Any weekend boasting a Giants playoff matchup at AT&T Park and a 49ers home game could be considered epic by San Francisco standards. But for the first weekend of October, those contests might actually be considered the underdogs.
An unprecedented confluence of major events is expected to bring more than 1 million spectators to San Francisco from Oct. 5 to Oct. 7, forcing The City’s already overstretched transit system to devise a game plan to manage the crowds.
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Having a private foundation manage a nine-hole golf course in Golden Gate Park — a scenario feared by some local golfers — has been pushed back for at least a few months.
The Recreation and Park Commission was scheduled Thursday to vote on a five-year contract agreement to have First Tee assume management duties at the Golden Gate Park Golf Course. First Tee, a nonprofit organization, would oversee day-to-day operations at the course through its subsidiary, the Golden Gate Park Golf Course Foundation.
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By all accounts, 2012 should be a banner year for the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency.
Muni, the transit system run by the agency, is celebrating its 100th year. Contentious labor negotiations between management and the powerful operators union are a thing of the past. And SFMTA chief Ed Reiskin, a widely respected leader now in his second year, has a clear mandate to improve the agency.
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A controversial design plan for the Central Subway’s Union Square station was approved Thursday, but opponents of the project said lawsuits could be coming as a result of the decision.
Because the station will sit on park property, the Recreation and Park Commission was required to sign off on the plan. The commission did so unanimously in the latest hurdle cleared for the $1.6 billion Muni project that will extend underground Metro service from South of Market to Chinatown.
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Slowly but surely, the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District has begun to chip away at its once-cavernous budget shortfalls — enough to possibly delay a planned toll increase.
The district, which oversees maintenance of the iconic span and operates bus and ferry transit fleets, is projecting a five-year budget shortfall of $66 million. While that may sound daunting, it’s a stark improvement from the $87 million shortfall that the bridge district was forecasting last year. The 10-year shortfall also has shrunk, declining from $322 million to $285 million.
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A proposal to transform Masonic Avenue from a six-lane thoroughfare to a four-lane boulevard was unanimously approved Tuesday by the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency’s board of directors.
Masonic is an important north-south connector, with 32,000 vehicles using the avenue each day to travel between the Panhandle and northern neighborhoods. The busy artery also has been the scene of several high-profile accidents, and neighbors have backed a plan to calm traffic on the street.
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Thanks to a series of improvements at San Francisco International Airport, including the reopening of the revamped Terminal 2, concession sales increased by 14 percent last fiscal year, topping out at $783.4 million.
Gross receipts from car rentals, retail stores, food vendors and duty-free shops all showed double-digit increases.
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A plan to completely remake Masonic Avenue — a busy artery with a history of high-profile traffic accidents — could be approved Tuesday.
In the works for several years, the proposal would replace two traffic lanes with 1.2 miles of separated bike paths, add a center median with new trees and install sidewalk extensions to better accommodate transit vehicles and pedestrians. The changes will affect on Masonic between Geary Boulevard and Fell Street.
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Muni’s long-standing attempts to improve service and reliability have hit significant roadblocks in the past several months.
Since March, Muni has posted steadily regressing marks in its five primary service standards, including a dismal 57.2 percent on-time performance rate in August. That’s well below the 85 percent benchmark set when voters approved a ballot measure to expand the agency in 1999.
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Nearly $9 million in operating funds was approved by BART on Thursday to help deal with workers’ compensation claims from 800 employees, a number that came as a surprise to several agency directors.
Rising health care costs, an increase in surgical operations necessary for injuries suffered at BART and a rapidly aging workforce are some of the reasons the transit agency has been forced to deal with $8.9 million in unexpected workers’ comp costs, said human resources manager Elaine Kurtz.
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The proliferation of private workplace shuttles, which take thousands of cars off the road but often conflict with Muni vehicles, is getting the serious attention of city officials, who hope to regulate the services within the coming months.
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Passengers who transfer frequently between BART and other local transit agencies could soon be doling out more cash for their trips.
Under the BART Plus program, passengers can currently prepay for half-month passes ranging from $43 to $76. With that pass, their BART fares include free transfers on a number of local transit agencies, including Muni, SamTrans and the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority.
However, Muni wants to pull out of its pact with BART, a development that could leave passengers paying $2 every time they transfer from BART to Muni.
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The San Mateo-Hayward Bridge, which carries more than 16 million motorists each year, will be completely shut down to automobile traffic for two weekends next month.
Although the dates haven’t been finalized yet, the bridge — which is part of state Highway 92 — will likely be closed during the weekends of Oct. 19 and 26, according to John Goodwin, spokesman for the Bay Area Toll Authority, a regional body in charge of seven local spans. The closures are expected to take place from about 9 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Monday for both weekends, Goodwin said.
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Muni could do a better job of safeguarding and keeping track of the maintenance tools the agency needs for bus repairs, according to a new report from the City Controller’s Office.
Overall, the study concluded that Muni does a generally adequate job of tracking its maintenance equipment, but could improve certain controls to ensure tools aren’t lost or stolen. Muni is operated by the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency.
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A new management contract with the Golden Gate Park Golf Course could generate more than $400,000 annually for The City within five years.
On Thursday, the Recreation and Park Department’s operations committee recommended that the agency enter a five-year contract with the nonprofit First Tee to manage operations at the nine-hole course.
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