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Transportation

San Francisco set to push transit benefits for commuters

After fighting to stave off reductions to federal tax breaks for public transit commuters, San Francisco is on the verge of strengthening enforcement of a 4-year-old law that requires larger businesses to offer employees commuter benefits. The Environment Commission will vote Tuesday on new enforcement regulations, which would create a process for how complaints and investigations would be handled to ensure compliance with the 2009 law. Read More

Golden Gate Bridge likely boosting speed limit at toll plaza for all-electronic change

With cash payments soon to be a thing of the past, motorists will be able to more quickly zip through the toll plaza at the Golden Gate Bridge. All-electronic tolling is scheduled to begin Wednesday, which will make the bridge the only span in California to feature such technology. As a result, the bridge transit district is poised to rework the posted speed limits for southbound motorists passing through the plaza. Read More

California voter's supports for high-speed rail is slipping

Fewer than half of likely California voters support the state’s proposed high-speed rail project at its current price tag, according to a poll released Wednesday. In 2008, 52 percent of voters backed a $9.95 billion bond measure for the high-speed rail network. However, the projected cost of the plan has gone from $34 billion to $68 billion since then. The more expensive plan has residents wary, as only 43 percent of the 1,138 likely voters interviewed said they would support the project at its current cost, according to the Public Policy Institute of California poll. Read More

San Francisco transit agency vows to revise Polk Street plan following heated community meeting

After hundreds of merchants and residents gathered this week to blast a proposal to remove parking spaces along Polk Street in favor of bike lanes, the head of San Francisco’s transit agency agreed to go back to the drawing board. Amid the show of solidarity, San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency transportation director Ed Reiskin said he would return with proposals “that would have significantly less parking loss.” Read More

Revised parking approach to Northeast Mission still draws the ire of residents

A revised plan for the Northeast Mission neighborhood makes acquiring a residential parking permit easier, but business groups and community members say the proposal, which would also add meters, does not address their needs. In late 2011, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, which manages parking in The City, introduced a plan to install hundreds of meters in the neighborhood, which has a high concentration of light-industry businesses. The plan drew heavy criticism, prompting the agency to temporarily shelve the project. Read More

San Francisco Muni buses getting more anti-Islamic ads, this time with anti-gay message

More controversial anti-Islamic advertisements are scheduled to be coming to Muni buses, with the new messages quoting anti-gay rhetoric from Islamic leaders. The head of the initiative said local gay leaders’ criticism of previous ads led to the latest effort. A number of city officials, religious figures and community activists held a news conference last week to condemn a set of ads paid for by the American Freedom Defense Initiative that expressed views widely seen as anti-Islamic. Read More

Widow of popular Bay Area reporter poised to receive $900,000 for 2009 fatal Muni accident

The widow of a well-known local journalist is poised to receive one of the largest settlements Muni has issued in the past two years. Today, the agency’s board of directors is expected to discuss in a closed-door session whether to approve a $900,000 payout for the wife of Bill Brand, who died in 2009 after being hit by a train near AT&T Park. Brand, a former reporter for the Oakland Tribune who was known nationally for his beer column, was struck by an N-Judah light-rail vehicle at Second and King streets Feb. 8, 2009. He died in the hospital nearly two weeks later. Read More

San Francisco cab industry looks to mobile technology to boost rider experience

Taxi passengers could soon hail every available driver in San Francisco and track their exact whereabouts as part of a new technology push to put the taxi industry on equal footing with fast-growing transportation alternatives. Read More

Free Luxor Cab rides offered between 10 p.m. and 4 a.m. in honor of St. Patrick's Day

Anyone in San Francisco that may have too much to drink today while celebrating St. Patrick's Day, has the option to get a free cab ride home. Between the hours of 10 p.m. tonight and 4 a.m. Monday, anyone who is either too inebriated to drive, or just doesn't have enough money to afford a cab ride home, can take a Luxor Cab for free. The free ride will be granted on two conditions: that the rider mentions Berg Injury Lawyers - the sponsor of the program; and the cost of the would-be fare is less than $35. Read More

Deal reached on bike-sharing—network to be in place by August

A deal has been reached to bring bike-sharing to San Francisco, with the official launch date of the 
much-delayed plan set for August. The Bay Area Air Quality Management District, a regional agency, announced Thursday that it had reached an agreement with Alta Bicycle Share, the private company set to manage the project. The network was originally scheduled to be in place by last April, but stalled talks pushed back the start date. Read More
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