Streetsblog SF

Senator Jim DeMint, the South Carolina Republican who said that directing stim funds toward bicycle and hiking infrastructure will not help the economy or create jobs, has gone too far. He and Republican Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma have just proposed an amendment that would kill all stimulus funds for bike and hiking trails. 

The Inhofe/Boxer stimulus bill amendment for $50 billion in additional infrastructure funds appears to be dead, with official word expected soon from Senator Harry Reid's office. Sources close to the negotiations say that at least five Democratic Senators were not going to support the amendment if transit and water provisions weren't improved, while Senate Republicans vowed to obstruct such improvements.  

A draft of the Boxer/Inhofe amendment just came over the transom from a source in DC close to the negotiations (PDF).  This is a draft from yesterday and negotiations are ongoing, so expect changes. 

Boxer no stranger to new freeways Environmental groups in DC are guardedly optimistic that yesterday’s barrage of phone calls and emails to Senator Boxer and company urging them not to write a $50 billion blank check for the highway lobby has not been in vain.  Boxer did not introduce the feared highway amendment yesterday and … Continued

A $5.5 billion discretionary fund for transit projects is in danger of being handed over to the highway lobby by Senators James Inhofe, Kit Bond, and Max Baucus.  Inhofe you will recall is the former Chair of the Senate Environmental and Public Works (EPW) Committee who boasted in 2005, "I called the threat of catastrophic global warming the 'greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people,' a statement that, to put it mildly, was not viewed kindly by environmental extremists and their elitist organizations."

From the new San Francisco branch of Streetfilms, Janel Sterbentz takes a look at one of the city's main bicycle routes -- Valencia Street -- and asks how it would function if signals were timed to give cyclists the "Green Wave" instead of cars. Cyclists would get a smoother ride and feel less compelled to roll through red lights. Pedestrians would benefit from slower vehicle speeds and more predictable cyclist behavior. As for transit vehicles, Janel reports, average travel times for trams and buses have improved on Amsterdam streets with a cyclist green wave. Even motorists, it turns out, should be rooting this on:

I'm pleased to announce the launch of Streetsblog San Francisco. We opened the doors to the site yesterday and, from now on, you'll be able to find it at this address:

How come so many posts on San Francisco lately? Let's make it official: The Open Planning Project will be launching Streetsblog San Francisco in January 2009.