Banning cars on SF’s Market Street, once a radical idea, approved unanimously

Author  Rachel Swan

Banning cars on San Francisco’s Market Street may have once been a radical idea. But on Tuesday, the Municipal Transportation Agency board voted unanimously to do it, with undiluted support from just about everyone: bicycle activists, politicians, city bureaucrats, parents, health care workers, business owners, ride-hail companies and Mayor London Breed.

One message rang out loudly during a rally on City Hall steps and an hour-long hearing before the vote: start building “Better Market Street” immediately, and then replicate it elsewhere.

The plan that kicked off nearly a decade ago will start construction in January, with a ban on private cars east of 10th street on the city’s downtown spine. It will restrict commercial loading on the street to certain hours, extend the Muni-only lane from Third to Main Street, widen sidewalks, replace the ancient bricks with concrete pavers and add a sidewalk-level bike path with a protective curb. Crews will also build a streetcar loop east of United Nations Plaza, allowing the F line to shuttle from Embarcadero to Fisherman’s Wharf.

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Caltrans Settles Environment Lawsuit, Cancels High Desert Freeway Project

A recent court settlement spells the end for the planned High Desert Corridor Freeway. Bryn Lindblad, deputy director of Climate Resolve – one

of the plaintiffs – calls the settlement “a victory for smart planning [and against] climate change.” Climate Resolve estimates that the freeway would have resulted in four million additional miles being driven every day. Those tailpipes would have contributed major greenhouse gas emissions, exacerbating the planet’s climate emergency.

The $8 billion, 63-mile High Desert Corridor freeway would have spanned two counties connecting the north L.A. County cities of Palmdale and Lancaster with San Bernardino County cities of Victorville, Apple Valley, and Adelanto. The route would have gone through a patchwork of privately-owned undeveloped wild lands populated by Joshua Trees.

The L.A. Times had billed the High Desert Freeway as “L.A. County’s first new freeway in 25 years.” CalPIRG called it a top national boondoggle.

At the urging of former L.A. County Supervisor Mike Antonovich, Metro’s Measure M sales tax included funding for the L.A. County portion: $170 million available now, slated for property acquisition, and $1.8 billion scheduled for 2063-2067 for construction.

In 2016, Caltrans certified the project’s Environmental Impact Report (EIR). The plan was for a High Desert “multi-purpose corridor” featuring an 8-10 lane freeway, plus bike path, solar panels, and high-speed rail.

In late 2016, Climate Resolve – with activists Dr. Tom Williams and Bryan Baker – filed a lawsuit challenging the High Desert Corridor under the California and National Environmental Quality Acts (CEQA and NEPA.) The lawsuit was led by attorneys Mitchell Tsai and James Birkelund. The nonprofit Endangered Habitats League joined the plaintiffs.

When the judge found that the EIR was insufficient with regards to biological and greenhouse gas impacts, Caltrans agreed to essentially shelve the project. In theory, Caltrans could have appealed or quickly gone back to the environmental study phase and completed a Supplemental EIR (SEIR). Instead they signed on to a settlement agreement that halts work on the freeway portion of the project. In the settlement, Caltrans committed to not purchasing land for the proposed freeway until the agency completes the SEIR. The agreement leaves in place the approval of rail and bike components of the project.

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Final Phase Begins On Construction Of Richmond-San Rafael Bridge Bike/Pedestrian Path

RICHMOND (CBS SF) – Cyclists and walkers will soon join the hundreds of thousands of cars that cross the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge each day. Crews have begun the last phase of construction of the new bicycle/pedestrian bridge path on the bridges’s upper deck.

Work begins Tuesday night on a moveable concrete barrier separating the westbound lanes on the upper deck. Crews will work during the overnight hours of 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. each weeknight through October.

Once completed, the 4-mile path will connect with an existing one on the north side, creating “the first-ever route for bicyclists and pedestrians traveling between Marin County and the East Bay,” the Metropolitan Transportation Commission and Bay Area Toll Authority said in a statement.

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MOTHERLOAD

MOTHERLOAD is a crowdsourced documentary, made in Fairfax, CA, in which the cargo bicycle becomes a vehicle for exploring parenthood in this digital age of climate change. The Town of Fairfax Recreation will present the film, outside, free of charge, for our wonderful community to enjoy!

http://motherloadmovie.com

Synopsis: As Marin filmmaker and new mother Liz Canning meets the people behind the push to replace cars with purpose-built bikes, she contemplates the increasing tension between modern life and our hunter-gatherer DNA, and discovers the history and potential future of the bicycle as the “ultimate social revolutionizer.” Conflict arises when characters in the film encounter cultural resistance—in particular, bikelash focused on women and mothers. MOTHERLOAD draws connections here to the struggle of cyclist Suffragettes and women’s seemingly endless fight for bodily autonomy.

Newly signed bill gives BART more access to clean power

Author Sam Richards September 27, 2019

The new law could save BART an estimated $415,000 to $1.2 million per year without increasing costs to the state or other market participants, BART officials say. (Photo courtesy of BART)

A bill signed into law Sept. 20 by Gov. Gavin Newsom will give BART unrestricted access to California’s wholesale energy markets, helping that transit agency meet its commitment to a clean, 100-percent renewable electric supply by 2045.

Assembly Bill 923, authored by Assemblywoman Buffy Wicks, D-Oakland, is also designed to give BART broader access to more diverse sources of greenhouse gas-free energy sources.

The new law could save BART an estimated $415,000 to $1.2 million per year without increasing costs to the state or other market participants, BART officials say.

Unrestricted access to wholesale electric markets will allow BART to balance its intermittent renewable generation from solar, wind and small hydroelectric sources reliably and economically.

This new authority is critically important now, BART says, as the transit agency prepares to bring online two wholesale renewable projects in 2021 that together will supply approximately 80 percent of BART’s annual electric needs.

BART’s trains are, of course, powered by electricity.

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