Muni’s list of preferred alternatives for removing its Central Subway tunnel-boring machines in North Beach doesn’t include an option popular with the community and could result in the agency resorting to a method strongly opposed by many locals.
As part of its $1.6 billion expansion project, which will extend underground Metro service from the SoMa District to Chinatown, Muni originally proposed to bring up its tunneling machines on Columbus Avenue, a plan that would result in a lane closure on the busy thoroughfare for most of 2013.
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Talks are beginning to start up again over a controversial plan to install 5,000 parking meters in new San Francisco neighborhoods, nearly one year after the proposal was shelved following a harsh community pushback.
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The sponsor of a proposal to amend The City’s environmental review process says he hopes to streamline an unpredictable and volatile procedure, but activist groups warn that the measure would reduce public oversight over development.
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Since The City introduced its nationally recognized SFpark system last year, parking rates at city-owned garages have fallen by 20 percent — with many lots now cheaper than nearby street meters.
Rates at some garages are now as low as $1 an hour throughout the day.
Parking rates at 14 of the 20 garages run by the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency are determined by availability and demand. So prices drop when occupancy is low.
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In December 2009, during a routine news conference to announce the unveiling of some painted bike lanes, former Mayor Gavin Newsom somehow managed to create a morsel of news out of a ho-hum event.
Frustrated by the lack of progress in his cherished citywide bike-sharing network, Newsom told local reporters that Nathaniel Ford, then the director of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, would be looking for a new job if the cycling project wasn’t completed.
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Muni is exploring new options for retrieving tunneling equipment in or near North Beach, including one that could save the agency $23 million while keeping the machinery underground indefinitely.
As part of its $1.6 billion Central Subway project, which will extend underground Metro service from South of Market to Chinatown, Muni wants to extract a tunnel-boring machine through Columbus Avenue. Preparation for that process began this year and will be finished by Thanksgiving 2013.
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A pedestrian who was seriously injured after being struck by a Muni bus last year will receive a $575,000 settlement from the transit agency.
Kevin Michael Wong, a San Francisco native, was crossing Beale and Market streets Jan. 10, 2011, when he was hit by a Muni bus taking a right turn. Wong suffered significant back injuries as a result of the accident and had to leave his position as an information technology specialist, said his lawyer Matt White. Wong eventually underwent back surgery at the behest of his doctors, and was unable to regain his old job, White said.
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John Han considered himself a “lifer” taxi driver when he signed his name to The City’s taxi medallion waiting list in 2004. Eight years later and with no hope of obtaining a permit, Han is preparing to move on to a different career, convinced there is no future for him as a San Francisco cabbie.
Han had been having doubts about the profession for years, but the last straw was the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency’s proposal to drastically change the rules for drivers hoping to obtain a taxi medallion.
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Few jobs are more sedentary than being a Muni bus driver, a position that requires workers to sit for long hours with little physical movement. With precious few opportunities for exercise, maintaining a healthy diet should be essential for the operators.
But finding nutritious food sources at driver’s workplaces is usually a fruitless task — pun intended.
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The recent delivery of $6.7 million to Muni has the agency pondering a difficult choice — should the funds be used to shore up an aging and decrepit fleet of vehicles, or to provide The City’s youth with unparalleled access to San Francisco’s public transit system?
That debate has split transit advocates and youth activists, and it will be the focus of a hearing today at the Board of Supervisors Government Audit and Oversight Committee.
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In the coming years, BART is going to have a lot more riders than it can handle, which means the transit agency is going to need a lot more money to buy a lot more trains.
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A class-action lawsuit has been filed against Uber demanding that the transportation service company stop operating and pay taxi drivers damages for lost wages.
Filed on behalf of cabdrivers Leonid Goncharov and Mohammed Eddine, the suit claims Uber creates unfair business competition by operating without regulation from state and local authorities.
Uber connects drivers with passengers looking for rides by using smartphone technology to locate and dispatch taxis, limousines and town cars.
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Three neighborhood residents have filed an appeal against a bike and pedestrian project near the Panhandle, hoping to halt it for further environmental review.
In the works for more than a decade, a separated bike lane on a three-block stretch of both Fell and Oak streets was approved last month by the board of directors of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, which oversees cycling policies in The City. The plan also called for pedestrian safety upgrades and the removal of 55 parking spaces.
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A building developer is asking BART board member James Fang to recuse himself from an impending vote on a development project at the Millbrae station because of the director’s close ties to a rival bidder.
Last year, the BART board voted to enter into exclusive negotiations with the Justin Development Corporation regarding a proposal to build a hotel on two parcels of land owned by the transit agency near the Millbrae station.
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Two fresh faces will join the BART board of directors, including one newcomer who knocked off a two-term incumbent in a race that was heavily funded by building contractors.
Zakhary Mallett, 25, pulled off a surprising victory over District 7 Director Lynette Sweet, a board member since being appointed in 2003. District 7 includes the eastern sliver of San Francisco where Sweet is from and portions of Alameda and Contra Costa counties. While Sweet won handily among San Francisco residents, voters in the East Bay largely went for Mallett.
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