Matthew Roth
Recent Posts
A Tale of Two Plazas
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Artist’s rendering of the proposed plaza on the south side of Noe and 24th Streets. Image: Planning Department. While public reaction to San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom’s Pavement to Parks plazas and parklets has been generally positive and the city is about to make the Castro trial more permanent, the proposal to close a Noe […]
Streetsblog Launches “Bay Area Transit” Blog on SF Gate
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I know some of you probably thought this was a late April Fool’s Day post when you saw that headline, but we’re indeed launching a blog on the San Francisco Chronicle’s website, sfgate.com. The new Bay Area Transit blog is a coordinated effort between Streetsblog San Francisco and the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, with more […]
BART Expected to Avoid Service Cuts, Fare Increases in FY 2010-11
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BART has announced it likely will not need to cut service or raise fares to close a $10 million deficit projected for the fiscal year starting July 1st, thanks to a variety of cost-cutting measures and a pleasant surprise: $26 million in state funding. In fact, with the state money, BART expects to have enough […]
San Francisco Company Brings Good Design to City Bikes
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Orange Public Bike in Golden Gate Park. Photo: Public Bikes With a burgeoning market for bicycles made for practical urban commuting, a new company based in San Francisco has a vision for bridging the divide between the cruiser market and high-end racing models and possibly change the perspective about the role bicycles can play in […]
A Bicycle Rider’s Troubling Brush with the SFPD in the Mission
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Over on Change Your Life, Ride a Bike, Adrienne Johnson writes about a terrifying encounter she had while riding a bicycle when a motorist behaved aggressively and then escalated with threats of violence. The motorist, according to Johnson, was an SFPD officer in an unmarked vehicle. Johnson, a regular contributor of beautiful photos to our […]
San Francisco Planners Proud of Long List of Road Diets
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Valencia Street bicycle lane and stencil. Photo:KayVee.INC Although there is no record book for the cities with the most traffic-calmed streets, San Francisco planners believe their city has the most road diets, or roads that have had auto lanes narrowed or removed to calm traffic speeds and provide room for other modes of travel. The […]
How Quickly Will Caltrans Embrace Complete Streets Guidelines?
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Photo: Thomas Hawk Though it may seem esoteric, one of the biggest impediments to designing streets for people is the over-reliance on design standards that have long privileged movement of vehicles over any other consideration on the streets. That’s why advocates cheered when U.S. DOT Secretary Ray LaHood published a policy paper recently that, at […]
San Francisco First City in the Nation to Count Its Parking Spaces
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Meters along the Embarcadero are part of the Port of San Francisco’s SFPark trial. Photo: Matthew Roth No sizable city in the country, or likely the world, has been able to say with any certainty how many parking spaces it has, public or private, until now. Over the last 18 months, the San Francisco Municipal […]
Streetfilms Screening and Party a Great Success
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Streetsblog Editor Bryan Goebel and Filmmakers Charlotte Buchen, John Hamilton, and Clarence Eckerson. Photos: Myleen Hollero/Orange Photography Thank you to all the good people who came out to enjoy the Streetfilms screening last night with founder Clarence Eckerson and Bay Area filmmakers Charlotte Buchen and John Hamilton. We had a packed house and the reaction […]
GM Unveils New “Envy” and “Pride” Models, “Lust” and “Sloth” to Come
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Image: New York Times. I’ve railed on General Motors and Segway in the past for the myriad impracticalities of their tandem Personal Urban Mobility and Accessibility (P.U.M.A.) prototype. Now they’re at it again, making headlines today by unveiling the first three models in their new Electric Networked Vehicle (EN-V, pronounced "envy") line, including the Jiao, […]
Gov Signs Transit Funding Bills, Money Coming for Local Operators
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Photo: hanneorla California transit operators are poised to receive a temporary infusion of $400 million in cash from the state for operating funds, a move that could defray immediate shortfalls and set up a steady stream of state money for the foreseeable future. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger ratified last night the laws (ABX8 6 and ABX8 […]
Breaking News: Pedestrian Killed at 4th and King This Morning
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This morning just after 5 am a pedestrian was killed when a tractor-trailer hit another truck, sending that vehicle careening into the victim. Details are still scant, but major media outlets report the fatal incident has backed up traffic on Northbound I-280 and delayed Muni lines that pass through the intersection. ABC7 Traffic Anchor Frances […]