People

A parking tax increase that could send $19.2 million to the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency moved a step closer to the ballot Tuesday, as Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi introduced the measure before his colleagues on the Board of Supervisors.

Several dozen cyclists rode to U.S. DOT headquarters today to present Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood with a letter signed by hundreds of local bike-ped groups, hailing the former GOP congressman's support for their cause during his first 16 months on the job.

Depending on how you count it, the sweeping Muni ballot measure that four members of the Board of Supervisors introduced earlier this week has at least six major components, ranging from the governance of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency to how Muni operator wages are set.

Four House Republicans yesterday joined 24 Democratic colleagues in a letter praising Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood for his public support of federal bicycling and pedestrian investment -- a stance that had generated some bad blood between LaHood and the trucking industry.

A few years ago, Randy Cohen, who writes the “Ethicist” column in the New York Times Magazine, visited the Streetfilms set for an interview about “transportation ethics.” For this sequel, we got out of the studio for a two-wheeled jaunt around Manhattan and popped him a few more questions. During our ten-mile journey, Mr. Cohen … Continued

If you're wondering why Mayor Gavin Newsom supports a San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency two-year budget that continues major Muni service reductions, you just might find your answer in the Mayor's weekly YouTube update.

In his magnum opus, The High Cost of Free Parking, UCLA Professor Donald Shoup argues that city parking managers will build merchant support for extending parking meter hours and pricing them according to demand if they return some or all of the extra revenue to the merchant corridors where it was collected.

As Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood tangled with a senior GOP senator today over the White House's $500 million-plus request for its inter-agency office of sustainable communities -- a new project aimed at channeling federal energy towards local transit-oriented and smart growth plans -- an influential Democrat joined her fellow senator in raising questions about diverting highway money to the effort.

President Obama did triple duty last night for the re-election campaign of Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA), visiting three fundraisers to send a stark message about polls that show the environment committee chair holding a single-digit lead against her GOP challengers despite a formidable cash advantage.