August 12, 2011

Berkeley Police Work to Improve Motorcycle Safety

A couple of weeks ago, officers of the Berkeley Police Department were stationed throughout the city on streets with the highest rate of motorcycle accidents.

This operation came out of the growing issue of motorcycle fatalities in California. A CBS San Francisco article said that data has shown the causes of these accidents to be mostly:
  • Speeding
  • Unsafe turning
  • Driving under the influence
  • Inexperienced riding
If these are the causes of accidents, it would seem that police vigilance is not going to be the cure-all to our problem.
July 11, 2011

Sharing the Road Means Sharing the Air

A recent study done by Canadian scientists from Health Canada, Environment Canada, and University of Ottawa warns cyclists of the health risks they take when riding in the streets.

Now, they’re not just talking about the everyday fear of being struck by a car, but specifically, the study shows that car pollution and tailpipe exhaust can cause heart problems in cyclists who share the road–and subsequently, the air.
June 17, 2011

Ford to Leave Muni at the End of June

At the end of this month, Nathaniel Ford will be leaving his post as the chief of Muni. And in the search for his replacement, the SFMTA is switching it up from their conventional nationwide hunt and sticking to the local candidates with more intimate knowledge of the city’s transit history and needs.
June 3, 2011

Plaintiff Magazine: Bike Law 101 by Shaana Rahman

As those of you who follow us on Facebook may know, our very own Shaana Rahman recently wrote an article for Plaintiff Magazine in which she outlines 4 key tips to bike law and to representing cyclists.

As explained in the article, the attention directed on cyclist-motorist collisions–and the laws concerning them–is a direct result of the rise in urban cycling.
May 27, 2011

Folding Bikes on Muni

Muni has recently decided to allow folding bikes aboard all buses and streetcars, excluding the historic cable cars.

Bike advocates including Bert Hill, chairman of the SF Bicycle Advisory Committee, have been lobbying for all bikes to be allowed onto Muni buses. Nevertheless, Hill and others see this as a step in the right direction.
May 13, 2011

Muni Overtime Budget Exceeds Expectations

Muni’s budget for overtime this year was $30.8 million out of a total budget of $775 million. Now overtime has gone up $18 million to $48.3 million. Why?

A normal day for Muni requires 1,491 operators to run all services. And also on any normal day, they are short 300 of those required operators (which might explain why your bus never seems to be coming).
April 29, 2011

Speed Limit for Bikers on the Golden Gate Bridge

The Plan
In the past couple of weeks, there has been a lot of talk about how officials with the Golden Gate Bridge District are planning on imposing a biking speed limit of 10 mph on the regular path and to 5 mph near the towers.
April 8, 2011

“HowFuckedIsMuni.Com”

When you’re standing at a bus stop for far too long and you have no idea whether the bus passed by earlier than schedule or if it’s just extremely late, would you say that ignorance is bliss or just really, really annoying?

Well, considering the popularity of NextBus.com
April 1, 2011

Bike Boxes: Good Idea?

In light of the new Market Street bike boxes, the SFMTA has provided a handy infographic on how to safely use them:

In their press release, the SFMTA said that bike boxes are “designed to improve the visibility and positioning of bicyclists at intersections with traffic signals and to prioritize bicycles as they move through intersections.

The People Plan

In preparation for the 2013 America’s Cup yacht race taking place on our city’s waterfront, Mayor Ed Lee is working towards improving Embarcadero’s pedestrian, bike, and transit congestion.

The People Plan lays out the possible changes city officials can make. According to SF Streetsblog, these changes include:
  • Extending the F-line to Fort Mason
  • Implementing a bike share program with safe parking systems
  • New wayfinding signs on biking and walking routes
  • Prioritizing Bike Plan projects and adding more bike lanes

These changes can really make a big difference to the waterfront, not just for the event, but permanently.