Clipslink

It always felt like a Translink card reader trapped in a Clipper reader's body.

Sunday Streets 2011 Events Lineup Announced

Like earthquakes and breakups, we find out about this via Facebook:

3/20 Embarcadero
4/10 Great Highway
5/8 Mission
6/12: Bayview
7/10: Great Highway
8/14: Civic Center/Tenderloin
9/11: Western Addition
10/?; Mission

The specific routes aren't up on their website just yet, but we can probably expect them to be just about the same as last year, albeit in a different order to spread out the risk of inclement weather.

Top Ten of 2010

Before the first week of 2010 is over I thought it'd be fun to look at the most popular posts of 2010:

#10 Toward a Robust Rapid Transit Network: The H-Potrero Van Ness
Everything old is new again.  Muni originally ran the H-line streetcar from the Panama-Pacific Exposition grounds in the Marina out to the edge of the mudflats at Potrero and 25th.  With the vast majority of new development in the city slated for the "Eastern neighborhoods" of the Mission, Potrero Hill, and Bayview-Hunters Point, I think Muni should look at reestablishing that cross-town corridor as part of an expanded high-capacity, rapid transit network.

#9 No Parking

If it looks like a driveway, and the property owners defend it like a driveway, and DPT tows cars parked in it like a driveway it must be ... a vacant office.

#8 Reconnecting the Grid in Potrero Hill
Developers announced that their plans to rebuild the Potrero Terrace-Annex public housing complex included reestablishing the grid through the property.  Technically posted in December of 2009, this post still received a huge number of views last year.

#7 The Oakland Streetcar Plan
Stanford student Daniel Jacobson's Oakland Streetcar proposal has blown up in local political and transit advocacy circles, and it's also gotten tons of national and international attention.

#6 Hello BART
Oh, The Simpsons.  Even after 20+ years that show can be very punny!

#5 Where the Riders Are
This one's a tiny bit embarrassing.  After crunching a set of ridership data from BART, I published this map of how many riders are on every stretch of BART track.  Then the BART rep who sent me the data wrote me back and said the set contained an error (damn Excel) and I should use a new set of more accurate data.  I promised to re-crunch and re-publish, but got sidetracked.

My new year's resolution: to follow up on this!

#4 Doors are Closing
...Please stand clear of the doors.

#3 Welcoming Division Back to San Francisco
Remember when they tore down the Central Freeway?  Remember how they stopped at Market Street and the North Mission and SoMa still have to suffer under its sooty turquoise oppression?  Caltrans should definitely tear that sucker down, but we can't stop there.  The street underneath is ugly even if you ignore the elevated structure.  Here's my idea for how to fix that.

#2 Google Demolishes the Central Freeway
Google Street View's 3-D building models create an eerily familiar computer-generated San Francisco.  But there's no 3-D model for the Central Freeway, which gives is a surprising peek at a world without that eyesore.

Happy Holidays!

It's been an eventful year for walkers in SF.  Some great moments and some frustrating, some exciting new projects and some aggravating heel-dragging by the windshield set.

Here's to more and greater success in the new year, and a more walkable city for years to come.

A festive agent booth at the Castro Muni Station

Bus Stop Derby

This is definitely worth a repost, since I haven't heard much at all about it!  Yahoo! has added a bunch of touch screen games to the ad space in some of the new bus shelters that have been going in.  Hurry to find one near you before they come down on January 26th!

Almost makes up for the bait and switch over solar panels in the new shelters.

Check out more at busstopderby.com

Soon Enough

But that's not soon enough!















You mean we have to wait until April?!

Powell Street Sidewalk Widening

This.  Looks. AWESOME

Powell street is so thick with pedestrians, this space is badly needed.  Hopefully, bringing the level of the new space up to sidewalk height will lead to it being more well-used than the brief trial the city ran a year ago.

Streetsblog reports that the project will be finished and open in April.

Santa rides the 27

True story:

Ped Improvements on the Horizon for Haight and Fillmore

Haighteration brings us news of an upcoming redesign of the intersection at Haight and Fillmore Streets.  Elements of the redesign include bulb-outs at the corners, parklets, and "ergonomic crosswalks," which increase visibility and the safe crossing space.

There's a community meeting to discuss the project tonight (December 7th) at 600 Haight Street starting at 6:30 PM.

Now That's Marketing

In Boulder, Colorado stores along the Pearl Street Mall were doing well on Black Friday.  One shoe store in particular has come up with a great marketing gimmick for this pedestrian-only street: