Aaron Bialick
Aaron was the editor of Streetsblog San Francisco from January 2012 until October 2015. He joined Streetsblog in 2010 after studying rhetoric and political communication at SF State University and spending a semester in Denmark.
Recent Posts
SFMTA Board Meeting: Van Ness BRT, Muni 71 Signal Approvals
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Agenda From SFMTA: The Van Ness Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project is a package of transit and pedestrian safety improvements. To implement the full benefits of the project, sidewalk and roadway reconfigurations will be necessary, including parking changes and left turn restrictions. The parking is proposed to be removed to accommodate the BRT design elements […]
SFMTA Wants Stop Lights, Not Signs, To Keep Muni’s 5-Fulton Moving
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The latest of SFMTA’s efforts to speed up Muni lines to run into some neighborhood opposition involves its proposed replacement of stop signs with transit-priority traffic signals. Some Western Addition neighbors have protested a proposal to signalize five intersections on McAllister Street to speed up the 5-Fulton, one of the designated “Rapid” routes receiving upgrades under the […]
Tomorrow: Rally for Vision Zero Action After Spate of Traffic Violence
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A coalition of street safety advocates will hold a rally on the steps of City Hall tomorrow morning at 10 a.m., calling upon city leaders and agencies to step up the action on Vision Zero. The event will also serve as a memorial to victims of traffic violence. Just in the last two weeks, six people […]
SF Voters Reject Cars-First Prop L — Will City Hall Finally Take the Hint?
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Proposition L was nixed by San Francisco voters yesterday. With nearly all of the votes counted, 62 percent rejected Sean Parker’s measure to keep SF in the 20th century by prioritizing free parking and encouraging driving. Leaders at City Hall, and the agencies that shape SF’s streets, should read the writing on the wall: San Franciscans want to put […]
SFPD to Cite Driver Who Hospitalized Woman While Backing Up
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SFPD said a ticket will be issued to a driver who hit a woman last Wednesday while backing up on 16th Street near Pond Street, next to the Eureka Valley Branch Library. In initial reports, police said the driver had not been cited: The woman was hit at about 3:40 p.m. Wednesday near the intersection […]
Supe Kim, Mayor Lee Activate New Sixth Street Crossing Signal
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Mayor Ed Lee and D6 Supervisor Jane Kim held a press conference yesterday to activate a new pedestrian signal across deadly Sixth Street at Minna Street, a narrow cross street. Although a marked crosswalk had already existed there, drivers routinely failed to yield to people within it. The button-activated signal is part of a package […]
Ballot Language for Cars-First Prop L is Misleadingly Vague
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Voters returning from the polls today have pointed out the painfully vague ballot language used to describe Proposition L, the advisory measure to enshrine free parking and more driving as high priority in city policy. All voters see on the ballot is the question, “Shall it be City policy to change parking and transportation priorities?” […]
Study Quantifies How Unbalanced SF’s Car-Centric Streets Are
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Any doubts that most of San Francisco’s public space is consumed by private automobiles, whether moving or stored, could probably be put to rest with a quick glance at the city’s car-dominated streets. But a new study pulls together some eye-opening numbers about just how unbalanced SF’s priorities have been in allocating street space, prioritizing […]
Who’s Not Against Cars-First Prop L? Supes Tang, Farrell, Yee, and Mayor Lee
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With only a few days left until the election, four elected officials have yet to take a stance on Proposition L, the Republican-crafted measure that misleadingly urges San Francisco to “restore transportation balance” by giving priority to private automobiles and free parking. Supervisors Katy Tang, Mark Farrell, Norman Yee, and Mayor Ed Lee apparently see no need to come out against […]
Sorry, Sean Parker: Fighting Safe Streets With Prop L Won’t Help the Poor
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We may never know why Sean Parker decided to pour tens of thousands of dollars into Proposition L, a measure crafted and funded by Republicans who want to enshrine 20th-century car-centric policies in San Francisco. With his contribution, Parker decided to amplify this “primal scream from motorists,” as the Bay Guardian put it. On Tuesday, […]
Behold the New Muni Map
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Tourists and newcomers, be daunted no more. Muni has unveiled its new map. The complex web of San Francisco’s 82 municipal transit lines has been made more legible through a sleek new layout that will grace Muni shelters early next year. As we wrote in June, the map was developed over ten years by two volunteer […]
Eyes on the Street: To Transform an Intersection, Just Add Color
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At the most recent Sunday Streets in the Mission, Walk SF demonstrated how a little chalk can give a sense of place to an intersection. Just holding back the cars allows the community to add its own flair through color, transforming an asphalt expanse into a calmer, more people-oriented space. “It helps to calm traffic. It […]