Muni

Muni vehicles break down far more frequently than in other cities, after years of the system being starved of the necessary funding to adequately maintain its fleet of trains and buses.

Reps from the SF Transit Riders Union today said Mayor Ed Lee's recent repeal of Sunday parking meters and abandonment of the vehicle license fee add up to an attack on transit riders.

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.