Masonic Avenue and the pandemic
The SFMTA will soon implement initial segments of the approved Temporary Emergency Transit Lanes for both the 43 Masonic and 44 O’Shaughnessy Muni routes. This spring, at several points along these routes and on various streets, we will install transit lanes and left-turn restrictions to keep our city moving....Throughout the course of the pandemic, the SFMTA has focused on maintaining a core service network that serves essential workers and those who depend on Muni for essential trips.
Like a lot of politicians, transportation bureaucrats apparently think they have to do something during an emergency to show the public they're being "pro-active."
Of course Muni has no way of knowing who its passengers actually are or why they are using the system, whether they are "essential workers" making "essential trips."
Like me they are mostly people who can't afford cars with no other way to make trips in the city too long to do on foot.
The notion that somehow muni buses are being delayed by the pandemic---a public health emergency---is questionable, since many passengers quickly stopped even riding buses that clearly posed an increased infection risk, which is why Muni has abandoned many of its lines in the last year.
Jim Herd at San Francisco Citizen recently noticed that the above notice was taken down from its website by the SFMTA, presumably because the agency has abandoned plans to eliminate traffic lanes on Masonic, a major North/South street in this part of the city.
After receiving the above notice last year, I wondered what it meant in practical terms:
Masonic now has two traffic lanes in each direction. Hard to believe that even City Hall is dumb enough to remove another traffic lane with this project, which would leave a street that carries more than 32,000 vehicles a day with a single lane in each direction!
A month later, Herd and I raised the Masonic issue again. Apparently we're the only ones in the local media interested in City Hall's grotesque anti-car policies. [Have to mention Heather Knight's interest as a cheerleader for those policies]
I suppose we should be relieved that it turns out City Hall isn't dumb enough to take away more traffic lanes on Masonic Avenue. [Later: as matter of only historical interest now, there was serious opposition to the city's original screw-up of Masonic.]
Typical that the bloated agency made no announcement about the change, like it stonewalled stories about the UC study showing how City Hall, supposedly worried about the safety of city cyclists, failed to even count serious cycling accidents in the city.
Typical too that the local media let the city get away with it.
Labels: Anti-Car, Cycling and Safety, Heather Knight, Howard Chabner, Jim Herd, Masonic Avenue, Muni, Pandemic, UC Study
posted by Rob Anderson @ 2:26 PM
3 comments
3 Comments:
Straight up 100% horse shit. The entire plan was approved by SF city supervisors in 2008. This so called “temporary bus lane” is the second phase of the project which is an actual red bus lane.
Emergency transit and essential workers my ass. Where the fuck are they going? Downtown is a ghost town. No one is riding the bus. And what about this prick on muni ridership in 2020
“ “Our financial reality is that all of our sources of revenue are down by 30 to 100%, and many of those will not be coming back for a long time,” Tumlin said. That means he doesn’t expect Muni will be able to restore all the lines it suspended for up to two years.”
Jeffrey Tumlin,
San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency
That says it all right there.
Well now that Trump's gone I guess this blog is turning its attention back to its Anti-Environment agenda. The assertion that the City has "grotesque anti-car policies" is head-in-the-sand thinking - like Republicans this blog is fond of bashing.
What's actually grotesque is this - car use is responsible for almost 50% of San Francisco's car emission.
https://sfenvironment.org/carbonfootprint
Yet Rob and his pet lawyer Mary Miles continue to champion unfettered car use for all - carbon emissions be damned.
The anti car policies are “grotesque”.
Nice little PowerPoint chart you posted there. Just one problem it’s complete bullshit. First where are the years 2013-2021? They don’t exit. Second thing is the time measured which is between 12-4 for autos. Which means nothing. They walked out with an IR sensor during the heaviest traffic times standing behind cars and measure the air.
What about the 24hr period? They won’t show it as it will give you the reading of a full day which is significantly lower per day. The IR sensor is how one would do it at home. What did they use? How did they test it? How were they able to give you an accurate reading on electricity without knowing how man lights I had on or off at home? And besides who leaves every light in the house on all day anyway?
To believe a bicycle will save the world from drowning is straight idiocy. By the way Mr Space cadet on a tricycle how much carbon from the sun contributed to those readings on that fake chart? Not only where those times for auto during heavy traffic hours that time frame is also the warmest hours in the city. Traffic does cause more emissions that smooth traffic flow ya know.
I know why bicycle space cadets hate your posts on bike projects in the city. Too stupid to know any better.
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