Author: Rahman Law PC

Summer in the City

Posted on by Rahman Law PC

It’s been awhile since there’s been a post here and it’s time to change all of that. It is officially summer in this City as summer announces herself here like the wicked stepmother she is. One sunny day, followed by a string of miserable, windy, gloominess. It’s all just a lead up to the few weeks of Indian summer in September…

The idea of summer when you’re a kid is so intoxicating that you just can’t sit still and wait for its arrival. Once it hits and school is out, summer whizzes by as you rush from one thing to another. “Adult summer” is a different story to those of us stuck in an office all day, eagerly awaiting the weekend when we can cram in a week’s worth of summer fun into two days. Not nearly enough time. Does being a grownup mean you have to give up the fun of summer by making a “to-do” list of fun? That might not be the worst thing ever but what’s going to be on that list this summer????

SF Bike Plan Update

Posted on by Rahman Law PC

Today on the Board of supervisors agenda was the review of the Bike Plans Environmental Impact Review. Today’s meeting wasn’t to discuss if the Bike Plan is good or bad for San Francisco, it was to discuss whether the EIR was adequate in it’s review. The meeting was held and it was decided that the EIR was through and adequate. Now that the study has been approved it’s time for the City Attorney to head over to the judge overseeing the case and have him lift the injunction.

Read up on the bike plan here and here.

Stay safe!

Muni Collision on Market Street Cause for Concern?

Posted on by Rahman Law PC

The Muni shuttles millions of San Francisco residents everyday. These passengers rely on Muni to get the from point A to B in a safe, efficient manner. Recently though Muni has had two accidents that left passengers injured and has created pressure on Muni to reevaluate its measures to keeps passengers safe.

Mayor Gavin Newsom insists that the Muni is safe, “It is safe to ride Muni,” Newsom maintained, but he acknowledged, “It has been a very frustrating few weeks.”

Many news outlets have covered these Muni accidents, the first on July 18th injured 42 people when a lightrail operator blacked out causing a collision is the West Portal Station, the second occurred on August 3rd and according to eyewitnesses the Operator was distractedly engaging in conversation with a passenger. Good coverage can be found at SFappeal and KTUV.

So should people be concerned about riding Muni? Read the above links articles and ponder the question. Get back to us with your opinions!

Get a taste of bike sharing this Sunday

Posted on by Rahman Law PC

Bike Sharing is a relatively new transportation solution. The idea has been around for a while now, the most recent inception is Paris’s Velib sharing program.

Today SFGate tackled the idea of San Francisco implementing a Bike Share Program. In January the Mayors Office announced a bike sharing plan for San Francisco. The idea has drawn criticism from many that the program is starting too small, San Francisco doesn’t have the proper bicycle infrastructure to handle a bike share program and a complaint that the bike share program would be funded by Clear Channel.

That being said this Sunday at car -free Golden Gate Park, a mini bike share program, BIXI, will be letting people give bike sharing a shot.

Read more about the plan here.

Matt Gramly on KRON 4

Posted on by Rahman Law PC

Tonight Matt Gramly is going to be on KRON 4 discussing the controversial helmet law in El Cerrito, CA.

In El Cerrito, the ordinance was never posted, never published and no one knew of its existence until the police dept. went on an “enforcement campaign” and started ticketing bicyclists left and right. One of them decided to fight. Rahman Gramly took his case, took it to trial and received a not guilty verdict. It was not a big case but the principle was important to our client.

Watch him discuss tonight on the KRON 4 six o’clock news.

Cheers!

Transit Cuts

Posted on by Rahman Law PC

Transit seemed like it might be getting a fair shake via state stimulus funds. Turns out many transit agencies across the country are cutting funding and raising fares.
Streetsblog reports that Illinois is facing the loss of $1 billion of stimulus funds devoted to transit projects and planning as a stop loss measure due to increasing budget woes. Even though transit ridership has increased over 9% in the last five years highway development and improvement projects are given a green light. Meanwhile AC Transit is cutting service by %15, Muni is facing a loss of $61 million over the next tow years and the state as a whole cut transit funding by $536 million.

We’ll see what happens. Let’s hop on bikes and hope for the best!

Bike to Work Day 2009

Posted on by Rahman Law PC

Celebrate Bike to Work Day on May 14th by dusting off an old bike that has been sitting in the garage or by checking the air pressure on your well loved ride.

Bay Area Bike to Work Day is an annual event that encourages cyclists of all ages and skill levels to participate in a friendly, safe, commute to work, play or school.

The San Francisco Bicycle Coalition has set up some amazing resources to make the event the best if can be from Commuter Convoys to Energizer Stations.

Take a look at last years pictures and click this link for more information about this years Bike to Work Day!

MTA Releases Revised Budget Proposal, List of Muni Service Cuts

Posted on by Rahman Law PC

The Municipal Transit Authority is currently racking up a $129 Million budget gap for 2009-2010. Yikes! What does that mean for the average Muni rider who already has to deal with surly bus drivers and sub par arrival times?

According to this Streetsblog article, the MTA has a few proposals including: a 50 cent fare hike for a single adult rider, $15 increase of an adult Fast Pass raising from $45 to$60 as well as some serious cuts in service to major lines in the city.

“There’s no doubt that these options, especially option three, would significantly reduce service to Muni customers,” said MTA spokesperson Judson True, who added that where possible, alternative service has been identified and will be improved to make up for reduced service.

You can speak up at the upcoming hearings and meetings

  • Tuesday, April 7, 2 p.m., MTA Board of Directors Meeting and Public Hearing, City Hall, Room 400
  • Tuesday, April 14, 9 a.m, MTA Board of Directors Policy and Governance Committee, One South Van Ness Avenue, 2nd Floor Atrium Conference Room
  • Saturday, April 18, 10 a.m to 2 p.m, MTA Information Meeting on Proposals to Balance Budget, One South Van Ness Avenue, 2nd Floor Atrium Conference Room
  • Tuesday, April 21, 2 p.m., MTA Board of Directors Meeting and Public Hearing, City Hall, Room 400
  • Thursday, April 30, 2 p.m, Special MTA Board of Directors Meeting on Fiscal Year 2010 Budget, City Hall, Room 400

Great SfGate Article on San Francisco Hills

Posted on by Rahman Law PC

San Francisco is notorious for it’s super steep hills. I have heard many a public transit commuter say that they only reason they don’t ride a bike in the city is because of the hills. According to Sf Gate there are three categories of hill riders; avoiders, acceptors and lovers.

Learn more about your San Francisco hill riding style is here.