Pedestrian Infrastructure
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Eyes On The Street: Potrero Median Fence Is Partially Built
A five-foot tall median fence that some advocates fear will actually make the area more dangerous for pedestrians is now being installed on Potrero Avenue between 25th Street and Cesar Chavez. As my colleague Matthew Roth has reported, DPW and MTA are erecting the fence to to prevent people from making "illegal and unsafe crossings" in the middle of the block between Rolph Playground and Potrero del Sol
Park. Some neighbors and advocates pointed out the city reopened the park, which has become wildly popular, without any consideration for pedestrians who want to cross back and forth. The fence idea was initiated after the Mayor noticed people were crossing in the middle of the block.
April 14, 2009
MTC to Award $1.3 Million for Bay Bridge West Span Bike Path Study
The Bay Area Toll Authority (BATA), a division of the MTC, is expected to approve a $1.3 million contract with TY Lin International consulting to prepare a Project Study Report (PSR) that would analyze the feasibility of adding two pedestrian and bicycle paths on the west span of the Bay Bridge (PDF). TY Lin is already a contractor on the new east span of the Bay Bridge being constructed between Yerba Buena Island and Oakland.
April 8, 2009
GM and Segway Unveil La-Z-Boy on Wheels
I'd be laughing right now if I could just stop crying.
April 7, 2009
What’s in a Neighborhood
How would you define the boundaries of your neighborhood? Is it the streets that describe it? Is it the people who live in it, a cultural or demographic group that you belong to, or that excludes you? Do you think your neighbors would describe your neighborhood the same way you do?
April 6, 2009
News From New York: The ABC’s of Trial Plazas and Complete Streets
When we wrote about the trial pedestrian plaza on 17th Street and Market Street that DPW expects to start this May, the story generated numerous doubts about how the city would create a successful public space out of a busy street abutting a gas station.
April 2, 2009
Transforming NYC Streets: A Conversation with Janette Sadik-Khan
With San Francisco about to embark on its first pilot street closure, I thought it would be appropriate to revisit this conversation with the Open Planning Project's Executive Director, Mark Gorton, and New York City's Commissioner of the Department of Transportation, Janette Sadik-Khan, who has taken on the challenge of transforming NYC streets in a series of groundbreaking pilot projects.
March 27, 2009
Streetfilms: A Proposed Urban Park in Historic North Beach
One of San Francisco's cherished literary icons -- poet, painter and City Lights publisher Lawrence Ferlinghetti -- is celebrating his 90th birthday today, and I thought it would be fitting to bring you his vision for transforming a small block of Vallejo Street in historic North Beach into what would be called the Piazza Saint Francis.
March 24, 2009
AARP Joins Campaign to Reform National Transportation Policy
AARP announced today that it will join the Transportation for America
campaign to advocate for a "broad restructuring" of national
transportation policy. In a letter sent to Congressional leaders last
week [PDF],
AARP said that it is "working to enable older adults to live
independently in their homes and communities throughout their lifespan,
and transportation is critical to maintaining the community connections
that make that possible."
March 24, 2009
Eyes on the Street: A Curb Cut We Can Believe In
If you've pedaled or walked Sutter Street lately, or happen to live on Sutter like me, you've probably noticed the curb ramps and streets being torn up. It's all part of DPW's $1.2 million Sansome and Taylor Street Pavement Renovation Project, which began in early February. According to the DPW's Christine Falvey:
March 18, 2009