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Facebook Billionaire Sean Parker Bankrolls Free Parking Ballot Initiative in SF
Sean Parker, the founding president of Facebook and a major contributor to San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee, has spent $49,000 of his personal fortune to propel a ballot initiative that seeks to enshrine free parking as city policy, according to the SF Chronicle. Parker gave $100,000 to Lee's mayoral campaign in 2011.
July 15, 2014
“Closing” Lombard Street: The Language of Taking Cars For Granted
A peculiar thing tends to happen when we talk about streets and transportation: We don't talk about cars. Seriously -- listen to conversations, read news headlines, and you'll start to notice that even when cars are the main subject, people will, consciously or unconsciously, fail to explicitly mention them.
May 27, 2014
A Rising Tide for Walking and Biking in California and Its Cities
This week, the League for American Bicyclists released its nationwide "benchmarking" report on the state of active transportation throughout the country. The report contained good news for those working to make California a more safe and attractive place to bicycle. California rose ten spots to #9 in the state to state comparisons, scoring nearly 54 points out of a possible 100.
May 2, 2014
Eyes on the Street: SF Polk Contra-Flow Bike Lane Nearly Ready to Ride
Here's a little change of pace from the bad news this week. The Polk Street contra-flow protected bike lane, connecting Market Street northbound to Grove Street and City Hall, appears almost ready to go. A Department of Public Works spokesperson said the agency is shooting for a tentative opening date of May 2 or 5 and plans to hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
April 18, 2014
Chevy: What Better Way to Explore the Divisadero “Microhood” Than by Car?
The marketers at Chevy totally have this urban millennial thing nailed down. The car manufacturer sponsored this promotional video for a Divisadero Microhood Art Walk held last week, along with the website The Bold Italic.
April 11, 2014
The Case for Evening Parking Meters, Graphed
Every day at 6 p.m., San Francisco's parking meters shut down. But in many neighborhoods, motorists continue to seek parking, and without the turnover brought by meters, the streets become clogged with drivers circling around for a spot.
April 4, 2014
Watch: “People Behaving Badly” Consults Streetsblog SF on Bike Lane Safety
Stanley Roberts asked me to come out yesterday for one of his "People Behaving Badly" segments and help explain how drivers should legally make a right-turn, since CBS 5 didn't get it quite right. Roberts still didn't touch on the point that CBS got wrong -- drivers can't just jump in front of people on bikes because they got to the intersection first -- but it's good to see him devote attention to the issue.
August 22, 2013
New California Transit Map Simplifies Car-Free Travel Across the State
Finding a highway map for a road trip is easy, but comprehensive transit maps for car-free travel in California have always been a little harder to come by.
January 11, 2013
Berkeley Passes Bike Anti-Harassment Law
Last week, Berkeley became the second American city to implement an anti-harassment law to protect bicycle riders and allow victims to sue offenders in civil court.
February 22, 2012
State Assembly Undermines Bill to Let California Cities Build Safer Bikeways
On Monday, the State Assembly Transportation Committee passed a watered down version of AB 819, the bill aimed at freeing California planners to install next-generation bikeway designs that other American cities are using to improve street safety and make cycling a more accessible mode of transportation.
January 12, 2012