Matthew Roth
Recent Posts
Eyes on the Street: Halloween Caption Contest
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Help us put a caption to this picture. Here’s one from me: “This is what Gavin Newsom worried the west side neighbors would have done to him if he supported extending meters citywide.” Oh, and Fear the Beard! Go Giants!!
BART Breaks Ground on East Contra Costa County Extension
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For BART, the past month marks the beginning of two very different extensions, though both have been controversial. After surmounting vigorous opposition to the Oakland Airport Connector (OAC), BART inaugurated the 3.2 mile, $484 million extension last week with great fanfare and a large crowd of construction workers and politicians proud to get the project […]
SFPD Seeks Help Indentifying Suspect in Pedestrian Hit and Run
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The San Francisco Police Department is asking the public for help in identifying a suspect from an alarming hit and run incident from early August, when a vehicle slammed into a pedestrian and carried him on the hood of the car, before fleeing the scene. The victim, a 23 year old San Francisco man, was […]
California High Speed Rail Central Valley Corridor Gets Federal Grant
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The U.S. Department of Transportation announced $2.4 billion in grants for high speed and commuter rail projects around the country today, including $900 million for various portions of California’s rail network and High-Speed Rail project. US DOT Secretary Ray LaHood compared the initial investment in high-speed rail networks across the country under the Obama Administration […]
MTC Grant Will Fund Expanded Regional Bike Share Program
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Getting to work or school in the Bay Area by shared bicycle could be a reality soon, as the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), the Bay Area’s regional transportation planning body, awarded more than $4 million to a regional bike share program as part of $33 million for a host of innovative projects around the Bay […]
BART Holds Groundbreaking Ceremony for the Oakland Airport Connector
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After decades of political wrangling, BART is on the verge of building the Oakland Airport Connector (OAC), a $484 million, 3.2 mile automated people mover that will connect the Coliseum BART Station with the Oakland international Airport. BART held a ceremonial groundbreaking yesterday with most of the significant East Bay political establishment, two weeks before […]
SFMTA Considers Issuing Bonds to Finance Capital Projects
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Staff at the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) and its consultants presented the SFMTA Board of Directors yesterday with a rough sketch outlining the steps needed to get a municipal bond rating and consider issuing bond debt to pay for capital projects. They emphasized the opportunity to issue debt to pay for projects in […]
Historic Market Street Video Shot A Week Before 1906 Quake
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Most of our readers have probably already watched the amazing historic film of Market Street in the early 1900s, but you probably didn’t realize the video was shot in April, 1906, merely a week before the 1906 earthquake and fires destroyed most of the buildings that lined the street in the film. 60 Minutes aired […]
Mandatory Switch from Muni Paper Passes to Clipper Card Begins Soon
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As Bay Area transit agencies transition from paper passes to the Clipper smart card, operators like the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA), which runs Muni, are hoping their most loyal customers take the switch in stride. To this end, the SFMTA started selling its November Muni A Fast Passes and disability Regional Transit Connection […]
Eyes on the Street: New Parklet on Columbus Avenue
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The newest parklet in San Francisco is in one of the densest, most walkable neighborhoods, North Beach, and the early reception is very promising. Rebar Group installed the parklet three days ago in front of Caffe Greco and the aesthetic resembles the parklet they built on 22nd Street in the Mission several months ago. “You […]
Proposition G and the Fix Muni Syndrome
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As the November election draws near and the bunkers are dug on either side of San Francisco’s Proposition G, the Fix Muni Now ballot measure spearheaded by Supervisor Sean Elsbernd, the rhetoric is escalating, with Mayor Gavin Newsom, the San Francisco Chronicle’s Editorial Board and Elsbernd on one side decrying Muni operators for taking raises […]
J-Church Rail Replacement Time Lapse Movie
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Church and 30th St. San Francisco MUNI Construction from Ken Murphy on Vimeo. If a picture is worth a thousand words, these thousands of pictures are worth exponentially more. Ken Murphy, who lives on 30th Street at the intersection of Church Street, made this time-lapse movie of the Muni rail replacement project and set it […]