Parking

The city's latest proposal to improve safety and transit service on Potrero Avenue is slightly different than earlier versions of the plan. While the redesign would expand pedestrian space, some residents at a public meeting yesterday pointed out that it could do much more to make the street safer for biking and walking.

With hundreds of on-street parking spaces around San Francisco set to become available for car-share vehicles, the SFMTA plans to charge companies monthly fees for the conversion of curbside spots that are normally free. So while companies like City Car-Share, Zipcar, and Getaround  -- which offer services that make it easier for residents to go without owning personal vehicles -- will pay up to $225 per month for reserved spots, private car owners will generally continue to pay nothing for the use of unmetered spaces.

Last month, we asked for photos of public servants parking obnoxiously, and our readers delivered. Here are some select snapshots of city vehicles parked egregiously without an emergency in sight.

The final designs for a people-friendly block of Bartlett Street in the Mission were presented [PDF] last week by the Planning Department, Department of Public Works, the SFMTA, and the design firm Rebar. The plan retains the sidewalk extensions that are key to calming traffic and inviting social activity outside of events like the weekly Mission Community Market, when the block is closed to cars.

Update: It seems there's no way to edit the map directly via the link because Google's Maps Engine Lite, which is still in beta, may have some issues to be worked out. So to add your marker to the map, you can either email me at abialick@streetsblog.org and I'll add it for you, or you can add it yourself (if you have a Google account) by first clicking here, then here. The map should open with some editing tools at the top. Click the marker icon labeled "Add marker," next to the hand icon, and place your sighting.

As rampant as illegal parking is in San Francisco, there's one group of drivers who are the champs when it comes to finding the most egregious places to leave their vehicles: police officers, mail truck drivers, and other public servants who use city vehicles.

One day each week, the block of Bartlett Street between 21st and 22nd Streets bustles for a few hours when it's transformed into the Mission Community Market. On all the other days, however, it mostly serves as a parking lot.

The runaway success of Maker Faire, the annual San Mateo festival that celebrates do-it-yourself technology and crafts, has led organizers to get creative in encouraging attendees to come without a car and avert a traffic mess.

Hundreds of on-street parking spaces across the city will be reserved for car-share vehicles starting in September as the SF Municipal Transportation Agency looks to provide more convenient alternatives to owning a car.