Matthew Roth
Recent Posts
Yet Another T(weak) to Fell Street Arco Bike Lane
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The new arrows to instruct drivers to queue earlier. Photo: Michael Helquist. Michael Helquist at Bike NOPA has another update to the Fell Street Arco bike lane saga. The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) has striped new arrows in the curbside lane that they hope will compel drivers to move out of the bike […]
SFPark Trial Poised to Begin as City Installs New “Coin and Card” Meters
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Click image to enlarge: the new single-space SFPark meters. Image: SFMTA. San Francisco’s parking and traffic managers know the public is going to love or hate the new SFPark demand-based parking management trial depending on how it delivers on the fundamental promises made from the beginning: The trial will make parking more convenient and efficient. […]
First Mission Community Market Today
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The newest repurposing of street space in San Francisco, the Mission Community Market (MCM), will formally launch today with its first weekly market and street closure on Bartlett Street between 22nd and 21st Streets from 4-8 pm. After holding a successful fundraiser in June, the MCM’s organizers are hopeful the event has already gained a […]
Campaign to Protect AB 32 Gains Steam and Endorsements
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As if the Campaign to Stop the Dirty Energy Proposition weren’t already on the right side of history, now they’ve got Edward James Olmos stumping to defeat Proposition 23 and uphold AB 32, California’s ground-breaking greenhouse gas legislation. I think ever since Stand and Deliver, if Edward James Olmos told me to do something, I […]
Surprise Vote by Pro-Transit Supes Against Vehicle License Fee Measure
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Photo: Bringo. The Board of Supervisors, acting as directors of the San Francisco County Transportation Authority (SFCTA), voted 8-3 yesterday to put a $10 vehicle registration fee increase on the November ballot, a measure that would raise $5 million yearly for congestion mitigation, street and road resurfacing, pedestrian safety and improved transit. The fee increase […]
San Francisco Congestion Pricing Plan to Be Shopped at Public Meetings
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A London-style cordon encompassing the northeast section of the city. Cordon boundaries would be at 18th Street to the south and Guerrero and Laguna Streets to the west. Image: SFCTA. While the full results of the San Francisco County Transportation Authority’s (SFCTA) congestion pricing plan, the SF Mobility, Access, and Pricing Study (SFMAPS), have not […]
Tiffany Street Neighbors Make a Party of Ripping Up Concrete
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A new wider tree well get’s a new tree from Friends of the Urban Forest. Photos: Matthew Roth. Starting last week along Tiffany Street near 29th Street, contractors started cutting up sidewalks, jackhammering them and taking the crumbled pieces of concrete away in trucks. By the end of the week, what looked like an ugly […]
800-Seat Performance Space in Hayes Valley Approved with No Parking
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A sketch of the proposed SF Jazz building and with performance auditorium. Image: SF Jazz. The same neighborhood organizations and community advocates that routinely lobby to prevent the San Francisco Planning Department from granting parking exceptions in excess of progressive neighborhood plans were thrilled with a new project to build a 3-story building in the […]
The Rationale for No Parking: A Q&A With the 1050 Valencia St. Developer
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The site of the contentious new development and current home of Spork Restaurant. Photos: Shizuo Holding Trust. Last week we reported on the proposed 5-story development at 1050 Valencia Street, on the corner of Hill street and the current location of Spork Restaurant, which stimulated a lot of reader comments. While the project would add […]
New Jersey Transit Village Program Continues to Grow
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Image: Town of Somerville The holy grail for many urbanists contemplating long-term development and growth trends is the transit village. Adding growth adjacent to functional transit has the benefit of making it easier for the new population there to drive less and use transit for a multitude of trips. Likewise, transit villages can add to […]
Berkeley Celebrates the Opening of a Beautiful New Bike Station
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The new Bike Station on Shattuck near Downtown Berkeley BART. Photos: Matthew Roth. Berkeley cyclists and BART staff celebrated the grand opening of the new Berkeley Bike Station yesterday at 2208 Shattuck Avenue, one of the largest enclosed bicycle stations in the country and just steps from Downtown Berkeley BART. The new station expands the […]
Muni Reports Highest Ever On-Time Performance in Early 2010
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Photo: Myleen Hollero/Orange Photography. Despite the difficult economic times and the large service cuts last December and again in May this year, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) announced that Muni had achieved its best quarterly on-time performance rate ever, or 75 percent, from January through March, 2010. According to the SFMTA, the December […]