Disabled woman: Pittsburgh parking meters too tall

By Sheldon Ingram : wtae – excerpt

Debra Stemmler says she couldn’t reach controls on new street meters

PITTSBURGH —A woman has sued the Pittsburgh Parking Authority, saying that its new electronic parking meters are too tall for her to reach from her wheelchair.

Fifty-three-year-old Debra J. Stemmler filed the class-action lawsuit in U.S. District Court, claiming that the parking authority is violating the Americans With Disabilities Act. Her lawsuit says the new meters have working parts more than 48 inches above the ground, including coin slots… (more)

The truth inside the Google bus lawsuit: gentrification hurts the environment

by Susie Cagle in Oakland : theguardian – excerpt

Stop blaming poor people for pollution. When Silicon Valley’s class war prices out city workers and forces them to the suburbs, they become more eco-evil than Google

A new lawsuit brought by San Francisco activists against the city places blame squarely on Silicon Valley’s now infamous private tech-employee shuttle buses, claiming that they not only spew air pollution across the city and endanger cyclists and pedestrians, but also that they directly displace residents from their homes. But this lawsuit – and the city’s bypassing of a review process, and the buses themselves – isn’t really about the environment. It’s about class, and it could foretell big changes for how California’s cities grow in the future…

San Francisco tries to scuttle environmental reports all the time, and activists constantly sue them for it, so, in a certain sense, this is business as usual. But if this group can make their case against the company shuttles, they might not just force a city drunk on the promise of technology to take stock of its values – they might impact development across the entire Golden State… (more)

Uber’s Motion to Dismiss SF Taxi Drivers Suit Defeated

Posted by The Brandi Law Firm Blog – excerpt

On November 20, 2013, Judge Ernest Goldsmith of the San Francisco Superior Court rejected Uber Technologies attempts to throw out a suit brought by San Francisco taxi drivers seeking compensation for unfair completion from Uber.  The taxi drivers all drive vehicles that comply with the legal requirements of the CA PUC and SFMTA including one million in insurance per vehicle, police background checks for drivers, and vehicle inspection safety checks.  The drivers contend that Uber competes unfairly in that it has not complied with the regulations for carrying passengers for hire.

In his Order, Judge Goldsmith wrote:
“The Court declines to invoke the doctrine of judicial abstention as to the first cause of action for unfair business practices, fourth cause of action for accounting, and fifth cause of action for declaratory relief.  The instant case is distinguished from Alvarado v. Selma Convalescent Hospital (2007) 153 Cai.App.4th 1292, where the court found judicial abstention appropriate where it was called upon to oversee nursing hour requirements and regulate complex health care matters on a class wide basis involving several classes of health care providers.  The gravamen of this instant case is statutory interpretation with no regulatory or administrative implications… (more)

CentCentral Subway Lawsuit Over Union Square Station Threatens To Derail Project Once And For All

This controversial project, which wins the prize for being the most expensive public transit project per square mile, will probably end up at the ballot box.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Related:
A Better Way to Pay for the MTA

Central Subway opponents seeking ballot initiative to nix project

By: Will Reisman : sfexaminer.com – excerpt

On a day when lawmakers celebrated a $942 million grant approval for the Central Subway, opponents of the project announced plans Thursday to put a ballot initiative before voters that would give the electorate a chance to nix the massive undertaking.
The Fix Muni First Initiative would stop the $1.6 billion Central Subway project dead in its tracks if approved by more than 50 percent of The City’s voters in the November 2013 ballot, according to Quentin Kopp, a backer of the measure.
Kopp, a former Superior Court judge and San Francisco supervisor, said the measure would be an ordinance initiative, meaning its authorizations would overrule all the numerous approvals that the Central Subway project has secured at the local, state and federal levels… (more)

This is a very unpopular project among the residents of Chinatown and North Beach who are most effected by it. It will be interesting to see how the rest of the city feels.

Lawsuit filed – Muni’s Central Subway Project is still not a Done Deal
…Tomorrow’s execution of the federal grant agreement for the Central Subway will formalize the refusal of San Francisco’s politicians to seriously consider the obvious major flaws in the project. For this reason SaveMuni.com is seeking redress before the SF Superior Court to force these politicians to let the people of San Francisco decide whether or not they want to proceed with the Central Subway project as currently configured.”… (more)

Related:
SF Third Street LRT route gets FTA funds

S.F. Central Subway subject of suit

By Michael Cabanatuan : sfgate.com – excerpt

A day before federal transportation officials are expected to give $942.2 million to the controversial Central Subway, opponents of the project on Wednesday filed suit to stop construction of a station with a Union Square entrance.
The lawsuit, filed by subway critics Save Muni, is the latest, and so far most aggressive, effort to stall or kill construction of the 1.7-mile subway from Caltrain to Chinatown. The suit contends that the Municipal Transportation Agency’s plans to build an entrance to the Union Square/Market Street station in the square violated a City Charter prohibition of nonrecreational uses in city parks. It seeks to force the Municipal Transportation Agency to move the station or put its location to a public vote… (more)

Related:
Suit filed against S.F. Central Subway project
Lawsuit aims to derail controversial San Francisco Central Subway line
SF Receives $942M For Central Subway Amid Lawsuit By Opponents

Letter to NBBA Members, re: Central Subway Project

northbeachbusinessassociation.com – excerpt

Dear Members,

You may have been approached and told that the North Beach Business Association is not actively involved in fighting the proposed extraction of the Central Subway machinery scheduled to take place in the heart of North Beach.

NOTHING COULD BE FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH.

When the MTA gave  the first North Beach merchant presentation to the NBBA in May, we were also the first to sound the alarm about the potential devastation that the project would cause in our neighborhood. We rushed to immediately schedule a general meeting, co-sponsored, with the Telegraph Hill Dwellers, so that all of you would have the opportunity to hear the details of the extraction project. Many of you attended this joint meeting which then led to additional meetings regarding the project.

Since then, NBBA board members have been in constant contact with Supervisor Chiu’s office, working with him to try and find a satisfactory alternative which would not destroy the economy of our neighborhood for a minimum of two years. We have also attended every neighborhood meeting regarding the situation.  We would like to thank Marc Bruno for his leadership in organizing meetings and doing extensive research on the subject of the Central Subway extraction project. His participation has been invaluable .

After much discussion and soul searching, the NBBA has concluded that it may very well be necessary for a lawsuit be filed to force the City to conduct a new Environmental Impact Review for the extraction process as the original one does not adequately address the potential impact this project will have on North Beach. To this end, we have decided to provide funds to retain the law firm of Susan Brandt-Hawley, a well-known lawyer who works exclusively on environmental cases such as ours. She has an amazing track record. If you are interested in researching her, her firm’s website is preservationlawyers.com…

(more)

Central Subway work moves forward despite lawsuit

By: Will Reisman : sfexaminer.com – excerpt

Next week, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, which operates Muni, is slated to start a four-month utility relocation project on Columbus Avenue that will close one lane of traffic during business hours…

Despite one lawsuit filed already and another likely, construction work is set to begin next week in North Beach for Muni’s Central Subway.

On Aug. 13, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, which operates Muni, will begin a four-month utility relocation project on Columbus Avenue, an undertaking that will close one lane of traffic during business hours.

Then in January, crews will begin a 10-month project to build an underground retrieval shaft, which will allow the agency to pull up its tunnel-boring machines. That project will close down a two-lane section of Columbus Avenue between Powell and Union streets, an area that is not directly in front of any businesses, SFMTA Project Manager John Funghi said. Thanksgiving 2013 is the target date for completion of the work, Funghi said…

Phase 2: Tunnel-boring machine retrieval shaft

Details: Crews will build a 40-by-40-foot retrieval shaft underneath Columbus to pull up tunnel-boring machine to street level…

(more)

We spoke to a resident in North Beach who is concerned that the road is less than 40 feet wide, so the project will infringe on one of both of the sidewalks and parks.

Ferry Building sues to block 8 Washington development

By: Joshua Sabatini : SF Examiner – excerpt

The waterfront luxury condo development known as 8 Washington St. won City Hall approval, but the project is threatened by a possible ballot measure and now a lawsuit from the Ferry Building.

Equity Office Properties, the Ferry Building’s management company, filed a suit Friday against the development’s environmental impact report, arguing that it fails to adequately address parking and traffic….

…EOP spokesman Chuck Finnie said the development would eliminate parking promised by the Port of San Francisco at the time of the Ferry Building’s 2003 overhaul. He said the building needs an alternative parking solution since the garage will take years to be completed, at best.

“EOP is not in the parking business,” Finnie said. “We are in the Ferry Building business.”

Meanwhile, the Department of Elections is counting the signatures submitted for the referendum, a process both sides have been observing. If certified, it would end up on November’s ballot or the 2013 ballot, and the project would be on hold in the meantime…

Jon Golinger, president of the Telegraph Hill Dwellers and leader of the referendum effort, said accusations of being misleading make no sense since signature gatherers showed signers a photo of the development.

As for business support, Golinger said the developer’s push for a height exemption created a diverse opposition coalition, which includes not only businesses but also tenant activists and neighborhood leaders.

“That’s how you run successful campaigns,” he said, “and that’s how you win an election.”…

(more)