Michael Rhodes
Michael Rhodes is a former reporter for Streetsblog San Francisco. He lives in the Mission Dolores neighborhood and is a graduate of UC Berkeley's Department of City and Regional Planning.
Recent Posts
MTA: Market Street Pilot is Improving Conditions for Muni, Bicyclists
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No cars anywhere in sight near U.N. Plaza. Photo: Matthew Roth Since the MTA began diverting private automobiles off Market Street in late September, Muni riders and bicyclists have been experiencing the benefits first hand. Now, the MTA has confirmed what many Market Street users already suspected: Muni is running faster, and bicyclists now make […]
Derailment Shuts Down Muni Metro Service in Twin Peaks Tunnel
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Riders hustle from an inbound shuttle bus to Castro Station. Photo: Michael Rhodes A train derailment in the Twin Peaks Tunnel disrupted Muni Metro service between Castro Station and West Portal Station today, extending into the evening commute. The middle section of the second car of an outbound L-Taraval train came about a foot off […]
Bay Area Transit Agencies Eye Federal Oversight Proposal with Caution
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A Muni LRV crash at West Portal station last July. Flickr photo: 2Girls1Queen The Bay Area’s major transit agencies are reacting with caution to news that the Obama administration will propose a federal takeover of subway and light-rail system safety regulation. Though administration officials have not yet released the proposal, Muni and Santa Clara Valley […]
MTA Board to Vote on Moving Bus Turnaround to Make Way for TOD
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Click to enlarge: The new Phelan Bus Loop would circle the firehouse at the northwest corner of Ocean and Phelan Avenues. Image: Google Maps. The MTA Board will vote tomorrow on whether to sell a bus turnaround near Balboa Park station to make room for an 80-unit affordable housing and retail mixed-use development and new […]
This Week in Livable Streets Events
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How are cities preparing to deal with climate change? How is light rail working out for Santa Clara County? What does a bicycle ballet look like? These question and more answered in this week’s events. Here are the highlights. Tuesday: SPUR Lunchtime Forum: How U.S. cities are preparing for climate change. The Center for Clean […]
MTA Publishes NextMuni Arrival Time Feed
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Instructions for using the XML feed. Image: SFMTA. With the publication of a NextMuni real-time vehicle prediction feed on its website earlier this week, the MTA took an important step from having a policy of open data to actually making data publicly available and usable. It’s the latest development in a five-month struggle over who […]
Cupertino Resident Killed While Riding Bicycle Near De Anza College
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View Larger Map Wanju Yu, a 74-year-old Cupertino resident, was struck and killed by a driver while riding his bicycle near De Anza College yesterday. A student turning into campus from eastbound Stevens Canyon Road hit Yu at 9:15 a.m., Sgt. Rick Sung told Bay City News. He appears to have died from head and […]
Work to Begin Friday on N-Judah Rail Replacement
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N-Judah track at 19th Avenue. Photo: Michael Rhodes After taking a beating from the never-ending flow of traffic on 19th Avenue and Sunset Boulevard for 30 years, the N-Judah’s track will be replaced where it intersects with those two streets starting Friday. For the next two weekends and the first weekend in December, crews will […]
Among Walkable Regions, San Francisco One of Most Dangerous
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A pedestrian crosses Van Ness Avenue, wary of a driver who seemingly intends to switch into the left lane. Photo: Bryan Goebel Just how dangerous is San Francisco for pedestrians? A new report on pedestrian safety in the 52 largest U.S. metro areas ranked San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont 13th safest for walkers, based on an index that […]
This Week in Livable Streets Events
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This week holds sobering discussion of climate change and sea level rise, a green festival, and more weekend bike rides than you can shake a stick at. Here are the highlights. Tuesday: SPUR Lunchtime Forum: Planning for the San Francisco Bay. Will Travis, executive director of the Bay Conservation and Development Commission, will discuss opportunities […]
City Files List of Bike Projects Likely in First Year After Injunction is Lifted
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Flickr photo: Thomas Hawk The city plans to paint bike lanes in 22 locations within the first year after the Bike Plan injunction is lifted, all of which would be reversible upon a court order, according to a filing [PDF] by the City’s Attorney’s office today. At a hearing on lifting the three-year-old injunction on […]
Planning Chiefs: Urban Planning Still Hindered by Politics, Past Mistakes
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Over 200 people showed up to hear planning directors speak. Photo: Michael Rhodes City planners have been on the hook for some of the last century’s greatest metropolitan mishaps: urban freeways and "slum clearance," arbitrary minimum parking requirements, and land use laws that have left little room for the mingling of uses. Understandably, today’s planners […]