Archive for October, 2008

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Build A BRT — Lose Re-election Bid

[Correction: Enrique Peñalosa did not get booted from office - he only did not win his 'comeback re-election attempt' last year, after several years out of office. My bad - my mistake - my apologies. Title and text changes follow. Thanks to commenters for pointing out my mistake.
Rules prevent re-election to two consecutive terms. I [...]

Halloween CritMass SF

Get yer costumes on. It’s a little damp out there, but mild. Pee Wee (Justin) Herman Plaza (near the Ferry Building). Meet around 6. Leave around 6.30.

[photo: Flickr / ianxharris]

No Proof BRT Works

That’s the title of a column in the Winnipeg Sun today:
I think I finally have this Bus Rapid Transit thing figured out.
For years I’ve been applying evidence-based thinking, business-case modelling and rationale to the proposal to build a dedicated roadway beside Pembina Highway for diesel buses.
I’ve read all the reports, interviewed the chief proponents and [...]

Delhi BRT Busy Mowing Down Pedestrians

I really have no idea if a BRT in Bogota can be compared to a BRT in Cleveland to a BRT in Delhi or to a would-be BRT here in the Bay Area, but the one in Delhi seems to point to some bad conditions for pedestrians - a necessary condition of any BRT system [...]

The Case Against BRT — Melbourne, Australia

Since it was Streetfilms that helped us get into this fine BRT mess, it is only appropriate that Streetfilms helps to get us out.
In response to the Streetfilms video on BRT in Bogota, Columbia (that has, apparently, helped inspire so much unthinking adoration), I give you the Streetfilms video on the ‘Pedestrian Paradise’ that is [...]

President Bush Loves BRT

For any of you progressives or environmentalists (or humans) out there, you know that watching Bush over the last few years has been an exercise in ‘forget what he says’ and ‘oppose everything he does.’
Now, it would be stupid to hate BRT just because Bush loves it - that would be a bit like voting [...]

TALC Changes Name To Transform

The Transportation and Land Use Committee (TALC) last night formally changed its name to Transform - they’ll be at transformca.org.
Unfortunately, they’re coming out party was at the same time as last night’s Streetfilms shindig, so it’s possible both events suffered a bit from a split crowd, but I’m sure they managed a good time nonetheless.
Here’s [...]

Problems With BRT: Part 2 of…Many

Problem: Noise.
In our first post in this series, we featured a video that seemed to address the ‘noxious attitude’ of BRT, and of buses, in general. In this post, we want to highlight one aspect of that ‘noxious attitude’ - noise.
If you can stand it, watch this video once again:

There are some ways to address [...]

Bike To Work From The North Bay

The Thing Green Line blog mentions that cycling to work can be cheaper than driving - even if only part of your commute is by car:
Locally, BART just made a great decision to raise parking prices instead of fares. The parking goes from free to $1/day—c’mon, you can afford it!
(And if you can’t afford it, [...]

Recap Of Streetfilms San Francisco Event

There was about 200 people there, give or take. It wasn’t as many as I’d hoped, but it was still a strong showing, and a fun event. No Gavin, but his ’streets’ guy, Wade Crowfoot, was there. I had contacted a couple of supervisors, too, but didn’t see them.
Janette Sadik-Khan did show up for a [...]