Bryan Goebel
Bryan Goebel is a reporter at KQED Public Radio in San Francisco. A veteran journalist and writer, he helped launch Streetsblog SF in 2009 and served as editor for three years. He lives car-free in the Castro District.
Recent Posts
The Future of the Better Streets Plan Hinges on Political Will
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The Mayor holds up a copy of The Better Streets Plan at a press conference yesterday: "Eat your heart out Portland." Photo by Bryan Goebel. Standing in the glaring Mission District sun yesterday on a wide new sidewalk, before a crowd of advocates, city planners, merchants, construction crews, artists and many others celebrating the completion […]
Eyes on the Street: Hey Driver, Look, I Got the Light!
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Photos: Bryan Goebel The one-way traffic sewers around my neighborhood on Sutter Street in the Tendernob (aka Lower Nob Hill) encourage speeding, so as you can imagine, there are constant near-misses by drivers intent on ignoring the pedestrian right-of-way. What you see in the photo above happened Monday evening on Sutter Street at Jones, as […]
Mayor Newsom to Nominate a Respected Transit Advocate to SFMTA Board
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Cheryl Brinkman at a press conference earlier this year celebrating San Francisco’s first new bike lane in three years. In the background is SFMTA Chief Nat Ford. Photo: sfbike Cheryl Brinkman, one of the original organizers of Sunday Streets who has a strong history of livable streets advocacy, will be nominated today by Mayor Gavin […]
How in Good Conscience Can St. Charles County, Missouri Ban Bicycles?
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The government motto of St. Charles County, Missouri is "character, professionalism and conscience." So how in good conscience can one of the country’s fastest-growing counties be seriously considering a ban on bicycles on some of its most popular routes? The proposal from a local politician — via Jonathan Maus at Bike Portland — is being […]
The Overwhelming Majority of Drivers Don’t Want to Hurt You
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Graphic: Biking Toronto Last month in San Francisco we covered the shocking story of a man who went on a rampage and ran down four cyclists. While that kind of pathological behavior is rare, those of us who pedal through traffic-choked streets every day know it doesn’t take much for a driver to get angry […]
SFMTA Interns Help Educate Drivers on New Fell Street Configuration
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Photos: Bryan Goebel Recognizing the need to educate easily confused drivers on the new configuration at the troubled intersection of Fell Street at Divisadero, alongside the Arco station, the SFMTA has sent out a two-person team of interns to explain to drivers that they shouldn’t obstruct the bike lane while waiting to turn left to […]
Phelan Bus Loop Project, First in Balboa Area Plan, Gets Federal Funding
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A reconfigured Phelan Bus Loop. Graphic: SF Planning Department A proposal to reconfigure the Phelan Bus Loop as part of the Balboa Park Station Area Plan received a major boost today with the announcement that the Federal Transit Administration has awarded the SFMTA more than $6.8 million for the project. In a statement, the FTA […]
Jack Fleck on Market Street, Muni, Global Warming and Traffic
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Photo: Bryan Goebel. What does San Francisco’s retired top traffic engineer think about Market Street, Muni and global warming? We sat down with Jack Fleck recently for an extended interview. The 62-year-old retired last week after more than 25 years with the former Department of Parking and Traffic and the current San Francisco Municipal Transportation […]
Wait Continues as Proposed Final Orders Filed in Bike Injunction Case
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Could the long legal road be over soon in SF’s bike injunction case? Photo: Myleen Holero, Orange Photography The attorneys on both sides in San Francisco’s four-year-old bike injunction saga have filed their proposed orders with Judge Peter J. Busch, documents he requested at a recent hearing that will inform his final decision on whether […]
Eyes on the Street: Muni Buses Block Green Bike Lanes for the 4th
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Photo: neas We’re pretty sure this happens every July 4th, but bicyclists headed westbound up Market Street toward Van Ness, and especially those turning right from Polk, got quite a surprise Sunday afternoon to find rows of Muni buses — along two blocks — queued up in the bike lanes. The difference this year is […]
SFMTA Implements Changes at Fell Street ARCO, But Is It Better?
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A cyclist is forced to squeeze between two cars waiting to get into the ARCO station. An all-too-frequent occurrence that is still happening despite the SFMTA’s new configuration. Photos by Bryan Goebel. At the corner of Fell Street at Divisadero it’s frightening to witness the minute-by-minute close calls between drivers and cyclists on a one-way […]
Traffic Engineer Jack Fleck Looks Back at 25 Years of Shaping SF Streets
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Jack Fleck, who retired yesterday after 25 years with the SFMTA, has been pondering the city’s streets from his 7th floor office above Van Ness and Market Streets. Photos by Bryan Goebel. Editor’s note: This is the first of a three-part series on the past, present and future of traffic engineering in San Francisco. Jack […]