By George Wooding : 48hills – excerpt
Supervisor Myrna Melgar, Mayor London Breed, and SFMTA Director Jeffrey Tumlin have attempted to redirect traffic on the first block of the West Portal Avenue. The proposed changes would hurt West Portal Avenue businesses, cause traffic congestion, and destroy the character of surrounding neighborhoods.
From the San Francisco Standard, April 18:
“If it were up to me, I would take all of the cars off West Portal,” Melgar said. “I think that this plan takes most of the cars off the intersection, and that is my goal.”
The Melgar and Tumlin plan was so hated by Westside residents and businesses that the SFMTA was forced to allow residents and business leaders three additional months to form a committee to evaluate impacts to parking and traffic congestion, and “come to a consensus that works for all parties,” according to a statement from Melgar’s office. Prior to the committee formation, the SFMTA had done none of these evaluations…
The SFMTA’s Slow Streets road experiments are causing more accidents and business failures than they are stopping…(more)
The subject of Tumlin’s job will be high on the list of questions asked of the candidates running for Mayor. The tongue twisting, fact shifting Tumlin is nearing the end of his useful shelf life and everyone can see that. The emperors’ clothes are falling off at a fast pace as his mouth gives him away.
Next on the list of disasters is the Third Street Bridge that will put the T-Line out of business south of the stop to the north of it. Traffic and buses will be forced onto the two lane, rather sketchy Illinois bridge, making access to the Bay View more difficult than ever. There are some route around it, but nothing near Third Street. We can only hope that the repair is short and sweet, unlike what is happening with Taraval. and likely to happen on Folsom soon.
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Are cars, buses, bikes, small businesses, and safe walking a zero-sum game? By Tim Redmond
Or is there a way to make SF really a transit-first city without making a lot of people miserable?…It sometimes seems as if everyone is mad and there’s no way to make drivers, bikers, merchants, and walkers better off without making someone worse off. Most of these folks are not rich or powerful; they’re just trying to make a living and get around town… So let me offer some perspective… (more)