May 21, 2013

Safe Routes to School on the Chopping Block!

Last week Governor Brown released his budget for the 2013-2014 fiscal year and one of the programs getting cut is California’s Safe Routes to School.

A Little Background on ‘Safe Routes to School’:

California’ Safe Routes to School program began in 1999 and has since become a model for the Federal Prgram and for State-Wide initiatives across the country.

May 15, 2013

Drivers Who Kill Pedestrians Rarely Face Consequences

Accidents happen. It is an unfortunate truth. But accidents that happen as a result of a person carelessly wielding a dangerous weapon are punishable by law. People who are charged and convicted in accidental shooting deaths face severe consequences and often serve jail time.

April 23, 2013

More Taxis Added to SF’s Fleet, but Industry still Uncertain

 

The SFMTA has approved a plan to add 120 more taxi cabs to its fleet in 2013 and 200 more in 2014. The decision came in spite of protests from Taxi drivers and companies who argued that the addition of more taxi cabs should wait until the illegal ride-sharing company issue was settled.

April 21, 2013

Settlement in High-Speed Rail Case

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.

April 19, 2013

New Pedestrian Safety Plan Outlined on Walk to Work Day

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.

April 9, 2013

Delays Threaten the Oak and Fell Street Projects

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.

March 29, 2013

San Francisco to Better Enforce Commuter Benefits Law

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.
March 27, 2013

Bike-Sharing Coming to the Bay Area in August

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.
March 25, 2013

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

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.