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SF Planning Commission Officially Prioritizes Humans over Cars
Late last week, the San Francisco Planning Commission unanimously adopted a resolution to replace "Level of Service" (LOS) with "Vehicle Miles Traveled" (VMT). That's bureaucratese for measuring a project's overall effect on moving people, instead of just counting automobiles. As explained in a previous post, environmental law has long forced transportation planners to grade projects by how they impact traffic flow. "This will streamline California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) review for projects that are designed to encourage public transit, promote pedestrian safety and help reduce the need for traveling long distances by car," said John Rahaim, Director of San Francisco Planning, in an official release. "We are pleased to be the first city in California to adopt these new guidelines."
March 10, 2016
Are Outdated Regulations Holding Back Safety Changes on Market?
Today, advocates for livable streets attended the memorial service for Thu Phan, a woman killed in a crosswalk on Market Street on February 5. Yesterday Streetsblog urged SFMTA to stop compromising on safety improvements, a theme echoed at the event.
March 1, 2016
Guest Editorial: Make Muni Faster with Clipper Discount
Muni will carry 700,000 trips today, making it the most heavily traveled transit system in the Bay Area. But as you read this, many buses and trains are at a standstill. They’re stopped as people fumble with dollar bills and coins, needlessly creating delays that our transit system can’t afford.
February 23, 2016
Muni Taraval Meeting Met with Grimaces Groans and Grumbles
Over a hundred people braved the wind and rain yesterday evening to attend the latest public outreach meeting about SFMTA's planned "Muni Forward" improvements to the L-Taraval streetcar line. The meeting was held at Dianne Feinstein Elementary school, about two blocks south of Taraval.
February 18, 2016
Streetsblog Talks with San Francisco Supervisor Scott Wiener
Scott Wiener, who has served District 8 on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors since 2011, was re-elected this week as chair of the San Francisco County Transportation Authority. The Authority was created in 1989 and it works closely with the Municipal Transportation Agency, funding and shepherding long-term projects such as the Van Ness and Geary bus improvements and the Central Subway. Wiener has long been a leader in transportation issues—probably because, unlike some elected officials, he actually rides the trains and buses.
January 28, 2016
San Francisco MTA Backpedals on Powell Safety Improvements
The SFMTA Board passed a partial rollback this afternoon of the “Powell Street Safety & Improvement Pilot,” an 18-month test project to evaluate banning private vehicles on the particularly busy stretch of Powell Street between Ellis and Geary.
January 19, 2016
Terrifying BART Shooting Shakes Bay Area
I was waiting for an inbound BART train Saturday evening at eight in Rockridge when there was an announcement: “severe disruptions due to police activity at West Oakland.”
January 11, 2016
Transit Volunteers Gear Up to Make Muni Better in 2016
Amazingly, it was only 2010 when a bunch of regular Muni riders, fed up with unreliable, dirty, and overcrowded trains and buses, got together to form the San Francisco Transit Riders Union (SFTRU). But it now has an impressive list of accomplishments and is striving for more, according to Andy Bosselman, a spokesman and volunteer.
January 6, 2016
“Just Transit” Contest Winner to Straighten Out Caltrain Station Mess
Back in October, the Schmidt Family Foundation announced its “Just Transit SF Challenge,” a contest to come up with good transit improvement ideas that can be implemented quickly. The three winners were announced this month.
December 17, 2015
Brown Signs Law Making Muni’s Transit-Only Lane Enforcement Permanent
Earlier this week, Governor Jerry Brown signed Assembly Bill 1287, introduced by San Francisco Assemblymember David Chiu, making permanent the Transit-Only Lane Enforcement (TOLE) program which helps keep parked cars out of Muni-only lanes. The program was set to expire at the end of the year.
October 6, 2015