Transit

Streetsblog San Francisco recommends a yes vote on Measure RR, the $3.5 billion bond measure to keep BART safe and reliable.

High-Speed Rail construction is well underway in the Central Valley, said Ben Tripousis, Northern California Regional Director for the California High Speed Rail Authority, during a forum at the San Francisco Bay Area Planning and Urban Research Association's (SPUR) Mission Street center. "The High-Speed Rail question has shifted from 'if' to 'when,'" he told the packed house at today's lunchtime presentation.

A week ago today, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency decided unanimously to move forward with concrete boarding islands on the L-Taraval. And maybe, just maybe, it was also a concrete turning point towards finally putting safety first.

Every day 29,000 Muni riders and countless walkers travel on Taraval Street, one of the city’s 12 percent of streets responsible for over 70 percent of traffic deaths and life-changing injuries. On average, every five and-a-half weeks someone is hit while walking on Taraval.

Note the 'call to action' at the end of this post.

SPUR hosted a lunchtime forum today at its Oakland location to discuss the $1.5 billion Brooklyn Basin development. The panel, which was moderated by SPUR's Oakland director Robert Ogilvie, included Mike Ghielmetti of Signature Development Group, Matt Franklin of MidPen Housing, and Patricia Kernighan, who represented District 2 of Oakland during the authorization phase of the "Oak to Ninth" (now called Brooklyn Basin) waterfront housing development.

Yesterday evening, the San Francisco Transit Riders held a "BART Board Director Candidate Forum" at the Mission Pool & Playground Clubhouse in the Mission District.

San Mateo County’s effort to expand Highway 101 from eight to ten traffic lanes moves ahead next month when an $11.5 million update of the project’s environmental review begins. County transportation officials had planned since 2009 to expand the highway with standard carpool lanes, but agreed last year to consider installing Express Lanes as well, an option favored by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC).

While the rest of the Bay Area was heading to the beach this Labor Day weekend, BART was working around the clock between Glen Park and Daly City, repairing tracks and switches. This was the fourth weekend closure necessary for the work. As before, bus bridges were provided between Daly City, Balboa Park and Glen Park stations.