Matthew Roth

U.S. Needs Long Term Vision for Stimulus Spending on Transpo Infrastructure (Bloomberg) Oberstar: Transit Pushed Aside for Tax Cuts in Stimulus Bill (TPM) House Stimulus Bill Would Give CA $2.8B for Roads, $950M for Transit (LA Times) Schwarzenegger lobbies DC for CA Tailpipe Restrictions, Enviros Thrilled (NY Times) Chronicle Editorial Supports Gov’s Bid to Enforce … Continued

LaHood Gets Softball Questions at Confirmation Hearing (WaPo, NYT, AP) Senate Coalition to Push for More Transit Funding in Stimulus Bill (Open Left) CA High Speed Rail Chair Calls for Better Commuter Rail at Transpo Forum (NL Times) Schwarzenegger Asks Obama for Tougher Tailpipe Emissions Restrictions (SF Gate) SFO Launches “Green” Rental Car Program, Incentives … Continued

Last September, San Francisco's city attorney asked Judge Peter Busch to allow an exemption to the long-standing bicycle injunction so the MTA could improve the city’s second most dangerous intersection for cyclists, where Fell Street meets Masonic Street.  Even after the MTA adjusted signalization and gave cyclists a separate green light, cars are running the red light and hitting cyclists.

“Here was a territory that existed for which there was no map,” said Rebar’s Blaine Merker. “We kept seeing little plaques that said these were public spaces, but you had to go past security guards and up elevators to get to them. We felt that art could be a form of urban research, but we needed to create art that was equally as absurd as the spaces.”

In honor of Martin Luther King's birthday, groups around the country are heeding President-elect Obama's call for a National Day of Service.  

The Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired, the Independent Living Resource Center and the Senior Action Network launched a new campaign with Supervisor Carmen Chu today to draw attention to illegal sidewalk parking, which is rampant in District 4.  Sidewalks are for Everyone (SAFE) kicked it off with a walking tour of the Sunset, pointing out the numerous dangers not necessarily obvious to able pedestrians, let alone vehicle owners.

Transportation Gets Less Than Expected in Federal Stimulus Bill (WSJ) Details of the Transportation Segment Reviewed (Transport Politic via Streetsblog.net) Governors Unhappy Bill Doesn’t Give More to Road Projects (Politico) Former BART Officer Pleads “Not-Guilty” in Shooting of Oscar Grant (SF Chronicle)  Caltrans to Pay $7 Million to Transit for Right to Add Carpool Lanes … Continued

The SF Examiner published an excellent editorial from Walk San Francisco Director Manish Champsee today that calls on the city and the media to improve conditions for pedestrians and not immediately blame the victim in crashes.  When a vehicle killed 87-year-old Victor Cinti in mid-December, the Examiner ran a front-page headline "Jaywalker Killed."  Sells papers, sure, but the headline and the article missed the details of the story and found culpability where they shouldn't, argues Champsee.

The San Francisco Bay Guardian has suggested that Supervisor Bevan Dufty swung to the right with his votes not to override the Mayor’s veto on legislation that would have required conditional use (CU) permits and hearings when housing units are being eliminated and his refusal to support an appeal of the 299 Valencia Street CU.  In the halls after the vote several people who spoke in favor of the 299 Valencia appeal speculated Dufty was angling for higher office and couldn’t appear anti-developer.

Streetsblog Network blogger Hugh Bartling has a great post on the brewing turmoil surrounding President-elect Obama's choice for Secretary of Transportation, Ray LaHood.  LaHood's confirmation hearing was delayed today after the Washington Post reported that in his position on the House Appropriations Committee he steered at least $9 million dollars to campaign donors last year.