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Will Reisman

SF driver has proof of unfair parking ticket

parking meter
Seemingly every motorist in San Francisco has a tale of being unfairly ticketed by an overzealous parking control officer. Fewer drivers though have as much exonerating evidence available as Beth Chen, a Forest Hill resident who was recently hit with a $62 ticket that accuses her of overstaying a two-hour time limit near the Stonestown YMCA. Read More

BART balances budget, but challenges remain

BART
Cleaner train cars, fewer transients sleeping in stations and more investment in an overworked maintenance yard are all part of BART’s proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year. For the first time, BART is combining its capital budget, which covers long-term improvement projects, with its operating budget, which details day-to-day expenses. The $1.6 billion plan is projected to be balanced for the 2014 fiscal year, which begins July 1. Read More

BART may soon ditch bike ban

BART bikes
Bikes could be allowed on BART trains at all times of the day — minus a few restrictions — as part of an initiative that will be voted on by the agency’s board of directors later this month. Under the current policy, bikes are banned from certain trains during peak travel times, a measure aimed at easing overcrowding. However, after two recent pilot projects during which those restrictions were relaxed, BART is now considering a permanent change. Read More

Bayview-Hunters Point residents upset about service on T-Third line

T Third Street Muni
Bayview-Hunters Point residents expressed frustration Tuesday about Muni’s practice of turning around T-Third Street trains before they reach scheduled stops. Muni officials say rerouting trains and buses prematurely, called switchbacks, is necessary to deal with service shortages and delays in other parts of the system. Read More

Bridge fix is no weekend project

San Francisco Bay Bridge
Fixing a batch of broken bolts on the new Bay Bridge could cost up to $10 million, but it’s still unknown if that work will affect the opening date — and it’s likely Gov. Jerry Brown will make the call on when the structure is ready for traffic. Read More

Golden Gate Bridge district to consider toll increases to help offset budget shortfalls

Golden Gate Bridge toll booth
Faced with a $29 million deficit for the upcoming fiscal year, the Golden Gate Bridge district is considering toll increases on the span. In the midst of a significant financial crisis in 2009, the bridge district approved a long-term plan that called for toll hikes on the span every five years. The last time tolls were increased on the bridge was in September 2008, when cash fares rose from $5 to $6 and FasTrak costs went from $4 to $5. Read More

Drastic cut in travel times part of Muni’s ambitious long-term vision

Muni
For Muni to be a reliable transit system consistently used by commuters, travel times need to be significantly reduced -- a point emphasized by the agency’s executive director. Detailing the cure is the easy part; figuring out how to accomplish that task is something else. Read More

Latest survey shows growing support for more BART bike access

Fewer passengers oppose the presence of bikes on BART, according to feedback collected by the transit agency. The survey followed BART’s latest experiment with allowing bicycles aboard trains during commute hours. Normally, bikes are barred from certain trains during peak travel times due to issues with overcrowding. For a one-week span in March, however, restrictions were eased to allow cyclists on board during all times of service, except in the first train car. Read More

Work on Oak Street bike lane is speeding up

Oak Street bike lane
After initial reports that work might not be done until the end of this year, crews have now started adding a bike lane to a stretch of Oak Street as part of a project approved last October. On Thursday, workers began adjusting traffic lanes on Oak Street to allow for the creation of a bike lane on a three-block stretch between Scott and Baker streets, according to Paul Rose, a spokesman for the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, the project coordinator. Read More

Judge strikes down portions of voter-approved S.F. transit labor bargaining measure

Muni driver
Several portions of legislation passed by voters to give The City more bargaining leverage with Muni operators have been overturned by the California Public Employment Relations Board. Read More

SamTrans to boost service

Greater frequency on busy lines, elimination or reduction of routes with low ridership and new vehicle models in outlying areas are all part of a major service overhaul approved by SamTrans this week. Fleshed out over a two-year outreach period, the new service realignment approved by SamTrans’ board of directors Wednesday aims to increase ridership and make service more financially efficient for the San Mateo County bus operator. Major corridors such as El Camino Real are set to benefit from transit improvements, as are hubs in Daly City, San Mateo and East Palo Alto. Read More

Parking meter expansion in SF neighborhoods subject of hearing

parking meter
The plan to add more parking meters to several San Francisco neighborhoods will receive scrutiny today from a Board of Supervisors committee. The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, which manages traffic policies in The City, is looking into the possibility of adding more parking meters in neighborhoods that include the Mission District, Potrero Hill and South of Market. The agency originally proposed to add around 5,000 meters to those neighborhoods, but balked on that project after backlash from local residents. Read More

Bike storage site at Caltrain’s Fourth and King station set for major upgrades

Caltrain bikes
The overextended bike parking facility at Caltrain’s Fourth and King station is poised to receive an array of improvements, including new security features and expansion work that will nearly double the capacity at the site. The storage facility at the Caltrain station, which offers valet parking services, is outfitted to hold 100 bikes. But the popular center regularly exceeds that number on busy weekdays. Read More

$399,000 BART deal angers union groups

BART’s hiring of an outside consultant for nearly $400,000 to lead its latest set of contract negotiations has its two biggest unions decrying the move as being disruptive and carried out in bad faith. In October, BART approved a $99,000 pact with Thomas Hock of Veolia Transportation Services to engage in labor talks with its five unions, whose contracts are set to expire June 30. The contract was just below the $100,000 threshold that would have required approval by the BART board of directors. Read More

Revised options for Polk Street that exclude bike lanes gain support from merchants

polk street san francisco
A revamped Polk Street proposal that would include safety upgrades at intersections but few improvements for cyclists has garnered support from residents and merchants. The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, which manages traffic policies, outraged merchants along the bustling corridor this year by proposing to reduce parking in favor of more access for cyclists. Following the backlash, the agency came back with six new options — three each for portions of Polk Street north and south of Geary Street. Read More
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