November 19, 2010

Upcoming Projects and Changes for BART

For almost a decade, BART has been planning and funding a transit village in Walnut Creek that would house 596 apartments. This $100 million project took a few steps back after being hit by the recession. Construction is likely to start in 2012 and take 6-8 years to be completed.

November 15, 2010

Biking For the Real City Experience

In yesterday’s NYtimes, Seth Kugel gave his amusing and illuminating account of Los Angeles from the perspective of a cycling tourist.

Kugel made it his goal to visit a reasonably large stretch of LA county comprising of places like Beverly Hills, Hollywood, Santa Monica, Venice Beach, Downtown, and Pasadena on a budget of $100/day.
November 8, 2010

Electric Bikes for Beginning Cyclists

Most of us have seen in the city (if not experienced for ourselves) the spectacle of bicyclists sweating their way up a hill (Filbert, anyone?). These vertical terrors might be deterring people from biking, says a recent article in the Chronicle.

So Point Reyes is combining forces with John Granatir (owner of Go Green Electric Bikes) to encourage more people to bike and “[get] people out that normally wouldn’t be”.
October 25, 2010

Bay Area Bike Trail Wins Federal Grant

Last Tuesday, under a program called TIGER II (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery), the U.S. Department of Transportation awarded $600 million total to 70 “innovative transportation projects.”

In February, the SFTMA was awarded $46 million to replace Doyle Drive.
This year, the east bay seems to be the winner, being awarded $10.2 million “to help the East Bay Regional Parks District close gaps in its 200-mile system of paved trails.”
October 20, 2010

Safer Streets to Yield More Biking

After four long years of waiting for better and safer streets, the Bike Plan injunction was finally lifted in August and cyclists in the city are already beginning to see the changes.

New bike lines are being painted down on Townsend, North Point, and Laguna Honda.

10th Annual AIDS LifeCycle

AIDS/LifeCycle is a 7-day bike ride through California, starting in San Francisco and ending in Los Angeles during the week of June 5th-June 11th, 2011. This 545-mile ride raises money and awareness for both the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center and the San Francisco AIDS Foundation.

October 18, 2010

Will Prop G Improve Muni?

Voting Day is coming up and one of the most important propositions on the ballot for the future of public transportation is Prop G. Prop G would force SF transit operators to negotiate wages and benefits through “collective bargaining”. According to an SF Gate article, had Prop G been in effect this past fiscal year, Muni would have saved $19 million, money with which they could have ostensibly used to prevent service cuts.

October 13, 2010

Try BART Week is October 18-22

Starting next Monday, BART is giving away free prizes to random passengers who text the “Word of the Day” shown on BART platform destination signs. Prizes include $2,500 value of BART tickets, Southwest Airline tickets, tickets to local museums, sporting events and theater/musical productions, Green and Black’s chocolate, gift cards for Jamba Juice, and Alter Eco food baskets.