Muni

Today's Muni "sick-out" reminds us once again that San Franciscans need better ways to get around. The consequences of a transit strike -- people stranded and unable to get to their jobs, queues of drivers clogging streets, and dangerous conflicts between impatient drivers and people who are walking and biking alongside -- are just a more extreme example of the everyday reality caused by the city's lack of investment in real transport alternatives.

Updated 8:07 p.m. The SFPD issued this statement:

A Muni train car re-configured with fewer seats and more standing room was put into Metro service this week. According to the SFMTA, 14 "double-wide" seats were replaced with "single-wide" seats, adding a net capacity gain of "at least ten" riders to the car, which is a pilot project to squeeze more capacity onto Muni's trains.

Ask Mayor Ed Lee what he has to say about Muni, and he'll talk about how its riders need to be "a lot more civil." But if you tell him how much you hate worrying about parking tickets -- wow, he really feels your pain.

The Warriors announced this week that the site for the basketball team's proposed arena would be moved from Piers 30-32 on the Embarcadero to Mission Bay, quelling opposition from waterfront development foes. Whether or not the new site will work out for better or worse in terms of accessibility to regional transit, however, is still up for debate.

Updated 4/23 2:45 p.m. with corrected project timelines for the painted bus lanes.

Update 4/10: The Planning Department posted an online survey where you can weigh in on the design proposal for upper Haight Street.

The Muni Transit Effectiveness Project took a major step forward on March 28, when the SFMTA Board of Directors approved plans for route changes and street upgrades aimed at streamlining transit service. Judging from the headlines on major media reports, the vote sounded like a green light for the entire TEP. However, the reports glossed over some very important details.

Tech workers' humdrum daily commutes in San Francisco have recently become anything but. An environmental appeal was filed (and later rejected) against the city, on the grounds that the "Google buses" are a direct cause of skyrocketing rents and housing displacement. Protestors blockading tech shuttles in bus stops have drawn a frenzy of international media attention.