Transit

Will protected bike lane policy directives ever get absorbed by street-level crews?

At this morning's meeting of the Government Audit and Oversight Committee, four of San Francisco's Supervisors made it clear they want to give money directly to businesses that are taking losses because of the city's many ongoing construction projects. "Small businesses are feeling squeezed on every side. Small businesses are already struggling to keep up in an increasingly expensive city. For residents, impacts are short-lived, but for merchants these impacts can seal their fates," said Supervisor Norman Yee, whose constituent merchants in West Portal were hit by sewer and curb work a couple of years ago. "I am committed to exploring how to prevent future businesses from shuttering."

BIKES ONBoard is trying to put the brakes on Caltrain's plans to reduce the number of bike spaces on its trains

The Mayor and at least three members of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors are working on proposals to offer financial compensation to merchants impacted by city projects, notably those in Chinatown near the Central Subway construction.

Count on an extra twenty to forty minutes for your trip if you plan to travel on BART between West Oakland and Fruitvale, or between 19th Street and Fruitvale, this Labor Day weekend. "That's our advice to riders," said Assistant General Manager for Operations Paul Oversier at a BART press conference this morning in Oakland. He said with a planned bus bridge, it should really only add twenty minutes to a typical trip, but he cautioned people connecting to flights to add extra time. "The forty minutes is if you're flying from Oakland or SFO." He added that BART will run more frequent train service than normal between SF and Oakland.

Some 20 people crowded onto the San Rafael train station platform this morning, waiting for the 11:29 SMART train heading north towards Santa Rosa. But they were in for a disappointment--the first train wasn't actually going to leave until 2:29 p.m. The platform was a chorus of groans and grumbles as word got around that "Full [emphasis added] train service begins Friday, August 25, 2017," which the SMART train operators announced far and wide, wasn't completely accurate.

The Marin Independent Journal's Dick Spotswood made it clear in his column today that he doesn't support Senate Bill 35 by Senator Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, because it could bring denser housing to Marin's towns and cities.

To be a successful transportation planner, you've also got to be a persuasive salesman, said two consultants at a recent SPUR event.

Last week I took the train from Oakland to Bakersfield. In Bakersfield, I transferred to a bus to get to Los Angeles.