The California High-speed Rail that will transport passengers from San Francisco to L.A. in just 2 1/2 hours, the largest proposed public works project in the state’s history, has it another speed bump (cheesy, over-used pun intended of course). Said speed bump being a report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office. The report indicated that many problems plague the project, something of which California Law-Makers and the California High-Speed Rail Authority are well aware. The major set backs for the 68 billion dollar project is the volatility in ridership projections, the lingering environmental issues and a serious lack of available funds.

The $68 billion estimate (a mind-boggling number) breaks down like this:

• $11.5 billion in state and federal funds have been set-aside. That means that as of right now, only 16% of the project is actually funded. And that is not including the millions and probably billions of dollars that the project will go over budget.
• The CA High-speed Rail Authority has projected that $37 billion will come from the Federal coffers.
• That still leaves a shortfall of $20 billion dollars.

The Authority believes that once construction of the rail has begun private investors will take the project seriously and jump on board. They will cover the rest of the costs for a cut of the profits.

This article may seem a bit cynical, but it is not because the project is undesirable. A high-speed rail that connects Northern and Southern California is great for the state. Any public transportation is a step forward in a country that is so automobile-centric. However, this project has many obstacles that need to be overcome. This is not to say that they cannot be addressed in a fiscally feasible way, but it will take time and planning. It definitely will not be a smooth ride for the high-speed rail project, but it will be worth the bumps along the way.

 

Source:

http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/2012/12/federal-report-californias-high-speed-rail-raises-more-funding-concerns

The statistic really speaks for itself. Nearly half of Los Angeles car accidents, that 20,000 each year, are hit-and-runs.

That is a percentage completely off the charts. In the United States as a whole about 11% of crashes are hit and runs. The Los Angeles numbers are not even within the realm of reasonable. Los Angeles drivers are 4 1/2 times more likely to bail after an accident than drivers in the country on the whole. There are any number of reasons that the percentage in Los Angeles is so much higher, but two stick out. One, Los Angeles is a huge metropolis of nearly 3.8 million people. That is a lot of people. Two, Los Angeles has a car-centric culture. Southern Californians are quick to complain about public transportation and the highways are a landmark in and of themselves. The size of the city and surrounding suburbs and the sheer number of cars on the road probably contribute to the shocking 48% hit and runs.

Whatever the causal factors, 48% is much too high of a number. Los Angeles city, county and the police department need to focus more of their energies on an epidemic that is sweeping the city. These 20,000 hit and runs leave families torn apart and people disabled for the rest of their lives. Whether it is by dedicating more officers to investigating these hit and runs, or better yet devoting resources to determining what is fueling this culture and how to prevent hit and runs before they happen, Los Angeles cannot continue to ignore this alarming trend.

Source:

Nearly half of Los Angeles car accidents are hit-and-runs

http://www.laweekly.com/2012-12-06/news/los-angeles-hit-and-run-epidemic-4000-dead-injured/4/

Muni is considering charging passengers based on income instead of just age.

Existing Muni monthly passes

Type	Cost	Discount	Sales
Muni only adult	$64	N/A	55,514
Muni adult with BART	$74	-15.63%	28,356
Lifeline pass	$32	50%	19,535
Senior pass	$22	66%	16,577
Youth pass	$22	66%	6,430
Disabled pass	$22	66%	7,444

Currently, Muni Passes are priced as seen above, with youth and seniors receiving 66% discounts. However, after struggling with severe deficits for years many people agree that it is time for Muni and Bay Area public transit in general to change. Amidst this cry for reform, SFTMA has considered providing free Muni service for the city’s low-income youth. This ong0ing debate has also opened the door to discussion of a new income-based fare system. With the Clipper Card System in place, the infrastructure already exists to implement this type of tiered pricing system and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission is conducting a major study to see if this it is feasible. One major problem is the independent pricing systems of the MTC’s 26 transit agencies. All of these agencies would have to work together and agree on a single fare system.

“If our goal is to make transit accessible, especially for people of low income, it shouldn’t be based solely on age, either young or old,” Cheryl Brinkman, a member of the SFMTA board of directors commented. And she is right. It isn’t fair for a young service worker making minimum wage to pay the same for a Muni Pass as a 45 year old making over $100,000 a year. However, the logistics of this system need to be addressed. Is it feasible? What may be the affect on ridership? Who does it really benefit? The findings of the MTA study will be important in determining if such a system would be the right way to address the Bay Area’s transportation woes.

Source:

http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/transportation/2012/11/muni-and-other-agencies-consider-basing-fares-income

Walk SF has been working for a more walkable, liveable and safer city all year and now its time to celebrate a job well done and to rally for the volunteers for next year!

Join Walk SF at their  annual member party next Thursday, December 6th. Be sure to renew your membership or become a first-time member to gain admission to the party for you and a guest. You won’t want to miss this opportunity to hangout with people dedicated to making San Francisco a better city. In addition to the great company and conversation, be sure to stop by for the food, drinks and live music. Come celebrate another successful year with Walk SF!

We’ll see you there!

 

RSVP: http://woonerven.eventbrite.com/

 

 

After putting its Traffic Calming Program on hold for a year, SFMTA has announced that its new, revamped program should be up and running by Spring 2013. The Traffic Calming Program is part of the city’s ‘Livable Streets effort’. The SFMTA began the program over 10 years ago to address citizens’ requests for the implementation of traffic-safety measures in their neighborhoods.

The original program, while admirable, was seriously flawed. First, a resident would have to submit a request for a traffic calming measure for their neighborhood. Once the request was reviewed and accepted it was placed on a waiting list. Once on this waiting list, the project was ranked based on the number of accidents in the area, the severity of the speeding problem and a number of other factors. Once a project was ranked it would have to work its way to the top of the list, competing with newer, higher ranked programs along the way. Once the project reached the top of the list, a feat that could take more than three years, the two year long planning and implementation process would begin. Needless to say, the backlog was absurd and the entire system needed to be overhauled. The SFMTA itself described the system as a dam.

The new plan will nix the waiting list. Instead, “planners [will] select a yearly round of projects based on the severity of speeding and crashes. If an application doesn’t rank as a top priority, but does meet the minimum threshold for consideration, it would be placed on hold for two years. If the application still doesn’t reach priority ranking within two years, the SFMTA [will] drop the application.” The new system eliminates the potential for projects in never-ending limbo. It streamlines the process, by combining the approval process and the waiting list. Instead of being approved, being ranked, being put on a waiting list and then working up to the top of the list, only to go through a long planning process, the new program will assess the projects as they are submitted, look at all of the proposals at once and pick 25 locations to work on over the next year. Once the locations are selected the town halls and community meetings will begin. Within 11 months the project will be completed.

Instead of spending years considering multiple solutions to relatively simply speeding problems, the new process will consider simple, effective and relatively cheap solutions like the Chicane and Speed Hump.

Although the system is bound to have disadvantages, everyone agrees that the program needed to be redesigned. Now we will have to wait and see how it all goes….

 

Sources:

http://www.sfmta.com/cms/ocalm/13568.html

http://sf.streetsblog.org/2012/10/18/sfmta-reveals-strategy-to-streamline-traffic-calming-projects/