Transit

Streetsblog caught up with Russo on Friday near his office in downtown Oakland to talk about how he's settling in, what he thinks of the strides Oakland has made so far, and how he will shepherd the department towards a safer, more equitable and more sustainable future.

The San Francisco Planning Department will be presenting the San Francisco Board of Supervisors with updated plans for getting trains from the Caltrain corridor into the lower level of the Transbay Transit Center.

BART was ready. The city of Oakland was expecting 1.5 to 2 million people to pile into downtown this morning to celebrate the Warrior's NBA championship. Oakland is the geographic center of the BART system, so for most people it made sense to use BART for at least part of their trip in to the parade.

The San Francisco County Transportation Authority (CTA) released the results yesterday of what it calls "the first comprehensive estimate of the volume, frequency and coverage of ride-hailing trips by Uber and Lyft in San Francisco."

As Streetsblog readers are surely aware, when it comes to public transit, pedestrian safety, and above all good bicycle infrastructure, the Dutch are the global champions.

As fans of San Francisco's F-Market and Wharves historic streetcar line are aware, the trains only clickety clack and clang as far as Jones St & Beach St--just shy of the Fort Mason tunnel, which once permitted trains to continue to Marina Boulevard and Laguna Street...and beyond. The San Francisco Examiner reported today that SFMTA has applied for a $1.1 million Federal Lands Access Program grant to study re-opening the tunnel.

After months of back and forth, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announced that it is approving $647 million in funds for Caltrain electrification. The grant approval will allow Caltrain to begin construction of its electrification project almost immediately, bringing smoother rides and cleaner air to the Bay Area.

Uber, Lyft, Chariot, autonomous cars, bike share--business models and technology for urban mobility and transportation are changing at a quickening pace. How can governments and private enterprise work together to encourage and anticipate these innovations? That was the subject of a panel discussion with car share, bike share, government and tech executives at the San Francisco Bay Area Planning and Urban Research Association (SPUR)’s downtown San Francisco offices yesterday evening.

Senator Dianne Feinstein took another step yesterday to push the Trump Administration to sign off on federal funding for Caltrain's beleaguered electrification plans. “I intend to oppose confirmation for every Transportation Department nominee until the Trump administration releases funding for the Caltrain Peninsula Corridor Electrification Project," said the Senator in a press release.