Community, Advocacy and Labor

A video of an off-duty SF police officer allegedly speeding through the Broadway Tunnel at 100 mph, possibly drunk, has sparked an outcry from street safety advocates.

A legal appeal filed against protected bike lanes and pedestrian safety upgrades on three blocks of Fell and Oak Streets was rejected unanimously by the Board of Supervisors yesterday. Construction on the project, currently underway the SF Municipal Transportation Agency beginning with the Fell Street protected bike lane, will not be halted by the appeal.

A man his 40s was killed by a pickup truck driver in a crosswalk at Market and Beale Streets yesterday at about 2:30 p.m, as reported by ABC 7. Police say they're investigating the crash to determine whether the driver will be cited or charged. The victim has not been identified yet by police.

For a district attorney who wants to save lives on the streets, using data to target the most dangerous traffic behaviors should be a no-brainer.

Bicycling in San Francisco is getting better since the bicycle injunction was lifted in 2010, and concrete progress on projects like the critical Fell and Oak Street bikeway is very encouraging. But this week also made bicyclists in SF painfully aware that as the SF Municipal Transportation Agency gets closer to completing the projects in its Bike Plan, it will need to elevate its game to keep up with the nation's leading cities. The upcoming release of the SFMTA's Bicycle Strategy is a can't-miss opportunity to pick up the pace.

The City of Oakland would apparently like to think it's doing merchants and shoppers a favor by declaring all on-street car parking free every Saturday until New Year's.

The developing plan to overhaul Second Street with protected bike lanes and pedestrian safety upgrades took another step forward yesterday when staff from the SF Municipal Transportation Agency, the Department of Public Works, and the Planning Department presented more refined design options to the public.

John F. Kennedy Drive in Golden Gate Park is a bit calmer since it was reconfigured for San Francisco's first parking-protected bike lane -- and a majority of people like the change, according to a preliminary report [PDF] recently released by the SF Municipal Transportation Agency.

San Francisco's Sunday Streets will continue to grow next year with a new program designed to bring more neighborhood-oriented car-free street events to places that lack park space.