CA: SFMTA Unveils Bay Area Bike Share and Announces Open House

masstransitmag.com – excerpt

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA), which oversees all transportation in the city, today announced that the first phase of the regional bicycle sharing program, led by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) and scheduled to launch this summer in San Francisco, Redwood City, Palo Alto, Mountain View and San Jose, will be named “Bay Area Bike Share.”… (more)

SFMTA hands more programs to cyclists while threatening disabled drivers with loss of free parking.

Ever wonder how efficient the Muni might be if the SFMTA directors spent NO TIME helping cyclists and ALL THEIR TIME on fixing the problems plaguing Muni?

New information on just how much the SFMTA is giving the SF Bicycle Coalition while begging for money to fix Muni has just surfaced – We have information that the SFMTA handed the SF Bicycle Coalition a $500k grant to take public comment on the Bike Plan update of 2009.

“After several months of “public process,” the list of projects coming out was the same as going in.”

 

How does the SFMTA explain approving handing out grants when they need the money to run Muni? They just raised fast pass fees $2.00 a month.

And why is the media not covering this story?

Drivers with disabled placards may have to pay at meters in SF

By: Will Reisman : sfexaminer – excerpt

Under a new proposal backed by city leaders, motorists with disabled placards would have to pay for parking and be subject to time limits at meters.
Drivers with a blue placard can park for free at any space in The City and they are not subject to any time limits.
But  since 2001 there has been a 100 percent increase of the placards in the Bay Area, leading some disabled advocates to question whether the permits are being abused. Every year, about 1,800 placards are confiscated in The City for fraudulent use, but permits continue to be issued out…
Several of the proposals, like paid parking and time-limit restrictions, would require approval from the Legislaton… (more)

This is good. Now the SFMTA is going to pick on disabled people. Yes, there is abuse, but, check out all the MTA permit placards and the MTA white zones around the city. There are at least as many of them. Anybody think the MTA should give up MTA parking placards and white zones?

Shared cars eye slice of SF street parking

By Jerold Chinn : sfbay.ca – excerpt

On-street parking spaces for car-sharing in San Francisco could see an uptick starting in September if a two-year pilot project gets approved by The City’s transportation agency board in June.
The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, which will oversee the pilot, would allow car-sharing companies like City CarShare and Zipcar to reserve 150 on-street parking spaces each and an additional 150 spaces the following the year… (more)

The SFMTA is planning to claim public street parking spots for “their” car-share programs, competing with “our” privately owned cars. Is this a conflict of interest or what? How can you trust an outfit that claims they want to help us manage our parking problem by reducing available public parking spots?

Disabled parking rule change recommended

John Wildermuth : sfgate.com – excerpt

Disabled drivers could be forced to feed San Francisco parking meters, a move city officials say is for their own good…
A 15-member committee, with nearly half representing the disabled community, told the city’s Municipal Transportation Agency that tightening the current parking rules, as well as expanding and metering San Francisco’s blue disabled parking zones, would make it easier for people with physical restrictions to find the parking spaces they need… (more)

Why are we not surprised. Will someone please inform the SFMTA that we are not buying their parking congestion theories? Since they have been acting on them parking has gotten worse, not better. We don’t need or want their help parking.

 

When is SFMTA going to pull all the free parking placards for MTA vehicles? Last weekend I spotted more MTA placard permits than disabled ones parking around Jackson Square.

Parking Ticket Victory!

By David LaBua : 7×7 – excerpt

Dear Parking Guru,
Five months and three days after following your advice, which was to immediately request an in-person hearing with an SFMTA parking administrative judge and use the 72-hour law as my defense, I am declaring victory on this fine San Francisco morning.
I just received a letter stating, “After review of the testimony, the parking control officer’s photos, the citation, permit records, Google Maps, and a call to the complainant, the preponderance of the evidence supports the conclusion that although the location had a valid special event no parking permit, it was not properly posted 72 hours in advance as required, and your vehicle was parked outside the restricted area. The citation is dismissed and grounds for a refund.”
I think the fifteen minutes it took to attend a hearing was well worth it. Your advice to schedule the first hearing of the day and to use the 72-hour rule as my defense worked like a charm.
Thanks again for your support and insight.  
Regards,
Positive Cash Flow

Dear Positive,
Everybody who comes in to see them every hour of every day of their workday is angry. And about half of them leave even angrier.
However, the other fifty percent, like you, who know the obscure parking laws like the 72-hour rule, the 100-foot rule, and the 3% rule, and use them in their defense, will find that the judges know the rules extremely well and are fair.  When the judge clearly sees that a car was ticketed or towed erroneously, they will own it and do the right thing.

Unfortunately, not everyone has that kind of result. If your tickets were not resolved to your satisfaction, log your complaints here on

SF Planning Commission Approves New Bike Parking Plan

KCBS – excerpt

SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) – Bicyclists in San Francisco may soon find it a lot easier to find a parking space for their two-wheelers.
The San Francisco Planning Commission on Thursday approved a plan to increase bicycle parking in both residential and commercial areas of the City. The next stop for the bike parking plan: the full Board of Supervisors… (more)

They left out the request for showers and lockers in the work places where the cyclists to change and freshen up after cycling to work. Do regular folks get to use the facilities or will this perk be reserved by cyclists only?

 

RELATED:
Planning Commission Approves Higher Bike Parking Requirements
New buildings in San Francisco will be required to provide more secure bike parking under legislation approved by the Planning Commission yesterday. The ordinance is expected to be approved by the Board of Supervisors next month…
the ordinance will overhaul bike parking requirements for new residential and commercial buildings citywide,…
The Planning Commission voted to remove the “active use” provision, so providing bike parking within 25 feet of the front of a building will still require a permit. The alternative is to place the bike parking closer to the rear of a building or on a different floor.
The strongest opponent of re-defining bike parking as an active use was Commissioner Katherine Moore. While she fully supported the rest of the ordinance, she said that a parked bicycle “is an inanimate object, not an active use.”… (more)

SF driver has proof of unfair parking ticket

By: Will Reisman : sfexaminer – excerpt

Seemingly every motorist in San Francisco has a tale of being unfairly ticketed by an overzealous parking control officer.
Fewer drivers though have as much exonerating evidence available as Beth Chen, a Forest Hill resident who was recently hit with a $62 ticket that accuses her of overstaying a two-hour time limit near the Stonestown YMCA…
(SFMTA’s spokesman) Rose added that “any motorist who wants to contest a ticket should mail in their protest to the agency center on 11 S. Van Ness Ave., or they can drop off the written appeal in person. Any documents, such as receipts, will be taken into consideration by the agency”, he said… (more)

I think there are hundreds, if not thousands of people who feel they have a grievance with the SFMTA when it comes to ticket complaints. Many with similar proof have spent weeks and months contesting their tickets. They should chime in on this subject in the comments section of the sfexaminer : http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/transportation/2013/05/sf-driver-has-proof-unfair-parking-ticket

Muni Fares For Passholders To Rise In June

By Sasha Lekach : sfappeal – excerpt

Starting June 17, the price of an adult fast pass and an adult Muni-only pass will increase by $2 up to $76 and $66, respectively.
The senior and youth passes will be $23 per month, a $1 increase.
The new costs will go into effect for riders purchasing passes for the month of July… (more)

Car-share parking coming curbside

By Will Reisman : sfexaminer – excerpt

Hundreds of on-street parking spaces will be set aside for car-sharing vehicles this fall as part of a city-led effort to reduce private-car ownership in San Francisco.
Companies like Zipcar and City CarShare will be allowed to reserve up to 150 spaces apiece, with another 150 potentially available next year. Wheelz, which specializes in peer-to-peer transactions involving personal vehicles, and Car2Go, a startup that features one-way car trips, could be included later.
The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, which manages parking in The City, hopes its effort leads to more walking, biking and public transit use. It said one car-sharing vehicle can replace as many as 13 private vehicles…  (more)

If you disagree with this program of eliminating parking spots let your Supervisors know. and sign the Stop SFMTA petition: http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/stop-sfmta-san-francisco

Bike Lane Battles Heat Up

BY: Tod Newcombe : governing.com – excerpt

There’s no question that biking has surged in popularity in the last few years. The share of Americans commuting by bike has grown by 47 percent since 2000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2010 American Community Survey.
The rising popularity of biking has also led to a surge in the number of bike paths and bike lanes. But as demand for lanes continues to rise, the nation’s cities are beginning to see resistance grow.
Front and center in today’s bike-lane dust-ups is San Francisco… (more)