Matthew Roth
Recent Posts
Two Local Bicycle Advocacy Groups Honored With National Awards
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Not to be outdone by the movie industry’s much-ballyhooed awards season, The Alliance for Biking and Walking, a North American coalition of 140 bicycle and pedestrian organizations, recently announced its 2010 Advocacy Awards and two of the winners are from the Bay Area. Walk Oakland Bike Oakland (WOBO) received the 2010 Campaign Award for its […]
CA Transit Operators Hopeful State Diesel Tax Will Create Stable Funding
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Photo: Richard Masoner When Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger proposed eliminating the sales tax on gasoline in his new budget, transit operators and advocates saw the announcement as a move to subvert a California Supreme Court ruling that required the state to stop raiding transit funds. Rather than comply with the court’s ruling, they argued, the Governor […]
Excitement Builds for First Sunday Streets of 2010
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Photo: busbozo With just over a week to go before the first Sunday Streets ciclovia of 2010, organizers are working overtime to get all the details squared away for the March 14th street closure, which is expected to draw tens of thousands of cyclists, pedestrians, skaters, and bladers to the Embarcadero and Fisherman’s Wharf. The […]
Advocates Concerned That Cyclists Are Included in Distracted Driving Bill
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Photo: markofphotography A bill introduced last month by State Senator Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto), who has been a steady advocate for reducing the dangers of distracted driving, would increase first-time and repeat fines for drivers who text while driving or who don’t use hands-free devices, and would extend the prohibition of cell phone use to […]
Cyclist Sustains Minor Injuries After Being Hit By 5-Fulton Bus
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Photo: Joe Eskenazi/SF Weekly According to eyewitness statements reported by the SF Weekly and the Chronicle, a 5-Fulton bus collided with a cyclist this morning on Market Street and the driver refused to stop, despite pleas by passengers to stay at the scene of the crash. The collision occurred at 8:30 a.m., with the rear […]
Are More Service Cuts the Last Straw For a Public Fed Up With Muni?
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Photo: blarfiejandro Widespread outrage at the MTA Board, so visibly on display at today’s meeting on Muni service cuts and fare increases, appears to be driving a growing surge of organizing that transit supporters hope might finally create a sustained movement with the potential to pressure the MTA into developing long-term fixes for Muni. Most […]
Mayor Newsom Announces 12 New Pavement to Parks Projects for 2010
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Photo of Showplace Triangle Plaza, formerly a street and parking lot. Photo: Captin Nod San Francisco’s two newest Pavement to Parks plazas got an official launch ceremony this afternoon after several months of public use, along with a promise from the Mayor to build twelve more public spaces like them before the end of the […]
Saving Life and Limb By Avoiding the Door Zone
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DIY Door Zone stencil from Portland, OR. Photo: BikePortland.org Many urban cyclists have a tale to tell about a car door that swung out into their path and nearly knocked them from their bikes. Hopefully, the story ends there, with no injuries or further harm. Some haven’t been so lucky, however, as they’ve been thrown […]
SF’s Proposal to Reduce Blight Will Create a Tenuous Balance
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Artist’s rendering of 201 Folsom Street, a project advocates and community leaders oppose as a recipient of a Green Development Agreement. Image: Heller-Manus Architects. Among several initiatives San Francisco has developed to put an aesthetically pleasing face on the economic downturn, such as Art in Storefronts, which brightens shuttered retail spaces with murals, a new […]
Eyes on the Street: ‘Parking Lamp,’ Mosaic Steps and More of Your Photos
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Photo: Generik11 Photo: eb78 Here’s a recent round-up of photos from our Flickr pool. Thank you as always and please do send more our way. A selection of others after the jump. Have a great weekend!
BART Loses More Federal Funding for Oakland Airport Connector Project
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Image: BART As transportation planners and transit agencies around the country celebrated the announcement of the $1.5 billion in Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery, or TIGER grants, yesterday, BART received more troubling news that could hurt the feasibility of its planned Oakland Airport Connector (OAC). After losing $70 million in stimulus funds last week because […]
Newsom Upset at Muni Operators’ Rejection, Threatens Ballot Measure
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Mayor Gavin Newsom speaks at a press conference with U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi at UCSF’s Alumni House. SFPD Chief George Gascón looks on. Photos: Matthew Roth On the heals of yesterday’s vote by Transit Workers Union (TWU) Local 250 rank-and-file to reject the contract concessions negotiated by their President, Irwin Lum, and Mayor Gavin […]