California high-speed rail has 119 miles under construction with 35 active sites in the Central Valley. Nearly 300 miles of the 500-mile Phase 1 System between the San Francisco and Los Angeles/Anaheim have been fully environmentally cleared. To date, more than 7,000 construction jobs have been created since the start of construction.
The Howard Terminal final EIR continues to gut the 3rd Street protected bikeway from Oakland’s 2019 bike plan, and maintain only the dangerous, minimum width unprotected bike lane on 2nd Street which already exists, and is almost unusable due to blockages. https://t.co/FnvibqgXo2pic.twitter.com/S1ws2NqUWx
In other words, when it comes to transportation, it was clear from jump that the A's are not serious (how else could they justify leaving a location with a dedicated BART and Amtrak station?). So it's not a huge surprise that the EIR is now punting bike and pedestrian safety features that the project was supposed to fund in exchange for city and taxpayer support. "The EIR in a few locations says what is planned for bike improvements doesn't preclude safe, comfortable bikeways," said Dave Campbell of Bike East Bay. However, savvy advocates recognize when they're getting smoke blown up their collective asses. "I can get that from Caltrans."
Bike East Bay is working on a detailed response to the 200-plus-page EIR. Streetsblog will continue to follow this developing story.
S.F. County Transportation Authority announces $5.8 million for Vision Zero quick-builds.
An example of an SFMTA "quick build," with cyclist forced to ride in a drainage pan inches away from traffic with no protection. Photo: Streetsblog/Rudick
San Francisco's Transportation Authority (TA) approved nearly six million dollars this week to support SFMTA’s Vision Zero Quick-Build Program. That will projects to improve pedestrian and bicycle safety on the Vision Zero High Injury Network. From a TA release:
This program installs quick-to-deliver reversible and adjustable traffic measures to improve pedestrian and bicycle safety on the Vision Zero High Injury Network. These quick-build measures may include painted safety zones, protected bike lanes, transit boarding islands, parking and loading changes, and more. The $5.8 million in total funding will support 10 quick-build corridor projects identified at high-need locations. Programmatic spot improvements throughout the city and outreach and evaluation efforts will also be supported by this funding. All corridor projects will be completed on a rolling basis and all are anticipated to be open for use by December 2023:
The following locations that will get the quick builds are:
Lake Merced Boulevard (Skyline to John Muir)
Hyde Street (Market to Geary)
17th Street (Potrero to Pennsylvania)
Oak Street (Shrader to Baker)
3rd Street (Bay Trail to Townsend) & Townsend Street (3rd to Embarcadero)
BART was the first accessible transit system in the country. Advocates want Bay Area transit agencies to do better at keeping buses and trains accessible for all