While neither Republicans nor Democrats seem thrilled with the results of the deal resolving the fiscal cliff, transit commuters scored an unexpected windfall.
Included in the package of tax increases was the restoration of a commuter benefits program that allows workers to pay for up to $240 of their monthly transit costs with pre-tax dollars. Transit passengers could exempt up to $1,500 of their annual commute costs from taxes as a result of the legislation.
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With the change scheduled to start this weekend, local businesses are begrudgingly gearing up for Sunday parking meter enforcement in The City.
Approved last April, the program is expected to bring in $1.9 million a year for the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, which oversees city transportation policies. The agency has said the meter enforcement, from noon to 6 p.m., will update antiquated parking rules, increase turnover in front of businesses and better manage traffic along commercial corridors.
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After a reprieve for the holiday shopping season, construction work on Muni’s Central Subway project will resume today near Union Square.
For the past 1½ months, work has been halted on Stockton Street to allow for greater access to the many businesses on the thoroughfare. However, construction will resume as usual today, with Stockton Street being shuttered once more between Geary and Ellis streets to all automobiles except emergency vehicles.
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Like the ubiquitous streetlights and fire hydrants, bicyclists pensively waiting at the stoplight at 12th and Market streets have become part of the scenery along San Francisco’s central artery.
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Free rides from Muni, Caltrain and SamTrans, plus late-night service on BART, are among the many perks being offered to public transit passengers for New Year’s Eve.
Here’s a look at what to expect tonight and early Tuesday morning:
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A proposal to relocate and rehabilitate the pit bull facing death for attacking a police horse has been rejected by the City Attorney’s Office, leaving the dog’s fate in limbo.
Charlie has been in custody at San Francisco's Animal Care and Control Center since Aug. 6, when he attacked a U.S. Park Police horse at Crissy Field. Stoney, the horse involved in the incident, suffered lacerations to its leg. The attack occurred at an off-leash area of Crissy Field.
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Some of The City’s most vulnerable pedestrians will get a boost from increased traffic enforcement efforts next year.
Backed by a $140,000 federal grant, police motorcycle officers will increase their presence outside schools, senior centers and other at-risk sites starting in early 2013. Reducing vehicle speeds will be the main focus, although officers also will crack down on red-light running, stop-light violations and right-of-way infractions against pedestrians.
Motorists who fail to obey pedestrian safety laws will be fined $155.
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It may not be exactly what everyone had on their Christmas wish lists, but Muni is providing its own special gift Friday.
To celebrate its 100th year in service, Muni will offer up complimentary rides. That includes free service on buses, light-rail lines, cable cars and streetcars. The deal begins at 5 a.m. Friday and runs until 5 a.m. Saturday.
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Impoverished California residents, many of them homeless and without access to landlines, will finally get a little help paying for their monthly cellphone bills.For years, the California Public Utilities Commission has offered discounted rates for low-income residents who use landline telephones. But with those devices becoming increasingly rare, that financial aid package offered little assistance to many.
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El Camino Real came of age when car-based travel seemed like the inevitable route to the future. But after the construction of U.S. Highway 101 and Interstate 280, the Peninsula artery came to occupy an awkward place. It’s a swift-moving, multilane boulevard that acts neither as a local road nor commuter thoroughfare.
Transit systems on the “Royal Road” are stretched to capacity. There are no bike lanes. Meanwhile, traffic conditions are dangerous for pedestrians — more than 100 intersections on the thoroughfare have accident rates exceeding state averages.
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While state regulators approved a new pipeline safety plan for PG&E on Thursday, neither the utility nor its opponents voiced pleasure with the ruling and how it will affect company ratepayers or shareholders.
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State authorities will begin a formal investigation into how to regulate ride-sharing companies such as Lyft, Sidecar and Uber — an inquiry that could eventually legitimize the controversial businesses.
For the past two years, the California Public Utilities Commission has struggled to provide oversight of the burgeoning industry, which relies on mobile devices and informal payment systems as an alternative to the more rigid — and regulated — taxi industry. The commission has issued cease-and-desist orders to the startups and levied fines of $20,000 apiece.
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If you’re staying in San Francisco for the upcoming holidays, you might have some difficulty getting around The City on Muni.
For the first time, Muni will run a reduced-service schedule for an entire week, with buses starting later and running less frequently before, during and after Christmas on Tuesday.
Muni will run its Saturday schedule on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Dec. 31. The Saturday schedule will entail less frequent service on busy bus lines such as the 14-Mission and 38-Geary. Cable cars, light-rail lines and streetcars will not be affected.
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San Francisco lawmakers and agencies are working to put a vehicle license fee increase before voters in hopes of generating more than $70 million for city coffers.
California Senate Bill 1492 allows local municipalities to put on the ballot a fee of up to 2 percent of a vehicle’s value — the rate before former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger reduced it in 2004.
San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors will have to decide whether to put the fee increase before voters. It would then need a simple majority to pass, and would probably go on the November 2014 ballot.
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When The City first installed its SFpark meters — devices that would increase hourly parking rates based on demand — many motorists complained that it was one more way to gouge drivers for extra dollars.
In fact, the program has done the exact opposite.
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