JOEL ON TRANSPORTATION
Overview
As we face climate change, it’s time to invest in many different modes of transportation that fit everyone’s needs while saving the environment:
A citywide network of protected bike lanes. Safe passage will make biking a viable option for people of all ages, especially with electric and pedal assist bikes.
A fully funded Muni that is more efficient, robust, and solvent. Public transit is a lifeline for many.
Build more subway tunnels and bus rapid transit lanes, while ensuring infrastructure projects don’t become boondoggles.
The future of mobility
How we get around will soon look very different from the past century dominated by cars.
Iconic automobile maker Ford now calls itself a “mobility company.” General Motors announced it plans to only sell electric cars by 2035, the same year California will stop the sale of gasoline-powered vehicles.
Pollution from cars is one of the largest contributors to climate change. Our society will reduce its carbon footprint by driving less. That’s why we must invest in better ways to travel. We must make our streets safer and easier for walking and biking to meet our daily, short-range needs. And we must improve public transportation by bus and train to serve our longer distance needs. Electric and self-driving cars will fill in gaps.
This is a time of great opportunity to create our best planet while creating our best Sunset.
Safe Streets
Seniors and families with kids want safer streets where they can walk and bike without fear of speeding cars running stop signs. We need to implement safety improvements on our streets that provide drivers the local access they need while limiting the ability to use a neighborhood street as a high-speed throughway. We also need to improve traffic flow on major arteries like Lincoln, Sunset Blvd., and 19th Avenue.
Public Transit
To address climate change, we need to drive less and reduce suburban sprawl. This requires investing in public transportation infrastructure so we can build more housing near public transit. The westside has long been underserved by public transit and we need to ensure the westside is prioritized for improved bus and train service.
Reimagine the bus
Muni has long struggled with deficits and bus routes in distant neighborhoods are often the first casualty when cuts are made. Yet a bus in the outer Sunset, the western hills, and distant southwestern neighborhoods is a lifeline for many residents. Seniors can become stranded when they cannot ride a bike, drive, or do not have family members to drive them.
Public transportation fails its core mission if it leaves behind our most vulnerable residents. That’s why we must consider replacing big buses with shuttle vans on smaller routes. It could be more cost effective than a regular bus line. Vans can also increase reach into parts of San Francisco long neglected by regular Muni service.
Time for tunnels
We need to be creative and flexible to meet today’s needs. We also can’t stop thinking about the future. We should continue planning the subway tunnels we regret not building decades ago. This includes:
West Portal Muni station to Parkmerced
Geary Blvd. from downtown to the ocean
Park Presidio from Geary, under Golden Gate Park, and along 19th Avenue to the Daly City BART station
Expand the Central Subway from Chinatown to Fisherman's Wharf
A new BART tunnel across San Francisco Bay that will expand capacity and allow for 24-hour service
San Franciscans should be able to decide whether the Great Highway becomes an oceanside park or remains a road for cars. I will not remove a ballot measure under threat of recall.
Lower Great Highway was converted from parallel to angled parking between Lincoln and Kirkham. The before and after photos show a dramatic difference.
I was able to secure $1 million in relief funds for small business owners on Taraval. They’ve been struggling to survive the entire street being ripped up to replace the train tracks and all underground utilities and infrastructure.
It’s an honor to be given the opportunity to lead the next steps as a newly elected city supervisor. How we won.
Do you still believe in San Francisco? I do. I’m running for supervisor to create our best San Francisco.
Riding a bike in San Francisco can be perilous. There are speeding cars and potholes. Then there is the politics of cycling, which can be as unforgiving as the road. Consider what Brian Wiedenmeier faces as director of the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition.
They're leaders who influence San Francisco's future. She’s an urbanist who likes density and fewer cars. He’s devoted to preserving single-family homes and parking. They represent opposite sides of the housing debate. Yet Christine Johnson and George Wooding agree on more than you think. Meet the not-so-odd couple.
“People go to Paris and say how much they love it, but have no idea the housing was 80 feet high. They say it didn’t feel that tall.” Architect Eugene Lew thinks the Paris approach to city design can keep a lot of middle-income families in San Francisco.
Armistead Maupin's "Tales of the City" celebrates baby boomers in the 1970s — when they could move to San Francisco as young people and re-imagine it. But what are the tales of our city today and who will write them? A new publication, The Bay City Beacon, promises to report the remaking of San Francisco by the millennial generation.
“San Francisco likes to project paranoia and fear on a movie screen when it comes to change. Rise SF is offering an alternative movie. We embrace change because we believe that’s where the solutions are.”
I believe bicycles are the future for transportation in urban areas, which is why I’m interested in how we can achieve a smooth transition while autos continue to dominate. When I wrote my column with the headline “Time to Mandate Bicycle Licenses” I was hoping to start a conversation about how to bridge the generational and geographic divide between older westside motorists and younger bicyclists throughout San Francisco so our roads can be safely shared.
We regret not building enough BART tunnels 50 years ago. Our grandkids will thank transit planner Liz Brisson if she gets her westside tunnel built.
By Joel P. Engardio -- Nick Josefowitz took a simple message -- Clean up BART -- and changed San Francisco politics. "We don’t have to accept that the crony insider is always going to win. We should live in a city where if we feel things aren’t working we can change them.”
By Joel P. Engardio -- A transportation system that serves the public well doesn’t greet riders with the stench of urine or ask them to climb broken escalators short-circuited by human feces. And it doesn’t paralyze an entire region by going on strike. Will voters hold BART accountable? Meet the two BART board candidates in an epic battle to represent riders.
Joel Engardio speech on why moderates are the true progressives in San Francisco. Engardio was the guest speaker at the Golden Gate Breakfast Club in August 2014.
By Joel P. Engardio -- There must be others like me in San Francisco who embrace liberal values but also crave a city that runs on common sense. Forward-thinkers who believe in progress and aren’t afraid of change. True progressives.
By Joel P. Engardio -- There are forces against change at the waterfront, especially projects that would increase height limits. But the fight over waterfront development shouldn’t derail E-line plans.
By Joel P. Engardio -- The new Central Subway will inexplicably end in Chinatown without going two more stops to North Beach and Fisherman's Wharf. When it's completed in 2019, disappointed riders will wonder why it was built with such tunnel vision.
By Joel P. Engardio -- If you are excited about bike sharing coming soon to San Francisco, the best advice is to be patient. If our experience is anything like New York's version, expect plenty of glitches.