Telegraph, Cable Vehicles – Streetsblog San Francisco
A few streetsblog stories are a bit advanced. Here are some quick news nuggets to start your Juniteenth weekend away.
Oakland Bicyclist and Pedestrian Advisory Commission Says “No Thanks, We’re Keeping Our Protected Bike Lanes”
The Oakland BPAC unanimously voted Thursday night to keep the protected bike lanes on Telegraph Avenue in KONO, despite recent pressures by some dealers and the Department of Transportation to remove them in favor of deleted lanes.
The move wasn’t very surprising – BPACs generally don’t support cities that are wasting valuable resources on dismantling cycling infrastructure. As Bike East Bay pointed out, Oakland has higher priorities than spending hundreds of thousands of dollars removing park-protected bike lanes that have been tried and tested in KONO and elsewhere. “Thanks to everyone who called to show your support,” Bike East Bay wrote on social media of the vote.
The proponents not only want to stop the destruction of this infrastructure, but also expand it with continuously protected cycle paths from the city center to Temescal, which connect the two already existing sections. “We are organizing the extension of protected cycle paths and the improvement of pedestrian safety in the north through Temescal by creating a continuous cycle path from the city center to 57th Street,” they wrote on their blog.
Of course, this fight is far from over. The next major meeting on the subject will be the City Council’s Public Works Committee on June 22nd. Bike East Bay urges lawyers to sign up for email notifications and stay informed of the machinations of motorists to clear the lanes.
Would you like to help shape regional transport policy?
The Metropolitan Transportation Commission is looking for interested Bay Area residents to volunteer for the Policy Advisory Committee to help them figure out how to keep the area moving. From an MTC version:
This committee advises MTC – the region’s transportation planning and funding agency – on transportation-related policies in the San Francisco Bay Area, taking into account various environmental, economic, and social justice perspectives. Members are appointed by the Commission for a term from January 2022. Please complete this application by 11:59 p.m. Pacific Standard Time on Sunday, August 1, 2021.
If you would like to advise the MTC on assisting regional tariff integration, new projects, etc., and have time to serve, click HERE to apply.
Ringing, ringing and ringing!
Last but not least, the Mayor’s Office and SFMTA announced this week that the San Francisco soundtrack will sound a little more normal starting in August with the return of the cable cars and their signature bells. From the mayor’s message:
“San Francisco just isn’t San Francisco when the cable cars aren’t running, and this is just the latest sign of the City is recovering and recovering,” Mayor Breed said in a statement. “People are ready to visit San Francisco again and experience all that we have to offer, and we know that taking the cable cars is always high on the list of things people want to do.”
SFMTA staff will begin inspecting the cable cars in mid-July, and the city will be offering free rides, albeit unscheduled, until the first week of August. Revenue service will resume in the fall, provided everything goes well.
