Cities, Counties, and Countries

Despite previous hit & run charge and video evidence, driver who ran down four cyclist receives minimal jail time

The changes bring a dramatic difference in feel to Shellmound Street; what had been a vehicle through-way now has a walkable, pedestrian-oriented scale.

Since the United States declared its independence, there's been a fight about whether government should be centralized for efficiency, or things should be run from local townships and communities to maintain the closest connection between citizens and the people who govern them.

The SVBC Summit agenda includes a talk by Tamika Butler, former head of the L.A. County Bicycle Coalition.

On Tuesday evening the Menlo Park City Council approved the construction of a new streetscape for Haven Avenue that will bring wide sidewalks to the block nearest Marsh Road where there are none today -- but also leave a gap in bike lanes at a key location along the popular San Francisco Bay Trail route. The formerly industrial-only area is expected to see heavier pedestrian and bicycle traffic after a total of 540 apartment units are completed at two new housing developments further west on Haven Avenue, where the city installed wide buffered bike lanes earlier this year.

At last Wednesday’s San Mateo County Transit District (SamTrans) Board of Directors meeting planners presented the agency's draft Youth Mobility Plan [PDF], “a strategic blueprint for how SamTrans can address the mobility needs of youth in San Mateo County and cultivate the next generation of bus customers.” The plan recommends a number of initiatives to boost the agency’s declining ridership by improving quality of service for youth, defined by the plan as residents ages 24 and under.

The City of San Mateo will double its Bay Bikes bike share fleet to 100 bikes by October.

Still seeking to widen Highway 101 from eight to ten lanes, Caltrans and San Mateo County’s transportation agencies are now halfway through the required environmental review. At a community meeting on Wednesday evening, agency officials gave an update on the project [PDF] to widen the highway by adding express lanes, which allow buses and carpools for free but charge a fee to solo drivers during congested hours.  

There's no denying that the State Route 35 freeway interchange with State Route 1 is not the most comfortable place to ride a bike. Two lanes in both directions, barely a shoulder in places, and automobiles continually speeding. A cyclists was killed in the area two years ago, although it is unclear who was at fault.