Transportation
During the coronavirus pandemic, CalTrans was able to take advantage of the lull in traffic to completely close part of Interstate 101 in San Francisco in April 2020 to complete work on the Alemany circle in just nine days instead of the original 18 days scheduled for the project.

Bay Area Traffic Congestion Returns

07.28.2021
|
By

Sean Nozzari, deputy director of traffic operations for the California Department of Transportation in the Bay Area told “Civic” that when the spring 2020 lockdown began, “the amount of travel initially dropped maybe 80%. But it started building up, and around December of 2020 it started going up steadily to a point that the amount of travel that takes place on our freeways is pretty much about what we had before.”

Transportation

Civil Grand Jury Probes Delays in Van Ness Improvement Project

07.12.2021
|
By

This year’s civil grand jury, a volunteer government oversight body, chose to focus one of its reports on the Van Ness Improvement Project to try to get a clear picture of what happened. Juror Judy Sanderlin detailed some of the findings of the report, titled “Van Ness Avenue: What Lies Beneath,” on “Civic.”

“Civic” Podcast

BART Emerges From Pandemic Slowdown

06.03.2021
|
By

Ridership on BART is slowly returning at about 20% of pre-pandemic levels. Starting next week the transit agency will begin adding trains with a return to a near normal train schedule by August 30. “Civic” learns more about BART’s plans, ongoing budget problems, new trains, the homeless and how BART is prepared for a mass shooting like the one at a light rail yard in San Jose last month.

Transportation
Two 6 Haight/Parnassus buses cross paths behind a 7 Haight/Noriega bus on Haight Street at Divisadero Street on April 6. Both routes were cut.

S.F. Transit Agency, Hit Hard by COVID-19, Carries on With Core Services, Construction

11.30.2020
|
By

Public transportation has been transformed by the coronavirus pandemic. San Francisco’s Muni light rail system has been shut for months, and buses are running on core service lines only. The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency’s Director Jeffrey Tumlin and Director of Transit Julie Kirschbaum joined “Civic” to explain how Muni has adapted to the pandemic and some of the changes ahead.

Transportation
10331989713_383a3db18b_z.jpg

BART Takes Cost-Cutting Measures While Making COVID Safety, Infrastructure Improvements

11.16.2020
|
By

On BART, ridership was about 13% of pre-pandemic levels in October. Since around 65% of the system’s revenue comes from fares, the drop in ridership was a major blow to operating plans, said Janice Li, who represents BART District 8 on its board of directors. The board has since passed a cost-cutting plan that covers its expenses for the first three quarters of fiscal year 2021, but the agency still faces a $33 million deficit for the fourth quarter of the fiscal year and a projected $177 million shortfall in the next fiscal year.

Climate Change
Local leaders have criticized a proposed mandate that would require the majority of office workplaces to ensure 60% of their employees are working from home on any given day.

Bay Area Leaders Reject Proposed MTC Telecommute Mandate

10.20.2020
|
By

Bay Area political leaders are throwing cold water on a controversial work-from-home rule proposed by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission as part of a regional climate change plan. The proposed mandate, part of a long-term sustainability initiative called Plan Bay Area 2050, would require the majority of office workplaces to ensure 60% of their employees are working from home on any given day.

Transportation

Sales Tax for Caltrain Improvements to Face Three Counties’ Voters

09.25.2020
|
By

Adina Levin, executive director of the nonprofit Friends of Caltrain and cofounder and advocacy director of the nonprofit Seamless Bay Area, explains how Measure RR got on the ballot and what it would enable Caltrain to do. Eric Garris, a San Francisco resident who submitted the official opposition to the measure, lays out his argument against the tax.