Author: Rahman Law PC

Settlement in High-Speed Rail Case

Posted on by Rahman Law PC

Although the pending high-speed rail project connecting Sacramento and San Diego doesn’t necessarily have a large affect on San Francisco’s internal transportation affairs, it is an interesting project that will affect most Californians in one way or another. Last Thursday, April 18, a Sacramento Judge approved a settlement between a coalition of Central Valley Farmers and the agency overseeing the construction of the high-speed rail. The settlement, which dictated that the agency set aside $5 million to preserve farmland in the Central Valley and that it pay $1 million in legal fees, puts the high-speed rail construction on track to begin this summer. The first section to be built will be a 30 mile section between Fresno and Madera right in the middle of the state.

This $68 billion project originally had quite a bit of voter approval and support at its outset, but the many legal delays (such as this most recent settlement) and rising estimated costs, have left many Californians disillusioned with the project which promises to connect most of California’s major cities and to provide public transportation in a state whose highways are legendary.

Despite the many setbacks, the Transportation Authority can breathe a sigh of relief and celebrate Thursday’s settlement. The settlemetn is esepcially timely given that the Authority is up against an impending deadline that will make or break the project. The first phase of the project- a 130-mile segment from Fresno to Bakersfield- has been approved and funded ($2.6 billion in bonds for construction and  $3.2 billion from the federal government) all based on completion by 2017.

Source:
http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/transportation/2013/04/settlement-reached-high-speed-rail-lawsuit#ixzz2R7ZLbXvt

New Pedestrian Safety Plan Outlined on Walk to Work Day

Posted on by Rahman Law PC

The new Pedestrian Safety Plan cannot be implemented soon enough. Since the last post was published on this blog another pedestrian has been killed on San Francisco’s city streets.

The proposed strategy tackles pedestrian safety as an interdepartmental task, pooling resources and expertise to bring about the most substantial improvement. Instead of picking one safety improvement and implementing it throughout the city, the plan picks streets and corridors that have proven to be especially dangerous for pedestrians and makes multiple improvements in those targeted areas, creating an overall safer walking environment.

The long term goals of the initiative are to reduce serious and fatal pedestrian injuries by 25% by 2016 and 50% by 2021 especially in those areas where pedestrian fatalities are unacceptably high. The program also aims to make San Francisco a more walkable city in general, increasing the number of walking trips by 25% by 2021.

According to the SF Examiner, “the strategy calls for such initiatives as adding crossing time for pedestrians at intersections, reopening crosswalks, upgrading curb ramps and adding countdown timers at hundreds of intersections. The strategy also includes targeting speeders and red-light runners, along with those who fail to yield to pedestrians.”

If you ever need a pedestrian accident attorney in San Francisco, Paso Robles, or the surrounding Central California Coast area, contact us for a free consultation.

Source:

http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/transportation/2013/04/san-francisco-rolling-out-plan-improve-pedestrian-safety

http://sf.streetsblog.org/2013/04/02/after-6-ped-deaths-in-3-months-sf-needs-city-hall-action-on-street-safety/

Fatalities in San Francisco bring Pedestrian Safety Back into Spotlight

Posted on by Rahman Law PC

Less than 5 months into 2013 and already 5 pedestrians have been killed by motorists on San Francisco’s city streets. If this tragic trend continues at this rate through the end of the year, than more people will be killed this year than last year. This is a frustrating statistic for many pedestrian advocates who have been waiting for the comprehensive pedestrian reform Mayor Gavin Newsom called for in 2010. The proposed reform would reduce pedestrian injuries and fatalities by 25 percent by 2016 and 50 percent by 2021.

Many people, including Elizabeth Stampe of Walk SF, blame the Mayor’s Office for its lack of leadership on the issue. However, Jason Henderson, an urban planning professor at San Francisco State University, says that the Board of Supervisors also shares in the blame. In general, the stifling bureaucracy at City Hall stalls any actual safety improvements.

The tragic deaths over the last four months may be the catalyst for actual change. Or they could become just another yearly statistic, a tragic commentary on the lack of progress in pedestrian safety in the City.

If you ever need a pedestrian accident attorney in San Francisco, Paso Robles, or the surrounding Central California Coast area, contact us for a free consultation.

Source:

http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/2013/03/spate-fatalities-again-raises-concerns-about-pedestrian-safety-san-francisco#ixzz2Q0O6Ftqn

Delays Threaten the Oak and Fell Street Projects

Posted on by Rahman Law PC

Many of the safety upgrades that were supposed to have been made to Oak and Fell streets by the end of last year have yet to materialize and the cycling supporters who fought so hard for the projects to be approved are calling the delays unacceptable.

To the residents who rely on the streets everyday, it seems that SFMTA has put the improvements, the most crucial being the installation of bike lanes that are separated from street traffic by physical barriers, on a back-burner. The bike lane on Oak Street is nonexistent and Fell Street’s bike lane has no barrier between it and the fast-moving street traffic, making it a dangerous thoroughfare for cyclists.

Ed Reiskin, Transportation Director for SFMTA, said that the labor-intensiveness of the projects along with some unforseen circumstances, like private construction along Oak Street, have caused the delays, not the agency’s lack of initiative in pursuing the projects.

In spite of these reassurances, the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition is requesting that both projects be completed by Bike to Work Day on May 9. And the SF Bike Coalition is not the only group frustrated by the delays and speaking out about it. In addition, to protests by individuals at the SFMTA Board of Directors meeting Tuesday, April 2, the North of Panhandle Neighborhood Association sent a letter to the transit agency asking for the projects to be completed, saying that without the completed bike lanes, the streets are unacceptably dangerous for cyclists.

Source:

http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/transportation/2013/04/frustrations-mount-delays-fell-and-oak-bike-projects-push-back-completi#ixzz2Q0Ny4nML

San Francisco to Better Enforce Commuter Benefits Law

Posted on by Rahman Law PC
Commuters in the Bay Area are already having a (slightly) better year. On January 1st, Congress increased the pretax commuter benefit to $245 as part of the American Taxpayer Relief Act. Now,  it looks like the City will be strengthening the enforcement mechanism of a four-year old law that requires larger businesses to offer their employees commuter benefits.
“Under San Francisco’s Commuter Benefits Ordinance, all businesses with 20 or more workers nationwide must offer one of three transit benefits: The pretax deduction, up to $245 per month, for transit or van pool expenses; transit subsidies valued at $74, the cost of a monthly Muni pass; or a van pool from a worker’s home to place of business.”

The goal of the renewed focus on the law is two-fold. First, the city wants to make sure that employees are aware of the law and how to best take advantage of it.  Second, the city wants to strengthen the enforcement mechanisms of the law.

Under the proposed changes to the law, a complaint would lead to an investigation, and if the investigation determined that the business was indeed in violation of the law, then it would be issued a warning. If the business did not comply with the warning within 90 days then it could be fined $500.

The commuter benefits aren’t just small change either. It is estimated that employees taking advantage of the law save between between $200 and $1,000 annually.

Source:

http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/transportation/2013/03/san-francisco-set-push-transit-benefits-commuters#ixzz2OHxVIAPf

Bike-Sharing Coming to the Bay Area in August

Posted on by Rahman Law PC
After more than a year of delay, San Francisco is set to get its first bike-sharing program. The program, a $7 million collaboration between local transit agencies, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, will have 700 bikes at 70 different locations in San Francisco and the Peninsula from which commuters and tourists alike can pick up bikes. The bikes can then be returned to any of the stations.

Photo Source:

http://www.c4cycling.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/bike-sharing.jpg

Source:

http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/transportation/2013/03/deal-reached-bike-sharing-network-be-place-august#ixzz2OHsMPdpF

Widow Expected to Receive $900,000 in Muni Wrongful Death Suit

Posted on by Rahman Law PC
In 2009, a N-Judah operator failed to stop for journalist Bill Brand as he walked in a crosswalk. Now, Mr. Brand’s widow is “poised to receive one of the largest settlements Muni has issued in the past two years.”Along with operator error, the operator believed that Mr. Brand was going to yield to an oncoming car so he continued into the crosswalk colliding with Mr. Brand, the lawsuit stated that the company created dangerous conditions when it did not properly maintain the tracks, signals and signage near that intersection.

If the $900,000 settlement is approved, then “the amount the agency has paid out in accident-related incidents in the past two years would rise to $17 million.”

Source:

http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/transportation/2013/03/widow-popular-bay-area-reporter-poised-receive-900000-2009-fatal-muni-a#ixzz2OHvN9gVW

Strong Turnout at the March 18 Polk Street Improvement Meeting Prompts SFMTA to Return to Drawing Board

Posted on by Rahman Law PC

Hundreds of merchants along Polk Street turned out for the March 18th meeting intent on voicing their concerns about and opposition to SFMTA’s “Save Polk Street” Project. SFMTA had drafted proposals to reduce Polk Streets parking spaces by more than 50% in an effort to decrease the number of collisions on the street after published data showed that 53 pedestrian and 69 bicycle collisions occurred on Polk Street between Union and McAllister streets from April 2006 to March 2011. The goal of the proposed significant decrease in parking spaces was create a safer path for cyclists on one of their busiest commuting streets.

Polk Street merchants were more than a little worried about the affect of the changes on their businesses and they attended the meeting to make sure that the SFMTA knew it. The Agency had a rough time at the meeting with Merchants often booing and laughing at what they had to say.

In the end, Director Ed Reiskin agreed to go back to the drawing board to see if safety improvement projects could be developed that would involve the loss of fewer parking spaces. Leah Shahum, executive director of the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, argues that while this meeting was important, it was also not representative of all of the groups with a stake in the Polk Street improvements. This meeting was held with the express purpose of hearing the arguments and concerns of the Polk Street merchants. Other interested groups, like the SF Bike Coalition, were not involved. Given the one-sidedness of the meeting, she urged Director Reiskin to keep the original proposal on the table as a viable option.

Source:

http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/transportation/2013/03/san-francisco-transit-agency-vows-revise-polk-street-plan-following-hea#ixzz2OHpmN1IH

Volvo Unveils New Pedestrian/Cyclist Warning System

Posted on by Rahman Law PC

Volvo has developed an upgrade to its 2010 cyclist alert-and-brake car system. The system functions as a second driver with a faster reaction time, automatically reacting to imminent threats. Radar in the car’s grille and a camera located between its windscreen and back view mirror work to detect collision threats. If the car senses a pedestrian or a cyclist in its path an alarm will sound and the brakes will be fully deployed. The new system can detect multiple threats at once and will be available on a very limited basis. Only 7 out of their 11 models will offer the system and it will have to be ordered up-front before the parts even make it to a factory. Altogether the new system will cost £1,850 to buy it as a part of a package of added features.

Volvo’s system can handle multiple pedestrians and cyclists at the same time

In addition to the software upgrade, Volvo has also developed an airbag that will deploy beneath its front hood if sensors in the front bumper detect they have come into contact with a cyclist or pedestrian. This airbag is designed to reduce injury to the pedestrians head and neck.

Cycling advocates agree that while these innovations are helpful, they do not address the major issues affecting cyclists and pedestrians in most cities. These issues, bad street design and lack of driver training, need to be addressed in order to reduce collisions.

If you ever need a pedestrian accident attorney in San Francisco, Paso Robles, or the surrounding Central California Coast area, contact us for a free consultation.

‘Save Polk Street’ Controversy

Posted on by Rahman Law PC

Merchants along Polk Street are meeting March 18th to discuss their concerns about SFMTA’s “Save Polk Street” Project. SFMTA has drafted proposals to reduce Polk Streets parking spaces by more than 50% in an effort to decrease the number of collisions on the street. 53 pedestrian and 69 bicycle collisions occurred on Polk Street between Union and McAllister streets from April 2006 to March 2011. The significant decrease in parking spaces will create a safer path for cyclists on one of their busiest commuting streets.

A couple of different changes have been proposed (all eliminating parking) and it is expected that one plan will be implemented by 2015. In order to see the short-term effects on businesses there will be a temporary trial run on a few blocks during the America’s Cup this summer.

Polk Street merchants are more than a little worried about the affect of the changes on their businesses.  “It’s going to kill business,” said 90-year-old Rita Paoli, owner of City Discount, a kitchen supply store at 1542 Polk St. “Go pick up a few dishes. Just weigh them. You try and carry them.” However, advocates of the change have cited numerous studies in San Francisco and New York City in which similar renovations have actually helped businesses.

Meeting: Concerns about ‘Save Polk Street’

Who: Polk Street Merchants

Where: It’s A Grind coffee shop on Polk and Washington streets

When: 6:30 p.m. March 18

If you ever need a bicycle accident attorney in San Francisco, Paso Robles, or the surrounding Central California Coast area, contact us for a free consultation.

Source:

http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/transportation/2013/02/polk-street-merchants-angry-about-plan-remove-parking-spaces#ixzz2MPIuEh6z