA Amtrak, Pines for High Speed Rail Transbay Terminal Delayed Another Year (Examiner) Matt Gonzalez and Jello Biafra Compare Transbay Terminal Developers to Black Bart (SF Gate) Fight Looming Over Efforts to Add Density to Park Merced Neighborhood (Examiner) MTA Restores Streetcars, Mulls Running Them on E-Embarcadero … Continued

In case you hadn't already noticed from reading Today's Headlines, there are a bunch of good bicycle rides this weekend, two of which I want to highlight here. For a good list of rides check out SFBC's Chain of Events.

BART Board OKs Biannual Fare Increase 6 Months Early (SF Gate)(Examiner)(CoCo Times) Translink Card Delayed at Least Another Year, BART Late Adopter (CoCo Times) Leaders Come Together, Finally, Around High Speed Rail Agenda (SF Gate) Proposal to Put Parking Meters in Golden Gate Park on the Table Again (SF Gate) Hit-and-Run Bike Fatality Arrest Reported … Continued

The fines for illegal use of disability placards and for fabricating fraudulent placards could go as high as $1000 if Assemblymember Fiona Ma's new bill passes the State Senate and is signed by Governor Schwartzenegger.  The bill, which passed in the Assembly near unanimously at 73-3 on May 18th, will go before the Senate Transportation Committee on June 23rd.

Examiner Looks at “True Costs of Driving,” Leaves Out Many of the True Costs of Driving Muni Proposal to Consolidate Bus Stops (SF Gate) (Examiner) Examiner Editorial Chastises Muni Drivers and Union for Absenteeism BART Union Prez Concerned Management Will Not Negotiate Contract in Good Faith (SF Gate) South SF Mayor Halts Development on El … Continued

The MTA this afternoon released analysis of bus stop spacing showing what anyone who has been on Muni knows: there are way too many stops too close together (PDF). Overall nearly 70 percent of the 4,000 bus and rail stops in the city don't adhere to the MTA's own distance policy, and its clear to the operator that consolidation of stops would speed service and cut costs dramatically.  Furthermore, staff suggests the board might want to consider an increase to the distance between spaces as a matter of policy.

Ingleside Station's new captain, David Lazar, has renewed stings on motorists who fail to yield to pedestrians at intersections and crosswalks in his precinct, a popular practice among neighborhood residents that hasn't been employed since a previous captain left years ago, according to witnesses of the sting.

MTC Proposes Raising Bridge Tolls in 2010 (Examiner) Silicon Valley Shuttles Upsetting Noe Valley Residents (Examiner) 2-Time Cable Car Bell Ringing Champion Oats Wins Again (SF Gate) San Jose City Council Won’t Give Up Car Allowance (Merc) Novato Considers Intersection Improvements After Death of 9-Year Old (Marin IJ) SamTrans Considers Service and Employee Cuts (SM … Continued