Recent Streetsblog SF posts about Livable Streets

SFMTA to Change “Unclear” Sidewalk Parking Guidelines on Website

By Aaron Bialick | Jun 4, 2014 | 25 Comments

The SFMTA web page that provides guidance on “how to park legally” currently tells drivers that “you may park in your own driveway as long as no portion of your vehicle extends over the sidewalk.” The text is accompanied by a photo of someone walking a bike past cars parked in “driveways,” but with their rear […]

This post is supported by GJEL Accident Attorneys

Mini Plaza Creates Public Space, Not Carmageddon, at Market and Dolores

By Aaron Bialick | Apr 22, 2014 | 15 Comments

It’s happened again: street space was re-allocated from cars to people, and the unbearable traffic jams opponents warned of have failed to materialize. In fact, some of them even like the result now. At the southwest corner of Market and Dolores Streets, the sidewalk was extended to create a mini plaza last fall, as part of […]

This post is supported by GJEL Accident Attorneys

Detailed Polk Street Designs: Plans for Safe Bicycling Still “Lackluster”

By Aaron Bialick | Mar 27, 2014 | 89 Comments

The SFMTA and the Planning Department presented detailed plans for Polk Street at the project’s final open house meeting yesterday. The new aspects include specific locations of bulb-outs, dedicated bicycle signals, left turn prohibitions, loading zones, and new trees and landscaping. Plans to improve bicycle infrastructure are still composed of a mix of protected, buffered, […]

Tonight: Final Open House on a Safer Polk Street

By Aaron Bialick | Mar 26, 2014 | 29 Comments

Tonight is the SFMTA and Planning Department’s final open house on the Polk Street redesign, the last chance to weigh in on the agency’s preferred design before it goes to the SFMTA Board of Directors for approval. As you can see from the above flyer, the parking-obsessed “Save Polk Street” group is still fighting against […]

This post is supported by GJEL Accident Attorneys

Car Alarms: San Francisco’s Most Needless Nuisance

By Aaron Bialick | Feb 28, 2014 | 55 Comments

You’ll have to forgive me if this post sounds cranky. I lost some sleep last night when I was woken at 3:30 a.m. by a car horn that continuously blared from my neighbor’s house for 20 minutes. It was probably triggered by debris blowing in the storm. Car alarms are not an uncommon sound in my […]

Survey Shows Polk Neighbors Want Safer Streets First, Not Parking

By Aaron Bialick | Jan 28, 2014 | 27 Comments

Updated 6:09 p.m. with comment from MPNA. Polk Street’s dangerous conditions for people walking and biking are, by far, the biggest concern for people who live, work, and shop there — far more important than any lack of car parking, according to a new neighborhood survey. The survey [DOCX] was conducted by the Mayor’s Office of […]

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