Physical graffiti, the worst kind:
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Posts Tagged ‘Muni’
Your Federal Stimulus Money at Work: Half-Million-Dollar SFMTA MUNI Ticket Kiosk at Geary Marred with Graffiti
Wednesday, May 22nd, 2013Transit Porn: The Newest Govmint Website is “MyStreetSF.Com” – SFCTA Shows Where It’s Spending All Your Money
Monday, May 20th, 2013That’s what they’re calling it, MyStreetSF.Com, but all that URL does now is point you to http://www.sfcta.org/mystreetsf-map, which is also new.
Check it, SFCTA is EV ERYWHERE:
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This image is just a snapshot. What you should do is click on over and then start tapping on the interactive map.
[Call and response, like when you were an activist before you became a typical selfish millionaire property-owning NIMBY-type] Whose streets? _MY_ STREETS!
Now you’re on the trolley. In fact, you’re paying for one, right…here. See?
All the deets:
[Click on this link to go directly to the MyStreetSF Projects Map.]
From signals to streetcars, bicycles to boulevards, from pedestrian safety to paving, the San Francisco County Transportation Authority (SFCTA) provides funding for hundreds of transportation projects citywide. The MyStreetSF interactive map shows all projects currently underway that are funded by, or prioritized for funding by the SFCTA, as well as those for which the SFCTA provides some level of oversight, in our role as Congestion Management Agency for San Francisco.
Most of these projects are funded with Prop K sales tax funds matching other federal, state, or regional funds. We also provide funding through the Prop AA Vehicle Registration Fee and the Transportation Fund for Clean Air programs.
The MyStreetSF interactive map allows you to search for projects by location, Supervisorial District, project type (e.g., bicycle, pedestrian safety, transit rehabilitation), project sponsor, or timeline. Click on a project on the map to see key information (e.g., short description, schedule, cost) and a link to the project page and/or project sponsor’s main page. The map page also includes information on city-wide projects and programs like Bicycle Education and Outreach.
We’re still beta testing the map and continue to work on new features, such as displaying already-completed projects.
Please let us know what you think. Your comments are invaluable in helping us correct, refine, and improve the map.
Disclaimer This map only shows transportation projects funded or prioritized for funding by the SFCTA, as well as those for which SFCTA is responsible for some level of oversight, acting in its capacity as Congestion Management Agency for San Francisco. SFCTA does not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of the information shown on the map.
Three Things You Don’t Know About the Bay to Breakers
Monday, May 20th, 20131. THE TOP OF HAYES STREET HILL _ISN’T_ THE HIGHEST POINT OF THE BTOB FUN-RUN. JUST CHECK THE ROUTE PROFILE:
“Here’s your route profile, starting from the SoMA near the bay going all the way to the breakers of Ocean Beach. See that big incline just before mile marker three? That’s the vaunted Hayes Street Hill. (And actually, the highest part of Hayes Street on this part of the course is near Pierce, not “at Fillmore and Steiner“ and not ”between Fillmore and Sutter.”)
And actually, that part of Hayes peaks at around 260 feet, not 215:
Now, here’s your winner. It’s the 270-something foot high saddle on JFK Jr. Drive betwixt Prayer Book Cross and Stow Lake / Strawberry Hill, where ”Kennedy” is written:
2. THE BTOB FUN-RUN IS A 12K, AND YET IT’S NOT A 12K – THE CLAIMED “WORLD RECORDS” ARE NOT, IN FACT, WORLD RECORDS
“Race organizers and media have reported that the course records set by Sammy Kitwara in 2009 and Lineth Chepkurui in 2010 are also world records at the 12 km distance;[31] however, the International Association of Athletics Federations, the international governing body for the sport of athletics/track and field, does not recognize world records or world bests in either an indoor or outdoor 12 km.[32] The Association of Road Racing Statisticians, a non-regulatory group that collects road running data, does recognize world records in the outdoor 12 km provided that the race course meets certain criteria.[33][34] In order to rule-out the possibility of wind assistancein point-to-point courses, the ARRS stipulates that the course must have “not more than 30% of the race distance separation between that start and finish”, or 3.6 km for a 12 km race.[34] Given that the Bay to Breakers is run on a point-to-point course in which the start and finish of the event are approximately 10.5 linear kilometers apart, the ARRS recognizes two other marks as 12 km world records: Kenyan Simon Kigen‘s 33:46 in Portland, Oregon on May 19, 1985 and Chepkurui’s 38:10 at the 2010Lilac Bloomsday Run.[33][nb 2]
3. MOST PEOPLE _DON’T_ PAY THE ABSURDLY HIGH REGISTRATION FEE. MOST PEOPLE YOU SEE ARE “BANDITS”
HERE’S THE OFFICIAL ESTIMATE: “…more than in the hundreds but less than tens of thousands.” THE REAL NUMBER IS TENS OF THOUSANDS.
“The Bay to Breakers is known for the large number of unregistered runners, or “bandits”, who participate in the race. Ross Mirkarimi, a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, reported that over half of the 60,000 participants in the 2010 Bay to Breakers were unregistered.[19] San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom was among the runners in 2010 who did not pay the registration fee to obtain a race number.[19][22] Registered participation was 24,430 in 2010,[23] 43,954 in 2011,[24] 23,072 for 2012,[25], and approximately 20,000 for 2013.[26]“
Beware, Car Owners: The Great B2B Tow of ’13 is a Coming This Weekend – Hundreds Will Get Towed by SFGov – Will You?
Friday, May 17th, 2013I’ll tell you, I’m not exactly sure when the tow away signs went up for this year’s historic Bay to Breakers street party – maybe it was today.
No matter, hundreds of cars are going to get towed this Saturday and Sunday.
It’s going to be epic.
Here are the streets to not park your car upon.
Sometimes they give you a week’s notice, but not this year I don’t think.
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Let’s review.
Before we can have this…
…or this…
From hard-working Steve Nguyen
…we’re going to have to have this:
(I remember it as if it were just two years ago…)
“The Great Tow of 2011:
One car gets away in the nick of time, but three others aren’t so lucky:
Ted and Al’s had like ten yellow tow trucks ready to go late Saturday night, in the driving rain. (Note how Bank of America is protecting its windows – the IndyBay crowd got to them, smashy smashy, about a year or so back, unrelated to Bay to Breakers.)
Now, speaking of prêt-à-porters, this is the main body, this is the largest array for the Golden Gate Park Panhandle:
And here’s the second-biggest grouping, along Masonic:
And there are some on the other side of Fell, typically in groups of six on some of the blocks.
But that’s it.
Not sure where B2B is hiding their 1000+ portable toilets claimed for 2011, at this point, just hours before the Kenyans take off on their winning runs.
Oh well.
And there’s no sign of the fencing neither, except for what they have every year.
We’ll see.
The Great Fence of B2B100 is supposed to have upon it either images of Christ hand-selected by P. Anschutz or photos of people who ran the race before white NIMBYs moved into the Western Addition. (You’ll have to tell me about it…). Anyway, here’s the baby fencing they have on scene already along with, and isn’t this cute, a message from San Francisco Natives for a Fun and Buzzed Bay to Breakers. Apparently, the cops can’t arrest for an open container in San Francisco…
And doesn’t this just break your heart – this Vespa scooter has been forgotten on the slopes of the famed Hayes Street Hill, the second highest point on the “racecourse.” Will Auto-Return charge $700 for its return?
Remember, Transit First.
All right, have a great Bay to Breakers 100!
Instead of Paying Its Taxes, Twitter Offers Up a “Safer 6th Street” Focus Group This Saturday at Noon
Thursday, May 16th, 2013Here’s what 6th and Stevenson is like today…
Auweia – click to expand
…and here’s the vision for its future, below.
So, just as the horrible SFMTA recently conducted focus groups on the future of Polk, 6th Street is getting its turn.
I’ll tell you, if I were in charge of making 6th street safer, I don’t think I’d put “Slower Cars” at the top of the list.
How about “Less Untreated Mental Illness” instead?
Anyway, our blessed SFMTA will be hosting ”an interactive activation project on 6th Street (between Market and Stevenson)” on May 18th, 2013.
And Twitter will be there too, sort of.
In a better world, Twitter would participate because it wants to, not because it’s contractually obligated to do so.
(And Twitter would pay its fair share of taxes under the rules signed into law by that wild job-killing radical, Gavin Newsom, all the way back in 2004. Twitter, just give me your tax returns and I’ll figure how much more you should have paid and then you can write a check for the difference and send it in to the General Fund.)
NEWSFLASH: The people from the residential hotels you don’t like on 6th Street aren’t going anywhere.
By law.
Oh, and lots of people working at Twitter would still prefer to labor in northern San Mateo County, just saying.
Anyway, on with the show:
“Slower Cars. More sidewalk space. More mid-block crossings. Brighter lighting. Cleaner streets. These are among the ideas and desires recently expressed by the local community for a safer 6th Street.
Safer 6th Street is a collaboration between SFMTA, District 6 Supervisor’s Office, Twitter, Neighborland, SPUR, URBAN SPACEship and other community organizations to address the issue of safety in the 6th Street corridor, and gather further input from the local community as to what can be done to create a safer area for residents, workers and passersby alike.
There is an on-going community process to implement safety measures in the 6th Street corridor, including:
- Sixth Street Improvement Project led by SFMTA, for permanent traffic calming and pedestrian improvements in the corridor
- Supervisor Jane Kim’s District 6 Pedestrian Safety Workgroup, which has been advocating for traffic calming on Sixth Street for the past several years
- Activation projects led by the Mayor’s Office of Economic Workforce and Development
- The recent establishment of The Sixth Street Safety Hub, an SFPD sub-station
In alignment with this process, we ask – how can we, as a community, create a safer 6th Street?
On Saturday, May 18th, between 12-6pm we will be hosting an interactive activation project on 6th Street (between Market and Stevenson), to engage the community and gather ideas and feedback towards this question, with the aim of envisioning a vibrant area and helping to prioritize treatments to the 6th Street design.
Pick your medium – we’ll have a Neighborland board for you to freely write on, a Twitter photo booth, and a collaborative mural installed by ArtIsMobilus.
Until then, share your ideas and comment on others here or on Twitter using the hashtag #safer6th. Through a new integrated platform between Neighborland and Twitter, your tweets will display on the Question page. Any tweets that start with “I want …” and contain the hashtag will auto-magically become ideas on the Question page.
Come join and take part in creating action on the ground!”
It All Comes Together: Our SFMTA Balances Out an Anti-Semitic Ad With a Pro-Semitic Ad ON THE SAME BUS!
Wednesday, May 15th, 2013All right, get up to speed here and then check out demiurgic Chris Roberts right here in the San Francisco Examiner.
From the back:
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And from the side:
See how that balances out?
Actually, I don’t think these ads are necessarily pro or anti semitic.
But I didn’t see how the prior ads were “anti-gay.”
On It Goes…
San Francisco Wants to Divest From Big Oil But the SFMTA is Addicted to Its Money – Chevron Ad at Bus Stop
Tuesday, May 14th, 2013What have we here, a big old Chevron chevron at an SFMTA bus stop?
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Uh, the “Clement Street Farmers Market” is “Nearing Approval” – Really? – Between 2nd and 4th Aves. on Sundays
Monday, May 13th, 2013From Rishi Mukhopadhyay of NextDoor.com comes word of the:
Clement Street Farmers Market.
See?
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So, they’re going to shut down Clement between 2nd and 4th Avenues in the Inner Richmond every Sunday until 2:00 PM starting four weeks from now on June 9th, 2013?
What? This is news to me! The opening date strikes me as highly, highly improbable, but what do I know?
The next steps for this concept:
- Monday, May 20, 2013: Community Meeting at 5:30 PM to 6:30 PM, Richmond District Police Station, 461 6th Ave between Anza and Geary.
- Thursday, May 23, 2013: Interdepartmental Staff Committee on Traffic and Transportation (ISCOTT) Hearing, One South Van Ness, Seventh Floor, Room #7080.
OK, we’ll see how this one goes.
IMO, the SFMTA isn’t going to laugh off having the #2 Clement make a quarter-mile detour to get to a parallel street only to have to drive another quarter-mile to get back to Clement.
And I’ll point out that Clement Street itself is kind of a farmers market already on Sundays.
And I’ll point out that 2:00 PM is kind of a busy time on Clement in the Inner Richmond on Sundays.
And I’ll ask how does this proposal square with our Prime Directive of “Transit First?”
Now let’s hear from youthful Peter Lauterborn, Legislative Aide to District One Supervisor Eric Mar:
“Dear All,
I am writing you because of your past interest in opening a farmer’s market in the Richmond. And while I have been quiet on the subject for a little while, it is not for a lack of work. We are at the point of nearing approval for a significant market entering the neighborhood!
The Plan: The Agricultural Institute of Marin (AIM) has teamed up with the Clement Merchants Association. AIM is known for a small number of high-quality, large scale markets around California.
The older plans for smaller markets all fell through, so we’re going big! This plan calls for a Sunday morning street closure of Clement from 2nd to 4th Aves on Sunday mornings. AIM plans very robust, well-rounded markets that are a major draw.
Major highlights of the AIM Market:
- Wide range of local products, including eggs, milk, cheeses, meats, etc.
- Include enrichment such as children activities, live music, and even kids jumpers.
- Provide matching dollars for “food stamp” users.
- Based on usage, the parking loss should be a non issue and the 2 Clement bus rerouting isn’t a problem. We are also planning outreach to all of the existing produce merchants along Clement. Also, the SF Bike Coalition is going to help make this a friendly event for those who don’t drive.
The Asks: As people who have advocated for a market, this is the time where we need your leadership the most! Our plan is going before the MTA for the street closure, and we need support!
1. Write a letter of support explaining why the Richmond needs a farmer’s market and how, given the low usage of Clement on Sunday mornings, this is the right use of public space. (send to Peter.Lauterborn@sfgov.org). The letter should explicitly support the street closure.
2. Encourage friends and community members to ask write!
3. Attend a community meeting on Monday May 20, 5:30-6:30pm at the Richmond Police Station. And bring out allies!
4. Bonus! Come to the MTA hearing on Thursday May 23rd at 1 South Van Ness to support the motion.
We wouldn’t have gotten this far without all of you. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to me at any time.
Let’s do this!
Best,
Peter Lauterborn
Legislative Aide
Supervisor Eric Mar, District 1″
The SFMTA Spits Hatred on the SFUSD: “Single Mom” Issues Parking Tickets to “Send My Child to Private School?”
Friday, May 10th, 2013I guess I know why the SFMTA, America’s worst and slowest large transit agency, wants to spend millions and millions of taxpayer dollars to improve its image. So it will then be able to obtain and spend even more of our money, of course.
But I’m mystified as to the thought process behind its marketing.
For example, here’s a happy meter maid saying, ”I am a single mom working to send my child to private school. I am SFMTA.”
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So the San Francisco Unified School District is that bad, huh?
OK fine.
(TRIGGER WARNING, Lookism: And she’s not a model, she’s a Real Person, an actual DPT Parking Control Officer? Latina/a, just a guess. Very attractive/appealing, huh? How did she get selected? Does someone at at the SFMTA’s in-house agency thumb through a bunch of PCO headshots saying, ” …pooch, dog, I-don’t-think-so, oh-now-here-we-go?” Is that how it works, something along those lines? Funny that, SFMTA.)
If I were the SFMTA, I’d take this ad down and never run it again.
If I were the SFMTA…
Actually, if I were the SFMTA, I’d stop lying to people.
I’d say, “The Central Subway is mostly about pork barrel spending.”
If I were the SFMTA…
Acceptance: The SFMTA Spends Money Quoting Mark Twain to Apologize for Honoring the First Amendment
Friday, May 10th, 2013Are you up to speed on this one?
Laird Harrison of KQED has the deets on the original “My Jihad” campaign.
Then some lady spent money on ads making fun of that campaign. An example can be found here.
But then the SFMTA responded by quoting Maya Angelou since it couldn’t figure out any different way of responding to pressure.
Which, at the time, wasn’t clear to me because Maya Angelou is still alive, right?
So now, I see this ad and now I understand:
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OK fine, a mystery solved…
