Michael Rhodes

For anyone still looking for bold action from the Mayor to improve the city's transit system and rescue it from financial calamity, last night's State of the City speech didn't offer any hope. The Mayor did apparently defy his staff, though, including Muni briefly in his speech - a two-minute discussion buried 70 minutes into his 81-minute address.

Drivers heading east on Market Street will soon be directed to turn off at 10th Street instead of 8th Street, a refinement intended to improve conditions for pedestrians and bicyclists on Market. Mayor Newsom and the MTA announced the change today, two and a half months after the launch of the traffic diversion pilot program on Market, which has required eastbound private automobiles to turn right off of Market at 6th and 8th Streets.

Hoi Chong Wong can tell you about the commute from 3rd Street in the Bayview to Chinatown or the commute in Guangzhou, China. Though retired now, he's been making the trip to Chinatown on Muni almost daily since he immigrated to San Francisco in 1997, first on the defunct 15-Third bus line, and now on the T-Third Street light rail line, with a transfer to the 30-Stockton or 45-Union-Stockton bus line near 4th and King. In Guangzhou, he also traveled mostly by bus, plus the occasional bicycle ride.

SPUR’s discussion series is back in force this week, with talks ranging from great streets to parking. Across the Bay, this week also holds important opportunities to give input on BRT and help out the local bike coalition. Here are the highlights: Monday: Community Meeting: Oakland BRT. Come to this community meeting to make sure … Continued

The MTA received approval from the Federal Transit Administration on Thursday to enter into Final Design for the Central Subway project.

Christopher Thompson - aka the Road Rage Doctor - was sentenced to five years in prison today for intentionally causing a crash that hospitalized two cyclists on Mandeville Canyon Road in Los Angeles' Brentwood neighborhood.

A 55-year-old San Francisco woman died early this morning at San Francisco General Hospital nearly ten hours after after she was hit by a driver while crossing Sloat Boulevard at Forest View Drive.

The driver of a 9-San Bruno Muni bus struck a male bicyclist from behind on Market at Front Street at 10:40 this morning. The bicyclist was removed from the intersection in an ambulance with "moderate injuries," according to an officer at the scene. The Fire Department confirmed that the injuries were not life-threatening. Fortunately, both the bus and the bicycle were reportedly moving at low speeds at the time of the crash.

Business owners on one block of Valencia Street can see the light at the end of the tunnel after months of painful construction that made their stores less accessible to customers. Street trees, bicycle racks and pedestrian-scale lighting haven't arrived yet, but between 16th and 17th Streets, a sparkling new widened sidewalk is beckoning shoppers and diners back even before DPW crews have finished resurfacing it.

In case it wasn't clear before, this week's MTA Board meeting eliminated any doubt that solving the agency's $45.1 million mid-year budget deficit - not to mention future budget deficits - won't be pretty. After close to an hour of testimony Tuesday from SEIU employees concerned about broad cuts to their ranks, several MTA Board members asked whether they couldn't delay a vote on the cuts, only to be reminded that the layoff notices already went out in November, and that a $22 million shortfall remains even after the sweeping layoffs. Once again, the specter of service cuts also flared up as a near certainty in light of the agency's progressively worsening finances.