Government Organizations

Some two-thirds of citations for driving in transit lanes and bike lanes, failing to yield to pedestrians, and other motor vehicle violations, are issued to Transportation Network Company (TNC) cars such as Uber and Lyft--this according to a study from the police department of violations in downtown San Francisco.

It's the one time of the year "to say thanks to transit riders," said Rachel Hyden, Executive Director of the San Francisco Transit Riders (SFTR), at today's noontime Transit Week kick off event, held on the steps of San Francisco City Hall. "The transit rider contributes to SF. We lower carbon emissions, reduce congestion, and make it easier for everyone to get around."

At this morning's meeting of the Government Audit and Oversight Committee, four of San Francisco's Supervisors made it clear they want to give money directly to businesses that are taking losses because of the city's many ongoing construction projects. "Small businesses are feeling squeezed on every side. Small businesses are already struggling to keep up in an increasingly expensive city. For residents, impacts are short-lived, but for merchants these impacts can seal their fates," said Supervisor Norman Yee, whose constituent merchants in West Portal were hit by sewer and curb work a couple of years ago. "I am committed to exploring how to prevent future businesses from shuttering."

Urban planners, at least when it comes to bikeway design, are still trying to undo the damage caused by vehicular cyclists in the 1970s and 80s, explained Bill Schultheiss, a traffic engineer who specializes in bike design and a member of the Bicycle Technical Committee and the Pedestrian Task Force of the National Committee on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (NCUTCD), with the Toole Design Group. "There was a fear that cyclists would no longer be able to ride in the streets and would be relegated to sidewalks," he added. "To this day, that has discouraged protected bike lanes in the [road engineering] guidance."

Yesterday evening, some thirty bicycle advocates in yellow t-shirts again cordoned off a section of Valencia Street's Uber drop-off zone (also known as the bike lane) in the Mission, between 18th and 19th.

"Why wait five or six years before doing anything with the space?" was the question Brad Leibin, an‎ architect at David Baker Architects, was asked to help solve about an affordable housing project planned for West Oakland's San Pablo Avenue at 34th Street. "So we started to make a difference on that streets-cape immediately ... that project got me really interested in interim uses."

The SFMTA held an openhouse last night to get feedback on initial designs for bike and pedestrian safety improvements on 11th Street, which runs from Market to Division. Some 20 members of the public, most of them cyclists who commute through the area, showed up to see design boards and talk to SFMTA officials at the SoMa StrEat Food Park on 11th, across from the Costco warehouse.

To be a successful transportation planner, you've also got to be a persuasive salesman, said two consultants at a recent SPUR event.

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency announced the opening of a concrete-barrier-protected bike lane on the 'Bernal Cut' section of San Jose Ave. on Friday. As seen in the lead image, the bike lane, which was previously 'protected' only by paint and plastic bollards, now has a barrier assuring that cyclists can't be hit by cars. As the SFMTA puts it in the release: "The idea behind measures like these is to make bikeways more comfortable for anyone to use, whether you’re eight years old or 80."