Vehicles sporting pink mustaches could proliferate on the streets of San Francisco in coming months after a cease-and-desist order against a popular ride-sharing company was lifted.
Lyft, a startup that combines new media functions with taxi-like services, had been threatened with fines of $20,000 and ordered to halt its operations while the California Public Utilities Commission investigated the company’s practices. Lyft is known for outfitting members’ vehicles with bright-pink mustaches on the front.
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Despite a three-week amnesty period, nearly 1,800 motorists were slapped with parking tickets for meter violations Sunday.
The City’s new policy of enforcing parking meters on Sundays technically began Jan. 6, but drivers were given a reprieve from ticketing for the first three weekends. Last Sunday marked the first time that enforcers were out patrolling city streets, and the results showed they were pretty busy: 1,796 citations were issued to motorists.
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From funding shortfalls to aging and inefficient facilities, Muni faces myriad entrenched issues. But the top priority now for the transit agency is dealing with its overcrowded vehicles.
Muni’s capacity problem — particularly its crowded buses — is creating a “vicious cycle” of transportation choices in which travelers eschew public transit in favor of private automobiles, which in turn creates more traffic congestion, according to Timothy Papandreou, deputy director of planning at the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, which operates Muni.
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Testing started this week for all-electronic tolling on the Golden Gate Bridge, putting the span on schedule to debut the new technology in March.
Installation is now complete; the only step remaining is 60 days of testing, according to Mary Currie of the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District. The bridge will become the first in the country to convert to an all-electronic tolling system, she said.
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The City is proposing $200 million worth of changes to its cycling network in the next five years.
Building 12 new miles of bike lanes, upgrading 50 miles of existing paths and installing more than 20,000 new racks are all part of the plan.
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Muni’s transformative transit initiative achieved an important planning milestone this week, but the ambitious project still faces major funding barriers and officials are considering asking voters for money.
Crafted in 2008, the Transit Effectiveness Project was the first review of Muni’s operations in a generation, and the recommendations from the plan included more bus rapid transit networks, an increase in transit-only lanes and other initiatives aimed at speeding up The City’s public transit system.
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After a three-week amnesty period, motorists will have to feed their meters starting this Sunday or face the consequences of a parking ticket.
Technically, The City began enforcing parking meters on Sundays on Jan. 6. However, motorists were given a reprieve from tickets for the first three weeks while adapting to the new rules. On Sunday, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, which manages parking in The City, will begin issuing tickets to motorists who overstay their meters.
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BART is poised to beef up its anti-terrorism programs with a new
$3.1 million communications
center.
The new network is expected to include a mobile data program to allow BART officers to evaluate real-time information from the agency’s intrusion-detection and access-control systems. It also entails a computer-aided dispatch system and record-management programs.
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Rust-damaged stabilizing steel plates on the Golden Gate Bridge are set to be repaired as part of a $475,000 maintenance project.
During routine inspections this month, workers noticed that two sets of wind locks — plates that help transfer lateral wind forces from the span to its towers — were suffering from extensive corrosion. The wind locks are damaged on both the north and south towers.
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Losing the 49ers to Santa Clara will put a significant dent in the income of The City’s park department, and it is one of the contributing factors to a $10.2 million shortfall that the agency is looking to fill by monetizing elements of San Francisco’s open spaces.
The Recreation and Park Department has yet to release its official budget numbers, but the agency is already projecting that revenue will be $3.3 million lower than expected in the 2013-14 fiscal year and
$6.9 million less for the 2014-15 fiscal year. The fiscal year runs from
July 1 through June 30.
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Initiatives to provide extra funds for BART, Muni, Caltrain and other transit agencies could stand a better chance of approval due to a renewed movement to lower voting thresholds for ballot measures.
Attempts by transit groups to pass parcel taxes, sales tax increases or general obligation bonds have been stymied because of the state requirement that they achieve a two-thirds ballot box majority. Last month, however, two legislative proposals were introduced to lower that barrier to 55 percent — a move that could benefit Bay Area transit agencies.
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The Metropolitan Transportation Commission is expected to ask today for an additional $32 million in bridge toll funds for its controversial headquarters relocation project.
Despite protests from politicians in the East Bay, the commission — which sets regionwide long-range transit policies — in 2011 approved a $167 million plan to purchase and renovate a former post office at 390 Main St. in San Francisco. By purchasing the building, the MTC planned to move from Oakland to San Francisco by 2014.
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In the early 1970s, when Terence Faulkner volunteered his services to help set up and establish the fledgling United Irish Cultural Center, he did so with the promise that he would become a lifetime member of the organization for a $200 fee.
Four decades later, Faulkner and other older members are feeling betrayed — and threatening litigation — over a new policy to charge the 4,600 members a $10 monthly fee to remain active with the organization.
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BART passengers can already expect to pay more for fares and parking in the near future, but for the transit agency to meet its colossal long-range needs regional voters likely will need to approve tax increases.
With ridership potentially doubling in the next 15 years, BART’s 40-year-old infrastructure will be unable to meet the strain placed upon it, said Chief Financial Officer Carter Mau. The repercussions of the growing demand and aging resources are staggering — BART needs to spend about $750 million a year to address capacity and state-of-good-repair issues.
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Inexplicably, the Walkmen have long played the part of the nameless character actor in the indie-music scene.
Though regarded as talented and capable, they haven’t received accolades or star status like some of their contemporaries.
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